Everybody needs a universal sauce for drizzling over roasted vegetables, tossing with finely chopped kale, or marinating meat. This creamy sauce is such a workhorse in my kitchen, I thought it deserved to be moved to the front of the blog with a new video.
When people see and taste this pale yellow sauce, they often assume it contains dairy or that it’s complicated to make. That’s the simple science of an emulsion. It’s just garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and red pepper flakes whipped into submission.
Since I’ve been making this sauce for a decade, I often just make it to taste. Regardless of the exact number of garlic cloves you use, I’ve found that the absolute best way to prepare it is in the blender after you’ve really mashed or chopped the garlic. Otherwise, the garlic has a knack for avoiding the blender blades, and then you end up with a slightly less creamy sauce (and we can’t have that).
Just a quick note on blending, I use a bullet style blender for small quantity sauces, like this one. If you find that your liquid sits below the blades of your regular blender, you may want to finely mince or paste the garlic instead (watch how in this garlic knife skills tutorial) and then whisk.
What I love about this particular sauce is the balance of acidity, heat, and richness. It’s acidic enough to compliment chopped kale and delicate enough to finish fresh seafood (thank you lemon, I worship you). It’s especially tasty drizzled over roasted broccoli or as a marinade for roasted lamb ribs.
What’s an emulsion and how does it work?
An emulsion is where you force two ingredients to combine that normally don’t. Often, an emulsion is the unification of oil and water-based substances. Mayonnaise, hollandaise, and salad dressings are all emulsions of fat and acid. In this case, we use garlic and a blender to bind olive oil and lemon juice for a luxuriously creamy, smooth texture. It may look like it contains dairy, but that’s the power of an emulsion.
Making and Storing Salad Dressing
You can blend this sauce ahead and refrigerate for about 1 week. Separation is normal – just give it a good shake before using. If the olive oil solidifies in the fridge, you can run the container under warm water or let it sit on the counter for a bit to melt. Squeeze bottles are a convenient storage solution because you can easily drizzle and shake right out of the fridge.
Recipes that Use This Lemon Garlic Sauce
Tuscan Kale Salad with Grilled Chicken
Irresistible Lemon Roasted Lamb Ribs
Kale Salad with Pan-Seared Salmon
There’s so much potential for this sauce, and I can’t wait to see how you end up using it.
Essential Lemon Garlic Sauce
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice from 1 1/2 large lemons or 4 small, depending on the juiciness
- 2 large cloves garlic smashed into a paste or roughly chopped
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a blender. Pulse on high for up to 1 minute until no garlic chunks remain and the dressing is very smooth and pale yellow. Use at room temperature or store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Video
Nutrition
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This is my second time making this recipe and it’s seriously amazing! It took 3 lemons this time and I blended it longer until the red pepper flakes were more incorporated. I’d give this 10 stars if I could!
I made it and used it in a one dish penne pasta with chicken and broccoli for my young adult son. He loved it and said that he wants it in everything.
This made me chuckle. Tell your son that we have that in common:)
This is the bomb and we put it with everything, quinoa bowls, antipasti platters and on occasion chicken. Great easy recipe and thank you for sharing!
Oh Wendy, yay! I’m so thrilled to hear that. Quinoa bowls and antipasti platters – What fun you’re having!
Can I used minced garlic instead of garlic cloves?
Hi Travis,
When you say minced garlic, are you referring to the stuff sold in a little jar? If so, I think you can use it, but you may need to increase the overall amount of garlic in the recipe because that pre-minced garlic is less potent.
This was a HIT! I served ut with fried fish and everyone loved it. I just added 2 tablespoons of chopped gherkins in it and cut down a bit on lemon juice. It’s a keeper and have added it to my recipe book. Thank you so much for sharing it…
Nice! Love the idea of adding the gherkins to go with the fish. Another thing I love to do is add a dash of cayenne (if you like a little heat).