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Easy Lemon Dill Sauce

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Posted by:

Erin Lynch

|

Updated:

March 7, 2025

|

4.92 from 34 votes

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LEMON DILL SAUCE PINTEREST IMAGE.
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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

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Table of Contents

  • Ingredients needed
  • How to make it
  • Recipe tips
  • What to serve with it
  • Easy Lemon Dill Sauce
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.

Reader

Love



5 stars
Best sauce I have ever made for fish….also seared prawns were the bomb!!!!

–

Bev Jackson

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 it

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
Spoon stirring yellow herb sauce in small white bowl

Recipe tips

  • 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 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.

What to serve with it

This lemon butter sauce really can go on almost anything, from fish to 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.

Top shot of spoon drizzling sauce onto salmon served with asparagus and lemon wedges on white table

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Did you try this lemon and dill sauce?

If you loved this lemon dill sauce for fish I would appreciate it so much if you would give this recipe a star review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.

For more great Platings and Pairings recipes, be sure to follow me on  Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and Facebook.

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Spoon stirring yellow herb sauce in small white bowl

Full Recipe

Easy Lemon Dill Sauce

This lemon butter dill sauce recipe, 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.
4.92 from 34 votes
Print Pin
Serves 8 people
Created by Platings and Pairings
Cook Time: 10 minutes mins
Total Time: 10 minutes mins

Equipment

  • Small saucepan
  • Whisk

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 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 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.

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
Did you make this recipe?Mention @platingsandpairings or tag #platingsandpairings!
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4.92 from 34 votes (27 ratings without comment)

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22 responses

  1. BW
    November 19, 2023

    This looks great. Can the sauce be made in advance?

    Reply
    1. Erin
      November 20, 2023

      Thank you! This sauce is best made right before serving unfortunately.

      Reply
  2. Bev Jackson
    January 2, 2024

    5 stars
    Best sauce I have ever made for fish….also seared prawns were the bomb!!!!

    Reply
    1. Erin
      January 2, 2024

      Thank you!

      Reply
  3. Kiki
    January 27, 2024

    5 stars
    Erin, I really enjoy your content. I love how straight forward the ingredients and instructions are and how that makes for truly delicious restaurant quilty dishes. I also appreciate the extra tips you give in the way of ingredient substitutions and what to do if something isnt coming together how you want it to. Your pages have much more quality content in proportion to ads than most. With the economy being what is, its huge for folks to get the know how to feed themselves great food at home. Restaurants have become so expensive and the quality has suffered.

    Reply
    1. Erin
      January 29, 2024

      Thanks so much Kiki!

      Reply
  4. Dale
    February 10, 2024

    Can this sauce be frozen

    Reply
    1. Erin
      February 11, 2024

      Hi Dale – Unfortunately, this sauce doesn’t freeze well. It’s best eaten straight away.

      Reply
  5. Nini
    March 30, 2024

    I have not made this yet. Wondering if I can make it today and not add in the dill until I want to use it tmrw. I would reheat the sauce and then add in dill before serving

    Reply
    1. Erin
      April 1, 2024

      Hi Nini – Unfortunately, it’s best to make this sauce right before you plan on serving it. It doesn’t reheat well.

      Reply
  6. Charlene Davis
    August 16, 2024

    You suggest balancing out the sourness with more garlic but there’s no garlic in the recipe?

    Reply
  7. Lou
    December 9, 2024

    4 stars
    I made this recipe as written except reduced the lemon juice to 2 teaspoons. My husband, who had his with haddock, loved it. I had with salmon … it was okay. It reminded me of hollandaise, but not as creamy. Anyhow, will try it again but with a white fish.

    Reply
  8. Ellen
    December 27, 2024

    I am going to try this tonight. Can you use tarragon in the lemon butter mixture?

    Reply
    1. Erin
      December 27, 2024

      Hi Ellen – Yes! I think tarragon would be delicious.

      Reply
  9. Nerida Roberts
    February 2, 2025

    So easy and so delicious! I served with Marron tails (fresh water crayfish) It was such a hit that my 10yo son drank the remaining sauce from the little seving dish ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

    Reply
  10. Terry
    February 18, 2025

    5 stars
    I can’t eat onions so I infused some olive oil with shallots substituting 2 TbSP of butter for the olive oil. I was out of dry white wine so I substituted dry sherry. I added extra dill and lemon juice to suit my taste. Excellent recipe. Thanks.

    Reply
    1. Erin
      February 18, 2025

      Thanks for trying it and sharing your substitutions Terry!

      Reply
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Hi, I’m Erin!

Can I pour you a glass of wine? Let’s have some fun in the kitchen! Maybe some pasta? A juicy steak? I’ve got loads of yummy, easy recipes for you! Because cooking should feel as comfy as your favorite yoga pants. ♥

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