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My Son Loves This Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe So Much, I Make It Twice a Week

Lisa Lombardi
Lisa Lombardi
Lisa Lombardi has written for Glamour, Cosmo, Shape, and The New York Times. The former Executive Editor of Health, she is co-author of What the Yuck?! The Freaky & Fabulous Truth About Your Body. She lives with her husband and her sons Henry and Gus.
published Jun 26, 2024
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Overhead shot of two plates with servings of pasta in Alfredo sauce
Credit: Joe Lingeman

Having one good throw-together pasta is key. So when we discovered tomatoes were triggering my younger son’s GI issues, we had to scramble for an easy alternative to our usual pasta pomodoro. Finding this fettuccine alfredo recipe was a game-changer. Fast? Filling? Delicious AF? Checkity check check!

Get the recipe: The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce at The Kitchn

Why This Fettuccine Alfredo Our New Staple

This is one of my favorite pasta dishes to make during the week because it’s restaurant-good while also being wham-bam fast. It actually comes together quicker than a simple tomato sauce. I love that it’s only four ingredients the way we make it (we skip nutmeg, because our son Gus doesn’t love it). Just garlic, butter, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (I grab the real stuff at Trader Joe’s), and heavy cream and it’s cheesy perfection. I also like that it’s all whole foods, so it’s better for you than any jarred version. (Not to mention, jarred alfredo is bland and just generally blech.)

Alas, it’s not a light sauce. I’m not usually a cream-sauce person, but this bowl of goodness won me over. I’ll often have a smallish serving with a big side arugula salad—leaving plenty of leftovers for Gus to polish off when he comes home from school ravenous the next day. To reheat, just add a little milk to the skillet to soften it up (it congeals like leftover mac-n-cheese in the fridge).

How to Make This Kid-Friendly Fettuccine Alfredo

So easy. Did I mention it’s easy? You just saute the garlic in butter, whisk in heavy cream until it simmers, whisk in two cups of grated parm, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and you’re done. Serve right away over cooked fettuccine or whichever pasta you prefer. 

A Few Ways to Mix It Up

I think of this fettuccine alfredo as a base you can zhuzh up with all kinds of mix-ins. Add grilled chicken for the ultimate Hungry Kid Special. Or herbs. Now that it’s summer, I sprinkle on fresh parsley or basil from our garden. To make it pure Keto, skip the pasta entirely and drizzle the sauce over broccoli or other vegetables.

Or, go decadent: My kid loves bacon more than he loves culinary authenticity, so we add fresh cooked crumbles on top for an Alfredo-Carbonara mashup. My Italian ancestors are rolling over in the graves, for sure, but trust me: It’s sooo good.

Get the recipe: The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce  at The Kitchn