Alfredo Penne Pasta

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.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Dinner, Main Dish

Cuisine: American, Italian

Servings: servings

Author: Demeter Trieu

Equipment

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.
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