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How to Thin Out Alfredo Sauce – A Step by Step Guide

Everyone loves a delicious, creamy alfredo sauce on a beautiful plate of linguine, except when they don’t. Alfredo sauce can be tricky to work with. Sometimes it needs to be thinned out to make it easier to spread across a dish. With this post, you will know how to thin out Alfredo Sauce without mistakes.

The easiest way to thin out Alfredo sauce is to use these three basic ingredients: butter, cream, and cheese. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high for about 3 minutes, whisk in flour until it is well mixed, add milk, and season with salt. Heat the sauce mixture until it is thickened and bubbling.

If you keep thinning out alfredo sauce and adding more cream, it will become a thin white sauce. You can thin the sauce out into the kind of texture you want, but I would try for about 1 cup of thinned-out sauce per serving. The trick to making perfect Alfredo sauce is to ensure that you have the right consistency, which means you have to learn the best method to thin it out.

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Ingredient needed to thin out Alfredo sauce

1 tablespoon of cream {for every 1 cup of Alfredo sauce}

1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch

2 tablespoons of softened butter 

Garlic cloves

2 glasses of milk

Diced chicken

How to Thin Out Alfredo Sauce – Three Different Methods

Method 1

Use a large saucepot and put the stove on medium/low heat, add cream and four tablespoons of butter, and whisk the two making sure to get any lumps out. Add garlic, add salt, and pepper. Add sauteed chicken while whisking the sauce. Cook until sauce starts to thicken; while still on low heat, add parmesan cheese and stir until fully melted.

Method 2

Place a saucepan on the stovetop, melt butter, add garlic and sauté for a few minutes. Add flour and cook over medium heat; keep stirring so as to avoid burning. When the mixture begins to bubble, stir in milk a small amount at a time, waiting for it to thicken before adding more milk. Do not boil.

Method 3

This method requires you first to thin out the sauce. This is especially crucial when using a dry pasta shape such as penne, which does not have any of its own sauce. In order to do this, one must dissolve an excessive amount of pasta into the pan filled with sauce. Once the desired consistency is achieved, then stream in vegetable or chicken broth until a thickened consistency is reached.

How to thin out jar Alfredo sauce 

Alfredo jar sauce has become popular at numerous restaurants because of its delicious flavor. However, many find it too thick to enjoy. There are several ways to thin it out to your liking. 

When the sauce is too thick, you can add extra cream or milk, but there are ways to thicken the sauce quite easily if it’s too thin. You can do this by adding equal parts of cheese and butter or oil, depending on how thick you want the sauce mixture to be. If you want a thick alfredo sauce, use equal parts cheese and butter. If you want a thinner alfredo sauce, use equal parts cheese and oil.

You can also use another method by just opening your jar and carefully add a bit of milk or chicken broth, at a ratio of about one tablespoon per every three tablespoons of alfredo sauce. Then stir thoroughly. If you need a little more liquid, mix in a little broth again. Let the mixture sit for five minutes so the starch from the pasta can absorb some moisture from the milk, and your sauce will be as good as new.

Related Post: How to remove salt from ham

Frequently Asked Question

Why isn’t my alfredo sauce thickening?

Many factors can cause your sauce to not thicken. The most common reason is that the cheese you used for the dish does not contain enough sodium to thicken the sauce. Add more salt to the sauce, or try a different cheese that contains higher amounts of sodium.

Will alfredo sauce thicken as it cools?

 Alfredo sauce tends to thicken as it cools. The main ingredients in Alfredo sauce are cream and cheese, both of which thicken as they cool. You don’t need to reheat it once cooled, but the same cannot be said for adding ingredients such as meat or vegetables that will spoil if cooked thoroughly.

How do you fix separated Alfredo sauce?

An excellent way to quickly restore the separated Alfredo sauce is to reheat it gently in a microwave or small saucepan, but do not boil. The key is smoothness. If the sauce is allowed to boil, you’ll end up with lots of blabbed-looking lumps rather than a smooth cream sauce.

How do you keep butter from separating in Alfredo sauce?

To keep the butter from separating in Alfredo sauce, make sure to use a full stick. Shredding the stick makes it easier for the sauce to emulsify and stay smooth.

What is the difference between white sauce and Alfredo sauce?

White sauce and Alfredo sauce are both made with butter, milk, salt, pepper, and cheese; however, that is where the similarities end. White sauce is simply melted butter whipped into creamy milk, usually using an electric hand mixer. Alfredo sauce uses a roux to thicken the consistency of the sauce.

Conclusion

Certain recipes require thicker Alfredo sauce for them to be enjoyed. In order to thicken Alfredo sauce, it is important that you follow our simple steps on how to thin out Alfredo sauce. With time you won’t have to worry about whether your sauce is thick or light as you will always know what to do when the need arises.

Alfredo Sauce recipe

Alfredo Sauce Recipe

The best homemade Alfredo sauce is flavorful with garlic and parmesan and is rich and creamy. Making this Alfredo sauce is simple, and it goes great with any pasta!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Servings: 4
Calories: 307kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Skillet

Ingredients

  • ½ Cup Butter
  • ½ Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 2 Teaspoons Garlic Minced
  • ½ Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
  • ½ Teaspoon Salt
  • ¼ Teaspoon Pepper
  • 2 Cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

Instructions

  • A big skillet should now contain the butter and cream.
  • 2 minutes of low-heat simmering.
  • For a minute, whisk in the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
  • Melt the parmesan cheese by whisking it in.
  • Serve right away.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 307kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 627mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1151IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 0.2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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