Name: Fettuccine Alfredo
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 22 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 400 g fettuccine; 150 g butter; 200 g parmigiano reggiano; 0 salt; 0 black pepper; 0 nutmeg

Fettuccine Alfredo

The true Roman fettuccine al burro: fresh egg pasta tossed off the heat with butter and a mountain of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, brought together by starchy pasta water into a glossy, creamy coating. No cream, no garlic, no flour, just three ingredients and technique.

🥬Vegetarian

🇮🇹 Italy ·Europe · $$

10 min Prep

12 min Cook

22 min Total

4 portions

This is the original Fettuccine Alfredo, known in Italy simply as fettuccine al burro or fettuccine burro e parmigiano. Alfredo di Lelio created it in Rome around 1908 to coax his wife Ines back to eating after she gave birth, then served it at his restaurant on Via della Scrofa where it caught the eye of visiting American film stars in the 1920s. The authentic version contains only fresh egg fettuccine, plenty of soft butter, and a generous amount of aged Parmigiano Reggiano. The silky, clinging sauce comes entirely from emulsification: the hot pasta melts the butter, the cheese binds, and a few ladles of starchy cooking water pull everything into a smooth, creamy coating. There is no cream, no garlic, and no flour anywhere in the real dish. The American cream-based Alfredo sauce came much later, a richer restaurant adaptation that bears little resemblance to the delicate Roman original.

Ingredients

400 g fettuccine fresh egg fettuccine preferred

150 g butter unsalted, softened to room temperature, sliced

200 g parmigiano reggiano aged, freshly grated from a block

0 salt for the pasta water and to taste

0 black pepper freshly ground, to finish (optional)

0 nutmeg freshly grated, traditional optional finish (optional)

Ingredients

4 portions

400 gfettuccine fresh egg fettuccine preferred

150 gbutter unsalted, softened to room temperature, sliced

200 gparmigiano reggiano aged, freshly grated from a block

salt for the pasta water and to taste

black pepper freshly ground, to finish (optional)

nutmeg freshly grated, traditional optional finish (optional)

Instructions

Boil the pasta

1

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt it generously.
~8 min
2

Add the fettuccine and stir often to keep the strands from sticking. Cook until just al dente, a couple of minutes for fresh egg pasta or per the package for dried.
~3 min
3

Just before draining, scoop out at least one cup of the starchy cooking water and set it aside. Drain the pasta but keep it slightly wet.

Emulsify and serve

1

Off the heat, put the softened sliced butter in a large warmed bowl or the empty pot. Add the hot drained fettuccine and toss so the residual heat melts the butter and coats every strand.
2

Add about half the grated Parmigiano Reggiano along with a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss vigorously with tongs to start the emulsion.
3

Add the remaining cheese a handful at a time, loosening with more pasta water as needed, tossing constantly until the sauce turns glossy and creamy and clings to the pasta. If the cheese is slow to melt, set over the lowest heat for a few seconds, but avoid high heat so the sauce does not break.
~1 min
4

Taste and adjust salt. Plate immediately on warmed dishes and finish with extra Parmigiano and, if you like, a turn of black pepper or a little freshly grated nutmeg.

Credits & Inspiration

The Cooking Foodie
No-cream authentic Fettuccine Alfredo with precise quantities and the three-stage cheese emulsion method.
Italy Magazine
Authentic Italian fettuccine al burro recipe with butter, Parmigiano, and pasta-water emulsification.
Giadzy
Giada De Laurentiis take on the original Fettuccine al Burro using only butter, Parmesan, and pasta water.
Olivia's Cuisine
Original Fettuccine al Burro with the Alfredo di Lelio history and the contrast against the American cream version.