Universal Lemon Sauce

This universal Lemon Sauce is a mainstay at our house! The light tangy flavor pairs well with pasta, fish, chicken, veal and steamed vegetables. It’s perfect for a quick weeknight Chicken Piccata, too!

Ingredients

There are so many variations of lemon butter sauce–some contain eggs while others are based on a roux. This recipe uses simple ingredients:

• butter
• lemon juice
• cornstarch
• pinch of salt

The flavor is more on the tangy side than sweet, and the consistency is light, but not necessarily thick or creamy. If you prefer a thicker sauce, just add more cornstarch. This quick and easy sauce takes no time to make-about 10 minutes, but the results are delicious and if you have any sauce leftover, you can easily reheat it!

How to Make Lemon Sauce

If the thought of making a sauce makes you sweat, have no fear! This recipe goes lickity-split fast!

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter
2. Whisk in the cornstarch
3. Add lemon juice; whisk until smooth
4. Add salt if desired

Melt butter

Whisk in cornstarch

Add fresh lemon; whisk until smooth

Recipe Notes

The recipe calls for 1/4 – 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice. Start with 1/4 cup and taste it to see if it’s “lemony” enough for you. If not, add a little more fresh lemon. If you accidentally add too much lemon, you can correct the tartness and acidity by adding a little sugar, salt or baking soda.

When adding an acid (lemon, vinegar, wine) to dairy or fat (butter), add the acid last. If you add the acid first, you run the risk of your lemon butter sauce curdling, or clumping. In this case, the lemon juice goes in last and then whisk until smooth.

Use this sauce for just about any pasta or protein- roasted or baked chicken, poached fish, grilled salmon or even on breaded proteins like Chicken Piccata and Veal Scallopini! Lemon butter is also a great sauce for vegetables like broccoli, asparagus and spinach.

Can I Reheat Lemon Sauce?

If you have leftover sauce, simply store it in a jar and refrigerate up to 5 days. To re-heat the sauce, pour it into a saucepan on medium heat and whisk until lemon sauce has a smooth consistency. If the re-heated lemon sauce is too thick, add a tablespoon of water and whisk.

Variations 

One of the best ways to dress up this universal lemon butter sauce is to add fresh or dried herbs. Pair the herb of your choice with whatever you’re cooking! For example:

Lemon-Dill Sauce: perfect for fish and poultry

Lemon-Rosemary: think roasted chicken or pork

Lemon-Sage: turkey, pork, beef

Craving More?  Try easy homemade Hollandaise sauce or Buttermilk Dill Salad Dressing!

Universal Lemon Sauce

Make this light, quick & easy lemon sauce for pasta, fish, chicken or vegetables!

Print Pin Rate

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: International

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 1 cup

Calories: 100kcal

Author: Anecia Hero - SmartyPantsKitchen

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• ¼-½ cup fresh lemon juice about 2 large lemons or 4-6 small lemons
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• salt to taste

Instructions

• Melt butter in medium saucepan
• Whisk in cornstarch
• Add lemon juice and whisk until sauce is smooth; taste for salt

Notes

If you're serving this sauce with fish, consider adding some fresh or dried dill! Rosemary goes great with chicken or a little sage with pork! 

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