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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.

White wine sauce on pasta in pan
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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.

White wine sauce in pan

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.
White wine sauce on pasta in pan with tongs

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:

Dietary notes

This white wine sauce is vegetarian. For gluten-free, use gluten-free flour.

Frequently asked questions

Does simmering the wine burn off all the alcohol in this sauce?

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.

What is a substitute for white wine in a sauce?

The best options are dry vermouth, vegetable broth, or chicken broth. See Best Substitute for White Wine in Cooking.

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Easy White Wine Sauce

White wine sauce
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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.2 from 20 reviews

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.

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • 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

Scale
  • 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

  1. Mince the garlic. Finely chop the shallot.
  2. 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.
  3. Add white wine and cream and cook on a low simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
  4. 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.

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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.

    About the authors

    Alex & Sonja

    Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

    Leave a Comment

    Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    42 Comments

    1. Samuel Paga says:

      I found this dip horrid, yet edible. My distinguished rating shall be 2 stars.






    2. Brian Jones says:

      Fantastic white wine recipe, I use it all the time. Try having a metric conversion link in your recipe list.

    3. Amy Bowerman says:

      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!






    4. Eileen Mc quilk8n says:

      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 😵‍💫

    5. Lisa miller says:

      This sauce is delish on fish






    6. owen smith says:

      like ur stuff

    7. Kevin Starbuck says:

      I’ve made this recipe multiple times. Someone commented that the wine was too strong, so I tried making it again with half as much wine, and I was pleased with the result. White wines vary greatly, so I am experimenting with different types. I’ve done this with Gruyère and Parmesan at different times. This is a good recipe, but you may need to tweak it to meet your own expectations. Don’t underestimate this recipe. It has great potential and it is becoming one I return to regularly.






      1. Alex Overhiser says:

        Thanks for the feedback! So glad you’ve enjoyed.

    8. Karla Krueger says:

      Excellent sauce recipe. So easy and quick. Doubled the recipe for over Baked Cod one night and Baked Chicken Thighs with mushrooms and pasta the following night. Such a great flavor. Added parsley the second night.






    9. Chefyl says:

      I’m quite enjoying tonight’s dinner, thanks to this recipe!
      My shallot was in the form of dried flakes, and I used it at 1:1; which may be too high a ratio. The sauce came out with a little too much texture, since the flakes didn’t fully reconstitute, but it’s a great flavor, so I can deal with it! I added linguine, smoked mussels, and spinach at the end to make my meal.
      Thanks for this, because I really needed something easy and tasty before the hectic workweek begins!






    10. lynn shapiro says:

      Your recipes are so easy and delish. Thanks for sharing.🥰






    11. Dianna Queen says:

      I’ve been using this recipe a lot over the last several months. It is a great versatile recipe. I like to cook shrimp in the pan, add the shallots and garlic right about when the shrimp is about to be done, then pick the shrimp out with tongs and continue with the recipe. My husband is sensitive to alcohol flavor, so I do simmer the wine a little longer(maybe a few minutes) before I add the cream and it comes out great. I’m guessing those that complain about the shallot chunks might not be chopping it small enough or using more than 1/4 cup. All this to say, I love this recipe. It works as is and can also be used as a building block for other recipes. Thank you!

    12. Robinson says:

      Your calculations on the amount of alcohol in the sauce are incorrect. You stated about .8 ounces of alcohol per serving, in reality its .8 ounces of wine per serving. As wine is generally around. 12-15% alcohol the actual amount of alcohol in this dish is far less.

    13. Martha Lyle says:

      This looks like an all purpose sauce that I would like to keep in the fridge. How long does it keep?






      1. Sonja Overhiser says:

        Because of the cheese in this sauce, it is best freshly made. We don’t recommend storing it. Thanks for asking!

