I’m really excited to share this One-Pan Fettuccine Alfredo with you. It’s a recipe I have been working on since I posted my popular One Pan Chicken Alfredo. I wanted a pure, traditional Fettuccine Alfredo adapted to a one pot method. This is really easy to make, and I know you are going to love it. The pasta is tender, and the sauce is creamy and rich. It’s perfect as a side dish or as the main meal.
Start with a pan big enough to hold the pasta. I use a large sauté pan with a lid. Add water, cream, butter, peeled garlic clove, salt, pepper, and uncooked pasta to the pan. Bring mixture to a boil and give it a little stir. Turn down heat and cover.
Let the mixture simmer, covered, 15-20 minutes, or until pasta is tender. Remove garlic clove, stir pasta together, then remove from heat.
Add 2 cups of freshly shredded parmesan cheese. I use a microplane to shred the cheese from a block of parmesan. The large blocks can be expensive, but they last forever!
If you are subsitituitng pre grated cheese in this recipe, start with less cheese. Packaged shredded cheese has stabilizers that keep the cheese from clumping, and those stabilizers will also thicken the sauce.
Serve immediately. Sprinkle with additional parmesan if desired.
- 8 oz of uncooked dry fettuccine
- 1 cup of heavy cream
- 2 cups of water
- 4 tablespoons of butter
- 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- one clove of garlic peeled
- 2 cups of freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
- Combine cream, water, butter, salt, pepper, garlic clove, and pasta in a pan.
- Bring to a boil and stir.
- Reduced heat to a low simmer and cover.
- Let pan simmer, covered, 15-20 minutes, or until pasta is tender.
- Remove pan from heat, remove garlic clove and stir in cheese.
- Serve immediately.
Just a note: Fettuccine Alfredo does not reheat well. The sauce breaks and the pasta is oily. For our family of four, I make just enough for one serving each, which is this recipe. If you are serving more than four or you need larger portions, you can double this recipe.
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Smart, smart, SMART!!! I was thinking of doing this same thing after I tried the traditional one pot wonder and you beat me to it! You smart lady you… I’m so making this on Thursday. It’s on the meal plan and everything 🙂
LOL! Thanks, Melissa! xo
Looks amazing, my friend! 🙂
This sounds delicious! I can’t wait to try 🙂
I love the idea! Do you think it would work with gluten free pasta or whole wheat pasta?
Thanks!
I haven’t tried it with either, but I suspect the ratios of the liquids would have to be adjusted. Let us know if you try it!
I love how easy this is! And I’ve been craving fettuccini alfredo too!
I love this! Would this work for regular red pasta sauce?
I have had luck reheating alfredo sauce/noodles in the microwave by adding a bit of half and half to it to keep it from drying out. I usually heat about 30 seconds and stir it then heat for another minute or two until hot enough.
I always wonder why people take time to post how wonderful they think a recipe is before they try it. If you think it looks like something you would like to make, why not make it first then post your comments so they are actually helpful? And by the way this did work and it was good. But I like the sauce to be a little more flavorful so I also added 1/4 cup of cream cheese. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I wonder this all the time!! This is a staple meal at our house. It’s so simple and delicious. I too find it lacking in flavor, so I add white pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. I’ll have to try cream cheese
This was so easy & was also delicious! I chopped the garlic and did not remove it as instructed in the recipe. We love garlic and I feel that it added some great flavor. I also sautéed some chicken tenderloins (in a separate pan) and put it on top of the fettuccine. I will definitely make again. Thanks for the recipe!
delicious!!! I used pre shredded parmesan and a little over 1 cup made the sauce way too thick/clumpy so I’ll have to use less or fresh next time but it is still very good! quick and easy!
Thank you Melissa for a great recipe! It is so awesome to have a delicious dinner on the table in 20 minutes and have only 1 pot to clean. My husband had 3 servings and scraped up every last bit of sauce in the pan with garlic bread. My daughter was already asking for the leftovers at 9am and was sad to find out there weren’t any. I really can’t say enough good things about it. This is definitely a recipe I will make again and again.
Thank you, Kim!!! :0)
I loved the flavor of this dish! So nice and easy to make.
My only thing is there was way too much sauce for the amount of pasta..it was almost too thin! What would you recommend to fix it? I double checked your recipe and I followed it perfectly.
