This Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce recipe is an easy way to turn a simple meal into something absolutely delicious. It uses just a few ingredients to make the most creamy, flavorful, and super versatile cream sauce that you can mix with pasta, use in casseroles and bakes, drizzle over chicken, and so much more.
Easy Garlic Lemon Cream Sauce
This creamy lemon garlic sauce is the perfect last minute dinner solution. It’s super creamy, delicious, and best of all takes just a few minutes to whip together. Mix it into your favorite pasta and top with fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese for a super simple dinner. Or, use it in place of Alfredo sauce in all sorts of pasta bakes and casseroles.
You can even use this lemon garlic butter sauce as a simple way to make roasted veggies, baked potatoes, salmon, shrimp, or any chicken recipe a little more exciting. It’s really hard to go wrong, even with any picky eaters.
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Serving Suggestions
Here are a few of our favorite ways to serve this creamy lemon sauce:
- Serve with lemon zest, fresh parsley, and extra Parmesan cheese over your favorite cooked pasta.
- Substitute anywhere you would normally use regular Alfredo sauce, such as Creamy Garlic Tortellini Alfredo, Chicken Stuffed Shells with Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo, or this Chicken Alfredo Dip.
- Drizzle over chicken breasts, baked potatoes, or roasted veggies.
Key Ingredients
- Butter – this adds a silky smooth texture. You can use unsalted or salted butter for this recipe. If you choose salted butter, you may choose to add less salt at the end.
- Garlic – fresh minced garlic or grated garlic has the strongest flavor. Be sure to cook the garlic in the butter until the garlic is transparent. You can substitute garlic powder if you prefer, keeping in mind that the garlic flavor will be much more muted.
- Lemon – fresh lemons are the star of the show. You’ll need both the zest and the juice from a fresh lemon. Make sure and zest the lemon before juicing it, and be sure to hold off on adding the juice until after the cream sauce has warmed up. This helps keep the sauce from curdling. The tanginess from the lemon juice balances perfectly with the creaminess.
- Chicken Broth – you can use any type of chicken broth. Or, substitute vegetable broth to make this recipe vegetarian. You could also use a splash of white wine.
- Heavy Whipping Cream – this is the key to add that lovely creamy texture. It adds flavor and body to the sauce, keeping it super creamy. You can substitute milk or half and half but the sauce won’t be quite as rich.
- Parmesan Cheese – make sure and use freshly grated Parmesan cheese. The kind from the can won’t melt properly. The parmesan cheese melts beautifully into the cream and adds an incredible depth of flavor.
Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce Variations
- Lemon garlic chicken pasta. Toss the sauce with sliced grilled chicken and pasta. Or try my Lemon Thyme Chicken Pasta.
- Lemon garlic shrimp. Sauté 1 pound of shrimp in the garlic butter first, set it aside, then stir it back in at the end.
- Over salmon. Spoon the sauce over baked salmon or drizzle it over Lemon Garlic Salmon.
- White wine. Swap ¼ cup of the broth for dry white wine for a restaurant-style flavor.
- Extra cheesy. Increase the Parmesan to 1 cup for a richer, thicker sauce.
- Spinach and sun-dried tomato. Stir in 2 handfuls of fresh spinach and ½ cup of chopped sun-dried tomatoes at the end.
- Lighter. Use half-and-half instead of heavy cream. Keep the heat low, since it’s more likely to curdle.
- Lemon ricotta. Love lemony pasta? Try my Lemon Ricotta Pasta.
Frequently Asked Questions
Heavy cream can simmer safely without curdling. It’s the lemon juice that causes trouble. Take the sauce off the heat and let it cool for a minute before slowly whisking in the lemon juice. Using heavy cream (not milk or half-and-half) also helps, since the higher fat keeps it from breaking.
We don’t recommend freezing this sauce because the texture will change once it is frozen and thawed. It’s best to either use the sauce immediately, or store for up to 3 days in the fridge and reheat over low heat once you want to use it.
Once the sauce begins to cool, it will immediately thicken. Because of this, it’s important to reheat over low heat, stirring often. I also like to add a little extra splash of heavy cream, broth, or even white wine to the sauce before reheating to thin it out just a touch.
Don’t toss it! Whisk in a splash of warm heavy cream, or blend it briefly with an immersion blender until smooth.
It needs to simmer a little longer. Let the broth and cream bubble gently for 4 to 6 minutes until reduced, then add the Parmesan, which thickens it even more. It will keep thickening as it cools.
This recipe makes about 1½ cups of sauce, enough to coat 1 pound of pasta. For an extra-saucy pasta, double it.
Yes! Use vegetable broth, dry white wine, or reserved pasta water instead.
It’s delicious tossed with spaghetti or fettuccine, spooned over chicken, salmon, or shrimp, or drizzled over roasted asparagus or broccoli.
Storing and Reheating
- Refrigerator: if you have leftovers or want to make this sauce ahead of time, allow to cool at room temperature and then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To reheat: reheat in a pot over low heat, adding a splash of heavy cream, broth, or white wine and stirring frequently. Continue to thin the sauce as needed.
Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 large lemon, zested and then juiced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (plus more for garnish)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound pasta
- fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente. Save 1/2 cup of the pasta water, then drain.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add the butter and minced garlic. Cook while stirring for about 2 minutes, or until the garlic is transparent.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the lemon zest. Cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Whisk in the broth and heavy cream. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring often, until reduced by about a third and thick enough to coat a spoon.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the Parmesan until melted. Let it cool for 1 minute, then slowly whisk in the lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Toss the sauce with the pasta, adding a splash of pasta water if needed to loosen it. Finish with fresh parsley and additional Parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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More Simple Pasta Recipes to Try
- Alfredo Sauce
- Garlic Asiago Pasta Sauce
- Baked Mac and Cheese
- Tomato Feta Pasta
- Easy Baked Ziti
- Homemade Lasagna
- Slow Cooker Tortellini Bake
- Chicken Pesto Pasta
- Garlic Parmesan Orzo
- Baked Penne Pasta with Italian Meatballs
- Homemade Meat Sauce for Pasta
- More Pasta Recipes
- More Sauce Recipes
This easy Lemon Garlic Butter Cream Sauce is the perfect last minute dinner solution. It’s creamy, quick to prepare, and can be mixed with pasta, used in casseroles, drizzled over chicken, and more.
Categories:
30-Minute Meals, Easy Weeknight Meals, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Pasta, Pasta Sauce, Sauces & Condiments, Valentine's Day,
Thank you for the absolutely delicious recipe. I’ve made this with gnocchi and bucatini. Holy mackerel it’s good.
The flavor of the sauce was absolutely delicious. My husband enjoyed it with the chicken roast. Even my 5 yr old tried it and gave it a thumbs up and a big YUMMY. Easy to make. My only concern was the consistency. Although it worked as needed mine was a little soupy than creamy. I used heavy cream and all other ingredients as recommended. Any suggestions?