Go Back
Creamy lemon cream sauce served with pasta and fresh herbs
Lalybeth

Lemon Cream Sauce

A silky lemon cream sauce made with heavy cream, butter, garlic, lemon zest, and fresh lemon juice. Keep the heat gentle and add the lemon at the end for a smooth, bright sauce.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Cook Time 8 minutes
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: American, French-Inspired
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups heavy cream, ideally 35–40% fat
  • 2 tablespoons salted butter
  • 1 garlic clove, finely minced
  • 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence or a thyme and rosemary blend
  • 1 lemon lemon zest
  • 2–3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice add at the end
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
  • black pepper to taste

Method
 

  1. Place a small saucepan or skillet over medium-low heat. Melt the salted butter gently so it foams without browning.
  2. Add the minced garlic and cook briefly until fragrant. Keep the heat moderate and do not let the garlic brown.
  3. Stir in the herbes de Provence and lemon zest. Cook for a few seconds to release their aroma into the butter.
  4. Pour in the heavy cream and whisk until smooth. Bring the sauce only to a gentle simmer, not a hard boil.
  5. Let the sauce simmer gently for about 8 minutes, stirring often, until it lightly coats the back of a spoon.
  6. Remove the pan from direct heat or lower the heat as much as possible. Whisk in the lemon juice, sea salt, and black pepper.
  7. Taste and adjust with more lemon juice, salt, or pepper if needed. Serve warm over pasta, chicken, fish, shrimp, vegetables, potatoes, or rice.

Notes

Use heavy cream for the most stable texture. Do not boil the sauce after adding lemon juice. If the sauce starts to split, whisk in a small splash of cream, broth, pasta water, or cold water over very low heat. Servings, prep time, total time, and nutrition were not provided in the analysis file, so those fields are left blank.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!