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My Sage Butter Sauce is the perfect brown butter sauce for pasta, beef, chicken, and more! It's so easy to make, using just 3 ingredients and 2 simple steps. You can have this simple sage brown butter sauce ready in 5 minutes!
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Best Butter Sage Sauce
One of my go-to meals as a busy parent has always been pasta. It's so easy to put together a pasta dinner the whole family will love! All you need is a good sauce, and you can have a restaurant-quality dinner ready in minutes.
That's what this sage butter sauce recipe is all about. It is the best butter sauce for pasta, with so much flavor and depth you will hardly believe it only takes 3 simple ingredients to make.
Even though sage brown butter sauce is my answer for simple pasta dinners, it's also perfect for serving with steak, roast chicken, turkey... the list goes on!
"This was delicious! Used it over ricotta and spinach gnudi and YUM! Thank you for an easy and excellent recipe."
@Mayohnaze
Sage Butter Sauce Ingredients
- Fresh sage
- Unsalted butter
- Garlic
One of the best things about sage brown butter sauce is you only need 3 simple ingredients to make it, making it even easier to cook up in a pinch!
How to Make Sage Butter Sauce
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. When the butter begins to bubble slightly, add minced garlic and stir for 1 minute.
- After 1 minute, add the chopped sage to the garlic butter sauce. Continue stirring for 1 to 2 minutes more, until the butter darkens to a light brown color and gives off a rich, nutty aroma.
- Remove from the heat as soon as it starts to brown! You do not want to overcook your sage butter sauce. Serve, and enjoy!
Loved this recipe on my butternut squash ravioli, delish and so simple, thank you!
Michelle
Sage Butter Recipe Tips
- Rather than melting the whole stick of butter in the pan, cut the butter into pieces first and melt it that way. If you add the whole stick to the pan, it will melt unevenly and some parts may brown before others.
- Make sure to pull the butter from the heat as soon as it starts to brown. You don't want to overcook the sauce.
- It is easy to burn brown butter sauce. Constantly stir once the sauce starts to form solids. Don't step away from the pan.
- Sage butter sauce is incredible, but you can also use other herbs, like basil or thyme!
Can I use dried sage?
You can use dried herbs instead of fresh ones to make your sage brown butter sauce if preferred. Use ½ teaspoon dried sage in place of 4 fresh sage leaves. The taste will not be the same, but in a pinch, it will do the trick. I recommend using fresh herbs if possible.
Sage and Butter Sauce FAQs
Sage is earthy and both sweet and savory, and pairs well with dishes using beef, pork, chicken, turkey, sausage, and even duck. In a butter sauce, it is a perfect match for pasta dishes of all kinds, such as lobster ravioli.
Brown butter, also known as buerre noisette in French, is a technique where butter is browned in a pan to become more flavorful.
To brown butter, you are toasting the milk solids. The butter cooks down in less than 10 minutes to create a nutty, caramelized flavor. Essentially, browning your butter turns it into a flavorful sauce to use in recipes of all kinds.
Butter Sauce Recipes
- Truffle Butter
- Garlic Lemon Butter Sauce
- Garlic Butter Sauce
- Cowboy Butter
- Butter Basted Steak
- Compound Butter Recipe
Check out my all-time favorite sauce recipes here: Easy Sauce Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Amazing Sage Butter Sauce
Equipment
- Skillet
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 4 fresh sage leaves or ½ teaspoon dried sage, but I recommend using fresh
- 1 garlic clove minced
Instructions
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once it melts and begins to bubble slightly, add garlic and stir for 1 minute.6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 garlic clove
- After 1 minute, add chopped sage and continue stirring for an additional 1-2 minutes. Make sure you are constantly stirring and do not step away from the pan. The butter will turn light brown and give off a rich, nutty aroma.4 fresh sage leaves
- As soon as the butter sauce browns, take it off of the heat and serve.
Notes
- Rather than melting the whole stick of butter in the pan, cut the butter into pieces first and melt it that way. If you add the whole stick to the pan, it will melt unevenly and some parts may brown before others.
- Make sure to pull the butter from the heat as soon as it starts to brown. You don't want to overcook the sauce.
- It is easy to burn brown butter sauce. Constantly stir once the sauce starts to form solids. Don't step away from the pan.
- Sage butter sauce is incredible, but you can also use other herbs, like basil or thyme!
Nutrition
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Heidi Fedor says
Looks fantastic! Do you know if you could freeze this?
em says
Hi Heidi! Yes, you could freeze this sauce if you'd like! You can simply soften the butter, then mix it with sage and garlic so it's well-combined. Roll it into a log wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and freeze it. It will store well for up to 4 months. If you want, you can also cook the sauce first, then freeze it, by using an ice cube tray to portion the butter out and then store in a freezer-safe bag. Enjoy!
Sylvia says
Just made this sauce to top butternut squash ravioli; it was fast, easy and delicious! Thank you for the great recipe, I’m making this again❤️
em says
Thank you so much, Sylvia! We're so glad you enjoyed it - what a great combo!
Frank says
I love this. I make it a little differently because I add fresh shallots. It's fantastic over mushroom ravioli.
Isabel Laessig says
So glad you enjoy it, Frank! This is one of my favorites. Thanks for leaving us a comment!