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Cajun Garlic Butter Sauce

Vegetarian

Elevate your veggies, chicken, shrimp, steak, and more with this quick and simple Cajun garlic butter sauce. You won’t be able to get enough of the bright and flavorful sauce! Naturally vegetarian.

Spoonful of sauce atop a bowl of sauce surrounded by chicken and parsley.

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What you’ll love about this recipe


  • It’s quick and simple! This sauce is prepared in one saucepan and takes just 10-minutes. It couldn’t be any easier!!!
  • The flavors! If you’re familiar with garlic butter sauce you know just how tasty it is. This sauce is even better, however. And that is thanks to the addition of the Cajun seasoning. It adds earthy, smoky, spicy notes to the equation. On top of the spices and generous helping of garlic, it also has a little bit of lemon which brightens and balances it.
  • The numerous uses for it! This sauce can be used in many ways. Most often, I serve it with chicken but it also works well with shrimp and steak. Another favorite use for this sauce is to drizzle it over steamed or roasted vegetables like broccoli or Brussels sprouts.
Close up of bowl of Cajun butter sauce with a spoon in it surrounded by chicken strips.

Ingredients (+ notes & substitutions)


Ingredients for Cajun garlic butter sauce (see recipe card).
  • Unsalted butter: If the only option available to you is salted butter, don’t fret; simply leave out the added salt.
  • Garlic: Don’t be afraid of going overboard in the garlic department. You can never have too much garlic!
  • Lemon juice: Whether fresh or bottled, lemon juice brings balance and brightness to the sauce.
  • Oregano:
  • Thyme:
  • Garlic powder
  • Onion powder
  • Paprika: Smoked paprika is preferable.
  • Ground black pepper
  • Salt
  • All-purpose flour: To thicken the sauce. You can certainly use gluten-free all-purpose flour if ya like.
  • Hot sauce: For those of you that like it spicy, adding a dash or two or three of hot sauce is recommended. I typically use your standard Tobasco but Lousianna Hot Sauce is a solid choice as well. If you don’t have any hot sauce but want to spice it up, you can add a pinch or two of cayenne powder. I like the acidity that hot sauce adds, however, so given a choice between the two, I’d go with hot sauce over cayenne powder.

How to make Cajun garlic butter sauce (+ tips)


1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat.

2. Once melted, add the garlic, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, black pepper, and salt. Whisk to combine then cook for five minutes.

Melted butter with garlic and spices in a saucepan.

3. Whisk in one teaspoon of flour. If the sauce is not thick enough, add an additional teaspoon of flour.

Finished Cajun lemon butter sauce in a saucepan.

4. Add hot sauce to taste and serve warm.


Storage


Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to four days.



Bowl of Cajun butter sauce surrounded by chicken strips and parsley.
Garlic butter sauce dripping from a spoon atop a bowl of sauce and chicken.

How to use this Cajun butter sauce:


  • Toss pasta in it.
  • Use it as a dip or sauce for shrimp, crab, fish, steak, or chicken. It pairs exceptionally well with these blackened chicken tenders.
  • Smother veggies like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and asparagus in it.
  • Toss potatoes in it and roast them.

If you make this Cajun lemon butter sauce I’d love your feedback. Please leave a comment and/or a rating below as I greatly value your opinion. Or snap a pic and tag me on Instagram @taoofspiceblog. Love, light, and happy cooking ya’ll ♥

Spoonful of sauce atop a bowl of sauce surrounded by chicken and parsley.

Cajun Garlic Butter Sauce

Yield: 3/4 cup
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

Elevate your veggies, chicken, shrimp, steak, and more with this quick and simple Cajun garlic butter sauce. You won't be able to get enough of the bright and flavorful sauce. Naturally vegetarian.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika, preferably smoked
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1-2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
  • Hot sauce to taste

Instructions

  1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat.
  2. Once melted, add the garlic, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, black pepper, and salt. Whisk to combine then cook for five minutes.
  3. Whisk in one teaspoon of flour. If the sauce is not thick enough, add an additional teaspoon of flour.
  4. Add hot sauce to taste and serve warm.

Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to four days.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 20Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 62mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g

The nutritional information provided is computer generated. It is only an estimate and intended for informational purposes only. Nutrition details may vary depending on various factors such as origin, freshness of ingredients, etc

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Facebook

Jeannie

Sunday 28th of April 2024

Hi. As butter keeps for weeks and weeks, why does this only last up to 4 days in the refrigerator?

Diane H

Monday 24th of October 2022

This sounds perfect to top mussels or oysters! Saving this recipe!

Andrea

Monday 20th of June 2022

This looks amazing! I'm going to use it with seafood. Yum!

Hayley

Monday 20th of June 2022

This sauce is awesome! So good and easy recipe, made over the weekend and stirred into pasta for my lunch today.

Moop Brown

Monday 20th of June 2022

Cajun food is one of my favorite cuisines and so I'm looking forward to trying this sauce and pairing it with a variety of different recipes.

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