Just 6-ingredients and under 10 minutes are needed to make this fuss-free, restaurant-quality lemon garlic butter sauce – perfect for serving over seafood, meat, vegetables, and pasta!
Very recently, I shared a recipe for simple 3-ingredient lemon butter. After storing some in the fridge and some in the freezer, I used the remainder to whip up this easy lemon garlic butter sauce and couldn’t wait to share the results. This simple sauce combines lightly browned butter (which is nutty, toasty, and utterly delicious), garlic, lemon juice and zest, and salt and pepper. The result is a lemon and butter sauce that’s incredibly simple but makes for a silky, rich, and bright flavor-booster to fish, meat, veggies, pasta, or practically any dish!
Even better, as this lemon butter sauce comprises entirely of pantry/kitchen staples, it’s easy to make for a last-minute meal any day of the week! Plus, if you want to experiment, I’ve included 6+ of my favorite optional add-ins and variations; whether you want to make a lemon caper sauce, creamy lemon butter sauce, add white wine, and more. Most options are keto/low-carb and gluten-free, too!
Plus, once prepared, you can store the brown butter lemon sauce either in the fridge for several days or in the freezer for up to 3 months! Meaning you have a simple, restaurant-quality sauce to hand whenever required! And, if you want more simple sauce inspiration, you might enjoy this simple tomato sauce, roasted red pepper sauce, chimichurri, or vegan basil pesto!
The Ingredients
- Butter: use high-quality store-bought or homemade unsalted butter.
- Lemon: it’s best to use an unwaxed, organic lemon, as we’ll be using the fresh lemon juice and zest.
- Salt & Pepper: added to taste.
- Parsley: I used fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped. I don’t recommend using dried parsley for this recipe.
- Garlic: I used a fresh garlic clove for a more robust lemon garlic butter sauce, though mashed roasted garlic should also work. Adjust the amount to taste.
Optional Add-ins and Variations
Below are just a few of my top flavor variations for this simple lemon butter sauce recipe. Most add just 1-2 extra ingredients and are still just as simple and fuss-free!
- Lemon caper butter sauce: mix in 2-3 teaspoons of tangy, briny capers (or more or less, to taste), perfect for serving as a lemon butter sauce for fish.
- White wine: add a generous splash of white wine (2-3 Tbsp) to the sauce and allow it to cook off for a few minutes.
- Lemon butter cream sauce: if you prefer it creamy, you’ll love this version of a creamy lemon butter sauce. After preparing this recipe up until adding the parsley, mix in 2-3 tablespoon of either white wine or vegetable stock/chicken broth. Mix well, then follow that with a few tablespoons of heavy cream and stir in slowly. Taste and adjust any of the ingredients to taste.
- Dill: lemon butter dill sauce is a simple and popular option for salmon and other fish. Simply swap out the parsley for dill. Adjust the amount to taste. This sauce would also work well with a splash of white wine.
- Herbs: add a few sage leaves to the browning butter until crisp. This works wonderfully as a simple sauce for gnocchi and ravioli. Thyme and rosemary would also work.
- Parmesan: lemon butter parmesan sauce is a delicious addition to simple pasta, ravioli, or gnocchi. Simply stir in a few tablespoons of freshly grated parmesan cheese right at the end (once the heat is off).
- Spice: add a hint of spice to the garlic butter lemon sauce with a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- Vegan: use high-quality vegan butter. Coconut oil/olive oil may also work, but the flavor will vary.
How to Make Lemon Butter Sauce?
Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Then melt the butter in the pan, whisking often, until the butter starts to lightly brown and takes on a nutty aroma (usually 3-4 minutes), then turn off the heat.
Meanwhile, mince or grate the garlic and finely chop the parsley (you could also have done this before the above step if preferred).
Add all the remaining ingredients (garlic, parsley, lemon zest and juice, and salt and pepper) into the brown butter and mix well – and that’s it, the brown butter lemon sauce is ready!
If you’d prefer, you can add the garlic earlier on in the cooking process, so it has more time to sizzle and brown (30-40 seconds is all that’s needed) and won’t be quite as “robust.”
Serving Recommendations
To say that the serving options for this garlic butter lemon sauce are plentiful would be an understatement. Here are some of my top recommendations:
- Fish: lemon butter sauce makes for the ultimate fish topper (and super versatile, too). Use it with salmon, tilapia, mahi mahi, cod, trout, flounder, halibut, snapper, etc.
- Other seafood: including shrimp, scallops, crab, lobster, mussels, clams, squid, calamari, etc.
