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15-minute Creamy Fettuccini

A quick pasta dish made with cream cheese, Parmesan, butter, and heavy cream, tossed with fettuccine and nutmeg.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Cream cheese and parmesan cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 311 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

15-minute Creamy Fettuccini

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

  1. In a large saucepan, stir together the cream cheese, Parmesan, butter, and cream.

  2. Heat, stirring, until smooth.

Serve

  1. Add hot, cooked fettuccine, and toss until well covered.

  2. Serve immediately, sprinkled with nutmeg.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

374Calories
12 gProtein
35 gFat
4 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Cream Cheese1 oz (28g)99
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cream cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together311 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  2. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Cream cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,747 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  4. Parmesan cheese + buttertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,163 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,920 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cream cheese
Melts into a smooth, rich base that gives the sauce body.
Parmesan cheese
Adds savory, salty flavor and helps thicken the sauce as it melts.
Butter
Adds fat for silky texture and a rounded, buttery flavor.
Heavy cream
Thins the cheese mixture into a pourable sauce and adds moisture and richness.
Fettuccine
Provides the starchy base that the sauce clings to.

The step that matters

Heat, stirring, until smooth. Cheese proteins can tighten and turn grainy or oily if overheated or left unstirred. Gentle, constant stirring over moderate heat lets the fats and proteins emulsify into a smooth sauce.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream cheese, parmesan cheese, butter, cream):

  1. Nutmegthe original
  2. Garlicfits about as well
  3. Capersfits about as well
  4. Celeryfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against cream cheese, parmesan cheese, butter, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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