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This Alfredo Penne Pasta comes out perfect every time! With loads of Parmesan melted into a base of heavy cream and butter seasoned with two kinds of garlic and a secret ingredient, you’ll have this easy dinner on repeat! Penne pasta with Alfredo sauce goes great with chicken, fish, and steamed veggies.
Why Alfredo Penne Pasta SAVES Dinner Time!
- Incredible Flavor: Rich butter and heavy cream combine with cheesy Parmesan and two kinds of garlic for the BEST penne pasta with Alfredo sauce!
- Easy Dinner: While the pasta is cooking, prepare the from-scratch sauce in a skillet. Drain pasta and combine with sauce. It’s that easy, just like creamy garlic Parmesan pasta!
- Add Your Favorite Protein: From tofu and chicken to seafood! This versatile pasta dinner is super easy to pair with sides & main dishes.
Perfect Penne Alfredo Pasta
Did I ever tell you that I used to be afraid of boiling water for pasta?? Way back in the day, when Erik and I shared our first apartment, I had a pasta pot (housewarming gift) that came with a strainer. I boiled water, threw in pasta, cooked it, and nearly-strained it. The lid came flying off—boiled hot water, pasta and all! Thank goodness, I wasn’t hurt (just emotionally haha).
Well, ages later, and with a much better pasta pot, I now confidently cook and share today’s Alfredo penne pasta recipe with you. You can expect well-cooked penne pasta enrobed in velvety-rich Alfredo sauce made from scratch boasting incredible creamy flavor with just the right amount of seasoned cheesy Parmesan flavor.
This penne Alfredo pasta is the perfect lunch or dinner recipe that you can serve with broccoli or mushrooms, air fryer chicken Parmesan, salmon bites, or garlic butter shrimp! It goes great with practically anything and is a total picky eater pleaser.
Penne Pasta with Alfredo Sauce Ingredients
- Penne Pasta – Remember to toss the pasta in olive oil after draining it—this prevents the penne from sticking in one big clump.
- Butter & Heavy Cream – both ingredients add rich and heavy thickness to the sauce, making it heavenly.
- Garlic & Garlic Powder – we’ll use both fresh garlic cloves and garlic powder to enhance this penne pasta and Alfredo sauce doubly with two deliciously different flavors.
- Parmesan – we’ll use 1 cup of Parmesan cheese to get the sauce to be creamy and tangy, as well as adding more over the pasta once it’s served (SO delicious).
- Nutmeg – ground nutmeg is the #1 secret ingredient to making this Alfredo sauce authentic, with just the right flavor.
How to Make Alfredo Penne Pasta
You’ll learn how to make penne pasta with Alfredo sauce in just a few easy steps. The result is tastily cooked pasta coated in the most delicious sauce. The perfect main dish that you can easily add steamed broccoli, pan seared chicken, and more to.
- Cook pasta according to package direction in a large pasta pot filled with salted water. Reserve 1 cup pasta water. Drain and spritz with olive oil using an olive oil sprayer.
- Bring a large pan to medium heat. Add butter and stir until it coats the pan and is melted. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds.
- Add heavy cream, garlic powder, salt, nutmeg, and black pepper. Increase heat to medium high, stirring it all together until mixed. Bring to simmer and reduce heat to medium.
- Gradually stir in Parmesan, cooking until thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in reserved pasta water to thin out sauce if needed.
- Add penne pasta to Alfredo sauce, tossing to combine. Serve in pasta bowls topped with parsley, black pepper, and Parmesan.
Penne Pasta with Chicken Alfredo
You can make penne pasta with chicken Alfredo by cooking pan seared chicken in the same skillet you’ll be making the sauce in first. Or, follow my chicken fettuccine Alfredo recipe and sub penne pasta.
Alfredo with Penne Pasta Sides
Here are some suggestions for shrimp recipes, chicken recipes, pasta salads, and appetizers that serve as awesome sides to Alfredo with penne pasta.
- Chicken: garlic Parmesan chicken, chicken dijon, chicken parmesan
- Seafood: blackened salmon, Asian garlic shrimp, bang bang shrimp, Asian salmon
- Veggie Sides: steamed broccoli, maple Brussels sprouts, easy mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and potatoes
- Appetizers: pizza sliders, bruschetta, Caprese skewers, pizza dip
Tools You Need
- Olive Oil Sprayer – a super helpful glass sprayer bottle that spritzes olive oil over the pasta. Great replacement for nonstick cooking spray!
- Pasta Pot – comes with a straining lid that makes draining the pasta so easy.
- 12-inch Skillet – reliable, beautiful, and my go-to skillet for everything!
For more delicious recipe ideas like Alfredo penne pasta follow us on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. If you’ve tried this recipe, take a pic and tag us on Instagram using #beamingbaker. We can’t wait to see it! Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️
More Alfredo Pasta Recipes
Alfredo Penne Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 ounces penne pasta
- Olive oil
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ¾ cups heavy cream, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, freshly cracked
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- Minced flat leaf parsley & cracked black pepper, for serving
Instructions
- Bring a large pasta pot of salted water to a boil. Add penne and cook according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water. Drain and spritz with an olive oil sprayer to prevent sticking.
- If you’ve just cooked pan seared chicken, use the same pan to cook this sauce (the leftover bits are tasty). Either way, bring a large pan to medium heat. Add butter, stirring around the skillet until coated and melted. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, not burnt, about 30 seconds.
- Add heavy cream, garlic powder, salt, nutmeg, and black pepper. Bring heat to medium high, stirring together until well mixed. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium.
- Gradually stir in Parmesan, cooking until well mixed and thickened, about 3-6 minutes (took me 3 minutes). Stir in reserved pasta water to thin out sauce if needed—I didn’t use any.
- Add pasta to sauce, tossing to combine. Serve in bowls and top with parsley, black pepper, and Parmesan.
- ★ Last Step: If you made this recipe, leave a comment and review. It truly helps our small business keep running and it helps readers like you!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
