Julie Clark
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Sage Butter Sauce
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Discover the rich, savory flavor of Sage Butter Sauce in this easy-to-follow recipe. Learn the secret to making the sauce perfect for pasta, pork, chicken, and vegetables.
This is a recipe that I’ve been wanting to share ever since I first learned how to make brown butter. I first had sage butter sauce at a restaurant. It came drizzled over butternut squash ravioli and was honestly one of the most delicious dinners I’d ever had.
If you’re looking to elevate your cooking with an easy-to-follow recipe, try our sage butter sauce. The secret is in the browned butter, which creates a rich and savory flavor that will impress your guests. It can be ready in about 20 minutes so is perfect for busy weeknights, too.
About this Sage Butter Sauce Recipe:
- Flavor: The combination of butter and sage creates a well balanced earthy sauce with a delicate aroma and a rich buttery taste.
- Texture: The butter itself is smooth, but the little bits of garlic and shallot caramelize and sage leaves get a little crispy.
- Method: This sage brown butter sauce cooks on your stovetop in a skillet.
Can you eat sage leaves?
Sage leaves can be eaten whole or ground. They are larger, thicker leaves than many other herbs. They are slightly soft to the touch. It can seem a little strange to add the whole leaves to butter, but they crisp up and have an amazing texture when cooked.
Ingredients
The recipe calls for these few simple ingredients:
- Butter. Browned butter (beurre noisette) is always best with unsalted butter.
- Shallot. I’ve come to love using shallots in recipes. Shallots are more delicate and sweet rather than sharp. You can find them where your grocery store sells onions.
- Sage. You can buy whole sage leaves in the produce aisle at most grocery stores. At our store they are in plastic clamshell packaging.
- Garlic. Although I always keep a jar of minced garlic in the fridge, for this recipe I buy garlic cloves and chop them up right before making the sauce. There are only 4 ingredients in this recipe so I want the freshest ingredients there are.
How to Make Sage Butter Sauce
- Place a heavy bottomed saucepan on the stove.
- Cut butter into 1 tablespoon chunks.
- Place the butter in the saucepan and set stovetop to medium heat.
- Melt butter, stirring often so that it melts evenly.
- Once the butter is melted, set a timer for 5 minutes and allow the butter to simmer. The butter may be full of foam. Stir occasionally.
- After 5 minutes, add the sage, minced garlic and diced shallot. Stir gently.
- Allow this to simmer together for about 5 minutes. The sage will start to get crispy and the garlic & onion browned.
- As the butter turns a brown color, you may start to see little brown specks on the bottom of the pan. These are the milk solids. Don’t stir the pan at this point.
- After 5 minutes, remove the butter sauce from the heat and pour it into another bowl so it doesn’t get too browned.
- Season with salt and black pepper as needed.
What to Serve Sage Butter Sauce On
- Serve this nutty brown butter sage sauce over any type of ravioli, tortellini or other pasta.
- Sage garlic butter is delicious on fall flavors such as butternut squash, pumpkin or baked sweet potatoes.
- Because of the nutty aroma, it’s delicious with walnuts or pecans sprinkled on top.
- Drizzle the butter over Irish soda bread or a crusty French bread. 😋
- This butter sauce pairs well with Parmesan, so whatever you serve the sauce over, add a touch of freshly shredded parmesan cheese.
- Do you love potato gnocchi? Toss it in this sauce.
- Add other fresh herbs as you’d like. Think thyme or rosemary.
Storage Instructions
Store the cooled sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. It is best served right away and will solidify as it cools, but you can rewarm it on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Sage Butter Sauce
Discover the rich, savory flavor of Sage Butter Sauce in this easy-to-follow recipe. Learn the secret to making the sauce perfect for pasta, chicken, and vegetables.
Servings 6
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks
- 14 fresh sage leaves
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons finely diced shallot
For serving:
- 1 package butternut squash ravioli (or pasta, chicken or vegetables)
Instructions
- If you're serving this ravioli, cook the ravioli according to package directions. While the ravioli is cooking, make the butter sage sauce.
- Place a heavy bottomed saucepan on the stove.
- Cut butter into 1 tablespoon chunks.
- Place the butter in the saucepan and set stovetop to medium heat.
- Allow the butter to melt, stirring often so that it melts evenly.
- Once the butter is melted, set a timer for 5 minutes and allow the butter to simmer. Stir occasionally.
- After 5 minutes, add the sage, minced garlic and diced shallot. Stir gently.
- Allow this to simmer together for about 5 minutes. The sage will start to get crispy and the garlic & onion browned.
- If you start to see little brown specks on the bottom of the pan, these are the milk solids. Don’t stir the pan at this point.
- After 5 minutes, remove the butter sauce from the heat and pour it into another bowl so it doesn’t get too browned.
- Drizzle the sauce over the cooked ravioli or other pasta, savory pumpkin dishes, chicken or vegetables. Add salt as needed.
- It's also delicious served with crusty bread.
Notes
Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the recipe serving 6, with 1 serving being ⅙ of the butter sauce. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**
Nutrition
Calories: 273kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.4g | Protein: 0.4g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 13mg | Fiber: 0.03g | Sugar: 0.03g | Vitamin A: 946IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 0.04mg
