This creamy garlic butter sauce comes together in less than 10 minutes with butter, garlic, flour, and milk. It is rich, smooth, and versatile enough for pasta, ravioli, shrimp, seafood, chicken, steak, or vegetables.
It is similar to a light garlic cream sauce, but it does not require heavy cream or Parmesan cheese. The flour and warm milk create a smooth, creamy texture without making the sauce too heavy.
A great example is butternut squash ravioli, which pairs especially well with a sauce that adds richness without overwhelming its slightly sweet filling. While marinara often works for meat or cheese ravioli, butternut squash calls for something smoother and more balanced.
Butter, garlic, and cream come together here for a simple sauce that complements stuffed pasta beautifully.
Ingredients for Creamy Garlic Butter Sauce
- Butter - Salted butter adds flavor, but unsalted works too.
- Garlic - Fresh garlic gives the best flavor, but jarred minced garlic works too. Garlic powder can also be used in a pinch.
- Flour - A small amount of flour helps thicken the sauce. White whole wheat or unbleached all-purpose flour both work well.
- Milk - Whole milk creates a creamy, smooth sauce. Lower-fat milk will also work, but the sauce may be a little thinner. Warm the milk before adding it to the saucepan to help the sauce come together smoothly.
- Spices - Oregano, basil, and parsley add extra flavor.
How to Make Creamy Garlic Butter Sauce
This sauce comes together in about 10 minutes and only takes a few simple steps.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Once melted, add the garlic. Avoid letting the butter boil or brown.
- Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute over low heat to remove the raw flour taste.
- Whisk in the warmed milk, then add the spices.
- Let the sauce simmer gently until thickened and heated through.
FAQs
Is Creamy Garlic Butter Sauce the Same as Alfredo Sauce?
- No. Alfredo sauce is typically made with parmesan cheese and heavy cream, so it is usually richer and thicker. This sauce does not contain cheese and uses milk instead of cream.
Is This Similar to a Béchamel Sauce?
- Yes, it is similar. Béchamel is one of the classic mother sauces and serves as the base for many dishes, including lasagna, macaroni and cheese, and other creamy sauces.
How Long Will This Sauce last?
- Stored in an airtight container, it will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Ways to use Creamy Garlic Butter Sauce:
- Ravioli or other stuffed pasta
- Broccoli and other vegetables
- Steak and shrimp
- Fish or other seafood
Looking for more easy sauce recipes?
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Creamy Garlic Butter Sauce
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 ¼ cups sauce 1x
Description
Every cook needs a staple recipe and this one is it! A versatile creamy garlic butter cream sauce that uses few ingredients and comes together in minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 /3 cup butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon flour, 1 ½ tablespoons for thicker sauce
- 1 cup warm whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
- ⅛ teaspoon dried oregano
- ⅛ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Once melted, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring constantly so it does not brown.
- Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute to remove any raw flour taste.
- Slowly whisk in the milk, a little at a time.
- Add the spices and continue cooking over low heat for a few minutes, until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Keep warm until ready to serve.
- Serve over ravioli, steak, fish or chicken.
Notes
This makes about 1 ¼ cups of sauce, enough for about 8 ounces of pasta or ravioli. Double the recipe for 1 lb of pasta or for extra-saucy servings.
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 5 min
- Category: Dinner, Sauces
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Lol, I'm in 8th grade and most of the family is out of town, and my mother had a bad headache, so we didn't really have any options for dinner. We're out of cream, so I was looking for alfredo sauces without because we did have pasta. I made this and it actually worked out great. I only had garlic powder, and I think I added a bit too much, but it was still pretty good. Thanks so much for this recipe!
that is so awesome that you made this yourself AND you left a comment! Look out Iron Chef! 🙂
You are awesome! As a single and super busy mom, let me just thank you for pitching in and helping your mom out!
Make sure to add either salt or parmesean cheese, needs some more flavor
Salt is a very personal preference which is why so many recipes will say 'season to taste'. I agree with your statement to add ONE or the other but not both b/c Parm cheese is also very high in sodium. Thanks for your comment.
I agree, completely bland without the addition of s&p. Some Parmesan on top helped just a bit, but really needs to be added with the flour or herbs.
Also a bit too much butter to this, it can be scaled back a bit and still make a good bechamel.
For another version, skip the herbs, cut back the butter, add s&p and a spoonful of already made pesto to taste. Great for stretching the pesto if you don’t have enough for a full dinner.
What happened to the recipe? No longer showing up?
Again more and more of you are commenting that the recipe is missing and I don't know why. It pulls up when I load the page???
