Lemon Butter Dill Sauce for Fish, Chicken & More

This lemon butter dill sauce, made with dry white wine and fresh dill, is the upgrade your next fish or chicken dish craves! Switch up your go-to weeknight dinner recipes with this 10-minute sauce or add it to your favorite veggies for a quick, healthy snack.

Spoon stirring lemon butter sauce in small white bowl next to plate of salmon and asparagus

The most versatile sauce recipe.

If you ask me, homemade sauce recipes are tragically underrated and overlooked. They’re incredibly easy to make and usually taste much better than the store-bought brands. I already use my Homemade BBQ Sauce and Easy Honey Mustard throughout my weekly meal routine, and I’m adding this light butter sauce to the mix.

Delicious, fresh and light, this lemon butter sauce recipe is great to make ahead and keep in the fridge for all of your favorite meals. It goes perfectly with so many different dishes!

I love it on this Instant Pot Salmon, Grilled Shrimp Skewers, Instant Pot Chicken Breasts or Sous Vide Asparagus.

🛒 Ingredients needed

This sauce is super easy to make with only a handful of ingredients:

  • Butter
  • Dry White Wine
  • Fresh Dill
  • Lemon Juice
  • Shallot
Spoon stirring yellow herb sauce in small white bowl

📋 How to make lemon butter dill sauce

This sauce comes together in less than ten minutes. Simply stir your ingredients together in a saucepan and keep an eye on the flavors. Don’t be afraid to taste your sauce while you cook to ensure your flavors are well balanced!

Create sauce base

First, boil wine, the shallot and lemon juice in a small saucepan over high heat until the mixture is reduced to 1/4 cup. This should take about 6 minutes.

Add butter

Next, reduce the heat to low and add in butter, one piece at a time, whisking until melted before adding more.

Final seasonings

Finally, remove pan from heat and stir in the dill. Then, season to taste with salt and pepper, and enjoy!

Spoon stirring yellow herb sauce in small white bowl

ℹ️ Tips to make it

  • If you don’t have dill, you can still use this delicious recipe, just swap the dill ingredient out for parsley, basil or tarragon.
  • If your sauce is too thin, you can continue cooking it over low-medium heat and whisk in a few tablespoons of cornstarch and cold water to thicken it up a bit. Always start with a little and add as needed.
  • If you over season the sauce… Less is more! When making sauces especially, it’s super easy to season, taste, and season some more. To take down too much seasoning, you’ll have to add in more bone broth and water to balance the flavors — then likely more cornstarch to thinking the mixture again. You’ll then end up with LOTS of sauce.
  • If your sauce is too sour, then you probably just have a bit too much lemon juice in comparison to your other ingredients. Even that out by adding in a bit more melted butter.
Top shot of spoon drizzling sauce onto salmon served with asparagus and lemon wedges on white table

🍴 What to serve with it

This lemon butter sauce really can go on almost anything, from steamed vegetables, to protein bowls, to your favorite chicken dish. I always like to make this lemon butter sauce in advance then drizzle it over my Instant Pot salmon, air fryer shrimp or sous vide chicken. It provides just the right amount of flavor without overwhelming the proteins.

🥣 More homemade sauce recipes

Did you try this lemon dill butter sauce?

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Spoon stirring yellow herb sauce in small white bowl

Lemon Butter Dill Sauce Recipe

This lemon butter sauce, made with dry white wine and fresh dill, is the upgrade your next fish or chicken dish craves! Switch up your go-to weeknight dinner recipes with this 10-minute sauce or add it to your favorite veggies for a quick, healthy snack.
4.15 from 7 votes
Print Pin
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup dry white wine (or dry vermouth)
  • 3 Tablespoons shallot (minced)
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
  • ½ cup unsalted butter (cut into 6 pieces)
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons fresh dill (chopped)
  • Salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions

  • Boil wine, shallot and lemon juice in a small saucepan over high heat until reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes.
  • Reduce heat to low and add butter, one piece at a time, whisking until melted before adding more.
  • Remove pan from heat. Stir in dill.
  • Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Notes

  • If you don’t have dill, you can still use this delicious recipe, just swap the dill ingredient out for parsley, basil or tarragon.
  • If your sauce is too thin, you can continue cooking it over low-medium heat and whisk in a few tablespoons of cornstarch and cold water to thicken it up a bit. Always start with a little and add as needed.
  • If you over season the sauce, Like I said before, less is more! When making sauces especially, it’s super easy to season, taste, and season some more. To take down too much seasoning, you’ll have to add in more bone broth and water to balance the flavors — then likely more cornstarch to thinking the mixture again. You’ll then end up with LOTS of sauce.
  • If your sauce is too sour, then you probably just have a bit too much lemon juice in comparison to your other ingredients. Even that out by adding in a little more garlic, shallots, and white wine, then whisk together. Don’t be afraid to taste your sauce while you cook to ensure you’re getting the perfect flavors.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @platingsandpairings or tag #platingsandpairings!

Nutrition

Calories: 124kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 36mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 361IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg

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