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A light fresh Creamy Basil Sauce that’s filled with summer basil. Perfect for serving over shrimp, fish, chicken, or pasta.
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Garlic Basil White Sauce
This is a nice simple summer sauce. A basic white sauce that’s been taken up a notch or two with the addition of a little garlic and basil.
I love fresh basil, and it’s great in sauces.
Sometimes though, I find pesto to be a bit heavy. That’s when this sauce is perfect. You still get the basil flavor without the oily pesto sauce.
So if you have a basil plant in your garden, and it’s growing like crazy. You might be looking for fun new ways to use that basil. This Creamy Basil Sauce is just the ticket.
Serve this sauce with some salmon croquettes for a delightful dinner.
What milk to use?
This is a pretty simple sauce, so I recommend going with whole milk. But, if you want a sauce that’s lighter in calories, you can use a lighter milk. Some of the flavor will be missed.
And, although I haven’t tried making this with a plant-based milk, I think it could work. Go with a more neutral flavored milk like almond, soy, or oatmilk. Don’t use a sweetened or vanilla flavored milk, unless you want vanilla basil sauce.
You could also try bumping up the creaminess by using half and half or whole cream in this sauce. I bet that would be lovely.
Use your favorite broth
What already tastes good to you is what will end up being your favorite.
I use {affiliate link} Better Than Bouillon vegetable base for pretty much all of my cooking (if it’s not homemade broth). I like that it isn’t too salty, and how little space it takes to store so much broth.
Oh, and by the way, they have lots of different flavors of Better Than Bouillon to choose from.
If you aren’t used to vegetable broth, and you prefer chicken broth, use that.
The saltiness of the broth you use will decide how much salt to add at the end of the cooking. If you have a salty broth, you may not need to add any salt at all. But do taste the sauce and see if you need to add more salt and pepper.
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Creamy Basil Sauce Recipe
Creamy Basil Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup broth
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves crushed
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Melt butter in a small saucepan. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in flour to form a paste. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Gradually and slowly stir in milk and broth, and cook stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a bubble on the edges.
- Stir in basil, wine, salt, thyme, and pepper. Cook 1-2 minutes more. Serve over pasta, toast, shrimp, chicken, or fish.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Lindsay Cotter
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it!
Liren
Such a simple sauce that can be used in so many ways!!
Deb
Ooh that creamy sauce! I’m picking out all of the recipes to use it with. Looks just delicious – I can’t wait to try it!
Nikki
Wow! This is divine! Basil is one of my most loved herbs! So creamy and delicious!
Debbe Daughtry
I have lots of basil so I’d like to make batches of this. Can this be frozen? Thanks!
Debi
Debbe, I’m not a big fan of freezing dairy sauces. They tend to curdle and separate when thawed. That being said, I haven’t tested it with this particular recipe. You might try freezing the basil by itself then making the sauce fresh when you want it. To freeze basil, lay the leaves in a single layer on parchment or plastic wrap. Roll up, place the paper into a ziptop freezer bag, remove the excess air and freeze it for up to 3 months. then you can use the basil when you are ready to make the sauce (or any other recipe you like). BTW, this basil simple syrup is another great way to save it: https://lifecurrentsblog.com/basil-simple-syrup/
Mike
Used this sauce on a baked chicken breast dish which went down a treat.
Placed the seared breasts on a bed of shallots, sliced mushrooms and red peppers, poured the sauce over and baked. Served it with mash and spring greens, nothing left by any of the family.