There are some recipes that have the power to completely transform a meal, and for me, a truly great garlic sauce is one of them. It’s more than just a condiment; it’s a luscious, creamy blanket of flavour that can elevate simple grilled chicken, make pasta sing, or turn a bowl of chips into something utterly magnificent. This isn’t the fiery, aggressive garlic sauce you might find in a late-night takeaway. This is its more refined, sophisticated cousin – a sauce that’s rich, mellow, and packed with a deep, savoury garlic flavour that comforts and delights in equal measure.

This particular Garlic Sauce Recipe is one I’ve tweaked and perfected over many years. Friends always ask me for this recipe after trying it at dinner parties, and I’m always happy to share it. The secret lies in gently cooking the garlic to bring out its sweetness, then building a classic, creamy base that lets that beautiful flavour shine through. It’s the kind of sauce that feels special enough for a weekend meal but is straightforward enough to whip up on a Tuesday evening when you need a little something extra.

Whether you’re looking for the ultimate dip, a luxurious pasta sauce, or a drizzle to finish off your favourite protein, this recipe is wonderfully versatile. It’s a foundational recipe that every home cook should have in their repertoire, ready to bring a touch of magic to the dinner table. We’re going to walk through it step-by-step to ensure you get a perfect, smooth, and flavourful sauce every single time.

Recipe Overview

This recipe yields a beautifully smooth and rich garlic sauce with a deep, savoury character. We achieve this by gently sautéing fresh garlic to mellow its flavour before creating a classic cream-based sauce. The result is velvety in texture, with a pronounced but not overpowering garlic taste, enriched with Parmesan cheese and a hint of nutmeg. I tested this recipe with both single and double cream, and found that double cream gives it that truly luxurious consistency we’re after.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Servings: Makes approx. 400ml (serves 4-6)
• Difficulty: Easy

Why You’ll Love This Garlic Sauce Recipe

• Genuine Flavour: By gently cooking the garlic in butter, we coax out its natural sweetness, avoiding the sharp, raw bite. The addition of nutty Parmesan and a whisper of nutmeg creates a wonderfully balanced and complex sauce.
• Comes Together in 25 Minutes: From chopping the garlic to the final stir, this sauce is ready in about 25 minutes, making it an ideal addition for a midweek dinner.
• Flexible Recipe: This sauce is a brilliant canvas. You can stir in a teaspoon of Dijon mustard for a bit of tang, add finely chopped fresh chives for a mild oniony note, or a pinch of chilli flakes for a gentle background heat.
• Great for Family Dinners: This sauce works beautifully poured over a simple Juicy Chicken Recipe, tossed with pasta, or served as a dip with potato wedges. It’s a fantastic way to make a simple meal feel a bit more special.
• Family Tested: This is one of those sauces that everyone in my family enjoys. My children will happily dip anything in it, and it has saved many a dinner by making plain vegetables suddenly irresistible.

Garlic Sauce Recipe

⏱️ 10 min prep  •  🍳 20 min cook  •  👥 4 servings

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Ingredients You’ll Need

For a sauce this pure in flavour, using good-quality ingredients makes all the difference. Fresh garlic is non-negotiable here; please don’t be tempted by the jarred stuff! I always reach for a block of proper Parmigiano-Reggiano and grate it myself, as pre-grated cheese often contains anti-caking agents that can make the sauce grainy.

• 50g unsalted butter
• 6-8 cloves of garlic, peeled and very finely minced
• 40g plain flour
• 400ml whole milk, at room temperature
• 150ml double cream
• 50g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• ½ tsp salt, or to taste
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• A tiny pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

Sara’s Tip: Don’t skip the step of bringing your milk to room temperature. Adding cold milk to the hot butter and flour mixture (the roux) is one of the main culprits for a lumpy sauce. Just 30 minutes on the counter is all it needs.

How to Make This Garlic Sauce Recipe

The foundation of this sauce is a simple roux, which is a paste of flour and fat used to thicken sauces. By following these steps carefully, you’ll ensure a silky-smooth result every time. The key is patience and a good whisk!

1. Prepare the Garlic: First, ensure your garlic is very finely minced. You can do this with a sharp knife or use a garlic press. The smaller the pieces, the more evenly the flavour will infuse into the sauce. Set aside.
2. Melt the Butter: Place a medium-sized saucepan over a medium-low heat and add the 50g of unsalted butter. Allow it to melt completely without browning.
3. Sauté the Garlic: Add the minced garlic to the melted butter. Sauté gently for 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon or spatula. You want the garlic to become fragrant and soft, but it’s crucial that it doesn’t take on any colour. If it starts to brown, it will turn bitter.
4. Create the Roux: Sprinkle the 40g of plain flour over the garlic butter. Immediately begin to whisk it all together to form a thick paste. Cook this roux for about 60-90 seconds, still stirring. This step cooks out the raw flour taste.
5. Add the Milk Gradually: Now, switch from a spoon to a whisk. While whisking constantly, start adding the 400ml of room-temperature milk a small splash at a time. I find that incorporating the first 100ml very slowly is the absolute key to a smooth sauce. Once the initial paste has loosened into a thick slurry, you can add the rest of the milk in a slow, steady stream, whisking all the while.
6. Thicken the Sauce: Increase the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer. Continue to whisk often, scraping the bottom and corners of the pan, for about 5-7 minutes. The sauce will noticeably thicken to the consistency of single cream.
7. Add the Cream and Cheese: Reduce the heat to low. Pour in the 150ml of double cream and add the 50g of grated Parmesan cheese. Stir gently until the cheese has completely melted and the sauce is smooth and glossy. Do not let the sauce boil after adding the cheese, as this can cause it to split.
8. Season and Serve: Turn off the heat. Season the sauce with the salt, black pepper, and a tiny pinch of nutmeg. The nutmeg might sound odd, but it wonderfully enhances the creamy flavours. Finally, stir in the finely chopped fresh parsley. Give it a final taste and adjust seasoning if needed before serving warm.

