This Pesto Alfredo Sauce is one of those sauces for people who don’t like the traditional red marinara sauce on pasta or have issues with tomatoes. A beautiful, creamy, cheesy herb sauce everyone will want again and again!
Pesto Alfredo Sauce
Take my American-style Alfredo Sauce and blend it with some fresh pesto and the combination is a match made in pasta heaven. It’s creamy, cheesy and has that amazing herbal pesto flavor all in one. It’s so easy to make.
Now of course one could easily purchase store bought versions of each, but it’s easy to make and the flavors are so much better. No chemical preservatives, just fresh ingredients and your family will tell the difference!
What’s Alfredo Sauce made of?
- butter
- garlic
- cream
- parmesan cheese
- salt
- white pepper
- dash of nutmeg
What’s Pesto made of?
- pine nuts
- garlic
- kosher salt
- red pepper flakes optional
- Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
- basil leaves
- extra virgin olive oil
How do you make Pesto Alfredo sauce from scratch?
First let’s make the pesto (or use store bought):
For the alfredo sauce:
Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet (cast iron type) over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
To the skillet, whisk in the heavy cream until combined and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
Whisk in the freshly grated Parmesan cheese, kosher salt, white and black peppers and nutmeg. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir in 1 cup of the pesto to the alfredo sauce and save remaining pesto for another use. The result is just amazing and so delicious.
What can Alfredo Sauce be used on?
Toss it with a pasta of choice, spoon it over my Parmesan chicken meatballs, sautéed chicken, or as a dipping sauce for, or over, vegetables or breadsticks. Enjoy!
Watch how to make the Alfredo Sauce and add 1 cup of the Pesto at the end!
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Pesto Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
Alfredo Sauce
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups Parmigiano Reggiano or Parmesan 2.5 ounces total, freshly grated
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup pesto (See Below)
Pesto Sauce
- 3/4 cup pine nuts
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3/4 cup Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese freshly grated
- 3 cups fresh basil leaves packed
- 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
Pesto
- Add all ingredients except for basil and olive oil to food processor. Blend with pulsing motion for a minute or so to breakdown and form a paste.
- Next add the basil and with processor running slowly add the oil in a steady stream to blend thoroughly.
- This makes 3 cups of fresh basil pesto which can be used over hot pasta or as a dipping sauce. You need 1 cup for this Pesto Alfredo Sauce recipe.
Alfredo Sauce
- Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet (cast iron type) over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- To the skillet, whisk in the heavy cream until combined and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Whisk in the freshly grated Parmesan cheese, kosher salt, white and black peppers and nutmeg. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Remove from heat and whisk in 1 cup of the fresh pesto.
- Serve immediately over fettuccini (or pasta of choice), meatballs, sautéed chicken or as a dipping sauce for, or over, vegetables or breadsticks.
Notes
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I just thought, can I make alfredo sauce and pesto go together. I should have known you would have a great recipe, so I’m off to make this for dinner. Funny, I just didn’t want one or the other, so I did a search for alfredo and pesto, and there you were:)