Asiago Cream Sauce
This page contains affiliate links. For more information please read my Disclosure Policy.
Say goodbye to jarred Alfredo sauce for good with this easy, flavorful recipe for Asiago Cream Sauce. It comes together quickly on the stove and works beautifully as a drizzle for meats, veggies, or as an Asiago pasta sauce. You’ll keep a wedge of Asiago cheese on standby for this recipe!
While I’m definitely not against the roux/milk/slow stirred in cheese type of sauces, I’m pretty much in love with this quick and easy Asiago cream sauce. There’s something soul satisfying about a luscious cheesy sauce, and I’m not biased against pouring it on more than pasta!
WHat is asiago?
I’m sure you’ve seen the wedges of aged Asiago cheese among the selection of Parmesan and Romano’s at the grocery store. If you haven’t, take a close look, it’s there! Asiago is a cows milk cheese originally produced in the northeast area of Italy that thankfully, we can get here in the states as well.
Authentic Asiago cheese can come in a variety of textures based on the length of it’s aging. Fresh Asiago is sweet, soft…and basically impossible to find here. But aged, crumbly Asiago is usually available at most grocery stores. While not nearly as popular as it’s Parmesan and Romano cousins you can usually find one or two brands available. It’s nutty, salty, and downright delicious.
Ingredients for ASiago Cheese Sauce
The fact that this cream sauce only has 6 ingredients, two of which are salt and pepper, definitely goes in the ‘pro’ column. It seriously doesn’t get much easier, and I’m willing to bet you can whip this together most nights without any additional trips to the store.
- Asiago Cheese – You can’t make Asiago sauce without it! 1 wedge will do, =you’ll need 4 ounces for this recipe.
- Heavy Cream – You’ll need 3 cups of heavy cream.
- Fresh Garlic – Usually about 3 cloves, or whatever equals 1 tablespoon of minced garlic.
- Oil – Olive oil is my preference, just a tablespoon or so.
- Salt & Pepper – This is largely to taste, I usually use between 1/2 to 1 tsp of each.
- Parsley (Optional) – I just think fresh chopped parsley goes so nicely with a creamy cheese sauce, especially over pasta. If you have it, I recommend it!
TIP: This recipe yields enough Asiago cheese sauce for one pound of pasta.
How to Make Asiago Cream Sauce
The entire process for this recipe takes 20 minutes max, start to finish. You can easily boil pasta, sear some chicken, or roast veggies in that time, sounds like dinner is on the table, doesn’t it?
- Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile, mince your garlic, shred your cheese, and measure out your cream. I recommend mincing the garlic with 1/2 tsp of salt so it makes a salty garlic paste, it draws out the garlic flavor, and seasons the sauce.
- When pan is hot, add the oil and the minced garlic, saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Pour in the heavy cream and stir to combine. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the cream is steaming but not boiling, about 5 minutes. Add in cheese while stirring until melted in.
- Continue stirring every couple of minutes until thickened. It coat the back of the spoon thickly, another 5 minutes or so.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve as desired!
FAQ’s
This sauce really is best served warm and fresh. You can make it ahead of time and store for up to a two days in the fridge, but you’ll need to reheat it gently, frequently stirring to return it to it’s smooth state.
No, it will separate and break when thawed.
Sure! Go ahead and use Parmesan or Romano for similar, but delicious variations.
Now to eat!
So you might be able to tell from the pictures that I’m a bit biased toward using this as an Asiago pasta sauce, but you really can use this however you like! I have big plans with crusted pork chops, and I’ve already drizzled it over roasted asparagus, crispy chicken thighs, and a pan seared steak with lovely results. Experiment, go crazy, eat it with a spoon!
You may also enjoy These other easy recipes…
- Easy Oven Roasted Potatoes
- Citrus Soy Easy Grilled Chicken
- Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Spinach and Tomato Salad
- Homemade Drop Biscuits
- Salt Crust Pork Belly
Asiago Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 ounces Asiago Cheese, shredded about 1 1/2 cups
- 24 ounces Heavy Cream 3 cups
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 1 Tbs garlic, minced about 3 cloves
- 1 tsp salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile shred the cheese, measure out cream, and mince the garlic with 1/2 tsp of salt (chop together).
- Add oil to the hot pan, then add the garlic and salt mixture. Saute, stirring constantly until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Pour in the cream and stir to combine with garlic. Heat until cream mixture is steaming, but not boiling, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
- When cream is steaming, begin adding the cheese in half cup increments, stirring until you've melted it all in.
- Continue to heat, stirring occasionally until sauce has thickened enough to coat and cling to the back of a spoon. About another 5 minutes.
- Taste and season with pepper and salt to taste, then serve immediately!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information and cooking times are provided as a best estimate. Values may vary based upon ingredients and equipment.
I used this to replicate a salmon dish that had mashed potatoes, mushrooms, and an Asiago cream sauce at a fancy restaurant I visited. This sauce was amazing!! Better than the restaurants! I didn’t realize how much sauce would be leftover (I only needed a few tablespoons for the dish) so I used the extras to whip up some shrimp pasta. SO GOOD!! Making this again tonight with my boyfriend. He wants chicken Alfredo and I’ll be doing the same salmon dish with chicken instead since it makes so much sauce. Lookin forward to the thick, delicious creamy sauce!
Eliza, my heart is happy to hear how much you enjoyed the sauce and are making it again to share. I would love to hear what your boyfriend thinks of it as well.
I was so excited for this sauce, but once I got the cheese in it just curdled. 🙁 Any suggestions? Could it have been because I used milk and butt met instead of cream because that’s what I had on hand?
Oh no! That’s such a bummer. It could definitely be due to the milk vs cream. Cream has a really high fat content so it tolerates heat a lot better than milk, and shields the cheese in a way. If you’re using milk, even with butter added, I’d add the cheese completely off heat. It’s a much slower process but heat can cause it to break, like you saw. I’d also use a little less milk, since it won’t thicken the same way as cream. Butter can help if it’s melted into the milk but I haven’t personally tried it that way. Another option would be to toss the grated cheese with 1/2 a tablespoon of cornstarch before adding it in.
So sorry that happened to you, I know that’s not fun, but I hope this helps. Happy Holidays!
Love the sauce and easy to make! It does make a lot for one person. Is it possible to save extra for another time?
Hi Michelle, so glad you liked it! It can go in the fridge for a few days no problem, just heat it gently so it stays nice and creamy when you want to use it again. We love to dip soft pretzels in it, and have served it with steak and chicken!
Unfortunately it doesn’t freeze well. The cheese and cream just separate when they thaw.
If you make it again you can always half the recipe too :).
This Asiago Cream Sauce was so so creamy and delicious over our pasta! It had a perfect consistency and so much flavor to it. I will be saving this recipe for future use! The instructions were so easy too. Have a great day!
Thank you Heidy, I love that you not only really enjoyed the recipe and will make it again, but that you also found my directions easy to follow!
Can I add vodka to this sauce and if so, what would you recommend for the amount? I had a delicious Asiago vodka sauce over linguine and have been trying to find a recipe to replicate. Thank you!
I have not tried adding Vodka to it, but you certainly could, I would start with 1.5 to 2 ounces and letting it simmer for a minute or two before adding the cream. I would love to hear how it turns out!
What no roux, yeah! I am definitely trying this sauce, plus I am a big fan of asiago cheese.
Jere your comment made me laugh! Roux’s can be so tricky, and sometimes, I just don’t have time! I’m glad you want to give it a try!