- Meat: you can enjoy this garlic butter lemon sauce with chicken, turkey, over steak, kebabs, etc.
- Pasta: this simple lemon butter garlic pasta sauce will work well with plain pasta, shrimp noodles, ravioli, gnocchi, and more.
- Vegetables: this is perfect for drizzling and tossing over roasted, grilled, boiled, or steamed veggies, including broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, asparagus, green beans, new potatoes, corn on the cob, etc. You can also use it when sautéing mushrooms or stir it into creamy mashed potato.
- Grains: drizzle over cooked rice (like brown rice or basmati), quinoa, couscous, etc., to boost the flavor.
- Eggs: add a little to fried or scrambled eggs to boost flavor.
- Bread: add to warm bread or use to make simple homemade garlic bread with a crusty loaf.
How to Store and Reheat?
Store: store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Freeze: I like to freeze the lemon garlic butter sauce in a large ice cube tray for “portioned” amounts. Freeze until solid, then transfer to an airtight freezer bag/container for up to 3 months.
Reheat: you can reheat it gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
- Can I use salted butter? Yes, technically, you could. I prefer not to, though, as I’m then able to season it to taste.
- Do I need to brown the butter? Not at all. I love the added depth of flavor to the brown butter lemon sauce. However, simply melting the butter and allowing the garlic to cook in it for 30-40 seconds will still taste delicious.
- Adjust to taste: The simplicity of this lemon brown butter sauce means it’s easy to adapt any elements to your specific taste.
- For a clear sauce: when the butter foams in your pan, use a spoon to skim away the milk solids.
- For extra pizazz: slice some lemon very thinly and cook it in the sauce, then use it to garnish your protein/veggies of choice for a restaurant-quality meal.
- Use a light colored saucepan: that way, you can easily notice the color change in the butter and avoid burning it.
More Easy Lemon Recipes
- Garlic lemon pasta (Pasta al Limone)
- Lemon and dill baked salmon
- Simple Lemon Butter (Compound butter)
- Lemon, ginger, and cayenne immunity shots
- Lemon herb tahini sauce
- Honey fermented ginger and lemon
If you try this easy garlic lemon butter sauce recipe, I’d love to hear your thoughts/questions below. Also, I’d appreciate a recipe card rating below, and tag me in your recipe recreations on Instagram @Alphafoodie!
Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce (6+ Flavor Variations)
Ingredients
- 9 oz butter unsalted (use vegan if preferred); 1 cup
- 1 lemon zest and juice (3 Tbsp), organic unwaxed is best
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 clove garlic adjust amount to taste
- 1-2 stems parsley flat leaf
Check the blog post for all optional add-in suggestions!
Instructions
- Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Then melt the butter in the pan, whisking often, until the butter starts to lightly brown and takes on a nutty aroma (usually 3-4 minutes), then turn off the heat.
- Meanwhile, mince or grate the garlic and finely chop the parsley (you could also have done this before the above step if preferred).
- Add all the remaining ingredients (garlic, parsley, lemon zest and juice, and salt and pepper) into the brown butter and mix well – and that's it, the brown butter lemon sauce is ready!If you'd prefer, you can add the garlic earlier on in the cooking process, so it has more time to sizzle and brown (30-40 seconds is all that’s needed) and won't be quite as "robust."
How to Store?
- Store: store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Freeze: I like to freeze the lemon garlic butter sauce in a large ice cube tray for "portioned" amounts. Freeze until solid, then transfer to an airtight freezer bag/container for up to 3 months. Reheat: you can reheat the lemon butter sauce gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Notes
- Can I use salted butter? Yes, technically, you could. I prefer not to, though, as I’m then able to season it to taste.
- Do I need to brown the butter? Not at all. I love the added depth of flavor to the brown butter lemon sauce. However, simply melting the butter and allowing the garlic to cook in it for 30-40 seconds will still taste delicious.
- Adjust to taste: the simplicity of this lemon butter sauce means it’s easy to adapt any elements to your specific taste.
- For a clear sauce: when the butter foams in your pan, use a spoon to skim away the milk solids.
- For extra pizazz: very thinly slice some lemon and cook it in the sauce, then use it to garnish your protein/veggies of choice for a restaurant-quality meal.
- Use a light-colored saucepan: that way, you can easily notice the color change in the butter and avoid burning it.
Cyndi
I’m confused on the amount of butter to use. Is it 1 cup or 9 oz? When the 9 oz is melted does it make 1 cup? A little help here!
Support @ Alphafoodie
Hi Cyndi,
Yes, 9 oz butter when melted should make 1 cup.