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–+ servings
A spoon drizzling lemon butter sauce into a stone bowl

Lemon Butter Sauce

This lemon butter sauce is deliciously lemony and buttery, but with a rich nuttiness that takes this sauce to the next level! Perfect on fish, chicken, or pasta, the easy brown butter base of this sauce gives it a restaurant-quality flavor with minimal effort.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 15 minutes
Yield:4 servings

Equipment

  • Small saucepan (2, or 1 and paper towels)
  • Small bowl
  • whisk

Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons butter cut into 1-tablespoon pieces
  • 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice approximately 2-3 lemons' worth
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 pinch freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon hot water

Instructions

  • In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, cook 2 tablespoons butter until it smells nutty and just barely turns brown. Don't let it burn.
    Browned butter in a silver saucepan
  • Immediately remove pan from heat and transfer butter to small bowl. Wipe out saucepan with paper towel, or use another clean saucepan.
  • Boil lemon juice with salt and pepper until liquid is reduced to approximately 1 tablespoon.
  • Remove saucepan from heat and immediately whisk in 2 pieces of chilled butter. Set pan over very low heat.
    Lemon juice and chilled butter in a silver saucepan with a whisk
  • Whisk in remaining butter, one piece at a time, making a thick, creamy sauce.
    Lemon butter sauce in a silver saucepan with a black whisk
  • Remove saucepan from heat and whisk in browned butter.
    Lemon butter sauce in a silver bowl
  • Immediately before serving, whisk in 1 tablespoon of hot water in ½ teaspoon increments.

Notes

  • Make it Whole30/Paleo/Lactose-Free: Use ghee in place of the regular butter, and follow our other recipe to make Brown Butter Ghee!
 
Recipe yields approximately 4 servings. Nutritional values shown reflect information for 1 serving. Macros may vary slightly depending on the specific brands of ingredients used.
To determine the size of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed, then weigh the entire finished recipe . Divide the total weight of the recipe (not including the weight of the bowl, pot, or plate the food is in) by 4. Result will be the weight of one serving.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1serving | Calories: 154cal | Protein: 1g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 441mg | Potassium: 21mg | Total Carbs: 1g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 526IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg
Recipe By:Cheryl Malik