15 Minute Garlic Parmesan Sauce
This garlic parmesan sauce is the absolute best way to dress up your pasta or add a garlicky twist to homemade pizza. With butter, fresh garlic, parmesan cheese, and heavy cream, this parmesan cream sauce is filled with fresh flavors. And it’s ready in about 15 minutes so it’s totally doable on a busy weeknight!
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You Will Love This
- It’s so easy and versatile! This creamy parmesan garlic sauce uses only 10 ingredients, comes together all in one pot, and can be used as a pizza sauce (for my best ever chicken alfredo pizza), pasta sauce, dip for chicken wings, or creamy sauce for oven roasted potatoes.
- If you loved this Parmesan sauce recipe, be sure to check out my Tomato Garlic Pasta with White Wine Sauce, Easy One-Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta, or my Cheesy Baked Spaghetti.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter for this recipe so that I can adjust the sodium levels myself. Olive oil will work as a substitute in a pinch if it’s all you’ve got on hand, but butter is going to give you the best flavor.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic is a must! Freshly minced garlic gives this sauce a huge garlic kick of flavor that garlic powder just can’t deliver. However, if you don’t have time to mince fresh, you can sub 1/2 a teaspoon or so of garlic powder in place of the freshly minced garlic. If you want to take this sauce to the next level, try adding roasted garlic instead of fresh!
- Italian Seasoning – If you don’t have Italian seasoning, you can use some dried oregano, dried thyme, and dried rosemary instead.
- Flour – Stick with all-purpose flour for this recipe. The flour helps thicken the sauce and give it a nice creamy texture.
- Vegetable Broth – Veggie broth works best for this recipe but if you’re not worried about it being vegetarian, you could use chicken broth in its place. Adding broth thins out this sauce a bit so that it’s super creamy without being too thick.
- Heavy Cream – Heavy cream will make this parmesan sauce luxuriously creamy. If you don’t have heavy cream, you can replace it with half and half, but keep in mind that the sauce will likely have a bit thinner consistency.
- Parmesan Cheese – I like to grate my own wedge of Parmesan for this sauce because freshly grated cheese always melts better. For harder cheeses like Parmesan though I like to grate them using my food processor so I don’t accidentally slip and nick my fingers on the grater (trust me I did it once and it hurt SO bad!).
- Parsley – Parsley adds a nice herby flavor and a little bit of color to the sauce. You could replace it with freshly chopped basil for a slightly different, but still delicious flavor!
Instructions
Heat butter in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Once the butter melts and starts to sizzle, add garlic and Italian seasoning and cook for about a minute.
Add flour and whisk until well combined.
Whisk in broth until well combined.
Simmer for a couple minutes until it thickens.
Add heavy cream, shredded Parmesan cheese, and parsley. Whisk until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth and creamy.
Cook over low heat, and stir sauce until it reaches your desired consistency.
Season to taste with Kosher salt and black pepper and serve with a bowl of your favorite pasta or use it as a base for pizza!
Tips
- This creamy garlic Parmesan sauce recipe comes together pretty quickly so it’s best to have all your ingredients ready to go before you start cooking, that way you’ll ensure that nothing burns or gets over cooked. Mise en place is the name of game on this one.
- Season moderately throughout the cooking process. This recipe is made with only a handful of simple ingredients so adding salt and pepper is going to be key in boosting the flavors. Also be sure to taste the sauce each time you add salt and pepper so that you don’t over season.
- The sauce will thicken quickly as soon as it cools. Keep this in mind while you’re letting it simmer. If it doesn’t seem to be very thick, remember that it will get thicker as it cools. Also, if it seems too thick when it’s done, just add a splash of broth or a bit more cream to thin it out! If you’re serving it with pasta you could also thin it out with a bit of pasta water when you toss it with the pasta!
FAQ
What is garlic parmesan sauce made of?
