This 15-minute Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce is buttery, tangy, creamy, and super versatile. Enjoy it over pasta, fish, vegetables, chicken, or meat, and it will make you weak in your knees.
Want to try more sauce recipes? Give these a taste: Strawberry Sauce, Salted Caramel Sauce, Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, Béchamel Sauce, and Homemade Pizza Sauce.
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About This Recipe
Looking for a sauce recipe that instantly flavors your grilled meat, fish and seafood, or vegetables? Then you must try this quick and easy lemon garlic butter sauce. With a whole lot of buttery, creamy, and zesty flavor, this sauce is sure to tickle your taste buds.
My recipe for this sauce is based on the traditional Beurre Blanc sauce that is made by combining butter with either vinegar or a wine reduction
Super-simple and fuss-free, this creamy and buttery sauce can be prepared in just 15 minutes using very few ingredients.
If you love that lemony flavor in your recipes, then this sauce is for you. Believe me, once you pour this sauce over meats or vegetables, they will taste like a fancy dish out of a professional chef’s kitchen.
The consistency of this sauce is runny but it is thick enough to coat food nicely. This recipe will give you approximately 2 cups of Garlic Butter Sauce. You can easily halve, double, or triple the recipe.
So the next time your menu includes grilled chicken, grilled shrimp or salmon, pan-seared scallops, or grilled vegetables, do yourself a favor and give this creamy lemon butter sauce a try.
Check out the detailed lemon butter sauce video recipe on my youtube channel.
Ingredients
Chicken Broth – The 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 – Use whole milk (full-fat milk), as it makes this lemon butter sauce rich and creamy. Do not use skim milk or low-fat milk. They won’t give you the same delicious result.
Butter – This sauce has a lot of butter. Do not get intimidated by the quantity and reduce it. Use good quality, cold unsalted butter.
Flour – All-purpose flour is added to thicken the sauce.
Lemon Juice – Lemon juice is the star ingredient of this sauce recipe. It adds a nice tangy and zesty taste, which makes the sauce unique from others. Use only fresh lemon juice. Bottled lemon juice will not work in this recipe.
Other – Apart from the above-mentioned ingredients, you will also need garlic, onions, salt, ground pepper, and fresh parsley. Fresh garlic adds a unique taste, but you can replace it with garlic powder too.
Optional – You can also 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 a flavor it will give the dish. Keep in mind that all alcohol from the wine will evaporate during cooking, and only the flavor will remain.
How To Make Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce
Stir together ½ cup chicken broth, ½ cup whole milk, 3 teaspoon minced garlic, and ¼ cup finely chopped onion into a small saucepan.
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. 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-size saucepan and heat on 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). Stir continuously while cooking. 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 temperature of the sauce and the sauce will not curdle when lemon juice is added to it.
Add 6 tablespoon 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 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.
Serving Suggestions
Pour this delicious butter sauce on,
Seafood – Shrimp, scallops, lobster, crab, and fish such as salmon, cod, halibut, tuna, swordfish, and trout.
Chicken – Pour the sauce over grilled, poached, or roasted chicken for a flavorful and high-protein meal.
Vegetables – The sauce adds a great taste to grilled or sautéed vegetables, especially asparagus, green beans, brussels sprouts, artichokes, and broccoli.
Frequently Asked Questions
This sauce can be refrigerated for 3-4 days. Heat it in a microwave or over the stovetop before using it.
This sauce freezes well, too. Let it cool completely and then transfer it into a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 2 months. I like to freeze it in small containers for one-time use. Thaw the sauce overnight in the refrigerator or for 3- 4 hours on the counter. Then heat and use.
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Recipe Card
Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce Recipe
IngredientsÂ
- 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, divided)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons 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.
Gretchen Thomas
Can you cook your meat in this sauce? Or is it better just pouring it over what ever meat you are using.
Neha Mathur
Hi Gretchen, it is best for pouring on top.
Brendan
Can this sauce me made a day or two ahead and be kept refrigerated ? Thanks!
Neha Mathur
Yes, sure.
Brian
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.
Neha Mathur
It actually lobster meat drizzled with this sauce.
Colleen Bystrak
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!
Vicki
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!!!