Garlic cream sauce is fast, simple, and packed with rich garlic flavor. Made with a handful of simple ingredients, it comes together in minutes and turns pasta, vegetables, chicken, or shrimp into something worth craving.
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What is Garlic Cream Sauce?
- Garlic cream sauce is a rich, creamy sauce with lots of garlic flavor.
- It is similar to Alfredo sauce, but with more garlic and a less cheesy flavor.
- It’s quick to make with just 5 simple ingredients.
- This sauce is great with pasta, seafood, chicken, or vegetables like cauliflower.
Ingredients & Variations
- Ingredients: Garlic, butter, flour, cream, and parsley, are the simple ingredients needed for this recipe. It calls for light cream, but heavy cream can also be used.
- Variations: Add some bacon bits or crumbled cooked bacon to the sauce. Add a splash of white wine, a pinch of cayenne, or a dose of Parmesan or Swiss cheese.
How to Make Garlic Cream Sauce
- Combine garlic and butter in a pan and cook just until fragrant.
- Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute more.
- Whisk in cream and simmer until thickened (full recipe below). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
This creamy garlic sauce can be used for drizzling over asparagus, potatoes, or air fryer cauliflower. Stir it into macaroni and cheese, leftover mashed potatoes or add it to a favorite zucchini recipe.
Tips for a Great Garlic Sauce
- Cook the garlic just until fragrant.
- Add the cream a little at a time to keep the sauce smooth.
- If the sauce thickens too much, loosen it with milk, cream, broth, or pasta water.
- Freshly shredded Parmesan melts better than pre-shredded cheese.
- Season at the end, especially if adding Parmesan, since cheese adds salt.
- For pasta, toss the sauce with hot noodles right away so it coats evenly.
- This sauce is best served fresh, but leftovers reheat well over low heat with a splash of cream or milk.
Storing Leftovers
- Store the sauce in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Reheat gently over low heat or in short intervals in the microwave, stirring often.
- Freeze in small containers or freezer bags for up to 6 months.
- Portion it before freezing so you can thaw only what you need.
More Quick Pasta Sauces
Did you enjoy this Garlic Cream Sauce Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup butter
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup half and half or light cream
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine butter and garlic in a small skillet and cook over medium low heat until the butter is melted and garlic becomes fragrant.
- Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute more. Stir in cream, a bit at a time, whisking after each addition. Simmer 2-3 minutes or until thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in parsley. Season generously with salt & pepper to taste.
- Serve with pasta or as a dipping sauce for chicken, shrimp or steak.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Sauce
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This sauce saved dinner tonight! I had planned on making an alfredo sauce but was out of parmesan and mozzarella. This sauce came together in minutes and was Devine over pasta with chicken and broccoli! Saved for later!
This is the best garlic cream sauce that I have ever tasted! It’s amazing! Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Lisa, you are very welcome. I am glad you enjoyed it.
Can I use whole wheat flour or cornstarch? Thank You
Hi Walter, I think either of those options would work. The whole wheat flour will leave the sauce with a slightly grainier texture and if using cornstarch you will want to mix it with a cold liquid before adding to your sauce to prevent clumping.
Love this recipe!
Delish! Thanks for sharing!
I make this as a dipping sauce for steak and it’s 10/10! I do add the fresh parmesan.
Hello Lindsi, I am happy to hear that you enjoyed this sauce for dipping steaks. Sounds yummy!
Love this sauce. Quick and easy to make. My only negative would be that I feel the amount of butter could be cut down.
This is why I turn to your site over and over again for easy, tasty recipes. The sauce is great. Sometimes I add a tiny bit of crumbled herbs de Provence. Thank you.
I’m so glad you loved it Chris!
Finally found the perfect Garlic Sauce recipe. Most others have alot of parmesan cheese. Your’s is perfect. I might add a tiny amount of chives. ** This sauce will work on steak, potatoes, veggies and pasta. I definitely will be making this asap. Thanks for sharing this recipe. **
So happy you enjoy it, Judy!
Easy, quick, and delicious! Being the garlic lover I am I added an entire bulb plus some finely chopped onions. It went great with fettuccine. I will definitely make this with a splash of white wine. This really is fantastic for meal prep. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
Sounds delicious Erica! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Love making this but I always have an issue with the cream separating from the rest when I add it. Any tips?
It could be that your heat is too high when adding the cream. You could also try using a higher fat percentage cream which will help prevent this from happening.
Do you think this sauce would be good over pork tenderloin?
I am sure it would be delicious Cynthia! I also love this pork tenderloin with Dijon sauce.
Add about 2 tablespoons of good dijon mustard to the sauce at the end and its FABULOUS with pork chops !!
That sounds delicious, Gail! Thank you for sharing.
Amazing recipe thanks. I added sliced (cooked) sausage and served it with pan fried Gnocchi. Plus green veg.
So glad you loved the recipe Anthony!
Go to pizza sauce! love it and easy, a crowd pleaser!
Made this tonight & used some pasta water to thin the sauce, added fresh pasta and blackened chicken. It was so good! Definitely a restaurant worthy sauce.
Thanks, Kristen! So happy you enjoyed it.
Made this tonight for wife’s bday. Added the whites of green onions to garlic. Cooked shrimp in butter, garlic & onion. Removed shrimp as SOON as it was done. Added cream. Omitted* the flour (*forgot). Reduced sauce by at least half. Added grated parmesan cheese & ground black pepper. Poured sauce over rigatoni. Added shrimp, crispy cooked bacon & sliced green onion tops. She LOVED it, as did everyone else! Excellent sauce!
So good! I caramelized onions and yellow bell peppers then sautéed the garlic before adding the other ingredients (doubled the recipe). Used half and half instead of cream; adding additional half/half until desired consistency. Added a bag of steamed sweet peas. Tossed in package of cooked pasta. Turned out amazing!
That sounds like an amazing dish!
So easy and so good!! Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it, Krista!
I haven’t tried this, but it looks so good. I will put it over pasta.
Hope you love it Nata!
Have you tried using this sauce to make a white pizza?
We haven’t tried that but it would be delicious as a pizza sauce!