Ready in under 20 minutes, this authentic Fettuccine Alfredo has only 3 ingredients – fettucine, butter and parmesan cheese emulsified with the starchy pasta water!!
The internet is full of alfredo recipes out that contain heavy cream, milk and even cream cheese. They even have added ingredients such as mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, chicken or shrimp. I am sure that most of these are absolutely delicious but they are not the original dish created in Rome by Alfredo di Lelio back in 1908.
While pregnant with their third child, Alfredo di Lelio’s wife was very weak. To help her regain her strength, di Lelio added extra butter and parmesan cheese to pasta al doppio burro. She loved it so much that she had di Lelio include it on the menu at his restaurant Via Della Scrof in Rome.
In the late 1920’s, silent movie starts, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, were on their honeymoon in Rome and discovered the dish. They loved it so much they gave di Lelio a golden spoon and fork which he displayed on the wall of his restaurant together with a photograph of him and the movie starts.
Pickford and Fairbanks brought the dish back to America and started making it for all of their friends and family unknowingly introducing what would become one of the most famous Italian-America pastas!
Ingredients in Fettuccine Alfredo:
Since there are only 3 ingredients, you will want to make sure to use the best ingredients you can find.
- Fettuccine (or any other long pasta). Look for pasta that has been slow dried and is opaque and almost white in color with a rough texture. This allows the sauce to really stick to the pasta and not slide off like it would would a fast drying industrial pasta.
- Parmesan Cheese. The best cheese you can buy is Parmigiano-Reggiano with with DOP stamped on the rind. DOP stands for Denominazione di Origine Protetta. This is the real deal folks.
Highly regulated and straight from Italy. By law, Parmigiano-Reggiano can only be made in one sector of the Italian region Emilia-Romagna. Whatever cheese you choose, please grate your own. Pre-grated cheeses contain anti-clumping agents and you will not get a nice smooth sauce. And it just doesn’t taste as good.
- Butter. Real butter peeps – none of the fake stuff, spray stuff, or margarine {shudder}.
- Fresh cracked black pepper is optional (but very much recommended) for serving.
How to Make Fettuccine Alfredo:
While brining a large pot of salted water to a boil, grate your cheese and cube the butter.
While the pasta is cooking, add a generous ladleful of past water to a large pan and melt half of the butter.
Whisk in half of the Parmesan cheese and melt.
Toss in the fettuccine, remaining butter and cheese, and another good ladleful of pasta water.
Toss until cheese is melted and everything is well combined.
Serve immediately with fresh cracked pepper and extra cheese.
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If you love it, leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you and this would help me with future recipes!
Contact me if you would like to see any of your childhood favorites updated or reinvented.

Fettuccine Alfredo
Ingredients
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese finely grated and divided
- 1/2 cup butter cubed
- 1 lb. fettuccine
- Fresh ground black pepper for serving
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil and cook fettuccine until 2 minutes before al dente. (The pasta will continue to cook in the alfredo sauce)
- Melt butter in a large skillet and ladle in about 1/2 cup of pasta water.
- Over low heat, add in half of the parmesan cheese whisking until an emulsified sauce forms.
- Add in pasta together with remaining cheese, butter, and about another 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
- Toss well for a minute or two until the pasta is nice an glossy and the sauce has fully emulsified.
- Serve immediately with fresh cracked black pepper and more parmesan cheese.
I never thought Alfredo could be good without cream, but this version of Alfredo is actually better. I served it to my girlfriends at lunch yesterday and they could not get enough of it.
That makes me so happy to hear. I’m glad everyone loved it!!