The last time I went grocery shopping, I noticed that it’s possible to buy alfredo sauce in tubs in the cooler, in just-add-water dry packets, frozen, and bottled.

This is absurd.

It’s so easy to make delicious, preservative-free alfredo that there’s no reason to buy the stuff at all. In fact, the dry packet version actually takes longer to make than the original.

Operating on the assumption that folks just plain don’t know how to make alfredo, here’s how I do it.

Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

Pasta of your choice
1 T. butter
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
small carton heavy whipping cream
1/2 to 1 c. grated parmesan
Salt & pepper

Procedure:

1. Boil the pasta until al dente and drain. Leaving pasta in a colander, return the pan to heat.
2. Add butter to pan and sautee garlic for a minute or two.
3. Add the cream and bring to a light simmer.
4. Return pasta to the pan and increase heat.
5. Add parmesan and stir constantly while the moisture reduces out of the cream. (Don’t let it get to a hard boil because the cheese will seperate!)
6. Add salt and pepper to taste; serve.

It’s easy, it takes only moments to prepare, and there’s no need to buy tinny-tasting store-bought alfredo sauces. Ever.

Ideally you will use a high-quality parmesan, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper, if possible.