Active Time
15 minutes
Total Time
15 minutes
In the early 1900s, Italian restaurateur Alfredo Di Lelio started serving plates of pasta enrobed with cheese and butter at his restaurant in Rome. Known today as fettuccine Alfredo, the dish gained more fame in the past century in the US than in its home country. But it also evolved in its new environs: American cooks added heavy cream or half-and-half to thicken and enrich the sauce. To each their own, but no authentic fettuccine Alfredo recipe should include cream (because it dulls the flavor of the cheese).
Like Roman staples cacio e pepe and pasta alla gricia, the gloss in Alfredo sauce comes from an emulsion of cheese with starchy pasta water (and, in this case, butter, which should be cold and cut into small pieces). It’s not a complicated technique, but it requires patience. The rich dairy must be introduced to the water slowly so that the elements can coalesce into that silky sauce. For extra guidance, check out this step-by-step video.
The short ingredient list—pasta, butter, and Parmesan—means this is the place to be choosy, particularly with the cheese. Parmigiano-Reggiano (look for its name stamped on the side) is the classic choice and will absolutely give you the best flavor, but there are less expensive substitutes. Whatever you buy, choose a whole wedge and grate it coarsely yourself; or, pulse it in a food processor or blender (about five 30-second pulses should do it) to produce small beads of cheese that will melt evenly.
To transform this simple pasta dish into chicken Alfredo, serve alongside a platter of tangy chicken piccata; or for shrimp Alfredo, make garlicky shrimp scampi.
Ingredients
4 Servings
12
¼
¾
Preparation
Step 1
Cook 12 oz. fettuccine or other long pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water over high heat, stirring occasionally, until very al dente. Drain, reserving 2 cups pasta cooking liquid.
Step 2
Transfer 1 cup pasta cooking liquid to a large skillet. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat, then gradually whisk in ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, no more than 1 Tbsp. at a time, until melted. Whisking constantly, gradually add ¾ cup (75 g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese, making sure it’s completely melted and incorporated before adding more. Add cooked pasta and toss to coat, adding more pasta cooking liquid as needed, until sauce blankets noodles completely. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper and more Parmesan cheese.
Editor’s note: This recipe was first printed in our October 2016 issue. Head this way for more of our best pasta recipes →
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Reviews (196)
Back to TopI thought this was very good. I think some of the poorer reviews either 1) did not use the right cheese which is crucial because if it’s grated, “shaker” cheese it will not emulsify right and 2) if the cheese is meh-quality it will be reflected in the overall quality of the dish. Also, it’s a different consistency than the Americanized Alfredo most are used to, so don’t expect that.
Flm3454
Overland Park, KS
4/15/2024
Just simmering water and butter whisked and emulsified is Buerre Monté: "liquid silk that pairs with any seasoning and gilds everything it touches." (Cooks Illustrated, recipe online) Adding the Parm enriches the sauce even more.
Bob Az
Phoenix
2/6/2024
I've been using this recipe for the past few years and it is, legit, one of my favorite go-to's. The quickness + simplicity is perfect. LOVE IT!
Gogo
Tampa, FL
5/30/2023
Went by instructions and it was terrible. I thought sense there wasn't many ingredients it would be great not so. Very disappointed waste of money.
Yankee
Gaffney SC
9/10/2022
I didn't measure but this process worked perfectly. Had a nice chunk of Parmigianino Regianno, butter, and pasta and this combined those into a perfect supper. I boiled some of the pasta water, added more than half a stick of butter slowly, then slowly the shredded cheese until it looked about right, whisking pretty vigorously the entire time. I usually cheat cacio e pepe with butter so this was similar but I found this procedure easier. Everyone loved it. I think mine had proportionately more cheese than the recipe.
RobinFL
South of the south
8/26/2022
1966 we visited Rom on our honeymoon had many memorable meals. At Alfredo our server mixed fettuccini for each guest fresh Server mixed soft butter and cheese numerous times, water was never added. After he finished each strand of fettuccine was thickly coated. The mixing is like baking first dry than wet doing it that way fettuccini taste heavenly
Sonja G Larkin
Dallas, Texas
4/24/2022
The recipes are great and very tasty. THANK YOU.
