Each method will yield delicious, creamy results.
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Victoria Spencer is an experienced food editor, writer, and recipe developer. She manages the Martha Stewart recipe archive and is always curious about new ingredients and the best techniques. She has been working in food media for over 20 years.
Updated on September 12, 2023
Eating creamy, decadent pasta coated in Alfredo sauce is always a treat. This mouthwatering sauce is actually surprisingly simple to make at home—all you need is unsalted butter, garlic, heavy cream, and Parmigiano Reggiano. But what happens if your sauce doesn't quite have the consistency you'd like? If you're wondering how to thicken Alfredo sauce to achieve a silky, irresistibly delicious pasta topper, there are four methods you can try.
Christopher Arturo is a chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education. Prior to joining the ICE faculty, he was a professional chef for over 10 years and helped to open and run restaurants in New York and New Jersey.
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Add Cheese
This first method is not only the easiest, but also arguably the most delicious. The key ingredient in Alfredo sauce is cheese—generally Parmigiano Reggiano—and lots of it. To thicken Alfredo sauce, simply add more cheese than the amount called for in a recipe until you achieve the consistency you want.
Reduce the Heavy Cream
Another way to thicken Alfredo sauce is by further reducing the heavy cream during the cooking process, before you add the cheese. "Generally, heavy cream is reduced by half to make an Alfredo sauce. If you want an even thicker, richer sauce, you can triple reduce it," says Christopher Arturo, chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education. This means that if a recipe calls for 1 cup of heavy cream, you should reduce it until it measures about 1/3 cup; the water content will have evaporated, leaving behind a very decadent triple-cream.
Toss the Pasta With Flour
If you're serving fresh pasta with homemade Alfredo sauce, one way to naturally thicken the sauce is by tossing the uncooked pasta with lots of flour before cooking it in salted, boiling water. The flour will help form a very starchy pasta water; when you transfer the pasta to the sauce, it will carry over some of that starch, which will thicken the sauce, says Arturo.
Use Cornstarch
Finally, Arturo says that you can make a cornstarch slurry, which is a mixture of cornstarch and water that should resemble the consistency of heavy cream. "Always make more than you need and use less than you think," he says.
To make a cornstarch slurry, whisk together equal parts of cornstarch and water—about 2 tablespoons of each. From there, add 1 to 2 teaspoons at a time. Start by whisking just 2 teaspoons of the slurry into the sauce, let it come to a boil, which will activate the starch, and then add more if needed.
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