How to Make Garlic Cream Sauce

Co-authored by Jillian Fae Downing

Garlic cream sauce is a rich and delicious addition to dishes from pizza and pasta to steaks and seafood. We've got two scrumptious recipes for you to try, and they're both quick and easy to make! Break out the butter, olive oil, and garlic and get ready to whip up some yummy garlic cream sauce.

Ingredients

Garlic Cream Sauce

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
Several garlic cloves (enough to make 2 tablespoons minced)
2 cups heavy or whipping cream (note: not whipped cream)
1 teaspoon vegetable, beef, or chicken bouillon
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

Roasted-Garlic Cream Sauce

1 head of garlic
3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream (note: not whipped cream)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Making a Garlic Cream Sauce

1
Melt butter and olive oil. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.
2
Mince the garlic. Peel the cloves of garlic. Then, chop the garlic very finely until you have 2 tablespoons (1/8 cup).^{[1]
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Expert Source

Jillian Fae Downing
Private Event Chef & Chef Educator
Expert Interview. 2 September 2021.}

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3
Add the garlic to the butter and oil. Once the butter and oil have melted together, carefully add the minced garlic and stir.
- The garlic should soften and smell fragrant. Avoid cooking it till it turns brown.
4
Make a roux. Add the flour directly to the butter/oil/garlic mixture and stir well. Make sure that the flour is completely incorporated. Keep cooking and stirring this mixture over medium heat, for about a minute.^{[2]
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Expert Source

Jillian Fae Downing
Private Event Chef & Chef Educator
Expert Interview. 2 September 2021.}
- You should notice the roux start to thicken up and darken a bit in color.
5
Heat the heavy cream and bouillon. You can microwave the liquids till warm or heat them in a pan on the stove. Take care not to boil the liquids.
6
Add 2 cups (16 ounces) of heavy cream and bouillon. Carefully pour the warmed cream and bouillon into the roux, while mixing with your other hand. Keep whisking and cooking over medium heat until it starts to simmer, or bubble gently.^{[3]
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Expert Source

Jillian Fae Downing
Private Event Chef & Chef Educator
Expert Interview. 2 September 2021.}
7
Stir occasionally and season. Frequently stir the sauce so that it doesn't stick to the pan. Add salt and pepper, according to your taste. The sauce should start to thicken up after a few minutes.
- The sauce should still be bubbling gently. At no point should you boil the sauce.
8
Add Parmesan cheese and remove from heat. Stir well to melt the cheese. Continue cooking if you want a really thick sauce. If not, remove the sauce and serve.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Making a Roasted-Garlic Cream Sauce

1
Turn on the oven. Heat the oven to 400 F/ 204 C. Tear off a square of aluminum foil. The piece should be around a square foot in size.
2
Prepare the garlic. Take your whole head of garlic and set it on the middle of your aluminum square. Drizzle it with 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil. Then, wrap the aluminum foil around the garlic, sealing it in and making a pouch.
3
Roast the garlic. Set your pouch of garlic in the oven, directly on a rack. Let it cook for 30 minutes. The garlic will be soft when it's finished cooking. Remove it from the oven and foil. Let it cool.
4
Squeeze roasted garlic into a sauté pan along with olive oil. The individual cloves of garlic should be soft enough that you can squeeze them right into the pan. Do this for the entire head of garlic. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat a minute over medium heat.
5
Make a roux. Add the flour to the sauté pan and stir well, making sure to reach all areas of the pan so that the flour is completely incorporated. Continue to stir while cooking the mixture, or roux. The roux should start to darken a bit in color.^{[4]
X
Expert Source

Jillian Fae Downing
Private Event Chef & Chef Educator
Expert Interview. 2 September 2021.}
6
Heat 1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock. You can simply microwave the stock while your roux is cooking, or you can heat the stock in a pot on the stove. Don't let it boil.
7
Whisk the stock into the roux. Very gradually pour the stock into your roux while whisking with your other hand. This should be a slow process so that the stock has a chance to be absorbed into the roux without separating into clumps.
8
Keep stirring and cooking your sauce. Keep the temperature around medium, or medium-low if it starts to boil. The sauce will start to thicken up pretty quickly.
- You should notice a lot of evaporation as the sauce reduces to about half of the volume. Stirring frequently will help prevent scorching, or burning.
9
Stir in the heavy/whipping cream. Stir to combine the stock/garlic mixture and cream. Remove the sauté pan from heat.
10
Blend the sauce. You can either use an immersion blender or regular blender. If using an immersion blender, transfer the sauce to a deep bowl. Then, stick the immersion blender in it and process until the sauce is smooth. If using a regular blender, transfer the sauce to the blender and blitz until smooth.
- Blending the sauce will also smooth out any lumps of roux you might not have whisked completely.
11
Taste the sauce and season. Add salt and pepper, according to your taste. Use immediately or return the sauce to the sauté pan, where you can keep it warm over low heat.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Your Garlic Cream Sauce

1
Try as a white pizza sauce.This makes a good alternative to red sauce and creates a richer tasting pizza.
- Consider topping with: red onion, mushrooms, spinach, bacon, artichoke hearts, chicken, or broccoli.
2
Use on any kind of pasta. Toss it with cooked fettuccine, penne, linguine or use it in a lasagna.
- If using it in pasta, consider grating the zest of a lemon into your sauce. This will add a citrus note and cut some of the richness.
3
Drizzle over grilled steaks. Steaks are traditionally topped with a compound butter or rich sauce. Garlic cream sauce makes an excellent replacement.
4
Cover seafood with the sauce. Shrimp, scallops and clams are especially good with the combination of garlic and cream.
- Toss a little sauce into a seafood pasta for an even better combination.
5
Use as a dipping sauce. Dip bread sticks, crackers, or veggies. For an appetizer or party, set out a tray of breads, vegetables, sausages, and a bowl of the garlic sauce for easy dipping.

Expert Q&A

Question

How do you thicken creamy garlic sauce?

Jillian Fae Downing
Private Event Chef & Chef Educator
Jillian Fae Downing is a Private Event Chef, Chef Educator, and the Owner of Jillian Fae Chef Services based out of Temecula, California. With 12 years of experience, she specializes in menu planning and menu research and development. Jillian Fae holds an Associate of Science in Culinary Arts from Orange Coast College and a BA in Mass Communication and Media Studies from Arizona State University. She is also a member of the American Culinary Federation and the American Personal and Private Chef Association.

Jillian Fae Downing

Private Event Chef & Chef Educator

Expert Answer

If you want a roux-based sauce, start with your garlic and your fat component. Add flour and then add milk or cream to thicken your sauce quicker.
Question

Can I use milk instead of the heavy cream?

Community Answer

You can, but your sauce will be thinner and may require the addition of cornstarch or flour to thicken it up.
Question

Can I use reduced cream instead of normal cream?

Community Answer

Yes, it really doesn't matter.