Lemon Butter Sauce

This rich, flavorful lemon butter sauce is delicious on pasta, roasted veggies, and more. Made with 5 ingredients, it comes together in minutes.

Lemon butter sauce

Earlier this spring, I started making this lemon butter sauce to serve with steamed artichokes. Since then, I’ve started serving it with so much more – pasta, roasted veggies, couscous. It’s deliciously buttery and rich, with a bright, savory flavor from lemon juice and garlic. You only need 5 ingredients to make it, and it comes together in less than 5 minutes. I mean, why not drizzle it over everything?

Lemon butter sauce recipe ingredients

Lemon Butter Sauce Recipe Ingredients

You only need 5 ingredients to make this recipe:

  • Butter, of course! I recommend using unsalted butter here. That way, you have complete control over the seasoning. If you use salted butter, or if you make this recipe with vegan butter, omit the salt and season to taste.
  • Fresh lemon juice – Its bright flavor cuts the butter’s richness.
  • Garlic – For savory depth of flavor.
  • And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop.

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

Bowl of artichoke pasta

How to Use Lemon Butter Sauce

Once you have this lemon butter sauce recipe in your back pocket, have fun experimenting with different ways to use it. It’s amazingly versatile, and I think you’ll find that it tastes great on all sorts of dishes. Here are a few serving suggestions to get you started:

How do you like to serve this lemon sauce? Let me know in the comments!

Lemon butter sauce recipe

More Favorite Sauce Recipes

If you love this recipe, try one of these easy sauces next:

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Lemon Butter Sauce

rate this recipe:
5 from 50 votes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
This lemon garlic butter sauce is rich, flavorful, and SO easy to make! Serve it on pasta, couscous, roasted veggies, and more.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the garlic and salt and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice. Season with freshly ground pepper and sprinkle with parsley and red pepper flakes, if using.
  • Serve with steamed artichokes for dipping or toss with pasta. See the blog post above for additional serving suggestions.

Notes

Make this recipe vegan by using vegan butter. Because vegan butter is already salted, omit the salt, and season to taste. 

34 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Mary Alice
    11.18.2023

    5 stars
    Great gluten free sauce for gluten free pasta!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      11.19.2023

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.