Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce
This creamy roasted garlic Alfredo sauce is a twist on the classic Alfredo sauce with savory roasted garlic. The roasted garlic adds a rich flavor to this sauce that makes it extra special and perfect for garlic lovers! Great for making chicken Alfredo, shrimp Alfredo, or white lasagna.
I love that this creamy Alfredo sauce doesn’t use heavy cream!
Pasta in general is such a comfort food, but the addition of the roasted garlic makes this indulgent sauce one of my favorite dishes. This delicious pasta is memorable enough for a special occasion like Valentine’s day, and easy enough for a weeknight dinner.
Quick Tips
- Roast multiple heads of garlic to use for other dishes.
- Store pasta sauce separately from pasta for best texture when storing leftovers.
- Reheat slowly over low heat in a sauce pan to prevent leftover sauce from breaking.
Equipment
- Aluminum foil for roasting garlic.
- Saucepan or large skillet
- Food safe disposable gloves – not required but helpful for dealing with roasted garlic, as the cloves can be sticky!
Ingredient Notes
- 1 whole bulb of garlic – You will need a whole head of garlic for roasting. Always use fresh garlic. For an in depth tutorial on roasted garlic, check out how to roast garlic.
- Unsalted butter – I love using a European style butter like Kerry Gold for the best flavor.
- Half and half – Using half and half in this recipe makes the sauce creamier and thicker than using whole milk. You can also make this recipe with heavy cream, but I find it to be a little too thick and rich. If you would like to make it with oat or almond milk, make sure to use a plain unflavored kind.
- Parmesan cheese – Always buy cheese in block form and grate it yourself!
- Parsley – This is optional, but a sprinkling of fresh parsley adds a nice pop of color and fresh bite to the rich pasta.
- Pasta of your choice – I like using fettuccine, linguini, penne, or (farfalle) bowties, but feel free to use your favorite pasta!
How to make roasted garlic alfredo sauce.
Making your own Alfredo sauce from scratch is actually really easy! It’s good to have a few sauce recipes in your repertoire – this should be one of them. This recipe can be broken down into 3 steps.
- Roast the garlic
- Make the sauce
- Cook pasta and serve
How to roast garlic
Roasted garlic is so dang good and adds a wonderful pop of bold garlic flavor to this creamy sauce. Roasting garlic is easy, since the oven does all the work! It does take some time though, so I recommend roasting a few heads of garlic and freezing the rest for later.
For a full tutorial on roasting garlic, head to How to Roast Garlic.
First to roast the garlic, preheat the oven to 425°F.
Peel some of the papery layers back from the garlic bulb, leaving enough intact to hold the bulb together. Cut the top fourth off the garlic head with a sharp knife, exposing the cloves of garlic.
Make an aluminum foil pouch with the garlic in the center. Cover the bulb in olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Seal packet and roast for 45-75 minutes until cloves are golden brown and softened.
Allow roasted garlic to cool enough to handle, then squeeze out the roasted cloves. A glove is handy for this as the roasted garlic cloves will be sticky. Mash up the cloves and set aside.
How to make Alfredo sauce from scratch
Making your own homemade Alfredo sauce is surprisingly easy! I love to make it from scratch so I know exactly what goes in it. Here is how to make this quick sauce.
First, heat a skillet or sauce pan over medium heat.
Melt butter in the skillet, then slowly whisk in the flour. Stir out all the lumps and cook for about 2 minutes.
Slowly whisk in the half and half and stir out all the lumps.
Next add in mashed garlic. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once sauce has reached desired consistency, remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
How to serve roasted garlic Alfredo
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to boil. Cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions. Reserve about ½ cup of pasta water. Pasta water helps combine the pasta with the sauce.
Add the cooked pasta to the garlic cream sauce with a splash of pasta water. Use more pasta water if needed to loosen up the sauce.
You can sprinkle with fresh parsley, and top with more freshly grated parmesan.
Substitutions & Variations
I love this roasted garlic alfredo sauce as is, but there are a few variations you can make to change it up a bit!
