Lemon Garlic Pasta Sauce
This lemon garlic cream sauce recipe comes together with only 8-ingredients! It’s delicious with pasta or as a base for many other dishes.
If you love quick sauces, try our 3-Ingredient Alfredo Sauce.
Jump to:
- Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce
- Lemon Cream Sauce Ingredients
- How to Make Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce
- Tips for Lemon Cream Sauce for Pasta
- How to Use this Creamy Lemon Sauce
- How to Store Lemon Cream Sauce
- Video: How to Make Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce
- More Easy Pasta Recipes
- More Favorites from Little Broken
- Lemon Garlic Sauce for Pasta
- You May Also Like…
Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce
A slightly more vibrant take on our garlic cream sauce, this lemon garlic cream sauce is my go-to condiment for pasta, chicken, shrimp, and so much more! I’ve been making it for years, and there’s something about the creamy consistency, rich, cheesy taste, and vibrant notes of lemon that never disappoint. It’s a huge hit with my entire family and guests.
And after years of preparing it, I’m happy to say I’ve perfected the recipe, making it as simple as possible without sacrificing any flavor. There’s a reason it has a five-star rating and glowing reviews, after all!
I’ll walk you through all my tips and tricks to ensure it comes out perfectly every time. One taste and you’ll never need another cream sauce again!
Lemon Cream Sauce Ingredients
- Butter
- Garlic
- All-purpose flour
- Half and half
- Lemon juice and zest
- Parmesan cheese
- Parsley
Can I Use Milk?
You can use 2% or whole milk. Keep in mind though, that the higher the fat content, the richer the sauce will be.
Recipe Variations! Love spicy sauce? Turn this cream sauce into creamy cajun sauce. The contrast of creamy with spicy is always a delicious combo!
How to Make Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce
1. Melt butter in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat.
2. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
3. Stir in flour and cook for about 1 minute or until lightly golden, while stirring constantly. It will look like a paste. Make sure not to burn the flour.
4. Gradually pour in the half and half, stirring as you pour. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to a medium-low and cook until the sauce thickens about 1-2 minutes. If any lumps form, just whisk them out. Properly thickened sauce should coat the back of your spoon.
6. Whisk in lemon juice and zest. Stir in Parmesan cheese and parsley. The cheese should immediately melt into the sauce.
7. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
Tips for Lemon Cream Sauce for Pasta
- For ultra-smooth sauce, I highly recommend using a microplane for the garlic.
- Use freshly grated Parmesan cheese instead of shredded, as grated incorporates better into the cream mixture. Use a microplane to grate the cheese or a box-grater.
- Keep an eye on the temperature while cooking and stir frequently so that the garlic and butter-flour mixture doesn’t burn.
- Finished sauce will thicken quickly upon standing so it is best enjoyed immediately. You can thin out the sauce with little white wine, reserved pasta water, milk, or half and half.
How to Use this Creamy Lemon Sauce
Lemon garlic cream sauce recipe is very versatile and can be served with pasta or as a base for many other dishes, such as:
- Chicken
- Shrimp
- Salmon
- Mac and cheese
- Bakes
How to Store Lemon Cream Sauce
This recipe is best served right away while it’s still warm. However, if you have leftovers or want to prepare in advance, you can store the cooled sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Reheat the sauce in a pot over medium-low heat on the stove, stirring frequently. Add an extra splash of half and half or broth as needed to loosen it back up.
I don’t recommend freezing creamy lemon garlic sauce as it tends to separate once thawed!
Video: How to Make Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce
More Easy Pasta Recipes
More Favorites from Little Broken
If you try our lemon garlic cream sauce, please leave a star rating and a comment letting us know how you liked the recipe.
Lemon Garlic Sauce for Pasta
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: American
Description
Lemon garlic cream sauce recipe comes together with only 8-ingredients! It’s delicious with pasta or as a base for many other dishes.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 4 garlic cloves, grated with a microplane
- 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 2 cups half and half (not fat free)
- Zest 1 lemon, about 1 tsp.
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley
- Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
Instructions
- In a 12-inch non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant, while stirring constantly.
- Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute or until lightly golden, stirring constantly. You want to cook off the raw flour taste. Make sure not to burn it.
- Gradually add in the half and half, stirring as you pour. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the sauce thickens about 1-2 minutes. If any lumps form, whisk them out. The sauce should easily coat the back of a spoon.
