Basil Alfredo Sauce

This creamy and delicious Basil Alfredo Sauce is an easy recipe to make and will make perfect fettuccine alfredo or any other favorite pasta dishes. But you can also serve it over your favorite vegetables, chicken or even as a substitution for any red sauce in pizza. If you love silky smooth sauces with rich cheesy flavor, then this recipe is for you.

My family loves their sauces. We love the different textures and flavors that a great sauce adds to a meal. My blog has quite a few for you to try. Some of my favorites are Cajun Sauce, Red Pepper Sauce, Garlic Sauce and Lemon Herb Sauce. All of these different sauces can be served with poultry, seafood, vegetables and pastas.

Recipe Ingredients

These are the fresh ingredients you will need to make this alfredo sauce. Substitutions and Options are listed below.

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

• Parmigiano reggiano cheese- or Romano or Asiago cheese.
• Half and Half- you can also use heavy cream. Part-skim milk or whole milk is not recommended since it won't thicken properly in the sauce. For extra rich and creamy sauce, use full fat.
• Basil- Fresh is preferred but you can use dried. Use less, about 2-3 teaspoons since it is concentrated. You can use other herbs like oregano or thyme. Or try chopped spinach or arugula.

Cooking Tips to make the best Basil Alfredo Sauce

• Let the half and half and butter sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes if you have time. That makes it easier to cook, without having them over the heat too long and risk curdling.
• Never let the sauce come to a full boil, a low simmer is perfect.
• I do prefer freshly grated parmesan. I don't recommend the flavor and texture of pre-shredded.
• The way to tell if the sauce has thickened enough is to stir with a wooden spoon and see if the sauce coats the spoon. If it runs off too quickly, the sauce needs to simmer a bit longer.
• Alfredo sauce is not a recipe you can leave to simmer on the stove. It does require some watching to avoid burning or curdling due to too high of a temperature. All stoves are different so adjust the heat as needed.
• You will know if the sauce curdled or separated if it gets lumpy or has a grainy texture. To try to salvage it, remove from heat, whisk the sauce to try to regain the smooth texture. And add a bit more half and half or heavy cream while stirring well. I would taste it before serving to make sure it doesn't taste unpleasant.

What can I serve with Alfredo Sauce?

I served the Basil Alfredo Sauce over bowtie pasta. It's a hearty pasta and the sauce coats it really well. We ate this as a side dish. I think it tastes delicious with chicken so we had it with Baked Lemon Pepper Chicken thighs. Since they were in the oven, I was able to concentrate on the stovetop. Some other chicken recipes to try would be Buffalo Chicken Thighs, Dutch Oven Chicken Breasts or Baked Chicken Breast with vegetables.

Some other ways to use the sauce would be to drizzle over vegetables, use it as the cheese option in a lasagne or baked ziti. Serve over gnocchi or tortellini. Or use it as a base for a white pizza.

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Basil Alfredo Sauce

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• Author: Deb Belsha
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stove Top
• Cuisine: American-Italian

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Description

This creamy and delicious Basil Alfredo Sauce has simple ingredients and is easy to make. It is perfect with your favorite pasta. But you can also serve it over your favorite vegetables, chicken or even as a substitution for any red sauce in pizza. If you love a delicious sauce with a cheesy and silky smooth, creamy consistency, then this recipe is for you! 

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 1 ½ cups half and half
• 2 teaspoons garlic paste (or 3 teaspoons minced garlic, 2 teaspoons garlic powder)
• ½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg *optional
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup fresh basil, finely chopped

Optional

• 16 ounce box of pasta (I used bowtie)

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Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat, stirring to keep from burning.  Add salt,  pepper and garlic.  Whisk well.
2. Add the half and half, increase to medium heat and stir while bringing to a simmer.  It will take about 5 minutes.  Continue to stir to avoid the half and half to stick or burn on the bottom of pan.
3. Add cheese and whisk to combine on low heat for another 3-4 minutes.  Sauce will begin to thicken.  For thicker sauce, stir on low heat for another 2 minutes.
4. Remove pan from heat and stir in basil and nutmeg.  Serve over optional pasta.

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Notes

*Never let the sauce come to a full boil; a low simmer is perfect.

*I do prefer freshly grated parmesan.  I don't recommend the flavor or texture of pre-shredded cheese.

*Alfredo sauce is not a recipe you can leave to simmer by itself on the stove.  It does require some watching to make sure it doesn't curdle or burn.  Adjust the heat as needed.

*If it does curdle by chance, remove from stove, whisk to try to bring back the smoothness of the sauce.  Try adding a bit of heavy cream or half and half, stirring really well.  Taste before serving.

Refrigerate leftovers.  The sauce will thicken as it cools.  Reheat with some cream over very low heat, stirring well.  Use within 2-3 days.

Freezing is not recommended since the sauce will change in texture and not be as creamy and smooth.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1
• Calories: 201
• Sugar: 2g
• Sodium: 344mg
• Fat: 19g
• Carbohydrates: 3g
• Protein: 5.4g
• Cholesterol: 53mg