Do you want a thicker sauce? You could try adding a little more cheese. Let us know how it goes!
Made this Tuesday night, was so good I had a 2nd helping. My stomach was not happy with me though. Next time I make it, I may reduce the water by about 1/4 cup though, was not as thick as I prefer it. I’ll never go back to cooking the sauce & noodles separate.
Actually, I doubled the recipe, so 1/8 cup less water for a regular batch.
This is super good! Thank you. I added a scoop of cream cheese like another commenter suggested as well as some cayenne pepper flakes for some spice, served with some pan friend shrimp this is a great simple dinner! 🙂
This sounds wonderful, thanks! Two of us in the family love FA and now I want to make it…I mean, right. now. 🙂
I want to use fresh Tortellini from the deli instead of Dry fettuccine noodle because it’s what I have on hand. Do you use the same amount of water still?
Hi Bobbie,
I haven’t tried it with fresh pasta, so you may need to experiment a little. Let us know how it goes!
Finally made this last night and it was great! So easy and it came out super rich and creamy. I did sub in half and half for the heavy cream and that worked just fine. I also added a bit of extra cheese and some additional seasonings (oregano, basil, parsley), it was a big hit with the family!
This was so delicious! I added nutmeg (my secret ingredient for alfredo sauces) as well as some sauteed broccoli and red onion. SO GOOD! I love how easy this is. Thank you for the tip on the parmesean cheese by the way!
This looks amazing! I love the idea of one pot and way less clean up – I’m having a dinner party tonight and am going to try this out.. I may use some chicken stock in place of water, and milk in place of cream, hopefully it turns out just as great!
Great recipe! my family gobbled it up! (isn’t that the best?! unfortunately, they said, “hey! mac and cheese for lunch!!!” and I’m like… ugh, the “alfredo” is totally lost on them! oh well!)
and if anyone else out there starts cooking b4 checking the pantry/fridge… I used 1c sour cream and 1c milk instead of cream and it was still fab!
Delicious! This will be a regular at our house!
Wow! Excellent!
I made this and served it with Lemon Herb seasoned shrimp that I sautéed in butter. AMAZING!
Just tried this right now! It was delicious and so, so easy! Thanks for the recipe, will definitely be incorporating this into my monthly meals!
I love these one pot pastas. With the cream and the bioling, did it not split and become “grainy”? Do you have a tip to prevent this from happening. No-one else has mentioned that…
I have done a one poot mac’n’cheese, and it did become grainy. would love any hints.
Hi Josephine,
Heavy cream is fine to bring to a simmer, unlike milk which will break. Let me know if you make it:0)
I made this and it is delicious. Comfort food! I will try another time with fat free half and half to attempt a lighter version.
I made this for lunch today. I lessened the cheese by about 1/4 cup, used homemade stock instead of water, and added some shredded turkey. I also sautéed onions and green peppers and served them on top of the pasta. This was a rich, tasty, and filling meal. I’ve added it to our recipe collection.
Thank you!
I made this using canned milk instead of cream. It was unbelievably rich and smooth. So glad I found your site!
I made this tonight! My husband had three helpings lol and I love that it’s just one pot. I served it with a frozen veggie mix. This was so delicious!! Thank you for creating this recipe. It will forever be in my home
This is amazing!! I’ve been craving alfredo, but didn’t want to use a ton of pots and pans to do it. If you’re going to make fettuccine alfredo, you’ve got to do it right. And you’ve done it right! So good I put the pork roast I’d intended on having with this, into the fridge for later.
I made this tonight, and it was delicious! Only difference was I added marinated chicken breast cubes. Mmmmmmmmm!
Made this and it’s amazing. Had to add about a cup of extra water to get the doneness I wanted, but other than that it is spot on. Makes a lot, too!
I make this at least once a week and it is amazing! I know you have your one pot chicken alfredo but I actually like to use this recipe and add tyson’s already grilled chicken to the pot about 5 minutes before it’s done and then there’s super duper easy chicken alfredo 🙂 Thanks so much for this absolutely amazing recipe (my husband REALLY thanks you too 🙂 ) !
loved it! we like to mix ours with chicken
Thank you for sharing this recipe with us. I made it last night and it was very easy to make and very delicious!
I love a garlic cream sauce and not having to wash extra large pots at the end is bonus. This sounds amazing!