Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce is a fabulous alfredo sauce, and one of my favorite pasta sauce recipes. Honestly, this particular recipe was my sole reason, or at least my first really big inspiration, for creating copycat recipes. I lived in a very rural area of east Texas; the nearest Olive Garden was 90 minutes away. It was a very special treat to have this Alfredo sauce. It was for me, looking back, a magical moment that would change my life and cause me to create many more copycat recipes. I still order the Olive Garden Alfredo sauce from time to time, and honestly, it still tastes just as good to me as it did the first time I had this dish.
This Alfredo sauce has made its way onto the Olive Garden menu in several different ways. You used to be able to get this as a side dish. I don’t think this is the case any longer, but you can order a dish of the Alfredo sauce and dip your bread sticks into this for a special treat. I personally enjoy this simply over fresh cooked pasta.
We have plenty more recipes that taste like the Olive Garden available.
Update
A lot of people ask me if they should add cream cheese to this recipe. My original recipe had you adding some cream cheese, I know think that adding cream cheese is not necessary to this recipe. I really think that with a little bit of skill you can make this dish easily.
This recipe makes a large quantity of this famous sauce. This is perfect for a large family or a party. If you want to serve up a fancy pasta bar you can easily place this sauce once it is finished in a slow cooker. By placing the slow cooker on low you can hold this sauce for a long time.
What combinations of pasta, meats, and Alfredo sauce do you like the best?
Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
Make Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce at home.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon garlic puree
- 1 pound butter
- 2 quarts heavy cream
- 8 ounces milk
- 1 pound Parmesan cheese
- 4 ounces fontina cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 pound pasta cooked according to package directions
Instructions
- In a saucepan, brown garlic puree, in butter. Add the cream and milk to the browned garlic. When the butter and cream becomes bubbly, add Parmesan cheese, fontina cheese, and salt and pepper. Stir on medium-high heat until sauce thickens. Turn off heat and continue to stir. Makes 1 gallon.This recipe is one that was posted on Copykat.com by chef4fun and is chef4fun's version of the Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce.
Sarah Gilliland says
OMG I would like to start by saying you are my HERO…and I hope you are actually kicking butt and making at least enough to make you not care about all these grumps and negative Nellie’s out there…. I make versions of recipes all the time to try to please my critics…my husband and children…and some others too…every time I make something it’s never exactly the same as the last but that’s okay because at least it’s made with love…anymore when I get a dish that I thought i was craving more than what I could make at home it just did NOT taste like I thought…and I have concluded that those days of eating those types of meals that once tasted good are over…it a all prepackaged crap full of preservatives and the “chef” has no clue what it actually is because they are trained to read directions not actually cook or care… so any advice you give that evolves actual real ideas or ingredients is AMAZING…keep on keepin on…I always google your recipes and will continue….if you could recreate the Taco Bell chili cheese burrito with it being even close it would make my year!!!
Stephanie says
Thank you very much!! I agree packaged stuff just doesn’t taste as good, it often tastes artificial to me. Do you mean the Taco Bell Chili cheese burrito with fritos?
Matt says
I also worked at Olive Garden and almost everyone, including the more experienced chef’s get it wrong. EVERYTHING at Olive Garden, breadsticks, meat, even the lasagna is frozen. The sauces are all made from bases…the Alfredo is the single, solitary thing made fresh throughout the day at Olive Garden simply because the sauce breaks after a few hours of holding. The recipe is based on the the simple classic….butter, garlic, cream, Parmesan cheese…there is no nutmeg. The secret extra ingredient? It was a McCormick spice pack which may have had some nutmeg in it….
Mandi says
So the olive garden sauce does have nutmeg in it? So thats why i had to use my epi pen. I asked them if they used nutmeg and they said no. I can never make my own,alfredo and every restaursnt i have tried tells me they use frozen sauce except o.g. says they make their own and only.use salt and pepper. Uggh. I miss havin alfredo
Stephanie says
Do you make your own Alfredo?
