Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce

This Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce has softened garlic in every spoonful, bright lemon flavor, and a rich, buttery finish. It takes about 10 minutes to make on the stove and stays pourable while warm.

I use this garlic lemon butter sauce in my Lemon Butter Baked Salmon and Lemon Butter Baked Shrimp, where it cooks right along with the seafood. I even blend it into my Cauliflower Soup for extra garlic flavor and a little brightness.

Why You’ll Love This Sauce

• Bright, savory flavor: Cooking the garlic gently in butter softens its bite, while lemon, herbs, and red pepper flakes balance the richness.
• Ready in about 10 minutes: You can make it while the rest of dinner cooks, without waiting for a sauce to simmer and thicken.
• More than a finishing sauce: Use it to bake seafood, add flavor to soup, or spoon over cooked meat and vegetables.

Ingredients You’ll Need

You’ll find all the amounts in the recipe card. Here are the substitutions and ingredient choices worth knowing before you start.

• Unsalted butter: Using unsalted butter lets you adjust the sea salt to your taste.
• Garlic: I usually buy small, peeled garlic cloves. If yours are larger, go by the 2–3 tablespoons minced rather than the number of cloves. Jarred minced garlic works too.
• Lemons: Freshly squeezed juice is my first choice. Bottled lemon juice works if that’s what you have.
• Herbs and seasonings: The salt-free 24 Herbs Sprinkle blend, fresh or dried parsley, sea salt, and red pepper flakes complete the sauce. Herbes de Provence can stand in for the seasoning blend, but the flavor will be a little different. Leave out the red pepper flakes for no added heat.

How to Make Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce

Use the process photos as a guide to the garlic’s color and the finished sauce.

Melt the Butter

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.

Cook the Garlic

Stir in the minced garlic. Once it smells fragrant and begins to soften, move to the next step. It shouldn’t turn golden brown; browned garlic can make the sauce taste bitter.

Finish the Sauce

Reduce the heat to low before adding the lemon juice, salt-free seasoning, parsley, sea salt, and red pepper flakes. Whisk to combine. The finished sauce is pourable, with pieces of garlic and herbs throughout—not a thick, creamy sauce.

Tips for the Best Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce

• Whisk before serving: Lemon juice and melted butter can separate a little as the sauce sits. Stir or whisk it again just before spooning it over your food; there’s no need to add a thickener.
• Add zest for more lemon flavor: If you want the lemon to stand out more, add a little zest along with the juice instead of adding extra liquid.
• Don’t worry if the garlic turns blue: I’ve noticed garlic pieces occasionally change color after the lemon juice goes in. The acid can cause this reaction, and the color change alone doesn’t mean the sauce has spoiled.

What to Serve With Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce

Since the sauce already has plenty of lemon and garlic, I like keeping the rest of the meal simple. For dishes that don’t cook with it, spoon it on just before serving.

• For another seafood dinner, brush the warm sauce over grilled shrimp skewers after cooking or spoon it over air fryer lobster tails. Add roasted green beans and cauliflower rice pilaf for a complete meal.
• For a simple chicken dinner, spoon it over seared chicken breasts and air fryer broccoli. The same sauce works on both, so there’s no need to make a separate dressing for the vegetables.
• For steak night, serve it over pan-seared steak with mashed cauliflower. You can also toss a little of the warm sauce with freshly cooked pasta just before serving.

Storing and Reheating

Refrigerate leftover sauce promptly in an airtight container and use it within 3 days. The butter will firm up when cold; that’s expected. Warm it gently in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until melted. For a small portion, microwave in short 15-second intervals, stirring between each one. Give the sauce one more stir before serving.