Easy Garlic Butter Sauce

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This simple and easy garlic butter sauce is made with 6 ingredients. Garlic and butter are the all star ingredients with a freshness added by fresh lemon juice. Toss with pasta, wings, or serve it with bread.

Garlic butter sauce with fresh parsley.
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Easy Garlic Butter Sauce

There is nothing better than the combination of butter and garlic. No matter who you are you will never convince me that it isn’t the perfect combination of ingredients.

We add a bit of fresh lemon juice to cut the richness for this garlic butter sauce and it balances the sauce out perfectly.

How to use garlic butter sauce

This garlic butter sauce is so versatile. There are a few different ways that we love to use it, but get creative and test it out on anything!

  • As a pasta sauce
  • Tossed with chicken wings
  • Serve with bread as a dip
  • Use as a dipping sauce for crab or lobster
  • Butter adds richness and delicious flavor to our sauce. Make sure to use a good quality butter– Kerrygold is my favorite!
  • Olive oil helps thin the sauce and adds a bit of earthy flavor to the sauce.
  • Garlic is the star of the show in this sauce. Two tablespoons is a lot– but it is a garlic sauce!
  • Lemon adds freshness and acidity to balance out the sauce.

All the ingredients for garlic butter sauce in small bowls.

How to Make Garlic Butter Sauce

Melt butter, olive oil, and garlic

Add the butter, olive oil, and garlic to a small saucepan and heat the ingredients together over medium heat. Whisk the ingredients together as they melt until they are homogenous.

Heat the ingredients together until hot but not boiling.

Add lemon juice

Remove the saucepan from the heat and then add in the lemon juice. Whisk the lemon juice into the other ingredients.

Lastly, add the parsley and the salt to the sauce.

serve

Serve this sauce warm over pasta, toss with warm chicken wings, or warm as a dip.

Garlic, butter, and olive oil in a small saucepan.

Top Tips for Making Garlic Butter Sauce

Use quality butter. We must reiterate the point that quality butter is key for this recipe. It’s in the title, people. If you use a low quality butter your sauce will be low quality as well.

Keep the sauce warm until ready to serve. Because there is so much butter in this recipe, as the sauce cools it will begin to turn into a solid. Keep the sauce over low heat until you are ready to serve the sauce.

Don’t skip the lemon juice. Because this is such a rich sauce the lemon juice adds brightness.

pasta sauce

how to

Thicken Pasta Sauce

Is your pasta sauce too thin? Here are some easy ways to thicken pasta sauce!

FAQ

What is garlic butter sauce made of?

This garlic butter sauce is made of butter, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, and salt.

How do you thicken garlic butter sauce?

If you’d like a thicker garlic butter sauce you can make a cornstarch slurry with 2 tablespoons of water and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch. Whisk those two ingredients together and then add them to a warm sauce and whisk the slurry into the sauce. Heat the sauce until it begins to thicken.

What can i add to pasta if I have no sauce?

If you want pasta and don’t have a sauce, make this super simple garlic butter sauce.

Storage

We do not recommend storing this sauce after making it!

A plate of pasta tossed with garlic butter sauce.

Easy Garlic Butter Sauce

This easy garlic butter sauce is made with 6 ingredients and can be used as a pasta sauce, tossed with wings, or as a tasty dip for warm bread.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Servings: 8
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Ingredients 

  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish
  • Flakey sea salt, for garnish

Instructions 

  • Add the butter, olive oil, and garlic to a small saucepan set over medium heat.
    Garlic, butter, and olive oil in a small saucepan.
  • Cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter is fully melted and the garlic is fragrant– about 1 minute.
  • Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until the garlic begins to turn light brown (be very careful not to burn the garlic).
    Simmering garlic butter sauce in a small saucepan.
  • Immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
  • Serve immediately, garnished with fresh parsley and flakey sea salt.
    Garlic butter sauce with fresh parsley.
  • This sauce is best enjoyed immediately after it is prepared. I do not recommend storing it for later consumption.
    A plate of pasta tossed with garlic butter sauce.

Tips & Notes

  • Butter adds richness and delicious flavor to our sauce. Make sure to use a good quality butter– Kerrygold is my favorite!
  • Olive oil helps thin the sauce and adds a bit of earthy flavor to the sauce.
  • Garlic is the star of the show in this sauce. Two tablespoons is a lot– but it is a garlic sauce!
  • Lemon adds freshness and acidity to balance out the sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 76 kcal, Carbohydrates: 3 g, Protein: 1 g, Fat: 7 g, Fiber: 0.5 g, Sugar: 1 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About Linley Hanson

Linley is a 5โ€ฒ nothing spitball of positive energy who joined Team Fit Foodie Finds (our sister site) in the Spring of 2014. Linley has worked on the digital side of small businesses and nonprofits since 2011, where she specialized in social media community management. Lin has a passion for food and an incredible palate. She is TCKโ€™s chief recipe developer, so you can thank her for these incredible recipes!

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