Shirley says
This was the most awesome tasting sauce, however, when I tried to reheat the next day, the butter separated from the cheeses and I couldn’t get them to blend together, what did I do wrong?
Melba Silver says
I’m looking for a tetrazzini sauce like Grandma’s restaurant here in MN. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Lvlegaleagle says
Stephanie very interesting website, well done. As per the Attorney thing for Marie Callenders and your concern about copying the recipe. It is Bogus and only a scare tactic that has no bite if you simply know how to use disclaimers. In law you find that how your word something, makes all the difference. So simply wrote up your recipes NOT as ”OLIVE GARDEN ALFREDO SAUCE” or ”MARIE CALLENDER ALFREDO SAUCE” but change them to simply ” IN THE STYLE OF MARIE CALLENDER ALFREDO SAUCE”
this simple addition excludes you from violating any copyright or trademark rights. You can be found in violation even now by titling your recipes as you have them currently. Yes your website precludes and clearly states your a copycat but it can still cause you expensive litigation for which you would ultimately win but at great expense to you.
That is the whole purpose of bully litigation, so avoid it and add that small disclaimer. Also if you get an authentic recipe that might be trademarked, simply avoid hassle by starting that you received this and if possible reference the person and/or email of sender. If for privacy they choose not to be credited for the submission, you then state it was anonymous and cannot either confirm it is authentic.
Anyhow… I was an executive chef in Las Vegas for 13 years and switched to Law 6 years ago and am a practicing patent lawyer.
Mr.LawMan says
Hey LVlegaleagle, you forgot to mention that it’s actually not illegal to make a replica of recipes that have been copyrighted, even if she were to reverse engineer it! The only time it would be illegal is if she had knowledge of their actual recipes and used that on this site. But seeing that the OG and MC are huge chains, I can guarantee you they have ingredients that the average person most likely can’t even pronounce, so she shouldn’t even worry about some third party saying “they gave her the actual recipe”.
And for the possible trademark infringement, you’re right, all she needs to do is write something that makes it more clear that her intent on this site isn’t to make people think she has the actual recipes but her version. Which you’re examples were a good example of what she could use to prevent bs litigation by corporate bullies.
stephaniemanley says
Actually the disclaimer is at the bottom of every single page. I never state these are the real recipes. Clearly they are not. I intend for them to taste like their restaurant counter parts. It remains my legal right to say anything tastes like anything else.
For example, I could say chairs taste like apples. While not true, I can say it. It is the site’s intention that I help you recreate the way something tastes. Many of these large corporations and I have exchanged email in the past. I have exchanged correspondence with many of these large companies, and they know the site exists. So I am not real worried there.
Unfortunately many restaurants do cooking in centralized locations to help ensure that what they serve is the same everywhere. They use flavor enhancers and thickening agents we don’t have in our homes. I aim for my recipes to taste very close to a particular dish, they are not the dish.
Lvlegaleagle says
FYI. Egg yolks are in fact used in Italian kitchens but ” tempering ” the eggs is not for beginners. The eggs essentially do what Roux or Cornstarch does to any liquid… It is a thickening agent. But it will dye your sauce a mild yellow hue color and it WILL NOT have an egg taste if you incorporated the tempered egg yolks correctly. The recipe in OG website is another authentic Italian kitchens version of Alfredo. This style of using eggs is to Italy, as Roux is to the french kitchens. American kitchens more commonly use cornstarch (or rice) which is considered an insult in France and thought as laziness in Italy.
So give the egg a try but only if your experienced in tempering and folding into sauces egg yolks.
stephaniemanley says
My struggle with their posted recipe is not in the cooking technique. It is this is one particular recipe i have studied or looked up so many times, and theirs is the only one that I have seen egg contained in the recipe. I think they wanted to make it taste close, but not give a more common version of the recipe.
