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
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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.
I haven’t made this recipe yet to test it out but can it be frozen? I like to make sauces and freeze them to pull out for quick meals.
I recommend refrigerating this sauce for up to 5 days. Cream sauces (esp those with half and half ) don’t always thaw out to creamy consistency
Creamy!
Won’t the milk curdle with the lemon?
It should be okay with whole or 2% milk.
Do I need to add the parmesan cheese?
Yes – in the last step you add Parmesan cheese.
Great sauce with left-over salmon and pasta! Tossed in about 1C. frozen peas in the last few minutes for added color…delicious luncheon! Served it with a simple salad of micro- greens, halved grape tomatoes and quartered ripe olives. Thanks for sharing a delightful recipe!
I haven’t made this recipe yet; I’m hoping that it would go well with veggie lasagna pinwheels. Would it bake well?
Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks
Just to be safe, you can substitute half and half with heavy whipping cream to ensure the sauce does not separate when baked. Then you don’t need any flour either.
Lovely flavor and elegantly simple. My young adult kids and their friends loved it too! I plan to make again soon. Thanks so much for sharing.
What other dishes do you use this sauce for
pasta, chicken, shrimp all pair well with this sauce
Can i bake my chicken tenders in the sauce?
Can we use heavy whipping cream instead?
You certainly can, just watch the consistency of the sauce. If it’s too thick, thin out with white wine, reserved pasta water, or milk.
I did. If you want to thin it out use 1 c heavy cream and 1 cup whole milk.. voila’ ‘half and half’
Simple, easy to make resulting in great flavor profiles. Lesson learned, don’t serve it over lemon ricotta ravioli. The combination of the two was like putting peanut butter in your mouth. The individual flavors were great on their own. I will hold on to this recipe for other dishes. Thank you for sharing.
That’s a good tip! Thanks Brett.
Made this last night with rigatoni pasta and chicken and it got rave reviews from my family! Followed the directions to a T. Delicious!
Hello! This looks delicious! Would a non-dairy substitute work to replace the half and half?
I can’t answer with certainty as I haven’t tried any non-dairy milk. But if you do try it, let me know how it works out!
Any unsweetened non dairy milk could be used. Cornstarch as a thickener
Oat milk worked great!
I made this the other day and it was really good. Definitely be making it again.
Thank you Kim!
I tried this lemon cream sauce to extend the leftover roast chicken I had and served it over rice. It was exactly what I wanted and it was perfect with the cubed leftover chicken. Thanks for the great recipe!
Thank you Mary for the feedback! So glad you loved it.
Sounds delicious! I wonder if this could be used as a pizza sauce???
It should hold up in the oven! As far as taste for pizza, I’m not so sure.
I use lemon sauce on pizza all of the time, I make fish pizza using fried cod and have made salmon pizza using baked salmon. I have never used this lemon sauce, but should be about the same
Can you tell me the specific brand and type of pasta noodles you show in the picture? I love that type of noodle but don’t know what they are called and can’t find them in my regular store.
Thanks so much
Hi Jessie: It’s simply a classic ziti pasta. Barilla carries it as well as other brands. Thanks!
Just adding my 5 star rating cause I forgot it!
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Excellent! Loved it so much, and very easy to make. Only had whole milk on hand, and it still turned out yummy!
Delicious sauce! Very easy to make. I will definitely make this again…and again…and again!
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it.
I added my zest right before I added the flour. To help release the oils. Also an extra tbs of lemon juice… I love lemon..lol
It is spot on.. And may become one our monthly pasta features at my work.
I give 10 stars!!!