Make our easy Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce for pasta, chicken, or fish, also great for veggies!
This easy butter sauce will be a staple in your home like ours. Our daughter loves this with asparagus spears; who loves it when kids eat their veggies? WE DO! 🙂
One batch of this recipe makes a decent amount, but you could easily double or even triple this recipe in the fridge or for entertaining. We store it in the fridge and typically use it up within 2-3 days if we don’t use the whole batch.
Ingredients in lemon garlic butter sauce:
- Butter – Vegan and dairy free butter will work in this recipe.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic is a must for this recipe.
- Lemon – We recommend using fresh lemon juice.
- Parsley – Tip: wash your parsley and then dry it. It will be easier to chop. You can also use a small food processor, which is even easier.
How to make lemon garlic butter sauce
Start by melting the butter in a pan on medium-low heat and reduce to low once fully melted.
While the butter is melting, you can start chopping up the garlic and parsley.
When the butter is melted, you’ll place the garlic into the pan to cook until tender; we are not browning the garlic.
You’ll notice a foam rising to the top of the butter; skim the milk solids for a nice and clear sauce like you’d make clarified butter.
Refrigerate any leftovers.
Recipe Tips and Alterations:
- When you add the garlic, ensure there are no large chunks – this way, it cooks evenly.
- Store the remaining butter in the fridge until you’re ready to use for a quick and easy meal.
- Add in some parmesan cheese for even more flavor.
- When melting the butter, ensure your fire is on medium-low; medium-high heat will cause the butter to brown and burn.
- Always use fresh lemon juice, not the concentrated stuff.
- If you want more liquid, add a tablespoon of butter at a time. No more butter? You could also use a little bit of olive oil.
- Want some wine? Add a little white wine for a scampi butter sauce.
- You can leave out the parsley. We like it for the color and the flavor that it gives.
Storage and reheating tips:
- Refrigerate: Store any leftover puree in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Freeze leftover lemon garlic butter sauce in mini portions in a freezer-safe container. You can freeze up to 4 months.
How to serve:
This makes an excellent sauce for salmon, lobster, shrimp, chicken, or my favorite mushrooms and veggies! We’ve also put on steak with asparagus and mushrooms.
Frequently Asked Questions
We never recommend using jarred in garlic recipes or in general, as it doesn’t have the same flavor as fresh garlic.
While the lemon and lime may be interchangeable in some recipes, this isn’t one of them.
We recommend sticking to parsley as it has a subtle flavor. You can leave it out if needed.
Yes, we recommend using your favorite vegan butter.
Find more lemon recipes
Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce
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Print Pin SaveIngredients
- 1 stick butter unsalted
- 3-5 cloves garlic
- 1-2 tablespoons parsley
- 1 lemon
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Place the stick of butter in a large pan on medium-low heat.
- While the butter is melting start chopping up the garlic and parsley.
- Once the butter is melted reduce the heat and add in the garlic
- Cook until the garlic is tender, not brown.
- While the garlic and butter are cooking you’ll notice a foam rising to the top, this is the milk solids. Simply remove by placing the spoon right under and discard.
- To finish, squeeze in lemon juice and add the chopped parsley.
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Nutrition
The nutritional information is automatically calculated and can vary based ingredients and products used. If the nutrition numbers are important for you we recommend calculating them yourself.
Is it ok to refrigerate garlic & butter sauce for the next day?
Absolutely! Just make sure you refrigerate it.