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This garlic butter sauce is quick to whip up and makes anything taste like gold! Here’s how to make this simple recipe.
Looking for a sauce that works for vegetables, chicken, fish and everything in between? This garlic butter sauce tastes like pure gold, and it’s the dipping and drizzling sauce you’ve been waiting for. It’s rich and salty, with a burst of pure garlic flavor. This one takes just 5 minutes to whip up, and it’s easy to make a double batch that lasts for weeks. Here’s how to make this simple sauce!
Ingredients in garlic butter sauce
This garlic butter sauce is only 4 ingredients, making it one of those pantry staples that’s easy to whip up without a shopping trip! (We always need more of those.) In fact, if you don’t regularly stock parsley in your refrigerator, you can omit it from the recipe. Here are the ingredients you’ll need to have on hand:
- Salted butter: salted butter has a more developed flavor, and we always have it on hand. If all you have is unsalted, add another ⅛ teaspoon salt to the sauce.
- Garlic cloves: For best results, always use fresh garlic! Jarred minced garlic won’t have the same results (the flavor is muted).
- Parsley: the fresh herb adds a nice look, but it’s totally optional.
- Kosher salt: salt is crucial for the flavor here.
Variation: add lemon!
Want to add a zing to this recipe? Make it into lemon garlic butter sauce! All you need to do is add 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and the zest of ½ lemon. Stir it in when you add the parsley in this recipe, and it will add an irresistible citrus undertone (like in this lemon butter sauce).
A few notes on parsley
Parsley is an important garnish in many recipes, since the bright green confetti makes everything look more appealing! You can use it in anything from garlic bread to pan seared salmon.
Ever stored fresh parsley in the fridge in the plastic bag you bought it in, only to realize a few days later that it’s going bad? The best way to store it is in an herb saver or canning jar. Stored properly, it can last 1 to 2 weeks. Go to How to Store Parsley.
Storage info
How long does homemade garlic butter sauce last? Store leftovers refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 1 month. The sauce solidifies when it’s cold, so re-heat it on the stovetop before serving.
One note: the parsley loses its bright green color during storage! You can add more fresh chopped parsley when you serve it to revive the color.
Ways to use garlic butter sauce
There are many ways to use this garlic butter sauce. You could use it with pasta, but this one is more intended as a dipping or drizzling sauce for vegetables, fish, or meats. Here are some ideas:
- Roasted vegetables like asparagus, green beans, broccoli, potatoes, and sweet potatoes
- Fish like pan seared salmon, sauteed shrimp, grilled salmon, grilled shrimp, cod, mahi mahi, halibut, and more
- Chicken like roasted chicken or pan fried chicken
- Grilled vegetables like corn, green beans, broccoli, potatoes, zucchini and asparagus
More garlic recipes
There are so many ways to use garlic in recipes! Here are a few more great garlic recipes to try:
- Go for Garlic Roasted Potatoes or Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Make easy Garlic Confit or Garlic Noodles
- Make Honey Garlic Salmon or Garlic Chicken
- Opt for Easy Garlic Butter or Garlic Herb Butter
- Bake up a pan of Garlic Fries
- Make Roasted Garlic
This garlic butter sauce recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten-free.
Garlic Butter Sauce
This garlic butter sauce is quick to whip up and makes anything taste like gold! Here’s how to make this simple recipe.
- Prep Time: 4 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: ¼ cup 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons salted butter*
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a saucepan or skillet over low heat.
- Once melted, add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute (keep the heat low and don’t let it brown!). Remove from heat. Stir in the chopped parsley and kosher salt.
- Serve immediately as a drizzle for vegetables, salmon, white fish, shrimp or chicken: a little goes a long way. (Store leftovers refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 1 month; it solidifies when cold so re-heat on the stovetop before serving. Note that the parsley loses its bright green color; you can add more fresh chopped parsley when you serve it.)
Notes
*This quantity makes ¼ cup and is easy to double to make a larger recipe. If all you have is unsalted butter, add an additional ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt to the recipe.
**Variation: make lemon butter sauce by adding 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and the zest of ½ lemon.
Let us know if you have any questions!