This Lemon Butter Sauce is so rich and creamy, decadent, but with a mild tang from the fresh lemon juice, it is insanely delicious and effortless to make.
I am completely in love with Lemon Butter Sauce (Copycat Carrabba’s recipe), and seriously, our entire family could drink this by the gallons. We always make this to serve with chicken and noodles, but this lemon butter sauce works well with fish, especially an excellent sauce for salmon.
This recipe for lemon butter sauce put Carrabba’s Italian Grill on the map for us. My husband is obsessed with this sauce. The first time we had it was the night we thought I was going into labor with our daughter Jordan. We were sitting in Carrabba’s with Jake’s cousin, and she ordered this dish; when it came out, she told us we had to try it because it was the best sauce ever; oh, was she right?
My Favorite Kitchen Tools To Make This Recipe
From trusty pots and pans to handy gadgets, I’ve curated a list of products I use and love.
I can only think of one sauce that gives it some competition: their Marsala sauce. Seriously, both of them are delicious, the main ingredient being butter.
This Lemon Butter Sauce is on Carrabba’s most famous dish, Chicken Bryan. I have the (Copycat Carrabba’s) Chicken Bryan recipe here. It is our special occasion meal.
My husband is a picky pasta eater, always searching for the most incredible pasta dish. He tends to lean towards sauces with big, robust flavors, so this combination of garlic and lemon is perfect. At first, Jake wasn’t willing to try this lemon butter sauce until he learned it was all over their shrimp scampi. He devoured their scampi, so he was ready to give their sauce a try.
More Carrabba’s Recipes
We love almost everything at Carrabba’s, but this Lemon Butter Sauce recipe has become a staple in our kitchen. Making it to grace pasta, chicken, shrimp, salmon or even a bunch of veggies, either way, this sauce of awesomeness will soon become a favorite of yours as well.
What is butter sauce?
A butter sauce contains butter, broth, wine, and seasonings. Sometimes, flour is added to thicken the sauce. It is a versatile sauce that can be used in many dishes. It can also be used as a base for other sauces by adding ingredients, such as lemon juice, in this Lemon Butter Sauce.
How to make Lemon Butter Sauce?
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add butter and let it melt. Stir in onion and garlic, cooking until onion is translucent (about 3 minutes). Add wine and lemon juice, bringing it to a boil over high heat. Cook until liquid reduces to about 1/4 cup (3-5 minutes).
Reduce heat to low and gradually whisk in 3 tablespoons of butter until completely melted. The goal is to create a slowly emulsified sauce, not rapid melting. Repeat this process with the remaining butter, adding 3 tablespoons at a time, except for the last addition which will be just 2 tablespoons. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, then remove from heat.
Serve the sauce immediately or store it at room temperature for 2 hours. When reheating, use a low setting to prevent separation.
Lemon Butter Sauce Recipe Tips
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Lemon Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces, divided
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped yellow onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Kosher salt and ground white pepper
Instructions
- Place a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of butter. Allow the butter to melt, add onion and garlic and cook stirring frequently. Cook until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue to cook until the liquid is reduced to about 1/4 cup, about 3-5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low, add 3 tablespoons of butter at a time and whisk the butter in until it is completely melted. You want the butter to slowly soften into an emulsified sauce, not quickly melting; it is a process. Add the remaining butter 3 tablespoons at a time until all the butter has been added into the sauce. The last addition will be just 2 tbsp. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, then remove from heat.
- Serve immediately or store sauce up to 2 hours at room temperature. If you are to reheat the sauce, do it over a low setting otherwise the sauce will separate.
- If it does separate remember the sauce will still taste the same, just not have the same look, it will look more like melted butter. After a few times of making the sauce, you will get the hang of it.
- Cooking this sauce on low heat is key.
Notes
My daughter and I love this lemon butter with our shrimp and fish! So tasty and very delicious! Definitely making this again!
I would put this on SO many dishes! It looks amazing!
The options are endless.
I’m trying this soon! My family would just love it.
This sauce is such a delicious addition to so many recipes!
The Lemon Butter Sauce was GREAT! Works very well with broil seafood.
Looks so delicious, My daughters love this, I will definitely try it your way, thank you for sharing. Looking forward to seeing more recipes. I’ll be back.
Just made this tonight for my sautéed salmon. It was delicious and helped cover up that I slightly overcooked my fish. It’ll be on my scallops later this week.
I love this dish!
Just like the Carrabba’s sauce – soooo good.
Love the tang in this, such a great flavor!
This sauce is so easy to make and you will not regret it. It goes perfectly with so many meals!
OH boy, this sounds amazing!! I can’t wait to give it a try!
Such an incredible sauce!! I LOVE This!
This Lemon Butter Sauce is looking incredibly delicious!
Great stuff!
Love your skills,
keep sharing things like this.
Great recipe and super easy. I made whiting in the oven, seasoned lightly with cajun seasoning. Added a little coriander and black pepper in the sauce which was good, but was also good without!
Amazing recipe I will try it for sure. Thanks for sharing, keep sharing good and healthy recipes.
Like you, this sauce put Carrabbas on my map! Omg I ALWAYS get extra on the side 🙂 Made your recipe tonight, yum yum yum!! Didn’t have onion on hand but got the sweetness from Barefoot Fruitscato Pineapple wine. Used this over breaded chicken breasts that I topped with chopped tomatoes
and served with a side of lemon pine nut orzo (both from The Fresh Market).
This sounds like the most incredible meal EVER! Wow, blown away! I will so be trying the sauce like this!
AMAZING!!!
I Sure Try It Home After Going From Market…
Tried plenty of times, Pollo Rosa Maria is my favorite, the heavy cream is a great addition.
Turned out very well, thanks
AMAZING
I cannot recommend this recipe enough to everyone. It makes everything taste so much better!
This sounds incredibly delicious! I can’t wait to try it!
This lemon butter sauce is amazing!! YUM!