Lvlegaleagle says
It is NOT FONTINA CHEESE it is in fact ROMANO CHEESE. So if you want original, get Romano cheese but you can substitute with Fontina cheese. The choice of fontina was the attempt to duplicate the flavor of toasted nutmeg in the OG Alfredo. Since fontina is smoked cured. Good try but not accurate in original recipe.
Lvlegaleagle says
*SIMMERING
Lvlegaleagle says
Well I can tell everyone that your search for the elusive OG Alfredo sauce is subjective. It taste different to every single person. As an A.C.F. Certified Chef, I can tell you all that unless you have technique training you will fumble any recipe. Bechamel sauce’s only secret and that of olive garden is nutmeg. They use the white powder mix as a binding agent and for thickening only but it has ground nutmeg also. (This is so the sauce never separates and even when cooled and re-heated, it keeps its creamy and smooth texture.)
So if you know how to cook butter and flour together (ROUX), then start your recipe with that first, put it aside then follow this original recipe and as you add the final ingredient and start the singeing then put in your roux mixture and adding slowly until thickened to your liking. Also make sure to add the nutmeg into the flour/butter mix when you make the roux, because it gives it the ”toasted” nutmeg essence the OG is known for. How much? For 1 stick of butter & 1 cup of flour add 1 medium two-finger pinch.
And finally please DONT USE PRE-GRATED CHEESES for this recipe! You must buy it in blocks and grate it yourself! The cheese has a non-cacking ingredient that keeps it from melting. You can have smooth consistency in your alfredo sauce by simply grating the cheese yourself.
So please google RUE MIX and prepare some in advance using some of the 1 (one) pound of butter this recipe calls for.
Snuggler26 says
made it twice now and it is almost grainy. but still tast great.
Stephanie Manley says
Are you using pre-grated cheese? Cheese that has already been grated often has an anti caking agent on it that keeps it nice and separated in the package, but it also prevents it from melting as nicely as it should.
Skittl1028 says
I tried this recipe but I couldn’t find the fontina cheese so I used romana instead and added shrimp and linguini and it was absolutely delicious! My family loved it!!! Thanks so much!!!
Stephanie says
It sounds like the recipe still turned out well!
Kim says
I cut recipe in half and was perfect for my family of 4. Fontina a tad hard to find (walmart has it) but well worth it!
Jstheesfeld says
can you freeze the sauce to use for a later date? it is only my boyfriend and i who would be eating this and 12 servings is way too many to have at once
Stephanie says
I would not freeze the sauce, I would simply cut the recipe in half, or by thirds if you needed to.
Lana_mk_lang says
Thats a whole of butter, scared this recipe might give me a heart attack lol Can we use less butter or it has to be a pound?
Anonymous says
That is making A LOT of already, why don’t you just cut everything down by 4. I believe this recipe is really dependent upon certain ratios needed.
ptchef says
I have tried many alfredo sauces. Some are lumpy. Some are grainy. Most are way too salty for my family. But this recipe? Perfect!
Terry Smith says
The main reason I was searching your site for an Alfredo Sauce recipe was in hopes you might have the one that Marie Calendar’s restaurants -AND- frozen entrees use.
I think the Olive Garden’s Alfredo Sauce is just plain TERRIBLE, since everytime I have ordered anything with it the sauce was “GRAINY.” (That was on SEVERAL occassions, and at several different locations.)
Terry Smith
Stephanie says
Well Terry, I wished I could help on this one, but this was one company that suggested to me via their lawyer I should not try to duplicate any of their recipes.
Johnnie says
Having worked for OG for seven years now, I can tell you that this recipe is the closest. The measurements are a little different and there is no Fontina in ours but the rest is pretty similar. We don’t use Cream cheese in anything (including cheesecakes, they are ordered in) and we never order eggs (nothing on the menu requires eggs). That being said, OG is on a non-stop course to becoming a totally pre-fab establishment. They have started using mixes for our sauces. but they do it in stages. Alfredo sauce is still made in-house, even though many of our sauces no longer are made in-house. As for the chicken, it’s simply grilled, sliced and then tossed in a hot pan with the sauce and the pasta. That’s it! No marinating or anything else required.
