The Absolute Best Ways To Reheat Fettuccine Alfredo
We'll just say it; fettuccine alfredo is cheesy, creamy, and heavenly, and when topped with chicken or shrimp, it is pure perfection. The decadent dish tastes smooth when served fresh, but when reheated, well, that's another story. If you've ever tried to reheat fettuccine alfredo, you know that often times, the oil from the cheese and butter separate from the other elements in the pasta. It results in a warm dish of noodles with pools of oil and gloppy white cheese sauce sprinkled throughout. Usually, it tastes greasy when reheated and isn't as palatable as the first time around.
The goal of reheating fettuccine alfredo is to make it taste as close to fresh as possible. Pantry & Larder says you can achieve this by adding a small amount of water, cream, or milk to the dish to increase moisture and prevent the noodles from drying out. Here are the absolute best ways to reheat fettuccine alfredo.
Reheat in the oven
Recipe Marker provides us with an easy way to reheat fettuccine alfredo using the oven. They say their preferred method is quick and easy because the noodles heat evenly. First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and place the pasta in an oven-safe dish. Next, stir about 1 tablespoon of water into the pasta to help keep it from becoming dry. Depending on how much fettucini you have to reheat, you may need to add more water.
Cover the fettuccine alfredo tightly with an oven-safe lid or aluminum foil. This will trap the steam inside the dish and keep the pasta moist. Place the dish of fettucini alfredo into the oven and heat for 10 minutes, then remove and stir the pasta. Heat covered an additional 10 minutes, then stir again, ensuring it is heated all through. Recipe Marker recommends thawing frozen pasta before heating it in the oven. Thawing ensures that the dish heats evenly.
Reheat in a hot water bath
Giving your fettuccine alfredo a hot water bath is an excellent way to blend the elements of the sauce and pasta together. Alice's Kitchen teaches us a thing or two about this heating method that warms the dish using indirect contact with hot water. First, spoon the fettuccine alfredo into a bowl or saucepan. The bowl should be a size that sits comfortably inside another pot.
Fill a separate pot with hot water about halfway up the sides, then gently place the bowl of fettuccine inside the pot, allowing the bowl to "swim" in the hot water. Set the stove to medium and allow the water to simmer. Stir the fettuccine alfredo as it slowly warms. This method of reheating takes time, but it helps prevent separation between the cream and the oil of the alfredo sauce, allowing it to slowly melt together. When the pasta is warmed throughout, remove from the heat, stir, and enjoy.
Reheat in a sauté pan
Taste of Home adds a twist to reheating fettuccine alfredo on the stovetop with their sauté method. They say it is a quick way to warm it up and ensure the pasta soaks up all the saucy flavors. Place the leftover fettuccine alfredo and fresh garlic into a sauté pan and toss it for two to three minutes until it becomes hot and melty.
Livestrong says you don't have to be a trained chef to create delicious pasta. Adding spices such as white or black pepper, nutmeg, lemon, and garlic adds full-bodied flavor to your fettuccine alfredo. The Food Network recommends adding vegetables such as peas, asparagus, and mushrooms, while Allrecipes adds ham to their dish. According to Insanely Good Recipes, you can also serve fettuccine alfredo with chicken strips, meatballs, salad, bread, bacon, shrimp, broccoli, and steak. As for a complementary drink, rich and creamy fettuccine alfredo pairs well with a dry white wine like Chardonnay. Cheers!