When you need a quick way to pull off pasta night, a jar of your favorite store-bought Alfredo sauce is a creamy and flavorful solution. Even though it’s not overly complicated to make a homemade Alfredo sauce recipe, sometimes a busy weeknight doesn’t allow even top-notch home cooks to deal with heavy cream and other ingredients. That doesn’t mean you can’t pull off an easy trick to upgrade that jarred Alfredo sauce, and perhaps one of the simplest options is to add minced garlic.
A little minced garlic will add a depth of flavor and touch of umami to even the best jarred Alfredo sauce, which will meld with any type of pasta dish. Many store-bought Alfredo sauces already contain some variation of the ingredient, but it doesn’t compare to fresh garlic. It also won’t take much time to make the upgrade, but we’ll get to the technique of it all soon. Freshly-minced garlic offers maximum flavor, but you can opt for the jarred option to upgrade the sauce and save more time.
Measurements and more tips to upgrade jarred Alfredo sauce with fresh garlic
Grab just two to three cloves of garlic for every jar of Alfredo sauce to make this flavorful upgrade. If you want more of an intense garlic flavor or are making a large batch, add more fresh garlic. Finely chop or mince the garlic so you don’t bite into chunks. Saute the chopped garlic in butter or oil until it’s fragrant, then pour in the Alfredo sauce until it’s warmed through. Stir occasionally so the creamy, dairy-based sauce doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. You can also use a teaspoon of garlic powder if you want to be quicker or don’t have fresh garlic at home. To really step up the flavor, make roasted garlic.
If you have the extra time, there are other easy ways to fix up that jar of Alfredo sauce in addition to garlic. An easy step is to saute the garlic: Deglaze the pan with just a splash of dry white wine, then add the Alfredo sauce. Chicken or vegetable stock will also thin out the sauce and add a depth of flavor. Other easy upgrades are spices like Italian seasoning, nutmeg for some earthy warmness, or dried herbs like oregano. And to add some spice to the Alfredo sauce, reach for hot sauce, red pepper flakes, or a dash of paprika.
