Christmas Eve Alfredo Pasta
For my family, one of our most prevailing traditions is enjoying Christmas Eve Alfredo Pasta. I couldn’t even tell you where the tradition came from, but at 7 years in I’m not rocking the boat. It’s delicious, easy to make, and guaranteed to impress even your overly critical mother in law.
This alfredo sauce contains only a few ingredients – and most of them you probably already have on hand. Heavy cream, parmesan, minced garlic, a little butter, and pepper is all you need to make a beautiful sauce.
While the base sauce recipe remains the same, we vary the toppings and pasta shape each year. It’s beautiful with shrimp and scallops, salmon, steak, or even cajun chicken. Use whichever pasta you have on hand, but penne, bucatini, or even the classic fettuccine is perfect for this dish.
While most recipes on this site are bechamel sauces, this is a cream based sauce which yields a rich creamy pasta that you’ll love serving to your guests. It’s simple enough to make that you can knock it out while chasing nieces and nephews around the house. There’s no crazy stirring required, no keeping watch waiting for the right moment for it to thicken. Just cook pasta, saute the garlic, heat your cream until it’s not quite boiling, stir in the parmesan and pepper, add the pasta, and let it sit for 10 minutes before giving it a good stir and serving it. I’ll even give you permission to use pre grated parmesan to make it even easier.
Christmas Eve Alfredo Pasta is perfect during the holidays or to serve for any event. There’s no rule that says you can’t have pasta for Independence day, or any regular Sunday. It’s easy enough to make on short notice and the ingredients are common enough to keep on hand for any celebration ready pasta emergencies.
Christmas Eve Alfredo Pasta
Ingredients
- 16 oz Pasta
- 1 tablespoon minced Garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon Butter
- 2 cups Heavy Cream
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/2 tablespoon Pepper
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta according to package directions in well salted water.
Prepare the sauce
- Melt butter in a saucepan and sauté garlic for a few minutes until it’s fragrant.
- Pour cream and pepper into saucepan and heat until warm – just before boiling.
- Remove from heat and stir in parmesan until melted through.
- Taste the sauce with a cooked noodle. Salt as needed.
- Combine the pasta and sauce.
- Allow the combined pasta and sauce to rest for 10 minutes.
- Give the pasta mix a good stir, using tongs if you used long pasta.
Toppings
- Plate your alfredo pasta with preferred toppings and serve to everyone you love.