This Garlic Butter Sauce, also known as garlic herb butter, is the ultimate in silky and delicious compound butters. Using lemon, parsley, fresh garlic and salt, it is a verstile sauce that can be made ahead of time.
This post used to house my garlic sauce for pizza. The perfect easy sauce recipe to dip pizza, pizza crust and breadsticks, but so many people were angry telling me it wasn’t a real garlic butter sauce. In fact, it was, but not what they were looking for.
So I made this post an elevated herb garlic butter suited for seafood and other uses and new post for the pizza garlic sauce.
What Butter To Use
This delicious sauce is one of those times when the quality of butter is important. This garlic sauce is such a simple recipe, that choosing quality ingredients is very important and not all butters are created equal.
While it is fine to just throw a stick of butter in the pan, consider using cultured or European butter for a tangy, robust flavor. You can also use clarified butter, butter with milk solids and water removed.
Some mass produced brands supplement their butter sauces with vegetable oil or olive oil. To me, that is just greasy, so I stick with the basics.
Butter Grades
Butter is required to have an 80% butterfat, but cheaper butters might also have more water.
American butter typically doesn’t have as much flavor either. Grades, ranging from the best grade AA to grade B, are based on flavor, body, color and salt and water content.
For just bread and butter, or something where the dish is butter-forward with uncooked butter, splurge for the AA grade. If you plan to mix it, clarify it or use it minimally, opt for a lower grade. I keep 3 types of butter in my house.
The good stuff for bread, toast and bagels. It is typically already salted. A middle grade for basic cooking, also usually salted. And unsalted middle grade for baking.
Ingredients
This recipe uses basic ingredients, but simmered together for a short period of time, they are pure magic.
- Unsalted Butter- The butter being clarified isn’t mandatory, but it is the only way to get that liquid gold look without the white froth. Unsalted is best so you can adjust the saltiness, but if it is salted, omit additional salt.
- Fresh Garlic Cloves– Again with the quality of ingredients, use fresh garlic and not the jarred stuff or garlic powder. It is the only way to get real garlic flavor and not sweet. Garlic can be amped up by finely mincing, grating or pressing and taken back a little by a coarse chop or even slices. It all depends on how many membranes and fibers are broken. So whole garlic if often less garlicky than juiced or migrated. Garlic lovers unite!
- Flat leaf parsley– Flat leaf is also known as Italian parsley and has the true parsley flavor. Curly parsley is used more for garnish than flavor. Other fresh herbs can be substituted or added in addition to, just make sure they are fresh. Chives, tarragon, thyme and rosemary are all winners, just make sure they are finely minced. Just don’t use any dried herbs.
- Lemon Zest– Zest will give the most pure lemon flavor. Many recipes also use fresh lemon juice, but this will separate in the sauce, so for recipes like seafood, you are better off giving a spritz right before serving in addition to the garlic butter sauce than stirring it in.
- Coarse Kosher Salt– Always my go-to, it is the least salty of the salts. If using a fine sea salt, reduce to just a small pinch and omit altogether if you use a salted butter.
Make It!
This rich buttery sauce is so easy to make.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Don’t let the heat get too high.
- Add the minced garlic, lemon zest, fresh parsley and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine and heat for an additional 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside so the flavors can marry.
- Butter will harden if it gets too cool, simply reheat until melted.
Variations
This easy sauce has so many ways to make it your own through easy customizations. Here are a few of my favorites.
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Ground black pepper
- Addition of more fresh herbs
- Dash of cayenne pepper or smoked paprika
- Dash of hot sauce
- Splash of white wine at the end
Ways to Use It
It’s a garlic butter sauce, so really what can’t you use it on?
- Grilled lobster or fish
- Shrimp or scallops
- Over your favorite pasta
- Spooned over steak frites
- Whipped into mashed potatoes
- Basted on easy breadsticks
- Baked chicken breast or pork tenderloin
- Drizzled on roasted veggies
- On garlic bread
Storage & Freezing
You can store this sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, but remember it will solidify so you’ll need to remelt it. Butter absorbs the flavors around it, so to preserve all of the deliciousness, make sure it is in well sealed container or topped with a piece of plastic wrap.
