Alfredo and marinara sauce are common in Italian cooking but almost polar opposites. Alfredo sauce is creamy and cheesy, whereas marinara sauce is tomato-based and full of warm, rich, umami flavor.
It’s quite common to mix alfredo and marinara sauce, and the resulting sauce is often called pink or rose pasta sauce, owing to its pink color, but it is also referred to as marinara alfredo or creamy marinara.
Rose pasta sauce is delicious served as a sauce for freshly cooked pasta, but its mild, creamy flavor also works well alongside chicken, fish, and seafood.
What Is Alfredo Sauce?
The story behind Alfredo sauce is fascinating. It started in Rome in the early 1900s, when a chef called Alfredo Di Lelio invented the dish fettuccine Alfredo to encourage his wife to eat after she had given birth to their first child, Armando.
Alfredo mixed freshly cooked fettuccine with plenty of butter and parmesan and tossed them together. The heat of the pasta melted the cheese, which then emulsified the liquids to form a thick, cheesy sauce.
Despite its simplicity, the dish became famous, largely down to how Alfredo prepared it. It would be prepared at the table, using special golden cutlery, with the chef mixing the pasta thoroughly and lifting it high in the air to create a spectacle.
The recipe became popular in America and underwent a transformation, often including double cream, garlic, and herbs.
My Easy Alfredo Recipe
You will need 25g butter, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 300 ml double cream, 1tsp Italian dried herbs and 100g grated parmesan. Melt the butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and fry for 1 minute, then stir in the cream and mixed herbs, before bringing to a gentle simmer. Add the parmesan, stirring gently until melted.
What is Marinara Sauce?
Marinara sauce is a tomato-based sauce, enhanced by adding garlic, herbs and onions.
Although the exact origins of the recipe are unknown, sources suggest it was first made in southern Italy after explorers arrived with tomatoes from the New World in the 16th century.
It’s good to have a marinara recipe up your sleeve, as it’s quick to make and uses store cupboard ingredients. However, although it’s quick on the prep time, it does need leaving to simmer to develop that thick texture and rich layers of flavour.
You will need: 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, 1 chopped onion, 4 crushed garlic cloves, 2 tbsp tomato puree, 2 tbsp olive oil, herbs of your choice and seasoning to taste. 1 tsp of dried oregano or Italian seasoning works well, or a couple of tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley or basil.
Heat the oil in a pan, then cook the onion gently for 8-10 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, and fry for a further 2 minutes, taking care not to burn the garlic. Then simply add the rest of the ingredients to the pan and simmer on a medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes.
You then have the option to leave it chunky or use an immersion blender or food processor to blend it to a puree consistency.
My family prefers it without lumps, but it’s down to personal preference.
What Do Alfredo and Marinara Mixed Taste Like?
Opinions are mixed!
Devotees of marinara sauce sometimes argue that mixing in Alfredo sauce simply waters down the lovely rich, deep flavours of the marinara. Equally, fans of Alfredo sauce often question why you’d want to ruin that subtle, creamy flavor with the strong tomato taste of marinara.
However, others would argue that by mixing the two, you get the best of both worlds: the rich, warming flavors of the tomato marinara are beautifully complimented by the subtle, creamy flavor of the cheesy Alfredo sauce.
You could do this with shop-bought sauces too, so if you have a favourite brand for each sauce, buy a jar of each and give it a go!
What Can I Use Marinara Alfredo Sauce For?
So you’ve mixed the two sauces but now what? How exactly do you use this pink sauce in your cooking?
As a starting point, consider using marinara Alfredo sauce in all the recipes that you would use either of the sauces on its own.
It’s great as a simple pasta sauce or try adding in some cooked prawns or diced chicken to make it into a more substantial meal.
You could also use it as the base for a Bolognese by adding in some fried minced beef or use it as a layer in your lasagne.
It also works well as a sauce for a pasta bake, mixing the cooked pasta with the sauce, sprinkling with grated cheese and baking at 180oC for 25 minutes.
Add some cooked vegetables; courgette, squash, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes or aubergine would all work well here.
To elevate your pasta bake to the next level, give this recipe a try. For this recipe, you could use the two sauce recipes above or you could buy readymade jars of one or both sauces. For the meat, you could use sausage meat, buy sausages and remove the casings, or use minced pork.
You will need 450g sausage meat or minced pork, 1 quantity of alfredo sauce, 1 quantity of marinara sauce, 450g pasta, 450g grated mozzarella and some fresh or dried herbs of your choice. Fresh or dried sage works well, as does dried Italian seasoning.
If making your own sauces, assemble following the recipes above then mix. Then fry up the sausage meat or pork until browned, adding herbs to taste. If using sausage meat, make sure you break it up into dice-sized chunks. Meanwhile, boil the pasta as per the instructions on the packet.
Preheat the oven to 180oC. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and then place it in an ovenproof dish. Mix in the pork so it is evenly distributed, then stir in the marinara alfredo sauce, before sprinkling with the grated mozzarella. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until browned and bubbling.
Sources
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Elizabeth Masterman is a freelance writer, part-time teacher and mum of two. She loves cooking family meals and tasty bakes, and uses her freezer to make her busy life a little bit easier. When she has free-time (which is rare!) she loves running, crafting and spending time outdoors.
