This 15-minutes Easy Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce is buttery, tangy, creamy, and super versatile. Enjoy it over pasta, fish, vegetables, chicken, or meat; it will weaken your knees (vegetarian).

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About Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce
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 lot of buttery, creamy, and zesty flavor, this sauce will surely tickle your taste buds.
My recipe for this sauce is based on the traditional Beurre Blanc sauce that combines butter with either vinegar or a wine reduction.
Super-simple and fuss-free, this creamy, buttery sauce can be prepared in 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 from 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, shrimp or salmon, pan-seared scallops, or grilled vegetables, do yourself a favor and try this creamy lemon butter sauce.
This vegetarian lemon butter sauce recipe can be easily doubled or tripled.
Want to try more sauce recipes? Give these a taste
- Strawberry Sauce
- Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
- Béchamel Sauce
- Schezwan Sauce
- Lemon Herb Tahini Sauce
- Bang Bang Sauce
- Cilantro Garlic Sauce
- Hibachi Mustard Sauce
- Boom Boom Sauce
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), making 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 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 pepper, and fresh parsley. Fresh garlic adds a unique taste, but you can also replace it with garlic powder.
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 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 Garlic Butter Sauce
Stir
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ½ cup whole milk
- 3 teaspoon minced garlic
- 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, 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 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.

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.
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.
Toss cooked pasta in this delicious sauce for a quick dinner.
Storage Suggestions
Lemon butter garlic sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container 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 counter for 3- 4 hours. Then heat and use.
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Recipe Card

15 Minutes Easy Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce
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.
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!!!