Simply Homemade: Alfredo Sauce!

Yes, I realize it’s still technically summer. No, I don’t believe delicious pasta and sauces should be reserved only for the colder months. No, I am not “technically” Italian BUT I did marry a guy who is part Italian and we had a daughter who is, therefore, some part Italian and I carried her for 9 months so I’m pretty sure that qualifies me as some fraction of Italian..am I right? Don’t answer that..

Needless to say, quite possibly my biggest weakness in life is Italian food (& drink if I’m being totally honest here because it’s no secret that I have a serious love of wine). My husband and daughter share that weakness and we inevitably enjoy some version of pasta or pizza almost every week, weather be darned 😉 I was planning to keep this recipe in my back pocket until at least Fall but I’ve mentioned it in passing and multiple people are waiting somewhat patiently for the recipe to pop up on the blog so here we are. Speaking of being at this point, I’m ashamed to admit I only recently began making and perfecting my Homemade Alfredo sauce. I was daunted by the fear of messing it up and assumed the store bought stuff would be about the same anyway. Ohhhh how wrong I was! I dare you to purchase an Alfredo sauce and heat it up the same night you try this recipe. If you (or anyone you know) prefers the store bought kind over this then we quite simply cannot be friends. Joking! A little…

In seriousness, I have to credit my youngest sister for pushing me to make this homemade. She’s a fantastic cook (shocker there, every one of my sisters has ridiculous natural kitchen talent) and she assured me that she makes it all the time and it’s so easy. I was leery but started my Pinterest recipe searching and experimenting. After a few mediocre attempts and tweaks here and there, I finally came up with the version below. I knew it was ready when my husband (completely unprompted) told me I really needed to write down an actual recipe and get this on my blog already! Did I mention how much I love this man?

My favorite version of this recipe includes the pesto and prosciutto and, if you live near a Trader Joe’s store I would highly recommend theirs (inexpensive and delicious!). My husband wasn’t too keen on just a simple Alfredo pasta because, “where’s the meat?”. I found that adding some prosciutto and decreasing the salt resulted in a much more satisfying meal. My daughter lovingly refers to prosciutto now as ‘that Italian bacon’ and her and my husband have both completed reversed their initial thoughts of ‘that green stuff’ also known as pesto. I explained that adding those cuts down on the ingredients I need for that week’s groceries and gives it the flavor they both love. Suddenly that green stuff was begrudgingly ok by them..at least for this recipe!

Oops, this post got a little lengthy, sorry about that! Once I start on Italian I just can’t seem to stop. For the sake of the recipe, I hope you made it this far or at least skipped down to the recipe and saved it to try. If summertime pasta isn’t your jam, I promise not to hold it against you but I sincerely hope you give this a shot at some point!!!

Quick notes:

• If this is thicker than you prefer, just add a little milk or chicken broth and the flavors will still be spot on!
• If you aren’t a fan of prosciutto or don’t have it, you can add a pinch of salt instead and use this by itself or with chicken instead!
• This is best enjoyed immediately!