It’s back now, but there’s an ad covering step #1 of the instructions that won’t go away.
oh good grief .. ok thanks Terri. I'll make a phone call
Once you try this rich and creamy sauce it will be your easiest and best go to for every pasta! We didn't have any milk and substituted 2/3 cup half&half with fresh minced parsley. Not the healthiest choice, but it was beyond amazing! It was more than enough sauce for a Trader Joe's box of mushroom ravioli (with green salad, it fed four). It's so incredibly easy to cook while your pasta boils. In the time it takes to warm up jarred sauce, this one is already done! Thank you!
Made this in between paychecks when the pantry was low. It was an absolute hit. Even my extreamly picky 1 1/2 year old wanted more.
Oh my YUM! This was wonderful and oh so easy! I did put a little parm cheese in it and I used a bit of half and half because I ran out of milk. We had it on ravioli with plain dinner rolls for dipping. The possibilities are endless. Thanks so much!
so glad you liked it JT and I agree the possibilities are endless
Very tasty recipe, especially when you use fresh herbs, however it DOES NOT make enough for a while box of pasta.
How much does this recipe make?? I need to feed 5. Should I double it?? We also like lots of sauce on our pasta.
Made this to go with some lobster Ravioli. Added a little salt, pepper, and Parmesan. Sooooo good!!
Ohmygoodness! This is SO GOOD! It was super easy and came together quickly. I served it over spinach ravioli from Sam's Club for the win!
I added some other spices I didn't have fresgmh garlic on hand so I did use garlic powder I also added parmesan cheese while thickening process I love it thank you for sharing this easy recipe.
I made this so I could prep quick meals for my freezer: chicken, noodles and mixed vegetables. I added some nutritional yeast to give it a cheesier flavor... So yummy!!!!
Made this tonight with almond milk and gluten free flour. Was perfect with frozen spinach/cheese ravioli. Loved it!
This was so delicious and easy to make. Specially on a day when there's nothing in your pantry or fridge but pasta, milk, butter and some dry herbs.
Thank you so much Debi for a yummy recipe!
your welcome Susana
I was thinking of adding parm. Cheese and using the sauce to top chicken potatoes and green beans and bake. Has anyone tried baking with this sauce?
Hi Heather, the addition of a parm sounds wonderful. Be careful how much you add however, it could make the sauce thick. I would add a splash of milk. I have not baked with it. Let me know how it turns out!
I used it in baked dishes, it works fine.
Would I be able to swap out the whole milk for table cream? I don't have whole milk and I want to make this tonight
I'm sick of people bitching about "too many chemicals in a thing". All matter is made up of chemicals! Pick up a book and start learning please instead of bashing what you don't understand.
You should do your research before posting such an ignorant comment. The chemicals in our food are alarming. If you don't mind GMO that's your choice, but posting something without knowing what your talking about is just as bad as ingesting chemicals which you obviously know nothing about.
Well said...Unfortunately, you can fix stupid
^ True, but the 'stupid' one of you is debatable, I'm going with the disrespectful troll complaining on a thread about pasta sauce that the author had the nerve to express her opinion regarding her beliefs about food.
I'm going with both of them are correct. There are too many preservatives and additives in our food (the jury is still out on GMOs being bad, regardless of what you have read).
And all matter, except elemental matter (pure hydrogen, pure carbon, the entire periodic table) is in fact "chemicals". All bound atoms of elements are chemicals by definition. Water is a "chemical".
No need to be a jerk about it though. Proper scientific terms are often used "incorrectly" in the vernacular.
Be a pedant all you want Vivian, but you know what Debi meant.
I'm making this tonight with shrimp and lobster ravioli. Have someone with lactose intolerance in the house so I'm going to use spread instead of butter and almond milk. I've found that to be a great replacement in soups and sauces. I use the unsweetened kind.
Love the substitutions Ashley. Great for other readers! Thx!
Just fyi: there's no lactose in butter. I would have thought being against processed foods, "spread" is one of the most processed things out there. My suggestion would be to substitute extra virgin olive oil.
I was referring to the milk
Good after school snack just to put it on pasta
I was looking for just such a sauce to serve over mushroom ravioli tonight, and I'm happy to have stumbled upon this one first. Fantastic recipe! I'll be following you for sure! Thanks!
Any thoughts on adding cheese to the sauce?
I think a mild cheese like Parm would be great Brian. Let me know if you try it.
I put parmesan cheese and shrimp in the sauce and poured it on vermicelli it was a hit I will be following you every week now (I am a first timer on this site)
awww thank you Patricia! That was so nice!