Tips From My Kitchen

• Temperature Control: The heat should be your friend, not your enemy. Keep it low and gentle when cooking the garlic and adding the cheese. Rushing the process with high heat is the fastest way to a bitter or split sauce.
• The Secret Step: I learned that the most critical part of this Sauce Recipe is the initial incorporation of milk into the roux. Be patient. If you dump all the milk in at once, you’ll be fighting lumps. For a deep dive into the science of a perfect white sauce, Serious Eats has a fantastic guide to making béchamel, which is the technical name for our base sauce.
• Make-Ahead: You can prepare this sauce up to three days in advance. Let it cool completely, then press a piece of cling film directly onto the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming before chilling in an airtight container.
• Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The sauce will thicken considerably when cold. To reheat, place it in a saucepan over a low heat with a splash of milk and stir gently until it’s smooth and warmed through.

What to Serve With This Garlic Sauce

This sauce is incredibly versatile, making it a fantastic partner for a wide range of dishes. Here are a few of my favourite ways to use it:

• Pasta Dishes: This is a natural choice for pasta. It clings beautifully to fettuccine or penne and makes an excellent base for our Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta Recipe.
• Drizzled over Chicken or Fish: Spoon this sauce generously over pan-seared chicken breasts, baked salmon fillets, or even pork chops for an instant upgrade. It works wonderfully with our simple Chicken Breast And Green Beans.
• As a Dip: Serve it warm in a bowl surrounded by potato wedges, crispy onion rings, chunks of crusty bread, or vegetable sticks for a dip that always gets compliments.
• Wine Pairing: The richness of the sauce is cut through perfectly by a dry, crisp white wine like a Sauvignon Blanc or an unoaked Chardonnay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Garlic Sauce Recipe

A rich and creamy garlic sauce made with a butter-flour roux, infused with fragrant garlic, and finished with Parmesan cheese and double cream. Perfect for pasta, chicken, or as a decadent dipping sauce.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: European

Calories: 421

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 50 g unsalted butter
• 6-8 cloves of garlic peeled and very finely minced
• 40 g plain flour
• 400 ml whole milk at room temperature
• 150 ml double cream
• 50 g Parmesan cheese finely grated
• ½ tsp salt or to taste
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• A tiny pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped

Method

 

1. Prepare the Garlic: First, ensure your garlic is very finely minced. You can do this with a sharp knife or use a garlic press. The smaller the pieces, the more evenly the flavour will infuse into the sauce. Set aside.
2. Melt the Butter: Place a medium-sized saucepan over a medium-low heat and add the 50g of unsalted butter. Allow it to melt completely without browning.
3. Sauté the Garlic: Add the minced garlic to the melted butter. Sauté gently for 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon or spatula. You want the garlic to become fragrant and soft, but it's crucial that it doesn't take on any colour. If it starts to brown, it will turn bitter.
4. Create the Roux: Sprinkle the 40g of plain flour over the garlic butter. Immediately begin to whisk it all together to form a thick paste. Cook this roux for about 60-90 seconds, still stirring. This step cooks out the raw flour taste.
5. Add the Milk Gradually: Now, switch from a spoon to a whisk. While whisking constantly, start adding the 400ml of room-temperature milk a small splash at a time. I find that incorporating the first 100ml very slowly is the absolute key to a smooth sauce. Once the initial paste has loosened into a thick slurry, you can add the rest of the milk in a slow, steady stream, whisking all the while.
6. Thicken the Sauce: Increase the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer. Continue to whisk often, scraping the bottom and corners of the pan, for about 5-7 minutes. The sauce will noticeably thicken to the consistency of single cream.
7. Add the Cream and Cheese: Reduce the heat to low. Pour in the 150ml of double cream and add the 50g of grated Parmesan cheese. Stir gently until the cheese has completely melted and the sauce is smooth and glossy. Do not let the sauce boil after adding the cheese, as this can cause it to split.
8. Season and Serve: Turn off the heat. Season the sauce with the salt, black pepper, and a tiny pinch of nutmeg. The nutmeg might sound odd, but it wonderfully enhances the creamy flavours. Finally, stir in the finely chopped fresh parsley. Give it a final taste and adjust seasoning if needed before serving warm.

Notes

Serve immediately over pasta, chicken, or roasted vegetables. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; reheat gently on the stovetop, adding a splash of milk to loosen if necessary.

I really hope this Garlic Sauce Recipe becomes a go-to in your kitchen for those times you want to add a little something special to a meal. It’s a testament to how a few simple, quality ingredients can create something truly wonderful. Let me know in the comments below how you enjoyed it and what you served it with! I love hearing about your kitchen adventures.

Happy cooking,
Sara