What to Put in Fettuccine Alfredo

Fettuccine Alfredo is an Italian pasta dish with a cheesy cream sauce. Paired with a grilled chicken breast or served alone, it is a delicious main dish option. According to Epicurious, Alfredo di Lello is the Roman chef who created this dish in the 1920s. While prepared sauces are available commercially, you do not have to be a trained chef to create your own homemade fettuccine Alfredo.

Technically, you can use noodles of any shape in this dish; however, the traditional noodle called for is fettuccine, which is a long, flat, wide noodle. Fettuccine noodles are typically available boxed dry in the pasta aisle of your supermarket or fresh in the produce section. Because of the width, fettuccine noodles take slightly longer to prepare than spaghetti noodles do. Boil fresh noodles for about four minutes and dried noodles for eight to 12 minutes. For a healthier twist, you can use whole-wheat fettuccine noodles.

The creaminess of Alfredo sauce depends on the cream you use. Choose a cream based on how healthy you want your recipe to be. A fat-laden heavy cream, middle-of-the-road half and half, and even low-fat milk are all options for the cream element of your Alfredo sauce. Remember, the more fattening the cream, the more full-bodied your Alfredo sauce will be.

Use parmesan cheese in your fettuccine Alfredo sauce. Traditionally, freshly grated parmesan is used to make the sauce. However, packaged, shredded parmesan can be substituted to make the recipe easier to prepare. Grated parmesan in a can is not a good option for this type of sauce, as it contains too many fillers to be properly incorporated into your sauce. For different twists, consider adding a little romano cheese or even some asiago cheese to change the flavor of your Alfredo sauce slightly.

While fettuccine Alfredo sauce can contain many different spices, the one vital seasoning is pepper. A traditional Alfredo sauce calls for pepper that is freshly ground from peppercorns. However, black pepper that is already ground or even white pepper are options as well. The complementary spices you may wish to include are lemon juice, garlic and even nutmeg. While not technically a spice, do not forget to include butter to give your sauce a more full-bodied taste.