Garlic parmesan sauce is made from butter, heavy cream, garlic, flour, herbs, Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. All of the ingredients are combined and heated to make a creamy dipping sauce or spread.
Make-Ahead, Storage, Freezing, and Reheating
- Make-Ahead: You can make this sauce ahead up to a week in advance! I make a batch every couple weeks and just keep it in the fridge for those busy nights when we need an easy pasta dish for dinner! Pair with cooked linguine and roasted broccoli and dinner is done!
- Storage: Store this sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Freezing: I do not recommend freezing garlic parmesan sauce. I find that it can sometimes alter the texture. This sauce is best when used within 7 days of making.
- Reheating: Reheat Parmesan sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat. Be sure to add some milk or cream to loosen it up. Cook, stirring frequently until it’s warmed through. Season to taste with salt and pepper after reheating.
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5 Minute Garlic Parmesan Sauce
This garlic parmesan sauce is the absolute best way to dress up your pasta or add a garlicky twist to homemade pizza. With butter, fresh garlic, parmesan cheese, and heavy cream, this parmesan cream sauce is filled with fresh flavors. And it’s ready in about 15 minutes so it’s totally do-able on a busy weeknight!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings (about 2.5–3 cups sauce) 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 8 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Heat butter in a large sauté pan over medium low heat.
- Once melted and sizzling slightly, add garlic and Italian seasoning along with a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute.
- Add flour to the pan, whisk until well combined, and cook stirring frequently for 1 minute.
- Turn heat to low and slowly pour in broth, whisking as you pour, until well combined.
- Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and gently simmer over medium to medium low heat for about 2 minutes until it thickens.
- Add heavy cream, shredded Parmesan cheese, and parsley. Whisk until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth and creamy.
- Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with your favorite pasta or use it as a base for pizza!
Notes
- This sauce recipe comes together pretty quickly so it’s best to have all your ingredients ready to go before you start cooking, that way you’ll ensure that nothing burns or gets over cooked. Mise en place is the name of game on this one.
- Season moderately throughout the cooking process. This recipe is made with only a handful of simple ingredients so adding salt and pepper is going to be key in boosting the flavors. Also be sure to taste the sauce each time you add salt and pepper so that you don’t over season.
- The sauce will thicken quickly as soon as it cools. Keep this in mind while you’re letting it simmer. If it doesn’t seem to be very thick, remember that it will get thicker as it cools. Also, if it seems too thick when it’s done, just add a splash of broth or a bit more cream to thin it out! If you’re serving it with pasta you could also thin it out with a bit of pasta water when you toss it with the pasta!
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 228
- Sugar: 1.1 g
- Sodium: 622.9 mg
- Fat: 17.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 11.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 5.8 g
- Fiber: 0.3 g
- Protein: 11.7 g
- Cholesterol: 48.4 mg
Can one use chicken broth, as I have no vegetable broth?
Yes! Chicken broth will also work well in this garlic Parmesan sauce recipe!
Could this sauce be made to go into a crockpot with chicken and cooked on low ? I’d premake sauce then add it to frozen chicken and cook on low
I would be a little worried about the sauce breaking in the crock pot to be honest! I’m just not sure if that’s the best application of this sauce, unfortunately.
This is a family favorite! I make it with diced pancetta and mushrooms, and for special occasions Ibadd 2 Tbs of truffle tartufo sauce! Toss it with some rotini and you get a robust and hearty meal the whole family loves. Hold the pancetta for the vegetarians and everyone is happy!
It tasted amazing but I had one issue and I do t know what I did. The cheese didn’t melt completely, lumped up some. Hopefully you. An tell me what I did wrong.
First I sautéed a chopped onion in some olive oil, then added a couple of julienned carrots, then half a chopped sweet orange pepper, then ten stalks of asparagus cut into two-inch lengths (I added things to the pan in the order of how long they would take to cook). Finally I added a couple of cloves of minced garlic and cooked everything for one more minute. Salted and peppered it all.
