Alfredo sauce offers restaurants the opportunity to boost their menu offerings with various flavourful recipes. This classic Italian sauce, which has been known in Italy for years, continues to grow in popularity throughout the culinary world. So what makes it so different?
Originally intended to be used in fettuccine dishes, it turns out that Alfredo sauce is also incredibly versatile and can go way beyond its primary intended use. Read on as we take you through our ultimate guide to Alfredo sauce.
We’ll shed light on what Alfredo sauce is, its origins and varieties, how to make it, and how to use it in your kitchen to boost operations.
What is Alfredo Sauce
Alfredo sauce is a pale, creamy, and rich-tasting Italian sauce, typically made by melting heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, and butter together. It was invented by Alfredo Di Lelio in the early 1900s. After his wife had given birth, she lost her appetite. To help her regain her ability to enjoy food, the Italian chef invented the sauce as part of his own recipe which became known as Fettuccine Alfredo. Since then, both Alfredo’s recipe and sauce have grown in popularity around the world and continue to do so.
Alfredo Sauce Varieties
By tweaking ingredient combos, chefs and food brands alike have worked out their own Alfredo sauce variations. That said, none of those seem to stray too far away from the original. At Olivieri® Foodservice, we have two varieties that have been crafted in order to achieve the best taste possible.
Our original Alfredo Sauce is in line with Alfredo Di Lelio’s recipe, blending butter, cream, and Parmesan cheese but with added gorgonzola for a rich, comforting, and distinct flavour delivery. By using it with pasta, pizza, and various kids’ meals, you’ll have an elegant flavour enhancer that’s steeped in tradition and beams with elegance.
Then there’s our Classic Creamy Alfredo Sauce. How is this variety different from the first? Well, the first clue is in the name. It offers an extra level of creaminess, but that’s not all. For this sauce, we have used Romano cheese instead of Parmesan, resulting in a crowd-pleasing white mother sauce.
Romano cheese comes from sheep’s milk which gives it a sharper but smooth taste to bring to your menu creations.
How to Make Alfredo Sauce
Olivieri® Foodservice’s Alfredo sauce varieties allow you to purchase easy-to-store, ready-made, and fine-crafted Alfredo sauce in bulk. This helps to streamline your operation, saving time in the kitchen and requiring minimal training or clean-up. If, however, you are curious as to how you can make your own Alfredo sauce, you can do so by following a few simple steps below.
1. Melt butter in a pan over medium to low heat.
2. Add fried garlic, crushed or grated (optional).
3. Stir in the cream.
4. Sprinkle some herbs on top (mixed herbs).
5. Allow ingredients to simmer.
6. Add Parmesan cheese (Romano is also an option).
7. Stir continuously.
8. Add a final garnish (parsley works great although you could also opt for oregano).
How to Thicken Alfredo Sauce
The best way to thicken Alfredo sauce is to add a slurry. Wondering what that is? A slurry is a mixture of liquid and cornstarch. Make it one spoonful of cornstarch to every two spoonfuls of liquid. The liquid can be water, milk, or even chicken stock.
Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe
To prepare the original Fettuccine Alfredo recipe, you’ll need to add your Alfredo sauce to a fettuccine pasta dish. There are, however, various similar pasta varieties that pair just as well with the famous sauce. Linguine, for example, can also be used as in this Linguine Italiano.
Chicken Alfredo Recipe
Chicken makes a delicious pairing with Alfredo sauce, particularly when it’s used in a filled pasta variety such as cannelloni. A highly satisfying example of this can be found in our Chicken and Prosciutto Cannelloni with Mushroom Alfredo Sauce recipe.
Shrimp Alfredo Recipe
Does Alfredo sauce pair well with seafood? Absolutely, yes. Especially with shrimp in elegant recipes such as our Tortelloni with Matane Shrimp and Québec Asparagus and our similar but distinct Tortellini with Asparagus Shrimp.
Alfredo Sauce for Dips and Appetizers
Alfredo sauce needn’t be limited to pasta dishes. You can also use it as a dipping sauce with the right finger food or appetizer. Use it in a ramekin to accompany this Cheese-Filled Skillet Gnocchi With a Creamy Pesto Dip or these kid-friendly Gnocchi Pizza Bites. To keep the little ones happy, you can also use Alfredo sauce as a dipping sauce alongside a serving of our Fresh Skillet Gnocchi Sticks.
For everything else, Olivieri® Foodservice is delighted to help those seeking culinary inspiration.