Sun-Dried Tomato & Spinach Alfredo with Fettuccine and Bay Scallops
There are some dinners that look and taste like you put in way more effort than you actually did, and this is absolutely one of them.
This creamy homemade Alfredo starts with garlic and herb butter, heavy cream and plenty of freshly grated Parmesan, then gets loaded with sautéed spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. I served ours over fettuccine with quickly seared bay scallops, but the sauce would be just as good with chicken, shrimp—or honestly, completely on its own.
It’s rich and creamy, but the sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and fresh basil give it enough freshness that it doesn’t feel like your standard heavy Alfredo.
And yes, we served a little side salad with it because apparently that makes a bowl of Alfredo balanced.
Why You'll Love This Alfredo Sauce
The base is incredibly simple, which is why this is such a good recipe to keep in your back pocket. You only need butter, cream and Parmesan to get started, and everything else builds flavor from there.
I used Kerrygold Garlic & Herb Butter, which adds even more flavor without needing a long list of ingredients. The sun-dried tomatoes bring a slightly sweet, concentrated tomato flavor, while the spinach cooks down right into the sauce.
And because the seafood cooks separately, you can easily swap the bay scallops for whatever protein you have on hand.
Ingredients
For the Sun-Dried Tomato Spinach Alfredo
- ½ cup garlic & herb butter — I used Kerrygold
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- Minced garlic, to taste
- Italian seasoning, to taste
- Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 cups freshly grated Parmesan
- 4 cups fresh spinach
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
For the Pasta
- 1 lb fettuccine
- Bay scallops
- Fresh basil, for serving
- Extra freshly grated Parmesan, for serving
- Salt and pepper
I didn't measure the amount of bay scallops in the original recipe, so I'd leave that flexible rather than inventing a quantity for the blog.
How to Make It
- Cook the fettuccine. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook your fettuccine according to the package directions until al dente. Before draining, reserve a little pasta water in case you want to loosen the sauce later.
- Start the Alfredo sauce. In a saucepan, melt the garlic and herb butter over medium-low heat. Add the heavy cream, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Let everything gently warm together without bringing the cream to a hard boil.
- Add the Parmesan. Gradually stir in 2 cups of freshly grated Parmesan until completely melted and the sauce is smooth and creamy. Keep the heat low while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Sauté the vegetables. In a separate skillet, add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach and a little garlic. Cook just until the garlic is fragrant and the spinach has wilted.
- Add them to the Alfredo. Transfer the spinach and sun-dried tomato mixture directly into your Alfredo sauce and stir everything together.
- Cook the scallops. Using the same skillet, quickly cook your bay scallops until just cooked through. Bay scallops are small, so they don't need much time.
- Bring everything together. Once the fettuccine is cooked, add the pasta, Alfredo sauce and scallops to your pasta pot and gently toss everything together. Add a splash of reserved pasta water if you want to loosen the sauce.
- Finish and serve. Plate immediately and finish with fresh basil, freshly cracked pepper and a little more Parmesan.
Don't Skip Freshly Grated Parmesan
If there is one ingredient I wouldn't shortcut here, it's the Parmesan.
Freshly grated Parmesan melts much more smoothly into the cream and butter and gives you that silky Alfredo consistency we're looking for. Pre-shredded cheese can contain anti-caking ingredients that make it harder to melt smoothly into a sauce.
Plus, more Parmesan is rarely the wrong decision.
Make It With Chicken or Shrimp
The bay scallops were perfect with this, but they're completely optional.
For an easy weeknight version, sauté chicken breast or thighs in the same skillet before adding them to the finished pasta. Shrimp would also be incredible and requires very little additional cooking time.
You could also leave out the protein altogether and let the sun-dried tomato and spinach Alfredo be the star.
What to Serve With It
Because the pasta is rich, I like keeping everything else really simple.
We served ours with a small side salad for some vegetables and something fresh alongside the creamy pasta. A simple arugula salad with lemon would be perfect here, too.
And obviously, this is begging for a crisp glass of white wine.
A Weeknight Dinner Worth Saving
Homemade Alfredo sounds like something that should be reserved for a weekend, but it's actually one of the easiest sauces to make from scratch.
Butter. Cream. Parmesan.
That's really the foundation.
Add spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and whatever protein you have on hand, and you've got a restaurant-worthy pasta dinner without making dinner complicated.
Save this one for the next time you're craving a really good bowl of pasta.
