Olive Garden Seafood Alfredo Easy Copycat Recipe
If you have ever finished a plate of Olive Garden Seafood Alfredo and wished you could recreate it on a busy weeknight, this is your recipe. Sweet bay scallops and briny shrimp are tossed with al dente fettuccine in a rich, creamy Parmesan sauce that clings to every strand. This homemade version skips the jarred sauce and builds a smooth roux-based Alfredo from just a few pantry staples. It is fancy enough for company yet quick enough for a weeknight dinner at home.
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Olive Garden Seafood Alfredo combines fettuccine, tender bay scallops, and medium shrimp in a creamy Parmesan sauce. This copycat version is made in one skillet while the pasta boils, so the sauce stays fresh and silky.
The sauce starts with a simple butter-and-flour roux, then gets richer with heavy cream and half-and-half. Shredded Parmesan melts in at the end to thicken the sauce and add savory depth.
What makes Olive Garden’s Seafood Alfredo so good?
Break out of the jarred-sauce rut with this homemade take on Olive Garden’s Seafood Alfredo. It’s fancy enough for company, but quick and easy enough for a weeknight family meal. Sweet bay scallops and briny shrimp pair wonderfully with a rich, creamy Parmesan cheese sauce that clings to each strand of al dente fettuccine. It’s the kind of dinner that will make you want to stay home to eat.
Ingredients and their roles in the recipe
For Olive Garden Seafood Alfredo, you’ll need:
- Fettuccine pasta – the flat, wide noodles give more surface area for the sauce to cling to and provide more chew.
- Raw shrimp, medium-sized and peeled – adds a sweet, briny flavor and texture.
- Bay scallops – are sweet and tender. Try to use dry-packed bay scallops to avoid additional liquid, which can loosen the sauce.
- Neutral oil – cooks the shrimp and bay scallops without imparting any flavor. Grapeseed oil is a great option here.
- Unsalted butter – enriches the sauce and combines with the flour to create a roux.
- All-purpose flour – thickens the sauce so it clings better to the pasta.
- Heavy cream – makes up half of the sauce base and adds richness.
- Half-and-half – forms the other half of the sauce without making the Seafood Alfredo too rich.
- Parmesan cheese, shredded – provides a savory, nutty flavor and helps thicken the sauce.
- Parsley – garnishes the dish with fresh herbal flavor and a bit of color.
How to make it
To prepare the Seafood Alfredo from Olive Garden at home:
- Boil salted water and cook the fettuccine according to the package directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, place a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the neutral oil to the pan. Pat the scallops dry and cook for about a minute on one side, then flip and cook for about 30 seconds on the other. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.
- Add more oil to the pan and return it to the heat. Dry the shrimp, and when the oil is hot, sauté them for two to four minutes until almost cooked through. Remove the shrimp and drain them on a paper towel.
- Wipe the skillet with a paper towel and return it to the heat.
- Add the butter to the skillet and once it melts, stir in the flour. Cook the flour, stirring, for a minute or two, until it starts to smell like freshly baked bread.
- While stirring, add the cream and half-and-half. Continue to stir until the flour dissolves and there are no lumps.
- Lower the heat and add the Parmesan cheese. Stir the cheese into the sauce and continue stirring until it dissolves and the sauce thickens.
- Return the bay scallops and shrimp to the skillet and stir until the shrimp finishes cooking. Taste the sauce and add salt, if you want.
- Drain the cooked pasta and toss with the sauce. Garnish with the minced parsley and serve immediately.
What to serve with this dish
Olive Garden Seafood Alfredo is quite a heavy main course, so choose a light starter or side. Below are three great suggestions.
Anthony’s Caesar Salad – Simple, yet flavorful, Caesar Salad is the perfect way to start your meal. Crisp romaine lettuce tossed in a garlicky, tangy dressing, topped with crunchy homemade croutons and savory Romano cheese, comes together into a classic salad that goes with just about any main course.
Lemon Lush – Between the dense lemony filling and the fluffy cream cheese and Cool Whip topping, a slice of Lemon Lush delivers plenty of refreshing tang. Luckily, the homemade nut crust keeps the dessert from becoming too sour with its earthy flavor. Lemon Lush is an old favorite worth bringing back.
Little Caesar’s Crazy Bread – These soft breadsticks are great for getting every last drop of Alfredo sauce from your plate. Brushed with garlic butter and sprinkled with plenty of Parmesan cheese, Crazy Bread is a wonderful side and perfect for serving on the side or as a starter with bowls of marinara or nacho cheese sauce.
Storing and reheating instructions
Refrigerator Storage: Alfredo sauce is best made fresh, but you can keep leftovers in the fridge for a day or two. Transfer the sauce to one airtight container and the cooked pasta to another to prevent the fettuccine from soaking up all the sauce and getting soggy.
Freezer Storage: Seafood Alfredo from Olive Garden does not freeze well.
Reheating Instructions: Place a saucepan over low heat and add the sauce. If it is a little too thick, add some half-and-half to thin it out. Warm the sauce slowly, stir often, and adjust the heat to keep it from simmering. Meanwhile, fill a saucepan with water and bring the water to a boil. Dip the cold pasta into the boiling water for about 10 seconds to warm, then toss with the heated sauce. Garnish with minced parsley and serve immediately.
More Olive Garden recipes
- Olive Garden Shrimp Alfredo
- Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
- Olive Garden Baked Parmesan Shrimp
- Olive Garden Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara
- Olive Garden Shrimp Scampi Fritta
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Olive Garden Seafood Alfredo Copycat
Ingredients
- 1 pound fettuccine pasta
- 8 ounces medium peeled shrimp
- 8 ounces bay scallops dry packed are recommended
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
- 4 ounces shredded Parmesan cheese
- salt to taste (optional)
- 2 teaspoons minced parsley
Instructions
- Boil the fettuccine according to the package directions. Drain and cover to keep warm.
- Meanwhile, place the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Pat the shrimp and scallops dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture and place them in the hot skillet without crowding the pan; you may need to do this in batches. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until almost cooked through (they will continue to cook in the alfredo sauce). Remove from the from the skillet and set aside.
- Wipe out the skillet and place it back over medium heat. Place the butter in the skillet. When the butter has melted, add the flour. Cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly add the heavy cream and half-and-half, stirring as you go. Continue cooking and stirring until the sauce has thickened. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir until the cheese has melted. Add the scallops and shrimp to the sauce. Taste and add salt if desired.
- Pour the sauce over the fettuccine, garnish with minced parsley, and serve.
Notes
- Pull the shrimp from the skillet when they are almost cooked through. They finish cooking in the warm sauce, which keeps them tender.
- Keep the heat low once the cheese goes in. High heat can make a cream sauce separate.
- Add the cream gradually while stirring so the roux dissolves without lumps.
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