Classic Steak Alfredo Recipe

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A creamy Alfredo pasta is the kind of comfort food that dreams are made of. If you want to take your taste buds over the edge, try adding sliced steak. This classic (no cream!) steak Alfredo recipe features just a handful of ingredients and is ready in under half an hour, making it all the more tantalizing to whip up any day of the week. Daily Meal recipe developer Kate Shungu is aware of its charms and comments, "If you really want to knock someone socks off, make this dish!" 

Unlike some heavy Alfredo sauces that are dominated by cream, this one is simply made with butter and Parmesan. "The sauce is barely perceptible if you look quickly, but one taste will prove otherwise," Shungu says. "It's rich, buttery, and perfectly seasoned, and it tastes like a dish you'd get at a restaurant in Italy." Level up this classic dish by opting for fresh pasta, and you might never go back to dried fettuccine. Just note that the cook time for fresh pasta will be shorter than you think.

To make this recipe, you'll need skirt steak, salt, black pepper, fresh fettuccine (or dried, if you can't source it fresh), unsalted butter, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. "Make sure to use freshly grated Parmesan cheese here (not the canned stuff and not even the Parmesan in the plastic tub)," Shungu advises. "Grating it yourself will create the silkiest sauce vs. a clumpy one." Just use a microplane to make the task effortless.

Preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and season with 1 tablespoon salt.

Season the skirt steak with ½ teaspoon salt and the black pepper.

Place the skirt steak in the grill pan. Grill for 4 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Remove from the grill and place on a cutting board. Let rest for 5 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain.

Drop the pasta into the boiling water, and cook according to package directions. Do not drain the water.

While the pasta is cooking, cube the butter and place it in a large saucepan over low heat. Heat just until melted, then turn the heat off.

Use tongs to transfer the cooked pasta into the melted butter. Toss until the pasta is coated.

Add half of the Parmesan and ¼ cup of the pasta water. Toss until the pasta is coated in the Parmesan.

Add an additional ¼ cup Parmesan and ¼ cup pasta water, and toss until combined. Add additional pasta water, if needed, to form a creamy sauce.

Transfer to plates, and divide the sliced skirt steak between the plates. Top with additional Parmesan as desired, and serve right away.

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If skirt steak isn't your go-to cut of beef, then you might be hesitant about cooking it for this dish. Thankfully, it's easier than you think, and grilling the meat on high heat really offers the best results. Once it comes to prepping it to pile over your heap of pasta, be sure to slice it against the grain. "Lay out the grilled skirt steak on a cutting board and cut into four to five pieces," Shungu instructs. Then, "Turn one of the pieces 90 degrees and slice against the grain." 

She further explains, "If the grain is going crosswise, you want to cut up and down." There's a reason to this technique: "This creates skirt steak that is melt-in-your-mouth tender instead of chewy," Shungu says. That's definitely makes it worth slicing the meat according to her advice! 

This classic (no cream) steak Alfredo recipe is an absolute delight as is, but it's also easy to adapt it to your preference. Since grilling skirt steak is the best cooking method, Shungu notes that either an indoor grill pan or outdoor grill do the trick. She also points out that "Chicken or shrimp are both good choices," which means you can easily modify this recipe to serve it on repeat without tiring. 

As far as seasonings go, Shungu says, "If you're a fan of freshly cracked black pepper, use a heavy hand with that at the end — pepper is a really nice pairing for this sauce." Other flavors are easy to incorporate into this recipe, too. "If you'd like to add some bright citrus flavor (this is especially good with chicken), add the zest of one lemon to the pasta as you toss it," Shungu recommends.

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