Here’s an earth-shattering debate for y’all . . .
Anybody have a good method for reheating leftover pasta alfredo without having the sauce fall apart? I’ve tried microwaving and heating both covered and uncovered in a barely warm oven. I still get noodles in melted butter with white goop floating in it. What trick am I missing?
Try adding a little bit (a few drops) of milk and mix it up before you reheat it.
Good luck!
I worked in a Pizza Place and the Alfredo was one of our most popular menu items. We made the sauce and noodles seperately and put them together to fill an order.
We didn’t use the microwave… why bother? Just put the sauce in a frypan for 30 or 45 seconds… it will start to bubble. Toss in the pasta, mix it around for a minute or so… Presto!
Don’t mix the sauce with the pasta ahead of time, if you can avoid it. It doesn’t really hurt the sauce per se, but it makes it more difficult to handle.
Don’t apply heat directly to the sauce, in the oven, microwave, fire pit, or what have you. Fill the bottom half of a double boiler with water, put the sauce in the top half, stir frequently.
If the sauce “breaks” (separates out into melted fat, whey, and curds), you can sometimes restore it by taking it off the heat at once, adding a little cold milk or cream, and beating vigorously. A broken sauce, whilst it looks disgusting, isn’t actually inedible; close your eyes and think of England 
So far the only viable suggestion is Belle’s. We’re talking about restaurant leftovers here, not something I’m cooking at home; I can’t reheat the sauce separately!
I’ll try the milk idea; any others?
> Try adding a little bit (a few drops) of milk and mix it up before you reheat it.
Yes, & a teaspoon or so of butter doesn’t hurt, either. This also works well when reheating macaroni & cheese in a microwave- with nothing added, it doesn’t turn out well, but add a bit of milk & butter for happier results.
I agree, if you can keep the two separate, that’s the best way, but if you’re trying to re-heat leftover Olive Garden (or your fav Italian restaurant’s), I’ve found a double boiler to be the best solution. I get a big sauce pan and fill it about 1/3 of the way with water. Then put the alfredo into a smaller sauce pan. Put the smaller pan into the larger and begin to heat. when the water begins to boil, begin stirring (if you stir befor that, you break up the pasta and wind up with goop). Stir about every minute or so until the pasta is warm.
I don’t know why this works (very gradual heating, moist heat?), but it does.