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Easy garlic butter sauce recipe for steak, pasta, fish, shrimp, lamb, vegetables, and more! This homemade butter sauce is versatile, quick, and ready in just 5 minutes. It tastes great and makes use of 3 simple ingredients.
This Garlic butter sauce is about to be your favorite as it is ours. We use it on almost everything and It takes dishes to restaurant-style quality by making food taste better.
Why not add this sauce to your chicken, steak, pizza, and more? Let me show you how to make it from scratch.
Garlic butter Sauce Recipe
Garlic butter sauce makes dishes better. It is flavorful, buttery, and garlicky. I mean the stars of this marinade are these two ingredients so if you like butter and you like garlic, you will love this sauce.
You can’t go wrong with this simple and quick recipe. It takes less than 5 minutes to make and your dinner will thank you for it.
With homemade garlic butter, you know what’s inside and can adjust the garlic to suit your taste. You’re also sure there’s no artificial color and preservative.
Ingredients
The detailed ingredient list, measurement, and are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Butter– I use lightly salted butter as this is what I usually have at home and use in most of my recipes. If using unsalted butter, add half a teaspoon of salt.
Garlic– Fresh garlic that you chop or mince is best for this recipe but yu can use frozen minced or chopped garlic.
Pepper -Black pepper is what i use but you can substitute for
Herbs – (Optional) Use this when making garlic herb butter. Herbs you can add are parsley, rosemary, thyme, coriander, sage.
Lemon– (Optional) This works well with the sauce, deepens the flavor and gives it a tangy taste.
How to Make Garlic Butter Sauce
Peel the garlic, rinse and mince, chop or blend.
Put a pan on the stove and add in the butter. When it starts to melt, add in the garlic and stir till garlic is fragrant. This takes about 1-2 minutes.
Do not cook longer than this to prevent it from burning.
Add in the pepper, and herbs if using and stir till combined.
Take it off heat and it’s ready to use.
You can make this sauce in the microwave by simply adding all the ingredients to a microwave-safe bowl, mix till combined, and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds adding by 10 seconds if more time needed till it’s melted. This method is good if you like it thick and creamy as you don’t have to fully melt the mixture.
What to use on
Garlic butter sauce is versatile and goes with a lot of food. From shrimp to steak, fish, and more. Below are some recommendations.
For Steak – It’s perfect on steak like this instant pot steak, and air fryer steak.
Fish – Use on white fish like cod, haddock. Air fryer fish.
Lamb – It’s perfect on lamb like this air fryer lamb chops and instant pot lamb chops.
Pasta – Add it to pasta dishes to take it up a notch. You will like it on Garlic butter shrimp pasta, Linguine, fettucini, and Fried spaghetti
Shrimp – Use on shrimp and prawns.
Bread – Use on bread to make garlic bread.
Potatoes– Pour on mashed potatoes. It’s also good with Roast potatoes and Parmentier potatoes.
Vegetables – It’s great on vegetables like sauteed vegetables and air fryer vegetables.
How to Store
It’s so easy and quick to make that you really don’t need to make it ahead, however, if you do or have leftover you can store it for later use. To do this, transfer into an airtight container, leave to cool, and put in the fridge. It will last in the fridge for 5 days. You can reheat in the microwave, stovetop, or simply put the jar bottom in a bowl of hot water.
To reheat in the microwave – start with 30sec and add more time if needed till you get the desired consistency. Stir and use.
To reheat on the stove – Pour in a saucepan on the stove, stir till melted, and take off the heat immediately it’s melted. Be careful not to burn it in the process.
Variations
Garlic herb butter sauce – To make this herby garlic butter, add herbs of your choice. I personally like to use parsley and rosemary. For the quantity in this recipe, 1/2 tablespoon of each is perfect.
Honey garlic butter sauce– Like sweet things? Add honey to this sauce for that sticky, sweet taste. It gives a sticky sauce and is great when used on chicken and ribs. Add two tablespoons of honey immediately after taking the sauce off the heat, and stir it in till well combined.
Lemon garlic butter sauce – Lemon adds tang and deepens the flavor. This variation is especially great on fish and lambs especially white fish which can sometimes be bland. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the sauce, and mix till well combined. I like to use freshly squeezed lemon juice and not from concentrate.
Tips for Making Garlic Butter Sauce
- Use good quality butter.
- If using unsalted butter, add half a teaspoon of salt or adjust to taste.
- Add more pepper if you’d like it spicy or leave it out if that’s your preference.
- Adjust garlic quantity to suit your preference.
- Substitute fresh garlic for garlic powder or granules.
- If making it compound garlic butter, just add the ingredients together, wrap it in clingfilm, and put it in the fridge. No heating or microwave required.
- If browning the butter, use a light-colored saucepan so you see the color and avoid it getting burnt.
- Don’t burn the garlic and butter. Take off heat immediately the butter is melted and garlic fragrant.
- Add herbs to make it herb butter sauce.
How do you thicken garlic butter sauce?
You can thicken with cornflour or all purpose flour. Mix 1 part of flour with 3 parts of water, pour it in the sauce and stir till it thickens then take off the heat.
More Sauce Recipes
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Easy Garlic Butter Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 110 g Butter slightly salted
- 4 cloves Garlic minced or chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon Parsley Optional
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt If using unsalted butter
Instructions
- Peel the garlic, rinse and mince, chop or blend.
- Put a pan on the stove and add in the butter. When it starts to melt, add in the garlic and stir till garlic is fragrant. This takes about 1-2 minutes. Do not cook longer than this to prevent it from burning.
- Add in the pepper, and herbs if using and stir till combined.
- Take it off heat and it's ready to use.You can make this sauce in the microwave by simply adding all the ingredients to a microwave-safe bowl, mix till combined, and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds adding by 10 seconds if more time needed till it's melted.
Recipe Notes
- Use good quality butter.
- If using unsalted butter, add half a teaspoon of salt or adjust to taste.
- Add more pepper if you’d like it spicy or leave it out if that’s your preference.
- Adjust garlic quantity to suit your preference.
- Substitute fresh garlic for garlic powder or granules.
- If making it compound garlic butter, just add the ingredients together, wrap it in clingfilm, and put it in the fridge. No heating or microwave required.
- If browning the butter, use a light-colored saucepan so you see the color and avoid it getting burnt.
- Don’t burn the garlic and butter. Take off heat immediately the butter is melted and garlic fragrant.
- Add herbs to make it garlic herb butter sauce.
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