Garlic Cream Sauce
Creamy garlic sauce with only 6-ingredients! This sauce will become your go-to for quick and easy meals.
For an even simpler sauce, try our 3-Ingredient Alfredo Sauce.
Jump to:
- Garlic Cream Sauce
- What is Garlic Sauce Made Of?
- Half and Half Substitute
- How to Make Garlic Cream Sauce
- Creamy Garlic Sauce Variations
- Ways to Serve Creamy Garlic Pasta Sauce
- Video: How to Make Garlic Cream Sauce
- More Pasta Favorites
- More Favorites from Little Broken
- Creamy Garlic Pasta Sauce
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Just like our popular Vodka Sauce recipe, this garlic cream sauce will become a staple in your kitchen.
Garlic Cream Sauce
Want to make someone’s day? Make them this garlic cream sauce!
It’s made with basic ingredients such as butter, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. Not to mention it’s ready in about 20 minutes time.
The flavor of this sauce is everything you expect: creamy, garlicky, and rich. It’s delicious tossed with cooked pasta or use as a base in casseroles and bakes.
It will surely become your go-to recipe for quick and easy meals. For a variation of this sauce, check out our cream cheese sauce for pasta.
What is Garlic Sauce Made Of?
The best part about this garlic cream sauce recipe is that it’s made with only 6-ingredients:
- Butter: Salted or unsalted butter works great.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is the way to go. Avoid garlic powder. Even the pre-cut garlic is not always fresh. Garlic isn’t the most exciting thing in the world to peel and chop but taking a few extra minutes to do so will make a difference in the taste of your sauce.
- Flour: I like using all-purpose flour to thicken this sauce.
- Half and Half: Half and half is simply equal parts of whole milk and light cream. It adds the perfect amount of creaminess. Avoid fat-free half and half.
- Parmesan Cheese: Get the good stuff! Buy a chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano and grate it yourself. It tastes the best. Do not use pre-shredded cheese. It’s normally covered in an anti-clumping powdery coating. It won’t melt well into the sauce.
- Parsley: Delicate fresh parsley adds the perfect bright freshness to the sauce. You can substitute with 2 teaspoons of dried parsley.
Half and Half Substitute
You can easily make the sauce with milk. It’s slightly less creamy with milk but still very good. Make sure to use whole milk. I do not recommend lower-fat milk. Allow an extra few minutes for the milk to thicken.
How to Make Garlic Cream Sauce
- Step 1: Make the roux – In a large non-stick skillet (or a sauté pan) melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour and cook for about 1 minute or until lightly golden.
- Step 2: Add half and half – Gradually whisk in the half and half. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Simmer until thickened, about 1-2 minutes.
- Step 3: Stir in Parmesan – Stir in Parmesan cheese and parsley. The cheese should immediately melt into the sauce. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
Creamy Garlic Sauce Variations
Feel free to change up this recipe and make it your own. Love basil? Make homemade pesto and stir in 1-2 tablespoons of pesto into the sauce to brighten up the flavor.
Make the sauce spicy by adding a sprinkle of chili flakes to the sauce or make cajun cream sauce. The contrast of creamy with spicy is always a delicious combo!
Want more flavor? Try different herbs, like basil or chives. Or different spices, like Italian seasoning, thyme, or rosemary.
Ways to Serve Creamy Garlic Pasta Sauce
Garlic cream sauce is very versatile and can be served with pasta or as a base for many other dishes.
Which pasta is best for cream sauce? Our pick is fettuccine pasta. It’s wide, thick shape allows you to pick up the maximum amount of sauce with each bite. But honestly just about any other pasta works too!
Looking to add more nutrition to your pasta? Toss in your favorite cooked veggies and protein, such as grilled chicken tenders or grilled garlic shrimp.
Also, this cream sauce can serve as a base in other dishes, such as whole wheat mac and cheese, chicken broccoli pasta bake, and chicken mushroom spinach lasagna.
Video: How to Make Garlic Cream Sauce
More Pasta Favorites
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Creamy Garlic Pasta Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: American
Description
Creamy garlicky sauce with only 6-ingredients! This sauce will become your go to for quick and easy meals.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. butter, salted or unsalted
- 4 cloves garlic, grated with a microplane
- 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cups half and half (not fat-free)
- ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1-2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, minced (or 2 tsp. dried parsley)
- Kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. When hot, add garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant, stirring constantly. Make sure not to burn the garlic.
- Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute or until lightly golden, stirring constantly. You want to cook it just long enough so it doesn’t taste like raw flour.
- Gradually whisk in half and half. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer until thickened, about 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. If any lumps form, just whisk them out. Simmer time will depend on multiple factors, one of them being the size of your pan. You basically want the sauce to cook just until thickened. Properly thickened sauce should coat the back of your spoon.
- Stir in Parmesan cheese and parsley. Remove pan from heat. Sauce is best when served immediately. It will thicken upon standing. See notes on serving suggestions.
Notes
- Garlic: For best results, use a microplane to grate the garlic. If you do not have a microplane, use a garlic press.
- Parmesan: Buy a chunk of fresh Parmesan cheese and grate it yourself. Bagged cheese normally has anti-clumping agents and does not melt well.
- Half and Half Substitute: You can make this sauce with whole milk. It will be slightly less creamy but still good. I do not recommend lower fat milk. Allow more time for the sauce to thicken when using milk.
- To Serve: This recipe makes enough sauce for 8 oz. of dry fettuccine pasta. Reserve some of the pasta water to thin out the sauce as it will thicken upon standing and when tossed with cooked pasta.
- Leftovers/Reheating: Sauce will keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Reheat over medium-low heat with a splash or two of half and half or milk.
- Nutrition is for the sauce only, not including pasta.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 159
- Sugar: 5.2 g
- Sodium: 216.6 mg
- Fat: 9.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 13.8 g
- Protein: 5.9 g
- Cholesterol: 25.1 mg
Hi! I'm Katya -- a former corporate paralegal turned full-time recipe developer and blogger behind Little Broken. Here you'll find family-friendly and seasonal recipes made from real ingredients.
This was great for the refrigerated pasta I purchased. It’s close to alfredo sauce that I make except a little different. I also used pre shredded Parmesan cheese. I had no issues with it melting. I normally don’t. Very pleased and will make again.
can this sauce be frozen
Hi: Cream sauces are tricky when it comes to freezing as they can separate when you reheat it. I usually stay away from freezing if possible.