This creamy pesto alfredo sauce is cozy, garlicky, herby and deliciously indulgent.
Imagine two of the most popular and flavorful pasta sauces, now together forever! It’s a beautiful union, let me tell you.
We’ll start with a basic alfredo sauce recipe that comes together quickly and easily.
Then, we’ll add fresh pesto sauce to make a pale green, creamy sauce that’s absolutely perfect with pasta.
Ingredients
- Heavy cream
- Parmesan cheese
- Butter
- Garlic
- Basil pesto sauce. Buy this flavorful sauce, made with fresh basil, olive oil, garlic and pine nuts, in a jar at the grocery store or try my easy homemade recipe.
- Salt
How to Make Pesto Alfredo Sauce
Make the Alfredo Sauce
Traditional alfredo sauce is a simple mixture of butter, garlic, Parmesan cheese and cream. So this is where we’ll start.
First, saute the garlic in melted butter until it sizzles and turns a light golden brown color. Then, stir in the cream, Parmesan cheese and a little bit of salt.
Let the mixture bubble and thicken for a few minutes, and your alfredo sauce is done!
Add the Pesto Sauce
Use a jar of pesto sauce, or try making my go-to basil pesto recipe.
Whichever you choose, stir it into the homemade alfredo sauce until it’s well incorporated. Now, remove the sauce from the heat.
At this point, your creamy pasta sauce is ready to enjoy.
Serving Suggestions
1. Pasta Sauce. The most popular use for homemade pesto alfredo sauce is with pasta! Grab your pasta of choice and enjoy. Alfredo is traditionally served with fettucine, but other shapes like farfalle and penne pasta are popular too. This recipe makes enough for 1 pound of cooked pasta.
2. Add Veggies. Roasted cherry tomatoes, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach and green beans make delicious additions to pesto alfredo pasta.
3. Add Protein. This creamy pesto sauce is delicious when drizzled over chicken breasts, shrimp and scallops. Or, top a bed of alfredo pesto pasta with your protein of choice for a delicious dinner the whole family will love.
Storage Instructions
Store any leftover alfredo pesto pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for 3-4 days.
If you’re only storing the sauce (without any pasta), it freezes nicely for months!
It’s not always easy to completely restore the creamy texture of alfredo, so try adding a little extra cream or butter during the reheating process.
Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a saucepan over medium heat.
FAQs
Alfredo and pesto are two delicious sauces that are even more heavenly when combined! Garlicky, herby pesto sauce becomes rich and creamy with the addition of alfredo sauce.
As a general rule, use a ratio of 3:1 when combining alfredo and pesto sauces. So, for 3 cups alfredo sauce, consider adding 1 cup of pesto sauce.
Pesto sauce is traditionally paired with short cut pasta shapes like penne and rotini. For this pesto alfredo sauce, try longer pasta shapes like fettucine and tagliatelle.
When you make this creamy pesto alfredo sauce, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a rating or leave a comment below. Enjoy!
For more alfredo sauce recipes, try these:
Pesto Alfredo Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- 3/4 cup pesto sauce
- 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Mince the garlic and saute in the melted butter until slightly browned and sizzling.
- Pour in the cream, Parmesan cheese and salt. Stir until smooth and slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in the pesto sauce until well combined.
- Remove from heat and add 1 lb. of al dente pasta. Toss the pasta in the sauce until well coated. Garnish with torn fresh basil and freshly ground black pepper, if desired.
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