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This white wine sauce is easy to make and full of tangy, savory flavor from dry wine and Parmesan. Serve as a sauce for pasta, chicken or fish.
Want to cook with wine? Here’s our go-to white wine sauce for pasta, chicken, or fish that’s easy with beautiful flavor. Adding wine to a sauce makes it taste like it’s from a fancy restaurant—but it’s easy to make at home! The flavor tangy from the wine and savory from the Parmesan cheese.
Our favorite way to serve this sauce is with pasta: it’s a simple light sauce that takes only 15 minutes to put together. But it works well with pan seared chicken or baked salmon too! Add a green vegetable like sauteed broccolini or roasted asparagus to make it a meal.
How to choose a white wine for cooking
Why cook with wine? Italian and French style recipes often call for white wine in the ingredient list. It’s used to de-glaze the pan or add a complex, acidic flavor to dishes. It adds incredible complexity to risotto or pan sauces like this white wine sauce!
What wine to use for cooking? Use any dry white wine here. You’ll want a crisp white wine that doesn’t have any hint of sweetness. Make sure to avoid cooking wine, since it has a bitter flavor. Types of white wine that are great for cooking are:
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Chardonnay
- Pinot Grigio
- Pinot Gris
Tip: You might have dry vermouth on hand for using in cocktails, like a Martini—did you know it doubles as a cooking wine? Its crisp, dry flavor is versatile and works as a substitute for white wine in cooking.
Keys to this white wine sauce
In addition to the wine, are a few things that bring major flavor to this sauce. Here are a few of the secrets:
- Sauté garlic and shallot in butter. Melt the butter and sauté the aromatics, which will make your kitchen smell divine! Watch it carefully: you don’t want it to brown—just enough to be fragrant and transparent.
- Add flour: like a quick roux! The flour acts as a thickener. It’s like a quick version of a roux, a way to thicken creamy sauces like in this easy cream sauce.
- Add Parmesan cheese. After simmering the white wine and cream, a hint of Parmesan cheese adds a savory body to the flavors.
Ways to serve white wine sauce
This white wine sauce recipe makes enough for 8 ounces of pasta (4 modest servings). You can also serve it in many other ways. Here are some ideas:
- Serve it with long or short-cut pasta (spaghetti, bucatini, penne, or rigatoni) with fresh herbs like finely chopped parsley, basil, thyme or oregano.
- If serving the pasta as a main, add a side cannellini beans, white beans or arugula salad.
- Drizzle over salmon or chicken, like baked salmon or baked chicken.
- Add sauteed shrimp to make a shrimp pasta.
- Drizzle it over vegetables like roasted broccoli or roasted asparagus.
Dietary notes
This white wine sauce is vegetarian. For gluten-free, use gluten-free flour.
Frequently asked questions
When simmered for 5 minutes, about 15% of the alcohol burns off. Keep this in mind if you’re pregnant, alcohol-sensitive, or cooking for kids.
The best options are dry vermouth, vegetable broth, or chicken broth. See Best Substitute for White Wine in Cooking.
Easy White Wine Sauce
This white wine sauce is easy to make and full of tangy, savory flavor from dry wine and Parmesan. Serve as a sauce for pasta, chicken or fish.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 13 minutes
- Yield: About 1 cup, enough for 8 ounces pasta 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 shallot (¼ cup finely chopped)
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 tablespoon flour (or gluten-free flour)
- ½ cup white wine
- ½ cup heavy cream (or milk)
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Mince the garlic. Finely chop the shallot.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the garlic and shallot and saute for 1 minute, stirring, until fragrant but not browned. Add the flour and cook 1 more minute.
- Add white wine and cream and cook on a low simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the Parmesan cheese and salt and whisk until it melts. Taste and adjust salt if needed. If desired, serve with 8 ounces pasta of any shape.
More pasta sauce recipes
A few more of our favorite homemade pasta sauce recipes: this marinara sauce, tomato cream sauce or tomato basil sauce are our top choices for a red sauce. This basil pesto adds an herby flair to pasta. If you’re looking for plant-based options, try our fan-favorite vegan alfredo sauce.
I found this dip horrid, yet edible. My distinguished rating shall be 2 stars.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it!
Fantastic white wine recipe, I use it all the time. Try having a metric conversion link in your recipe list.
DELICIOUS!!! I just made this sauce and added wide egg noodles and ground beef to it. OMG… yum!! I added lemon zest from 1 lemon and lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon to mine & my family thoroughly enjoyed it. I will definitely be keeping this as my go-to sauce!
Thank you for making it!
This was delicious and exceeded my expectations. However, not easy on an electric stove. A lot of adjustments in terms of time and temperature. Doable but nerve racking 😵💫