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
This sauce is so YUM! I added a little parm and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Thanks for sharing! I'm definitely saving this recipe
Mahalo!
My son has enjoyed this for years. It's good as the recipe or even better as a faux Alfredo sauce when you add a little parmesan cheese
I liked it
This was good. I made the sauce and added left over rotisserie chicken and boiled gnocchi. I didn't have whole milk so I used 2% and it thickened just fine. I also used country crock instead of butter because I didn't have any of that either.I will make again.
Would you please add me to your regular recipe mailing list
Thank you Don
I dont have white whole wheat flour. I have white AP flour and normal brown whole wheat flour. What to use?
Whole wheat flour is the goto. But ap will do as well.
Loved this simple recipe
Awesome thanks I’ll try it tomorrow thanks a lot
I thought it tasted a lot like gravy. I’m wondering if I did something wrong.
gravy? I'm not sure where you went wrong to be honest. It should taste like butter, garlic and cream
I think you may have forgotten to cook the flour-y taste from the flour, cook the flour for a bit longer once you add it to the butter
I only cook the flour and butter (the roux) for about 30 seconds
Just fantastic!! Instead of whole milk, I did use heavy cream which worked! Flavorful & really easy to make!
2nd time making this, my favorite sauce! Thank you!
OMG!! I have been searching for a sauce for years that was worth eating and THIS sauce is absolutely PERFECT AND YUMMY. Thank you so much!!! A new staple at our house. You always have these ingredients it’s so perfect.
Thanks Betsey, I think that sauce is what put us on the map! LOL Another hugely popular sauce on our site is our Enchilada sauce. You might want to give that one a try also. https://healthandwelness.info/simply-the-best-red-enchilada-sauce-ever/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
would this work with garlic powder?
Hi, I found your recipe as I was looking for a garlic sauce I could freeze in ice cube trays and add to some freezer skillet meals I'm making. Can you freeze this?
Thank you!
I have not frozen this before therefore I cannot give any guidance. If you do freeze it I would love to hear how it turned out. Deb
Yes,
I have made this same recipe about 5 times and used the makings about 10 times with the ice cubing technique. Considering precooking and freezing the noodles and or proteins as well for a five minute dinner. Fyi only takes about 10 to make the sauce prep to clean.
Anyone else try adding spinach or capers? Planning to do this with leftover chicken from a roast we made last night with angel hair pasta. Can’t wait!
I just made this for dinner. Doubled the recipe, and yes Dawn I added spinach. Everyone loved it! Made it with lobster ravioli.
How thin or thick is the sauce supposed to be? I had to hold it on the heat a lot longer than a few minutes for it to thicken past complete liquid. Not sure what I did wrong, followed the directions very closely. Thanks!
Hi Monica. The sauce is made to be relatively loose but still hold some body. If you need to hold it on the heat, keep it on the lowest setting and cover it. Add a little more milk to it if it becomes too thick.
Oh my goodness! That sounds amazing with the spinach and Dawn, I think the capers would be delish!
The sauce is delicious, but i cant get it to stop separating 🙁 a little bit of the butter always rises to the top. Any advice?
I like to actually use a fork, but whisk the heck out of it, turn the heat lower, add some more milk, adding a touch more flour will help that butter bind to something, the key is to keep it moving on a low/medium(ish) heat to slowly bring it back together!
This was DELICIOUS. Thank you for the recipe. I halved the garlic and added some salt/pepper at the end.
This was SO GOOD!! I wanted a sauce to top cheese ravioli and this did not disapoint. I added cherry tomatoes to it at the very end and it was fabulous! Everyone was raving about it!
All I got to say is I'm so glad I came across this recipe. No let's correct myself, this awesome recipe. I've gotten tired of the red sauce and it's been really upsetting my stomach. So anyhow I did it's something really quick and I came across this I thought I'd give it a try cuz it looked easy. All I have to say is wow. Thank you so much for sharing this. Now I'm going to be using it on everything LOL.
LOL! Thanks Sonya
I made this with gluten free pasta and subbed cornstarch for the flour- didn't come out quite as thick as if I had used flour, but still very good! Smelled and tasted delicious. Will definitely be making it again and adding some vegetables!