Lindsey says
Thank you! I too worked at olive garden, for 2 years, in Florida. There is NO eggs in this recipe! The only cheese that is put in it in Parmesan. They may put it on their website, but of course its NOT going to be the original! The recipe above is as close as your gonna get.
Stephanie says
Thank you for your response, I continually get these recipes sent to me, and I never thought for a minute their Alfredo sauce had egg yolks inside of it!
Julie says
This is the Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce..straight from the Olive Garden Website…copied and paste 3/1/11
Alfredo Sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Serving Size: 4
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup imported Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup imported Romano cheese, grated
6 egg yolks from fresh jumbo eggs
Salt and black pepper to taste
Procedures:
HEAT milk and cream in a heavy bottom saucepan until it begins to simmer. Turn off heat. Slowly whip in cheese, then remove from heat.
PLACE egg yolks in a separate bowl and slowly whip in a portion of the hot milk and cream mixture. Slowly add egg yolk mixture back into remaining cream mixture. Place back on very low heat and continually stir until simmering. Take sauce off heat so it thickens. (This will increase temperature of egg yolks, known as tempering).
SEASON to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve over your favorite pasta.
http://www.olivegarden.com/recipes/recipe_search/recipe_display.asp?id=69
Stephanie says
This recipe makes a very yellow sauce, I don’t think that is the recipe that they serve.
Mellimel211 says
I worked at Olive garden for 3 years. I also love the Alfredo sauce and when I started working there took the recipe down straight from the kitchen and even got pointers from the sauce chef. The recipe I got was enough to make gallons I cut the recipe down and still had enough to freeze. The above reciope is correct except minus egg yolks. There is no egg yolk in it at all! Plus garlic. And there secret ingredient is “white sauce powder”! I don’t know what white sauce powder is but maybe it is freeze dried powderewd egg yolks, who knows. I made it without the powder and with the powder. When i made it with the powder it tasted just like it exactly. Other is good too. I also find it works very well to use both grated parm and romano from the kraft shaker as well as shredded out of the bag. If you think Alf is too gritty then you domn’t know cheese sauce, Sir, who like Marie Calander. That stuff is cheap horrible and not real Alf. Everybody knows any real cheese sauce is gonna have cheese grit. Thats what makes it real. Thank you!
Jsam1986 says
so there is no garlic in the sause either?
bob says
can you read? he states plus garlic. So yes, there is garlic
Mellimel211 says
I worked at Olive garden for 3 years. I also love the Alfredo sauce and when I started working there took the recipe down straight from the kitchen and even got pointers from the sauce chef. The recipe I got was enough to make gallons I cut the recipe down and still had enough to freeze. The above reciope is correct except minus egg yolks. There is no egg yolk in it at all! Plus garlic. And there secret ingredient is “white sauce powder”! I don’t know what white sauce powder is but maybe it is freeze dried powderewd egg yolks, who knows. I made it without the powder and with the powder. When i made it with the powder it tasted just like it exactly. Other is good too. I also find it works very well to use both grated parm and romano from the kraft shaker as well as shredded out of the bag. If you think Alf is too gritty then you domn’t know cheese sauce, Sir, who like Marie Calander. That stuff is cheap horrible and not real Alf. Everybody knows any real cheese sauce is gonna have cheese grit. Thats what makes it real. Thank you!
Mellimel211 says
I worked at Olive garden for 3 years. I also love the Alfredo sauce and when I started working there took the recipe down straight from the kitchen and even got pointers from the sauce chef. The recipe I got was enough to make gallons I cut the recipe down and still had enough to freeze. The above reciope is correct except minus egg yolks. There is no egg yolk in it at all! Plus garlic. And there secret ingredient is “white sauce powder”! I don’t know what white sauce powder is but maybe it is freeze dried powderewd egg yolks, who knows. I made it without the powder and with the powder. When i made it with the powder it tasted just like it exactly. Other is good too. I also find it works very well to use both grated parm and romano from the kraft shaker as well as shredded out of the bag. If you think Alf is too gritty then you domn’t know cheese sauce, Sir, who like Marie Calander. That stuff is cheap horrible and not real Alf. Everybody knows any real cheese sauce is gonna have cheese grit. Thats what makes it real. Thank you!