Anonymous
San Antonio,Texas
3/28/2022
HISTORY OF ALFREDO DI LELIO CREATOR IN 1908 OF “FETTUCCINE ALL’ALFREDO” (“FETTUCCINE ALFREDO”), NOW SERVED BY HIS NEPHEW INES DI LELIO, AT THE RESTAURANT “IL VERO ALFREDO” – “ALFREDO DI ROMA” IN ROME, PIAZZA AUGUSTO IMPERATORE 30 With reference to your article I have the pleasure to tell you the history of my grandfather Alfredo Di Lelio, who is the creator of “Fettuccine all’Alfredo” (“Fettuccine Alfredo”) in 1908 in the “trattoria” run by his mother Angelina in Rome, Piazza Rosa (Piazza disappeared in 1910 following the construction of the Galleria Colonna / Sordi). This “trattoria” of Piazza Rosa has become the “birthplace of fettuccine all’Alfredo”. More specifically, as is well known to many people who love the “fettuccine all’Alfredo", this famous dish in the world was invented by Alfredo Di Lelio concerned about the lack of appetite of his wife Ines, who was pregnant with my father Armando (born February 26, 1908). Alfredo Di Lelio opened his restaurant “Alfredo” in 1914 in Rome and in 1943, during the war, he sold the restaurant to others outside his family. In 1948 Alfredo Di Lelio decided to reopen with his son Armando his restaurant in Piazza Augusto Imperatore n.30 "Il Vero Alfredo" (“Alfredo di Roma”), whose fame in the world has been strengthened by his nephew Alfredo and that now managed by me, with the famous “gold cutlery” (fork and spoon gold) donated in 1927 by two well-known American actors Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks (in gratitude for the hospitality). See the website of “Il Vero Alfredo”. I must clarify that other restaurants "Alfredo" in Rome do not belong and are out of my brand "Il Vero Alfredo – Alfredo di Roma". The brand "Il Vero Alfredo - Alfredo di Roma" is present in Mexico with a restaurant in Mexico City and a trattoria in Cozumel on the basis of franchising relationships with the Group Hotel Presidente Intercontinental Mexico. The restaurant “Il Vero Alfredo” is in the Registry of “Historic Shops of Excellence - section on Historical Activities of Excellence” of the Municipality of Roma Capitale. Best regards Ines Di Lelio IN ITALIANO STORIA DI ALFREDO DI LELIO, CREATORE DELLE “FETTUCCINE ALL’ALFREDO” (“FETTUCCINE ALFREDO”), E DELLA SUA TRADIZIONE FAMILIARE PRESSO IL RISTORANTE “IL VERO ALFREDO” (“ALFREDO DI ROMA”) IN PIAZZA AUGUSTO IMPERATORE A ROMA Con riferimento al Vostro articolo ho il piacere di raccontarVi la storia di mio nonno Alfredo Di Lelio, inventore delle note "fettuccine all'Alfredo" (“Fettuccine Alfredo”). Alfredo Di Lelio, nato nel settembre del 1883 a Roma in Vicolo di Santa Maria in Trastevere, cominciò a lavorare fin da ragazzo nella piccola trattoria aperta da sua madre Angelina in Piazza Rosa, un piccolo slargo (scomparso intorno al 1910) che esisteva prima della costruzione della Galleria Colonna (ora Galleria Sordi). Il 1908 fu un anno indimenticabile per Alfredo Di Lelio: nacque, infatti, suo figlio Armando e videro contemporaneamente la luce in tale trattoria di Piazza Rosa le sue “fettuccine”, divenute poi famose in tutto il mondo. Questa trattoria è “the birthplace of fettuccine all’Alfredo”. Alfredo Di Lelio inventò le sue “fettuccine” per dare un ricostituente naturale, a base di burro e parmigiano, a sua moglie (e mia nonna) Ines, prostrata in seguito al parto del suo primogenito (mio padre Armando). Il piatto delle “fettuccine” fu un successo familiare prima ancora di diventare il piatto che rese noto e popolare Alfredo Di Lelio, personaggio con “i baffi all’Umberto” ed i calli alle mani a forza di mischiare le sue “fettuccine” davanti ai clienti sempre più numerosi. Nel 1914, a seguito della chiusura di detta trattoria per la scomparsa di Piazza Rosa dovuta alla costruzione della Galleria Colonna, Alfredo Di Lelio decise di aprire a Roma il suo ristorante “Alfredo” che gestì fino al 1943, per poi cedere l’attività a terzi estranei alla sua famiglia. Ma l’assenza dalla scena gastronomica