fettuccine Alfredo

1 3.2

Pasta made with flat noodles in a rich cream and cheese sauce

noun
/ˌfɛtəˈtʃini ælˈfreɪdoʊ/

: fettuccine Alfredo

For dinner, we decided to make fettuccine Alfredo, which is a delicious pasta dish with creamy sauce.

I had myself authentic fettuccine Alfredo.

Examples

Her favorite meal is fettuccine Alfredo with garlic bread on the side.
And now for Fettuccine Alfredo.

Ernest Goes to Camp (1987)
You might try making fettuccine Alfredo as a side dish.

To the New Girl (2020)
Fettuccine Alfredo, that sounds good.

Sex After Kids (2013)
Fettuccine Alfredo, Jake.

Ernest Goes to Camp (1987)
He likes fettuccine Alfredo.

The Blind Side (2009)
At the restaurant, I ordered the fettuccine Alfredo, and it was rich and satisfying.

How Rich

fettuccine Alfredo

1 3.2

carbonara

4 3.5

Bolognese pasta sauce

2.1

pesto

23 2.0

Surface Forms

fettuccine Alfredo singular

fettuccine Alfredos plural

Morphology

fettuccine + Alfredo

The headword 'fettuccine' clearly signals a type of pasta, so a B1 learner who knows that word can infer this is a kind of pasta dish; however 'Alfredo' is a proper name/unknown term and does not transparently indicate the cream-and-cheese sauce. Many languages use person-based dish names, so learners can guess it is a specific preparation of fettuccine but cannot derive the precise ingredients or sauce without prior exposure.

Etymology

Fettuccine Alfredo may come from an Italian cook named Alfredo who mixed hot fettuccine with butter and lots of cheese so the pasta was coated in a rich, creamy sauce. One popular story says he made it to please his wife, and that thick, cheesy coating is why the name now means 'pasta in a rich cream and cheese sauce'.