Can I freeze Garlic Butter Sauce? You can freeze butter, but you want to make sure it is a high quality butter with little to no additional water. You’ll see they are graded on the packaging. Clarified butter freezes better than straight butter with milk solids.
Some folks like to pour slightly cooked butter into ice cube trays, pop them out and then freeze them in airtight plastic bag. I like the silicone ones, they are easier to pop the cubes out.
More Homemade Sauce Recipes
Creamy Horseradish Sauce
Best Cocktail Sauce
Homemade Buffalo Sauce Recipe
Garlic Butter Sauce Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted clarified butter*
- 4-5 cloves garlic ,minced
- 1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley ,roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
- Add the minced garlic, lemon zest, parsley and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine and heat for an additional 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside. Butter will harden if it gets too cool, simply reheat until melted.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Ooh I love garlic! This is such a great idea for pizza. I’d put this sauce on everything!
Garlic Butter sauce! This recipe just makes me smile with joy. What could be better – garlic and butter to coat anything you want. This would be perfect poured over steamed veggies! YUM!
Oh yum! I can use this sauce for so many things. Good tip about sing good grade butter. I’ve never really thought about that before as the water content would just make it less flavoursome. So trying this on the weekend!
Great and easy recipe. Thank you. Also butter stains are easy to remove, just pretreat with regular Dawn dish soap before you wash. They always come out!!!!
Glad you loved it and thanks for the tip 🙂
Yes
Oh, The sauce looks wonderful. I will definitely b e trying this! My question has always been how to get it like Domininoes with the smooth thickened texture?? How do they thicken it and stay liquid? Any ideas??
Thank you!!
They use margarine instead of real butter- it is more shelf stable since it uses vegetable oil. The type they use has a low water content so it is thicker, like oil, instead of watery or like milk.:)
The recipe sounds doable and even easy but the length of time to actually get to the recipe is agonizing!!!!!
Hi Charlotte- there is a “jump to recipe” button right at the top!
Worked great to go with pizza!
Thank you, Britnee!!!
Thanks for the recipe!
Just figured I would point this out to you, but there’s typo at the end of the recipe. The first sentence of notes.
The same thing happens to me after posting an article, sometimes I don’t notice for months.
Notes
*If you have the time, try use clarified butter instead of just a stick. It will give you the bright golden tone. Un-clarified butter might look a little more cloudy, but will taste the same.
Thanks, Earl.
There are so many great ways to use this simple sauce! Adds flavor to so many dishes.
Cannot wait to try this. By the way…to get greasy stains out of clothing, including butter, try Carbona stain remover for butter and oil. Has saved many a shirt for me. This even works on old stains.
Good tip, thanks!
This garlic sauce is so easy to make. I used it on my breakfast pizza, and it was so good!
Is it best to use salted or unsalted butter? Will it be too salty if I use salted butter and the sea salt?
This is totally dependant on the brand of butter you use and your personal salt tolerance. When in doubt, use unsalted and then add salt until your desired flavored. If you use salted butter, taste it first and then add salt sparingly until it tastes right to you. I like mine salty…. so…
So simple and delicious. Fascinating reading about the types of butter available in the US. I’m in the UK and we are limited to salted or unsalted. Now, if you could also tell me why I always spill grease on a brand new top that would be perfect LOL.
This tastes just like the sauce from Papa John’s! I loved it.
Oh my gosh, this this Garlic Butter Sauce is amazing! I make it for dipping garlic knots – so good!
Thanks! We love it too!!!
Helpful hint regarding getting butter stains; you are correct about hitting the stain immediately with water, I usually use cold. One sure way to get butter out of clothing is to use Dawn dishwashing soap. As the commercial says, “Dawn gets grease out of your way.”
So far, it hasn’t failed me.
Good to know, Glenda! Thank you!
Love it!!!
Been searching a long time for my pizza garlic butter ty!
Yay! That is what we love to hear!
I love this stuff! It is the BEST dip for pizza. Yum!
Oh, I am so drooling right now! This garlic butter looks amazing and I think I’d hog it all to myself too if it were in front of me! I’m thinking this weekend calls for some bread sticks and this awesome sauce.
Delicious
Awesome! Thank you, Amy!