This sauce is a must-have for those of us who are busy and need to come up with something different for dinner each night. Creamy Lemon Sauce can be used with chicken breast, chicken thighs, shrimp, steak, or vegetables!
You can use this recipe with our Chicken Breast in Lemon Butter Sauce or Crispy Italian Chicken Cutlets.
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Why You Need This Sauce Recipe on Hand
If you're a busy person, you probably catch yourself making the same things for dinner over and over again. We do it too. Chicken cutlets almost once a week in our house. I love this recipe because even if I make it almost every week, I can substitute the main part of the meal.
This recipe makes it easy for me to switch it up with shrimp, chicken, pork, steak, or chickpeas without having to come up with a whole new meal every week. It is great to serve over a Classic Pork Chop Milanese. It's a great white wine sauce to learn and have on hand because it will teach you how a sauce should come together the more you make it!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- White Wine. When we're talking about a dry white wine, I like to use a sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio. I only use wines that I would enjoy drinking. If you're not a wine drinker, you can stick to something like Josh, Decoy, or Sea Salt brands.
- Capers. I notice people have a real problem with capers. I can't get enough of the salty goodness they provide to my dishes. If you despise capers, you can leave them out and it won't affect the recipe.
- Butter. Always use cold butter. This will help the milkfats separate slowly into the sauce without breaking the sauce.
*Please see more notes about ingredients below in the recipe card.
Variations
My favorite part about this white wine lemon butter sauce is that you can use it with so many different proteins or vegetables. We use it in our Chicken Breast in Lemon Butter Sauce.
Some options you may want to add lemon butter sauce to are:
- Grilled Asparagus
- Chicken thighs or Italian Chicken Cutlets or serve it over Cast Iron Lemon Basil Orzo with Chicken Thighs
- Shrimp Scampi with Zoodles
- Cast Iron Boneless Pork Chops
- Seared Flank Steak
- Cauliflower Steaks
- Mussels! I love our Steamed Mussels in White Wine but you could use this sauce to steam your mussels for a delicious flavor.
Step-by-Step Directions
This recipe is only for the sauce. Whenever using this recipe, you can cook whatever your protein or vegetable is in the same pan right before you start the sauce.
Step 1: Add olive oil to the pan over medium heat. Stir in the shallots and saute for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Add in the garlic and saute for another 1-2 minutes. Season with salt.
Step 2: Squeeze in the juice from the lemon and combine. Add the crushed red pepper. Let the lemon juice simmer for 15-30 seconds while stirring.
Step 3: Pour in the wine and some lemon slices and capers. Bring the wine to a simmer for 5 minutes.
Step 4: Reduce the heat and slowly add the heavy cream while stirring. Add in the butter once the mixture is heated through and combine.
Step 5: Stir in the parsley, basil, and black pepper. Let the mixture come to a low bubbling simmer.
Step 6: The sauce is complete and you can add whatever you want into the sauce now whether it be chicken, shrimp, cauliflower, or another fish or vegetable.
I like to add whatever I'm adding to the sauce, whether it's chicken or fish, to the sauce while it's still simmering. If it's chicken and it needs to finish cooking, I add it to the sauce and simmer until it's 165 degrees.
Simmering your protein or vegetable in the sauce for a few moments helps to thicken the sauce. It will appear a little watery when it's just finished, but as it cools slightly it will thicken.
If you're looking for more lemon-flavored dishes try serving this with Lemon Pasta with Spinach or enjoy a creamy lemony breakfast with Lemon Ricotta Blueberry Pancakes.
Pro-Tips
- Keep the heat very low when you add the heavy cream. You may even want to take it off the heat for a minute if you can't get the sauce low enough to stop simmering. Whisk continuously as you pour it in. Don't let it come to a boil once the heavy cream is added. A very low simmer is perfect.
- This sauce is great for all kinds of proteins and vegetables. It's a great base recipe to learn so that you can mix it up with different meals for your family. We use it with shrimp, chicken, steak, and cauliflower!
Recipe FAQs
Cold butter will dissolve slower than room temperature butter. This will help the milkfats slowly combine with the sauce while you mix it in whereas room temperature butter is more likely to dissolve quickly and break (or separate) the sauce.
Pour slowly on low heat and whisk continuously as you pour to combine the mixture and not curdle it. This will keep it evenly distributed so that the acidity doesn't curdle the cream.
You can use a flour or cornstarch slurry, which is just either mixed with water, but I wouldn't use that in this recipe. I would just let it cool slightly for 3-5 minutes and it will thicken. If you must, whisk together a cornstarch slurry and whisk it into the sauce. Just keep in mind the sauce will be like a gelatin if you have any leftovers.
Recipes to Pair with Lemon Butter Sauce
Please leave a comment and star rating below in the recipe card! I love to hear what you think of our recipes. Feel free to tag us on Instagram @vindelgiudice.
📖 Recipe
Creamy Lemon Sauce
Equipment
- 1 large saucepan
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 lemon
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon capers
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoon basil, julliened
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Add olive oil to the pan over medium heat. Stir in the shallots and saute for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Add in the garlic and saute for another 1-2 minutes. Season with salt.
- Squeeze in the juice from the lemon and combine. Add the crushed red pepper. Once the lemon is simmering about 15-30 seconds, pour in the wine. Bring the wine to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add in some slices of lemon and the capers.
- Reduce the heat and slowly add the heavy cream while stirring. Add in the butter once the mixture is heated through and combine. Stir in the parsley, basil, and black pepper. Let the mixture come to a low bubbling simmer.
- The sauce is complete and you can add whatever you want into the sauce now whether it be chicken, shrimp, cauliflower, or another fish or vegetable.
Notes
- Keep the heat low when you add the heavy cream. Don't let it come to a boil. A very low simmer is perfect.
- This sauce is great for all kinds of proteins and vegetables. It's a great base recipe to learn so that you can mix it up with different meals for your family.
Caroline
Yummy! I was looking for a fun sauce to jazz up some simple seared chicken breast with roast veggies, and this definitely did the trick!! Thanks!
Leandro Cabico
You never mentioned shallots in the ingredients btw, but I’m sure one shallot should do 😉
Vinny
Hey, it says 1 shallot, minced lol.
Vinny
I love that this sauce is versatile and can be used for chicken or shrimp. I've had it over pasta and over potatoes. It's so easy to make and definitely a staple. Let me know what you think!