Jarred Alfredo sauce can feel like a last-ditch effort sometimes. When it’s Tuesday and you’ve had a long day, tossing pasta with it is the quickest shortcut to a filling dinner. That convenience can compromise certain aspects of the dish, however, and you’re left craving more — more flavors, more vibrancy, more colors. Just something to make the sauce feel … homemade. The solution is actually sitting in your crisper drawer all along: A handful of fresh parsley. A quick chop and a speedy stir, maybe with a sprinkle of extra seasonings — certainly some black pepper — and voilà, something closer to the Alfredo sauce of your dreams that comes straight from a store-bought jar.
For a herb that’s so unassuming, parsley can wield immense flavor power. Its freshness is exactly the lift a jar of Alfredo sauce needs. It cuts through all that heavy creaminess with a light earthiness and peppery aroma. What starts out as a dense, one-dimensional base becomes layered and nuanced with crisp green notes — a seemingly small twist that makes a huge difference in the end, right down to the presentation. Pops of green scattered all over a rich, creamy white sauce — now that’s the lively centerpiece your dining table needs.
A small tweak that makes a huge difference
Sprinkling finely chopped parsley into your Alfredo sauce seems pretty straightforward, and it is, but don’t forget to be mindful of when you’re doing it. It’s best to add the parsley right at the end of the cooking process. This keeps the heat from snuffing out its freshness and vibrancy, so the herbaceous aroma still has the opportunity to shine. And how much do you need? Just a couple tablespoons should be enough for a jar of sauce, and you can even combine it with other herbs like basil or rosemary. From there on, also consider trying other ways to make store-bought Alfredo sauce feel homemade. Perhaps add a squeeze of lemon for a bright, zingy touch, grated parmesan cheese to thicken up the texture, or a few garlic cloves to inspire a punchy undertone.
With the Alfredo sauce successfully finessed, here’s your chance to use it in other truly scrumptious, flavorful dinners. We all know it’s the star of a classic chicken fettuccine Alfredo pasta, but beyond that, there’s a whole horizon of both main and side courses to explore. Slather it over your homemade pizza or lasagna when that good ol’ tomato sauce has gotten a little repetitive. Drench freshly-seared salmon with parsely-enhanced Alfredo and it’s good enough to make the homemade meal feel restaurant-worthy. And did you know that you can also use Alfredo sauce to dress up roasted vegetables? Any time a dish needs a quick creamy boost, count on the elevated rendition of this sauce to save the day.