- Whisk in lemon juice and zest. Stir in Parmesan cheese and parsley. The cheese should immediately melt into the sauce. Serve immediately.
Notes
- For a Smoother Sauce: Use a microplane for the garlic and for the Parmesan cheese. Grate the Parmesan yourself, it will taste and melt into the sauce better than the bagged cheese.
- Serving: This recipe makes 2 cups of sauce, which is enough for 8 ounces of dry pasta. Or use the sauce as a base for other dishes. See post for serving ideas.
- Leftovers: This sauce will thicken upon standing. You can thin out the sauce with white wine, reserved pasta water, milk, or half and half. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container for up 5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 5.3 g
- Sodium: 189 mg
- Fat: 20.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 11 g
- Protein: 7.1 g
- Cholesterol: 62.4 mg
You May Also Like…
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.
Hi Katya,
Could leftover sauce be frozen?
Thank you
Hi! I wouldn’t recommend freezing since the cream tends to separate, but if you do, reheat gently and whisk in a little cream to smooth it out.
We didn’t have any half & half so used Heavy Cream (whipping cream/35%) and omitted the flour – didn’t need to thicken it further. I did have to increase the lemon a bit to balance the cream, but WOW! was this ever good – and EASY!
Served with baked Sole, boiled new potatoes and broccoli. Mmmm!
There was a little left over so we’re going to experiment and freeze it to see if using heavy cream makes a difference and keeps it from breaking when heated. If that works – we’ll be making a batch at home and taking it Glamping! We’ll try it instead of Hollandaise sauce for Eggs Benny by the camp fire. Thank you, Katya, for a great recipe. We’ll be using this again and again!
We didn’t have any half & half so used Heavy Cream (whipping cream/35%) and omitted the flour – didn’t need to thicken it further. I did have to increase the lemon a bit to balance the cream, but WOW! was this ever good – and EASY!
There was a little left over so we’re going to experiment and freeze it to see if using heavy cream makes a difference and keeps it from breaking when heated. If that works – we’ll be making a batch at home and taking it Glamping! We’ll try it instead of Hollandaise sauce for Eggs Benny by the camp fire.
This was so good! Perfect basic sauce to go with anything! 10/10
I have made this recipe multiple times, it is delicious. It is my go to recipe for chicken and pasta. Fantastic 😍
Excellent recipe! Exactly what I was looking for to top salmon patties and it did not disappoint! Very flavorful with the perfect balance between garlic and lemon. Thank you!!
I’m not sure why you specified not to use fat free half and half. I made it tonight using fast free and it was fantastic! I will use more lemon next time. Served over fresh cheese ravioli and peas as a side to lemon garlic scallops. Yummy
I made this recipe for dinner tonight. It was very good. I did add it a little extra lemon to the sauce and zucchini that I sautéed on the side. I also added leftover shredded rotisserie chicken. I thinned out with a cup of pasta water. I would definitely make it again!! I think it would be great on top of sautéed chicken breasts with a side of rice or pasta and broccoli!!!
This was awesome, thanks! Tossed it over a frozen crab ravioli from Aldi for a quick last minute meal. Came out perfectly.
Excellent and quick recipe. Great that it uses half and half, which I always have on hand, vs. heavy cream. Recovering from COVID and all I had was jarred minced garlic and decent but still bagged Parmesan- so it was a bit lumpy with the garlic pieces, but still delicious. I’m sure it will be really amazing with the “right” ingredients. And I finally figured out that in general, I haven’t been using enough garlic in my cooking. Thank you for a simple and delicious recipe.
I made this because I tried a similar recipe that turned out so awful. I found this recipe and I cannot recommend it enough. I didn’t have half and half, so I used heavy whipping cream and thinned the sauce out with pasta water. It’s SO GOOD. I used it on tortellini and added some spinach to the sauce. I will be making this again and again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Jenny! Thank you so much for feedback.
Made this tonight for the first time and the flavor was out of this world. My husband kept thanking me! I will definitely make this again and I think the sauce would also be amazing in white lasagna. Thanks for the amazing (and easy) recipe!
I made this and tossed it with mini farfalle, peas and scallops. So good!
I want to make this!! Do you think if I cook it a day before and use it in a crock pot meal that it would be ok?
Hi Sheryl: it should be okay to cook the day before however I’m not sure how it will do in a crockpot meal. The cream can separate if cooked for a long time.