Jump to:
Garlic Sauce with Cream
The secret to a good creamy sauce is a backbone of heavy cream and our garlic cream sauce recipe takes full advantage of this.
Heavy cream gives sauces structure, richness and stability. It also beautifully absorbs flavors and softens them and in the case of fresh minced or pressed garlic this is just the thing you want to happen.
Additionally, the sweetness of the cream can be easily swayed into umami territory with the addition of chicken base and Dijon mustard, both are optional but we recommend that you use them to maximize the overal flavor potential.
Use it with traditional short and long noodles, with spaghetti squash, with chicken or pork cutlets, shrimp, meatballs and more!
Ingredients
Garlic. How many cloves of fresh garlic you use is to your discretion. We tend to be bold in its use because it does soften so beautifully and we like the stronger flavor.
Olive oil. To saute the garlic and infuse the cream with its flavor.
White wine. A couple of tablespoons to deglaze the pan and add an elegance to the sauce. You can deglaze with water and omit the wine if you don't have any on hand. Later on, when the sauce is finished consider adding a squeeze of lemon juice for acidity.
Seasonings. Chicken base paste, Dijon mustard, oregano (fresh or dried) and kosher salt and black pepper. The chicken base paste brings deep savory notes and the Dijon a sophisticated umami touch with a bit of acidity. If you prefer to use a different herb do so, a bit of lemon zest is also a good fit for this sauce.
How to Make Garlic Cream Sauce - Workflow
- Saute the minced or pressed garlic in olive oil over medium heat. When it is fragrant and soft deglaze the pan with white wine.
- As soon as the wine reduced by half, add the heavy cream and stir well. Then, if using, work in the chicken base paste and Dijon mustard. Allow the sauce to simmer gently for a couple of minutes.
- When the cream begins to thicken, season with salt and pepper and add oregano (or other herb such as parsley).
- Give it a final stir, turn off the heat - the garlic cream sauce is ready to use!
Tips
- This sauce comes together quite fast so it is very helpful to have all the ingredients lined up near the stove before you begin.
- Do not allow the garlic to burn - lower the heat if necessary. About 45 seconds to just over a minute is typically sufficient for the garlic to soften both texture-wise and pungency-wise. It will continue cooking while simmering in the cream during the next step.
- If you are making the garlic sauce for pasta, it is best to cook the noodles simultaneously so that they can be done around the same time the sauce is and you can add them to the pan (or the sauce to the pot with the drained noodles).
Serving Ideas
Pasta sauce - the most popular way to enjoy creamy garlic sauce is with pasta - from short noodles through the gamut of thicknesses of long strand noodles and including spaghetti squash as shown below.
Once the garlic cream sauce is ready, add the strained cooked pasta to the pan, toss and serve.
With cooked cuts of pork or chicken - pan-seared chicken tenders or pork cutlets can be simmered briefly in the sauce with a lid over the pan to become imbibed with its richness. Below are this pork chops we prepared in this manner.
Meatballs - cook meatballs in the oven and then drizzle them with the garlic cream sauce. Or better yet, simmer them for a minute or two in the pan with the sauce then ladel meatballs and sauce over mashed potatoes or rice.
Shrimp - sear salt, pepper and lemon juice seasoned raw shrimp in a bit of olive oil just until they turn pink, then remove them from the pan and set aside. Make the garlic sauce with cream by following the recipe below and return the shrimp to the pan once the sauce is ready and you have turned off the heat. Serve the resulting creamy garlic shrimp over polenta, sliced avocado, rice, quinoa, sauteed veggies, etc.
Salmon - pan-seared salmon fillets welcome a generous ladle of garlic cream sauce, especially when served with roasted potatoes or veggies.
Storing and Reheating Creamy Garlic Sauce
Store a leftover quantity of the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
To reheat, transfer to a small sauce pan and add a couple of tablespoons of water. Stir gently over low heat until the sauce has warmed through.
You Might Enjoy
Chorizo Cream Sauce | Spinach Cream Sauce | Lemon Cream Sauce | Shrimp Cream Sauce | Bacon Cream Sauce
Recipe
Creamy Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
- 6-8 cloves of garlic* minced or pressed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2-3 tablespoon white wine
- 2 cups heavy cream**
- 1 teaspoon chicken base paste optional
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard optional
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano or parsley finely chopped (or to taste)
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium-heat in a 10 inch saute pan. Saute the garlic until fragrant and soft, moving it around the pan now and then (about 1 minute or so).
- Deglaze with the wine, give the garlic a stir as the wine reduces quickly around it. Add the heavy cream and work in the chicken base and Dijon mustard.
- Lower the heat to medium-low or low and allow the sauce to simmer gently until it begins to thicken. Add the oregano or parsely, season with salt and pepper as needed (taste first) and turn off the heat. Give a final stir and enjoy with pasta, chicken etc.
Paula
I loved the simplicity of this garlic sauce with cream. It was full flavored and rich. I added a bit of water to thin it out some and simmered in it Swedish style meatballs from the frozen section and they ended up tasting amazing. The water I added evaporated by the time the meatballs warmed through and the sauce was nice and thick.
Polly
Yum! Made it for angel hair pasta and topped with seared chicken sausage, sliced. Great quick lunch meal. Thank you for sharing the recipe!