Kalynne35 says
The Recipes given on the Olive Garden website are from their Culinary Institute of Tuscany in Italy. It represents their “passion for Italian food and serves as a source of inspiration” for their menu. Their website “contains make-at-home versions of a few Olive Garden favorites as well as many other recipes inspired by Italy!” They do not acknowledge these are the actual recipes used in their restaurants.
Gina says
Even that statement is bull. Any recipe created in Italy for Alfredo would not be loaded with all these ingredients. The original Alfredo was simply butter and then the addition of cream and cheese came along, but that is it. I’ve seen the addition of eggs, cream cheese, all sorts of “crap” which strays from the original. Any recipe that the OG calls Italian is Americanized Italian. I have never seen these butter laden, cream laden inventions. or at least these overgreased versions in Italian restaurts or Italian tables. Italians eat simple fresh food with few ingredients that glorifies the food. It is not hidden by sauces and cheese. That only happens here in America.
Stephy says
This is NOT the Alfredo sauce served in the restaurants. I’ve made this and, not only does it not taste anything like the real Alfredo, it’s not very good at all (it tasted only of eggs, yuck). It was a total waste of time, effort, and supplies. My husband and I came to the conclusion that they put that on their website so people try it, find out it’s disgusting, and, convinced they just can’t make it right, come back to the restaurant to get the real stuff.
Anonymous says
Thanks for trying this one. I didn’t think it was their “restaurant recipe”. That’s the only alfredo sauce that I have ever seen with six egg yolks.
liza says
I got the real recipe from a OG manager.
knorr bechamel sauce mix is used as their base, whipping cream is used instead of heavy cream, no fontina cheese is used. I have been making this sauce at home for over 15 years and it taste just like in the restaurant. I also use it in my lasagna and as pizza sauce.
Stephanie says
I believe heavy cream and whipping cream are the same.
Fran says
heavy cream has more fat than whipping cream
Jenn says
Could you give us the steps and all ingredients for your sauce?
Mellimel211 says
Your manager does not know what he is talking about! Half the time they don’t! They do not cook it themselves. Yes bechamel is in the lasa but not used as a base for alf. not on there pizza either. there chx alf pizza is made with alf sauce which is made with half and half milk and heavy cream. so just buy the half and half sillh people
Mellimel211 says
Your manager does not know what he is talking about! Half the time they don’t! They do not cook it themselves. Yes bechamel is in the lasa but not used as a base for alf. not on there pizza either. there chx alf pizza is made with alf sauce which is made with half and half milk and heavy cream. so just buy the half and half sillh people
NANCY says
i agree with MACY their are no instructions on the order of the ingredients i dont think you can just add everything at once wish someone would tell us how they are doing this.
Please check with the instructions on the post ~Stephanie
Bruce says
What I really want to know is how they make the chicken that they add to the alfredo, I love the taste and guess they use a brazing technique that i would like to learn.
Audrina says
dont tell anyone but the secret to the chicken… marinate the chicken breast with the Alfredo sauce, cook it in a pan, slice it and add to the sauce and pasta, sautee it for a minute and serve. Enjoy 😉
Mellimel211 says
they just grill the chicken. the taste you love ciomes from there grill and the cheap hormone filled chicken america loves no brazing or marinating
Mellimel211 says
they just grill the chicken. the taste you love ciomes from there grill and the cheap hormone filled chicken america loves no brazing or marinating
Mellimel211 says
they just grill the chicken. the taste you love ciomes from there grill and the cheap hormone filled chicken america loves no brazing or marinating
Mellimel211 says
they just grill the chicken. the taste you love ciomes from there grill and the cheap hormone filled chicken america loves no brazing or marinating
Sandy says
I recently found the Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce recipe on their website, and it is different than this one.