    14. Carol says:

      In the White Wine Sauce pasta recipe it reads “serve with 8 ounces of pasta any shape”. I am wondering if your 8 ounces is a weight or a volume measurement here? And I assume this is a cooked measurement whichever gauge you are describing?
      Thank you looking forward to your reply.
      Carol J.

      1. Alex Overhiser says:

        He ounces dry pasta by weight. Half a standard box.

    15. Georgia says:

      I’m really into Italian cuisine and I made the sauce. The wine gives it’s such a fancy Italian taste. 10/10 love the smooth texture






    16. William Long says:

      Just made your white wine pasta sauce. What can I say, “Delicioso”!
      Best ever!! Thank you for the recipe.






      1. Alex Overhiser says:

        So glad you enjoyed!

    17. Disappointed says:

      Truly awful. Way too much wine flavor and shallot heavy despite cooking off alcohol for longer than recipe stated because it was just way too strong for the amount of other ingredients. Do not recommend.






      1. Alex Overhiser says:

        So sorry you didn’t enjoy it!

      2. EmmZee says:

        Agreed…I cooked the shallots and garlic for longer than instructed, but there were too many crunchy shallots and the wine was overpowering. Disappointing – because I was really looking forward to the wine, shallots, and butter/parm flavors melded together.






      3. Lisa V says:

        You do realize you can reduce the amount of wine?






        1. L says:

          But thinking makes my head hurt.






          1. Keith A. Nye says:

            Thank you for this recipe. This recipe is so versatile.
            I used your recipe for the White Wine Sauce for tonight’s dinner. I looked at your reviews and I knew that it would work with me meal. I had Sweet Italian Sausage. I boiled the sausage in water until it was almost done. I removed the sausage from my pan onto a plate and then discarded the water. I washed and dried the pan and placed it back onto the stove. I then heated the olive oil and all of the ingredients except for the garlic. When the wine sauce was starting to boil I then placed the sausage into the panel and cooked on medium heat for approximately 10-12 minutes. I removed the sausage from the pan and placed the olive oil white wine sauce into a small cream pitcher. I served the sausage and poured the sauce over the sausage and added parmesan cheese. It was delicious. Again, thank you for the recipe.






      4. Anonymous says:

        Agreed, everyone that gave this a good rating is drunk on the alcohol cooked at way too low of a temp. And since the cream is added at the same time if you try to cook it off properly the sauce will split.






    18. Anonymous says:

      yummy






    19. Dee says:

      Made this with what I had available . Not being a brilliant cook turned out dare I say a lot better than I thought. Very quick. Thanks 😊

    20. Tina Guthrie says:

      Looking forward to making your white wine sauces. They sound amazing! Thankyou!






    21. John-Paul DeRosa says:

      Thanks for the info about alcohol remaining in recipe despite cooking. News to me and quite important to know.

    22. Kelly Hopkins says:

      This was very easy and quick, I made it for lunch. I used red onion, no Shallots, added oregano, basil, and Old Bay. I also used Gouda cheese along with the parmesan.

      1. Sonja Overhiser says:

        Wow those additions sound DELICIOUS! Thanks for making it and we’ll have to try it that way sometime.

        1. Patty says:

          I made this white wine sauce poured it over rice added broccoli heads and asparagus as a side with chicken leg quarters… Delicious my husband loved it






    23. Holly says:

      I added ham (left over from Christmas) and champagne (left over from NYE, don’t judge). Also, used cheddar and bleu instead on parmesan (out of it thanks to the holidays). Such a yummy way to use up left overs!

      1. Hot Wine Milk says:

        You made hot wine milk

        1. Mark says:

          What a stupid comment.

    24. Melissa Dominguez says:

      I didn’t have shallots, omitted the cheese because we were using it for lobster ravioli and added a little lemon zest. Super easy and delicious!

      1. Brandon Vazquez says:

        Why was I not invited Melissa? :)

      2. Kristian Heath says:

        I use this recipe so much. My children love the white wine sauce with added grated carrot and mushrooms. Poured over pasta
        Thank you.






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