di Alfredo Di Lelio fu del tutto transitoria. Infatti nel 1948 riprese il controllo della sua tradizione familiare ed aprì, insieme al figlio Armando, il ristorante “Il Vero Alfredo” (noto all’estero anche come “Alfredo di Roma”) in Piazza Augusto Imperatore n.30 (cfr. il sito web di Il Vero Alfredo). Con l’avvio del nuovo ristorante Alfredo Di Lelio ottenne un forte successo di pubblico e di clienti negli anni della “dolce vita”. Successo, che, tuttora, richiama nel ristorante un flusso continuo di turisti da ogni parte del mondo per assaggiare le famose “fettuccine all’Alfredo” al doppio burro da me servite, con l’impegno di continuare nel tempo la tradizione familiare dei miei cari maestri, nonno Alfredo, mio padre Armando e mio fratello Alfredo. In particolare le fettuccine sono servite ai clienti con 2 “posate d’oro”: una forchetta ed un cucchiaio d’oro regalati nel 1927 ad Alfredo dai due noti attori americani M. Pickford e D. Fairbanks (in segno di gratitudine per l’ospitalità). Desidero precisare che altri ristoranti “Alfredo” a Roma non appartengono e sono fuori dal mio brand di famiglia. Il brand “Il Vero Alfredo – Alfredo di Roma” è presente in Messico con un ristorante a Città del Messico e una trattoria a Cozumel sulla base di rapporti di franchising con il Group Hotel Presidente Intercontinental Mexico. Vi informo che il Ristorante “Il Vero Alfredo” è presente nell’Albo dei “Negozi Storici di Eccellenza – sezione Attività Storiche di Eccellenza” del Comune di Roma Capitale. Grata per la Vostra attenzione ed ospitalità nel Vostro interessante blog, cordiali saluti Ines Di Lelio
Ines Di Lelio
Rome. Italy
2/25/2022
It is amazingly delicious if you make it right !!
Anonymous
Boston, MA
9/25/2021
I enjoyed Bon Appetit's pasta carbonara, so I decided to try other pasta dishes. This was disappointing, compared to the carbonara.
Anonymous
Mountain View, CA
9/9/2021
A superb recipe. Just follow it and you will be ok. The thing is, you need good cheese and you need to whisk the butter and water vigorously to get a good emulsion. I also find letting the pasta sit in the sauce until it thickens is a more satisfying experience.
BLM
Toronto. CA
8/18/2021
A few notes fir those who have issues with this recipe. This is an emulsion, not a cream sauce. It will not get thick but it will incorporate the butter into the pasta water so that it can coat the pasta (melted butter basically rolls off the pasta, an emulsion coats). The butter must be cold and cut into small pieces. Get the pasta water simmering and add all the butter at once then whisk gently until it becomes an emulsion take off the heat and add all at once. Whisk again until it joins the sauce. If you are cooking fresh pasta it can very quickly so you should use a lot less water than usual so the starch is concentrated. Once the cheese is melted, add the pasta and toss to coat. In the original Alfredo’s restaurant this was prepared table side and truffles were shaved generously over it, which smells amazing and tastes fantastic. Alfredo should never have anything but pasta water, butter, and cheese in it. Make sure the cooking water has salt in it but remember part is salty. And do not use store bought grated cheese- it has chemicals to keep it from clumping and it will not melt properly. Only real parm from Italy!
Martin Edic
Rochester, NY
4/24/2021
This recipe is ABSOLUTE GARBAGE. Tried the immersion blender technique too. Waste of time and energy .
Anonymous
4/23/2021
This went poorly to say the least
Anonymous
Wisconsin
4/2/2021
I made this at the beginning of the pandemic and it was truly phenomenal. Absolutely amazing. But every time since then I can’t get this to emulsify. The cheese becomes gluey or the sauce is clumpy. I’m not sure if it’s a pan I’m using or the cheese or what but I know it’s my error. Love this recipe but I can’t get it right 99% of the time. Regardless, butter and cheese on noodles never disappoints.
Lauren
Washington, DC
3/31/2021