Stephanie says
I have seen that recipe as well, it calls for 6 egg yolks, in researching alfredo sauce recipes, their recipe calling for the egg yolks is the only recipe for alfredo sauce that I have seen that includes egg yolks. I do not believe there are any egg yolks in that recipe. I do not believe they post recipes on their website that are close to what they serve in the restaurant.
Isabel says
Simple recipe: Butter, mince galic, pepper, Parm Cheese, Milk, Heavy Cream, Romano Cheese and thickening powder they use to make it more creamy. No eggs at all..
Joe says
Isabel is the closest. The garlic is garlic puree the secret powder is corn starch. When I was a GM there many years ago that is the way we made it and the taste is the same still to this day.
Amanda says
Just made this for my son’s 13th bday dinner. He loved it, we all did! Alfredo is both of our favorites so I was nervous about making it the first time for a special occasion. We will be making this more often!!
Kelly says
I have used this recipe many times. OG is my absolute favorite place to eat and this is my favorite dish. This recipe is the closest I have found. While not exactly the same taste…just as good.
Mandy says
I used the ingredient list from the first version but substituted the garlic powder in the other recipe for the garlic puree like this one suggest. I heated the garlic and melted the butter then added the cream and whisked it really well together. When it was mixed well I added a CUP of parmesan cheese. I think if you add more cheese and let it simmer longer you won’t need the cream cheese for consistency. I also used a good bit of black pepper. The key is just to taste as it simmers and add garlic powder, salt, or black pepper to your taste. I put it on low and stirred often which may help with the separation.
spark says
this tastes like the olive garden alfredo but it’s gritty and soon as it cools, butter and everything else separates. it kind of made me cringe to add so much butter but to see that much butter separated…. well, it made me go to the gym. but as for taste, it does taste similar. i just didn’t like the gritty texture. and it took forever for the sauce to thicken. ps – i used exact ingredients.
admin says
Something that I have found that works a little better is to first heat the butter in the pan, and get it to where it starts to bubble and then add in the cream. If it was gritty it may have been that the cheese did not melt enough.
admin says
The 1 lb. butter is intentional, this makes a lot, a gallon, you can make less.
This was a readers submission so I didn’t change their recipe. What I would do is to put the butter and seasonings including the garlic into the pan, on medium heat. I would cook this until the garlic becomes fragrant. I would then add everything else and let the sauce thicken.
Macy says
Does this recipe seriously say 1lb butter?? 1lb of butter is FOUR sticks of butter, so I’m assuming they meant one stick of butter not one POUND of butter? Also wish the recipe gave more specific instructions, other recipes I’ve tried for alfredo sauce give the directions for the order that the ingredients go in at the appropriate time which is important to the recipe, you arent supposed to just put it all in there at the same time. Would love to have a better version of this recipe so I can try it.
Mari says
So is it 1 lb of butter or just a stick
Stephanie says
1 pound of butter = 4 sticks of butter
1 stick of butter = 1/2 cup of butter
Brooke says
very good, my family loved it!
Rose says
This is the best recipe for alfredo sauce I’ve ever found….a hit everytime I make it…the only thing is once it’s made you best be ready to serve…..if this sauce starts to cool it will separate. Naturally the taste is way different if this happens.
Mindy G. says
I have used this recipe many times and it tastes even better than Olive Garden’s recipe…which I never thought could be improved!!! Excellent alfredo sauce!!
hchina@b ellsouth.net says
love your e mail an evrything tasted great
tiffanyholt says
This taste just like Olive Gardens wonderful Alfredo Sauce!
I have tried both versions of CopyKats Alfredo sauce, and this recipes
is better than the original CopyKat recipe; it’s closer to the taste of
the sauce.
Enjoy!!
Laura Railing says
the only thing that makes alfredo sauce any better is to add pesto. mmm.