Carrabba's Lemon Butter Sauce Recipe

This Lemon Butter Sauce is so rich and creamy, decadent but with a mild tang from the fresh lemon juice, it is insanely delicious and incredibly easy to make.

I am completely in love with Lemon Butter Sauce (Copycat Carrabba's recipe) and seriously our entire family could drink this by the gallons. This we always make to serve with chicken and noodles but this lemon butter sauce works well with fish, especially a great sauce for salmon.

photo of lemon butter sauce being poured onto pasta with chicken
This recipe for lemon butter sauce literally put Carrabba's Italian Grill on the map for us. My husband is obsessed with this sauce. The first time we had it was the night we thought I was going into labor with our daughter Jordan. We were sitting in Carrabba's with Jake's cousin and she ordered this dish, when it came out she told us we had to try it because it was the best sauce ever, oh was she right!

overhead photo of lemon butter sauce being poured onto pasta

I can only think of one sauce that gives it some competition and that is their Marsala sauce. Seriously both of them are delicious, the main ingredient being butter.

This Lemon Butter Sauce is on Carrabba's most popular dishes, Chicken Bryan. I have the (Copycat Carrabba's) Chicken Bryan recipe here. It is our special occasion meal.

photo of lemon butter sauce on Copycat carrabba's chicken bryan

Now my husband is a picky pasta eater and he is always on the search for creating the most incredible pasta dish. He tends to lean towards sauces that have big powerful flavors, so this combination of garlic and lemon is perfect. At first, Jake wasn't willing to try this Lemon Butter Sauce until he learned that this is the sauce that was all over their Shrimp Scampi. He devoured their scampi so he was willing to give their sauce a try.

Here is a list of our favorite Carrabba's dishes that you can make at home:

Sicilian Chicken Soup
Copycat Carrabba's Grill Seasoning
Chicken Bryan
Carrabba's Mussels in White Wine Sauce.

We love just about everything at Carrabba's, but this Lemon Butter Sauce recipe has become a staple in our kitchen. Making it to grace pasta, chicken, shrimp, salmon or even a bunch of veggies, either way, this sauce of awesomeness will soon become a favorite of yours as well. Enjoy! XOXO San

What is a butter sauce?

A butter sauce is a sauce made with butter, broth or wine, and seasonings. Sometimes flour is added to thicken the sauce. It is versatile sauce that can be used in many dishes. It can also be used as a base for other sauces by adding other ingredients, such as lemon juice in this Lemon Butter Sauce.

How do you make Lemon Butter Sauce?

Place a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of butter. Allow the butter to melt, add onion and garlic and cook stirring frequently. Cook until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue to cook until the liquid is reduced to about 1/4 cup, about 3-5 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low, add 3 tablespoons of butter at a time and whisk the butter in until it is completely melted. You want the butter to slowly soften into an emulsified sauce, not quickly melting; it is a process. Add the remaining butter 3 tablespoons at a time until all the butter has been added into the sauce. The last addition will be just 2 tablespoons. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, then remove from heat.
Serve immediately or store sauce up to 2 hours at room temperature. If you are going to reheat the sauce, do it over a low setting otherwise the sauce will separate.
Cooking this sauce on low heat is key. If it is too hot it will separate. If it does separate, the sauce will still taste the same, just not have the same look, it will look more like melted butter. After a few times of making the sauce, you will get the hang of it.

Don't forget to pin Lemon Butter Sauce to your favorite Pinterest board for later.

Lemon Butter Sauce

Lemon Butter Sauce has two key ingredients lemon and butter; need I say more? A creamy, buttery sauce with a mild tang from the fresh lemon juice.

Prep Time 15 mins

Total Time 15 mins

Servings: 6

12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces, divided
2 tablespoons finely chopped yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and ground white pepper

Place a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of butter. Allow the butter to melt, add onion and garlic and cook stirring frequently. Cook until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue to cook until the liquid is reduced to about 1/4 cup, about 3-5 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low, add 3 tablespoons of butter at a time and whisk the butter in until it is completely melted. You want the butter to slowly soften into an emulsified sauce, not quickly melting; it is a process. Add the remaining butter 3 tablespoons at a time until all the butter has been added into the sauce. The last addition will be just 2 tbsp. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, then remove from heat.
Serve immediately or store sauce up to 2 hours at room temperature. If you are to reheat the sauce, do it over a low setting otherwise the sauce will separate.
If it does separate remember the sauce will still taste the same, just not have the same look, it will look more like melted butter. After a few times of making the sauce, you will get the hang of it.
Cooking this sauce on low heat is key.

Recipe from Carrabba's Italian Grill Recipes from Around Our Family Table cookbook

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