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Ricotta Cheese Sauce Alfredo

This Ricotta Cheese Alfredo sauce is creamy and rich, bursting with garlic flavor! It’s quick and easy to make, and pairs perfectly with your favorite pasta.

Ricotta Alfredo on a wooden spoon slowly drizzling back into the sauce pan.

This Ricotta Cheese Alfredo is officially a new favorite in the house. I LOVE Alfredo sauce. It is by far, one of my favorite things. Give me a big bowl of pasta smothered in alfredo and a slice of cheese garlic bread jammed in next to any day of the week! 

This alfredo sauce is a very rich and indulgent dinner. So worth it.  I also love that it only takes about 15 minutes to whip up a batch!  This recipe will yield about 3 ½ cups of sauce in total.  It can easily be doubled if you are feeding a crowd but this amount will easily cover 16oz of uncooked pasta. 

I promise you when I try this Ricotta Cheese version, it will beat out any bottled Alfredo sauce from the store.

What is Alfredo Sauce?

Traditional Alfredo is very basic. It’s a simple (white)cream sauce.  It is made from butter, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese, that’s it.  While the original version is great, I personally LOVE what the Ricotta, garlic, and Italian seasoning do to the Alfredo sauce, and make it taste even better! This Ricotta Cheese Alfredo Sauce is extra cheesy, garlic-forward, and just delicious.

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Cooking Instructions

These are the Ricotta Cheese Alfredo Sauce cooking instructions with details and explanations on why or how to do things. If you just want the Ricotta Cheese Alfredo Sauce recipe itself and missed the “jump to recipe” button at the top, keep scrolling.

Step one: Add the butter, cream, Italian seasoning, and garlic to a large skillet.

Step two: Simmer over low heat for 3-4 minutes (it should be fragrant, but not a burning smell). This brings out the flavor throughout the sauce and cuts the bite from the fresh garlic.

Step three: Add the ricotta cheese, continually stirring until it becomes a creamy texture, and eventually becomes more sauce-like.

Jenn’s Note:

This recipe is NOT a walk away and come back. You do need to continuously stir or you will have scorched cheese or burnt garlic (neither sounds appealing).

Step four: Add the heavy cream (this will loosen up the cheese and may look a little thin, but don’t crank up the heat or freak out). Continue to stir for about one minute.

Step five: Whisk in the parmesan cheese until fully melted and the sauce has thickened.

Step six: Add salt and pepper (adjust to taste).

Serve immediately with your choice of pasta.

Tip for Successfully Adding Pasta

For either of these techniques, make sure to cook your pasta just under al dente. you will be cooking the pasta a bit in the sauce.

For freshly made Ricotta Cheese Alfredo Sauce: Add about ¼ cup of pasta water to the sauce before adding your pasta to ensure that it covers and coats the pasta properly. Let the pasta cook in the now slightly watered-down sauce until it re-thickens.

For Ricotta Cheese Alfredo Sauce from the fridge. Add about ⅓ cup of pasta water to the sauce and stir to warm up and loosen the sauce. Add the pasta and heat on medium continuously stirring. Let the pasta cook in the now slightly watered-down sauce until it re-thickens.

One of my favorite ways to add the pasta is to simply take a spider and quickly add the pasta (water still draining) into the Ricotta Cheese Alfredo Sauce. you’ll get a good amount of pasta water with the noodles.

Cooking with Kids

  • Ingredient measuring
  • Shredding Cheese
  • older kids can help cut or cook.

Storage Details

This Ricotta Cheese Alfredo Sauce is “cream base” so it doesn’t last long in the fridge. But the Yeild is enough to use on 1 lb of pasta, so you can get away with two meals out of it.

  • It will last 3-4 days in a food-safe jar/container in the fridge.

Did you try it, have questions?

Your feedback matters! Please rate this recipe using the star icons and leave your thoughts in the comments section. Thank you!

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alfredo sauce covering rotini on a ceramic plate next to a jar of the sauce.

Ricotta Cheese Sauce Alfredo

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This Ricotta Cheese Alfredo sauce is creamy and rich, bursting with garlic flavor! It’s quick and easy to make and pairs perfectly with your favorite pasta.

  • Total Time: 15
  • Yield: 3 ½ Cups of Sauce 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1/4 cup butter (melted)
  • 3 Garlic cloves (minced)
  • 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
  • 2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 1 cup shredded Parmesan

Instructions

  • Add the butter, cream, Italian seasoning, and garlic to a medium saucepan
  • Simmer over low heat for 3-4 minutes (it should be fragrant, but not a burning smell).
  • Add the ricotta cheese, continually stirring until it becomes a creamy texture and loosens up.
  • Add the heavy cream and continue to stir for about one minute.
  • Whisk in the parmesan cheese until fully melted and thickened.
  • Add salt and pepper,
  • Serve immediately with your choice of pasta.

Notes

Tip for Successful Pasta

For either of these techniques, make sure to cook your pasta just under al dente. you will be cooking the pasta a bit in the sauce.

  • For freshly made sauce: Add about ¼ cup of pasta water to the sauce before adding your pasta to ensure that it covers and coats the pasta properly. Let the pasta cook in the now slightly watered-down sauce until it re-thickens.
  • For sauce from the fridge. Add about ⅓ cup of pasta water to the sauce and stir to warm up and loosen the sauce. Add the pasta and heat on medium continuously stirring. Let the pasta cook in the now slightly watered-down sauce until it re-thickens.

Storage

Will last 3-4 days in a food-safe jar in the fridge

  • Author: Jenn Giam Smith
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 10
  • Category: Sauce
  • Method: One Pot
  • Cuisine: Italian-American
  • Diet: Vegetarian

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