Make it spicy – If you want to make a spicy alfredo sauce, mix in about 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, or 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
Oat milk Aflredo sauce – Substitute the half and half for oat milk, but make sure it is the plain and unsweetened kind. You may have to add an extra teaspoon or 2 of flour to make the sauce thicker. You can also add 1/2 cup more of oat milk and allow it to reduce longer until the sauce thickens to your preference.
Alfredo sauce with almond milk – Make this the same as you would do with oat milk, Make sure you are using unsweetened and unflavored almond milk. You may need an extra teaspoon or 2 of flour to make the sauce thicker, or add in extra almond milk and allow it to reduce further.
Sun-dried tomato Alfredo – chop up some sun dried tomatoes and stir them in.
Add in some veggies – This alfredo sauce is a great blank slate for pasta. Try mixing in sautéed zucchini and mushrooms to the sauce or caramelized onions.
What to serve with roasted garlic alfredo:
- Perfect for serving with chicken breasts for an easy meal of chicken fettuccine alfredo.
- You can also add grilled shrimp to make shrimp alfredo.
- Use it as the sauce for a white pizza.
- Try a steak fettuccine alfredo by adding thinly sliced steak.
- It works well as a lobster ravioli sauce, or to serve with cheese ravioli.
- Add cooked ground beef for a creamy beef pasta.
- Change up your chicken parmesan, and use roasted garlic Alfredo sauce instead of marinara sauce.
- Make lobster fettuccine alfredo by adding in some chopped lobster tails.
- Add in extras to the sauce like sautéed spinach, mushrooms, roasted broccoli, or roasted red peppers.
Troubleshooting
Sauce is too thick – If your sauce comes out too thick, you can add a little more half and half or milk to loosen it up. You can also do this by adding pasta water.
Sauce is too thin – If your pasta sauce is too thin, simmer on low while stirring until it reduces to your desired consistency.
How to store leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days.
It is best to store pasta separate from the sauce, since the pasta can absorb a lot of moisture when left sitting in the sauce. If you know you will not eat all of the sauce, only mix what you will be eating with the pasta sauce, and store the sauce separately.
It is not recommended to freeze Alfredo sauce since it is mostly dairy.
How to reheat alfredo sauce
The best way to reheat roasted garlic Alfredo sauce (and other creamy sauces) is to do so in a skillet. Heat your leftover sauce slowly over low heat to prevent the sauce from breaking. Avoid reheating in the microwave, as this will almost always cause the sauce to break.
See this post on How to Reheat Alfredo Sauce for all the best ways to reheat this dish!
Other homemade pasta sauces to try:
Alfredo sauce usually contains butter, cream, and Parmesan cheese. It can be seasoned with salt and pepper.
If you prefer to make Alfredo sauce without heavy cream, you can substitute for half and half. You can even use milk, almond milk or oat milk, but these may require extra flour for thickening the sauce.
Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 bulb Garlic
- ½ stick unsalted butter (¼ cup)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 cups Half and Half
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley optional
Instructions
- ROAST: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Cut the top ¼th off the bulb of garlic, exposing the cloves. Make a foil pouch and cover bulb in olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Seal packet and roast for 45-75 minutes until cloves are golden brown and softened. Allow roasted garlic to cool enough to handle, then squeeze out the roasted cloves. A glove is handy for this as the roasted garlic cloves will be sticky. Mash up the cloves and set aside.
- SAUCE: Heat a skillet over medium heat. Melt butter in the skillet, then slowly whisk in the flour. Stir out all the lumps and cook for about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the half and half and stir out all the lumps. Add in mashed garlic, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once sauce has reached desired consistency, remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- SERVE: Boil pasta according to package directions. Make sure to heavily salt the pasta water. Reserve about ½ cup of pasta water. Drain pasta and mix into sauce with a splash of pasta water. Use more pasta water if needed to loosen up the sauce.
Notes
- Sauce is too thick – If your sauce comes out too thick, you can add a little more half and half or milk to loosen it up. You can also do this by adding pasta water.
- Sauce is too thin – If your pasta sauce is too thin, simmer on low while stirring until it reduces to your desired consistency.
Where is the recipe for the heart shaped pasta?
I purchased that at Trader Joe’s.