Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce
This 15-minute Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce is buttery, tangy, creamy, and versatile. Enjoy it over pasta, fish, vegetables, chicken, or meat.
Want to try more sauce recipes? Try these: Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, Bechamel Sauce, Schezwan Sauce, In N Out Sauce, and Lemon Herb Tahini Sauce.
About Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce
Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce is a creamy, buttery sauce with tangy lemony flavor. The recipe to make this versatile sauce is super simple and fuss free. It can be prepared in 15 minutes using very few simple ingredients.
My recipe for this sauce is based on the traditional Beurre Blanc sauce that combines butter with either vinegar or a wine reduction.
The consistency of this sauce is runny but thick enough to coat food nicely. This lemon garlic butter sauce recipe makes approximately 2 cups of Garlic Butter Sauce, but you can easily halve, double, or triple it.
Ingredients
Chicken Broth is used to make the base of this creamy sauce. If you want a vegetarian version, you can use vegetable broth instead.
Milk – To make this lemon butter sauce rich and creamy, use whole milk (full-fat milk). Do not use skim milk or low-fat milk; they won’t give you the same delicious result.
Butter – This delicious sauce has a lot of butter. Use good quality, cold, unsalted butter.
Flour – All-purpose flour is added to thicken the sauce.
Lemon Juice is the star ingredient of this sauce recipe. It adds a nice tangy taste, making the sauce unique. Use only fresh lemon juice. Bottled lemon juice will not work in this recipe.
You can also add some lemon zest to this lemon sauce.
Other – You will also need garlic, onions, salt, ground black pepper, and fresh parsley to. make this lemon butter sauce recipe. Fresh garlic adds a unique taste, but you can also replace it with garlic powder.
Optional – Add ¼ cup of shredded parmesan cheese at the end of cooking for a lovely umami flavor.
White Wine adds a sweet and fruity taste to the buttery sauce. Use an inexpensive white wine with more tannin. The more fruit extract and tannin a wine has, the deeper and richer the flavor it will give the dish. Remember that all alcohol from the wine will evaporate during cooking, and only the taste will remain.
How To Make Lemon Butter Garlic Sauce
Stir the following ingredients into a small saucepan.
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ½ cup whole milk
- 3 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup finely chopped onion
You can replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth to make a vegetarian sauce.
Cook on medium heat until the mixture is reduced to half, stirring frequently. It should take 10-12 minutes.
Cut 16 tablespoon (225 g) cold unsalted butter into 1-inch cubes.
Add 1 cube of butter to a medium-sized saucepan and heat over medium heat until it melts.
Add 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour and mix it well with the butter.
Cook until the mixture turns slightly brown (1-2 minutes), stirring continuously. This flour and butter paste (roux) will thicken the sauce and make it super creamy.
Now, slowly pour the reduced chicken broth mixture over the flour and butter mixture and whisk continuously using a wire whisk.
Cook for a minute until the sauce slightly thickens.
Add the remaining butter to the pan and cook until the butter slightly melts and combines with the sauce. Stir frequently.
Note – Make sure the butter is chilled. It will bring down the sauce’s temperature, and the sauce will not curdle when lemon juice is added to it.
Add 6 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice before the butter melts, and cook the sauce for 1-2 minutes.
Note – Add the lemon juice when the sauce is not very hot. If you add lemon juice to very hot sauce, it might curdle it.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley and mix well.
Tip – Be very careful about adding any extra salt. The chicken broth also has salt in it.
The sauce is ready. Use as desired.
Frequently Asked Questions
Heat 8 oz (225 g) of butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat until it sizzles. Add 3 teaspoon of minced garlic and cook for 30-40 seconds. Take the pan off the stove, add 6 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, and mix well. Slowly whisk in ½ cup of heavy cream. Finally, add salt and pepper according to your preference, mix it well, and serve immediately. You can also add a splash of white wine to this recipe.
You can store the leftover sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. You can also freeze it for up to 2 months. Just thaw, warm, and use.
Serving Suggestions
Pour this silky sauce over grilled meat, fish, seafood, or vegetables. They will taste like a fancy dish from a professional chef’s kitchen.
You can also use it as a dipping sauce for snacks and appetizers.
I sometime toss it with cooked pasta and my quick dinner is ready.
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Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup chicken broth (use veg broth for vegetarian version.)
- ½ cup whole milk (full-fat milk)
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic
- ¼ cup finely chopped onions
- 16 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (225 g, 8 oz, divided)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons Freshly squeezed lemon juice (add less if you do not like the sauce to be too tangy)
- salt (to taste)
- pepper (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
Instructions
- Stir together chicken broth, milk, garlic, and onions into a small saucepan.
- Cook on medium heat until the mixture is reduced to half. It should take 10-12 minutes.
- Cut cold butter into 1-inch cubes. Add 1 cube of butter to a medium-size saucepan and heat on medium heat until it melts.
- Add all-purpose flour and mix it well with the butter. Cook until the mixture turns slightly brown (1-2 minutes). Stir continuously while cooking.
- Now, slowly pour the reduced chicken broth mixture over the flour and butter mixture and whisk continuously using a wire whisk.
- Cook for a minute until the sauce slightly thickens.
- Add the remaining butter to the pan and cook until the butter slightly melts and combines with the sauce. Stir frequently.
- Note – Make sure the butter is chilled. It will bring down the temperature of the sauce, and the sauce will not curdle when lemon juice is added to it.
- Add lemon juice before the butter completely melts, and cook the sauce for 1-2 minutes.
- Note – Add the lemon juice when the sauce is not very hot. If you add lemon juice to the hot sauce, it might curdle it.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add parsley and mix well.
- Tip – Be very careful about adding any extra salt. The chicken broth also has salt in it.
- The sauce is ready. Use it as desired.
Delicious! Was a perfect dipping sauce for crab…..I will definitely be making this again!
Loved this cream sauce; light and tasty. I used real lemons and fresh parsley! Wish I had made a double batch because everything taste better with lemon or chocolate!!!
me parece una receta excelente, gracias por compartir vuestros conocimientos
This is a great lemon butter sauce! It’s easy and is terrific over everything! I used it over pasta as a side and another time I used it over salmon. Definitely a keeper!
I had a meal at a restauraunt called Spaghettini portafino that had a lobster lemon butter sauce. How would I get the lobsterFish taste in the sauce.
It actually lobster meat drizzled with this sauce.
Followed recipe exactly. Very good. Will definitely make again. Thanks for sharing
Thanks Betty for your feedback
Can this sauce me made a day or two ahead and be kept refrigerated ? Thanks!
Yes, sure.
Can you cook your meat in this sauce? Or is it better just pouring it over what ever meat you are using.
Hi Gretchen, it is best for pouring on top.