Meanwhile I cooked a one-pound bag of spaetzle noodles until they were almost as done as I prefer.
I made this delicious sauce, substituting chicken broth for the vegetable broth. I stirred the vegetables into the sauce, then stirred in the cooked, drained, spaetzle. I poured all of it into a greased 9×13″ baking dish, topped it with Panko, and baked it in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. With crunchy bits on the top, and sauce on the bottom becoming brown and chewy, these were pretty much the best noodles ever.
As long as you don’t add cream you can freeze this. Add the cream when you go to use it. I love it for wings.
Great idea, Jealith! Thank you for sharing that tip – much appreciated!
Perfect as is. I made this recipe over thin spaghetti and added some shrimp. The whole family loved it. This one’s a keeper.
Oh my gosh that sounds amazing! Skinny spaghetti is my favorite and shrimp sounds delicious with this cream sauce. I’m so glad that your family loved this recipe! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
I made this for the first time tonight. It is fantastic. I’m going to pour it over some meatballs I am smoking tomorrow for Shavu’ot. Blessings
Nice, easy, quick and tasty ! I used this in my oven bake bread top pie recipe, worked perfect. My family wanted 2nds.
This was so delicious. I added sundried tomatoes and a little white wine because both needed to be used, and served the sauce over spinach cheese ravioli. My hubs commented that it tasted restaurant quality. I agree, what a great sauce, thank you!
Those sound like the perfect additions, Aj! So glad that you both enjoyed this sauce. Thank you for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
I am not happy with the mozerella cheese here in Portugal so I use this recipe made a bit thicker to top my eggplant or chicken parmasan. I just bake it with tomato sauce only and top it once out of the oven with the parmasan sauce. I have successfully also used other granita cheeses when parmsan was not available. Thanks for a truly versatile recipe.
I wanted to make garlic chicken wings for my family.
But wanted something a little different.
Last garlic sauce I tried did not turn out to well. So I went looking for other options this time.
Tried this recipe out.
My family loved it. ♥
I did bread my chicken and baked it first. Then put this sauce on one side of the wings let it bake into it then flipped wings over and did the other side.
Used extra sauce for dipping.
My family went nuts over this sauce. They said it was the THE MOST DELICIOUS GARLIC SAUCE THEY EVER HAD. Wants me to make this again.
I myself find this recipe to my now favorite garlic sauce of all time
Thank you so much for this recipe.
Delicious
Can you store this in the fridge if you have extra,how long will it last in the fridge?
Definitely! It should last for about a week in the fridge. It will thicken as it sits so when you reheat it you’ll want to add a splash of cream or half and half to loosen it up a bit. Can’t wait to hear what you think, Carole!
Sounds GREAT I’ll get back to you after i give it a try!
How would I put this up to use for another day, another recipe?
Oh good question! I love to drizzle this sauce over my air fryer green beans, use it on my chicken alfredo pizza, or just serve it over grilled chicken and roasted broccoli.
Love this quick easy sauce to serve with a chicken and broccoli recipe that didn’t turn out right, the sauce saved the day!
This is a super easy recipe and so delicious..
Made for the first time and its 😋 delicious this is my quick go to ..no more store sauce l. Am in love with this !!!
Mrs.Taylor,, N.C.
I am with you on the no more storebought sauce! I could never find one that I liked – they all tasted too boring or too processed. This one is so quick and easy too! Glad you enjoyed it, Tamika! Thanks for leaving a review 🙂
I halved the recipe and made it for my lobster ravioli, delicious!
YUM! This would be perfect with lobster ravioli – great idea, Monika! Thanks for leaving a review!
Made this. Added fresh sautéed mushrooms, for a change. You won’t regret the mushrooms, if you try it!!!
I made this for the first time this evening to go with some naked fried chicken and my other 2 family members love it. One mentioned trying it with pasta, so looks like we’ll be making it again! Thanks!