This lemon and dill sauce is rich, tangy, and easy to make! Lemon dill sauce is the perfect companion to this 20-Minute Frozen Salmon In Air Fryer, as well as vegetables, meats, grains, and more!
This is one of my favorite sauce recipes because it's so versatile and can be used in so many different ways. I think it's especially good with salmon.
Making lemon dill sauce is easy, but if you've ever made a hollandaise sauce, you'll have a slight advantage as the two are quite similar. The main distinction is that this sauce incorporates fresh herbs and uses heavy cream instead of egg yolks.
In addition to salmon, this sauce pairs well with white fish such as cod and halibut, as well as other seafood like shrimp, scallops, crab, blackened swordfish, and more.
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- You can use this lemon dill sauce as a dip or a glaze as well!
- This sauce takes less than 20 minutes to prepare, perfect for last-minute dinners.
- Lemon dill sauce is made using ingredients that are mostly basic kitchen staples, so it's likely you already have most of them.
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Lemon: Freshly squeezed lemon is the way to go for this recipe, I wouldn't use bottled since you also need the zest.
- Shallot: Red onion also works.
- Heavy cream: You can also use half & half, but may have to add a little extra butter.
- Garlic: Fresh is best but minced is fine.
- Olive oil: Avocado oil works as well.
- Honey mustard: You can substitute Dijon mustard.
- Optional ingredients: Smoked paprika, horseradish, sriracha, chives.
🍋 How To Make Lemon And Dill Sauce
Pro Tip: Since this sauce requires constant stirring, I recommend measuring and prepping all ingredients and having them close by so that you can add them in the order given.
Step 1: Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat, then add diced shallot and cook for 3 minutes until softened. Add minced garlic during the last 30 seconds, taking care not to burn.
Step 2: Deglaze with white wine, then add butter and stir until melted. Simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until sauce reduces by half, stirring constantly.
Step 3: Reduce heat to low and stir in heavy cream, mustard, lemon juice, and zest. Simmer gently, while whisking, for 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken. Add chopped dill, salt, and pepper, then cook for another 5 minutes or until thickened.
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Pro Tip: To prevent your sauce from separating, do not let it boil. Try to keep it at a gentle simmer over very low-medium heat, while constantly stirring or whisking.
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Use as a dipping sauce for vegetables such as parmesan roasted rainbow carrots, roasted or steamed asparagus, green beans, potatoes, artichokes, and zucchini. Serve alongside this Instant Pot ham recipe, baked turkey legs, or chicken! Add a creamy and flavorful element to pasta, rice bowls, quinoa, and other grains. Drizzle it over lion's mane crab cakes or poached eggs.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
If your lemon dill sauce separates, you may be able to revive it by slowly whisking in 1 tablespoon at a time of hot water (or scalded cream) until the sauce is the right consistency.
Many sauces go well with salmon such as lemon dill sauce, yogurt sauce, hollandaise, herb butter, teriyaki, and horseradish sauce. When choosing a sauce for salmon you should try to utilize ingredients such as fresh herbs, citrus fruits, dairy like yogurt and cream, mustard, and sweet ingredients such as honey or maple syrup.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- This lemon dill sauce is best when enjoyed immediately after cooking, but you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Refrigerated sauce will solidify and can be used as a spread on toasted bread or sandwiches.
- If you wish to reheat this lemon dill sauce, I recommend using a double-boiler as you would with a hollandaise sauce, or microwaving it in 10-second intervals, stirring vigorously in between until the sauce is revived.
- When reheating lemon dill sauce, you should aim to make it lukewarm, not hot. The more you heat it, the more you risk it separating.
🫕 More Sauce Recipes
📖 Recipe
Lemon and Dill Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Whisk
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ medium shallot (diced)
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- ¼ cup white wine
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon honey mustard
- 1 medium lemon (juiced and zested)
- 2 tablespoon fresh dill (chopped)
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Since this sauce requires constant stirring, I recommend measuring and prepping all ingredients and having them close by so that you can add them in the order given.
- Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat, then add diced shallot and cook for 3 minutes until softened. Add minced garlic during the last 30 seconds, taking care not to burn.
- Deglaze with white wine, then add butter and stir until melted. Simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until sauce reduces by half, stirring constantly.
- Reduce heat to low and stir in heavy cream, mustard, lemon juice, and zest. Simmer gently, while whisking, for 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken. Add chopped dill, salt, and pepper, then cook for another 5 minutes or until thickened.
Notes
-
- To prevent your sauce from separating, do not let it boil. Try to keep it at a gentle simmer over very low-medium heat, while constantly stirring or whisking.
- This lemon dill sauce is best when enjoyed immediately after cooking, but you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Refrigerated sauce will solidify and can be used as a spread on toasted bread or sandwiches.
- If you wish to reheat this lemon dill sauce, I recommend using a double-boiler as you would with a hollandaise sauce, or microwaving it in 10-second intervals, stirring vigorously in between until the sauce is revived.
- When reheating lemon dill sauce, you should aim to make it lukewarm, not hot. The more you heat it, the more you risk it separating.
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