Need a terrific sauce for your chicken, fish or shrimp that whips up in minutes and is EASY PEASY AND will have your guests saying, "You MADE this?" WOW! This Lemon Pepper Butter Sauce is the perfect answer and is ready in minutes!
Lemon Pepper Sauce
A lemon pepper butter sauce is the perfect accompaniment to so many dishes that you'll want to have this one under your belt.
It's easy and fast so, with only 5 ingredients, you'll be able to keep this one in your memory at all times.
You can cut the recipe in half if it's more than you need or double, triple or even do more if that's where you are headed.
Also try our Sweet Thai Chili Sauce!
Here's What You'll Need
- Butter
- Lemons
- Ground Black Pepper
- Black Cracked Pepper
- Salt
How Do I Make Lemon Pepper Butter Sauce
It's so easy, you can NOT mess it up. Promise!
- Melt the butter
- Add the zest and lemon juice
- Add the pepper and salt. Mix well. Serve. So easy!
How to Use Lemon Pepper Butter Sauce
There are about a million ways to use this sauce, but we've found that it works best with
- Chicken pieces used for recipes.
- As a sauce for a chicken fondue
- Over salmon
- With Shrimp
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
You can use the salted or unsalted real butter. I don't recommend using a butter substitute here since you'll get the most flavor out of real butter. That said, if butter substitute is all you have, then use it. If using the salted butter, taste it before adding salt to make sure it isn't too salty for you.
The cracked black pepper will give you "pops" of flavor and the ground black pepper will give you an all-over heat and pepper flavor.
The zest gives you a strong lemon flavor while the juice gives flavor and acidity. Both are needed for this recipe.
Tips and Tricks
- When melting the butter, do so gently over a low heat. This takes a bit longer, but it helps keep things on an even keel while cooking.
- You can make this sauce last minute. I haven't noticed that it tastes better after sitting for a while.
- The cracked black pepper is going to add bigger pops of flavor to your sauce, so that is why it is included. The ground black pepper gives you some heat and also pepper flavor.
- When zesting a lemon, be sure to avoid getting down into the "white" part of the lemon as it is way more bitter. The yellow part will give you the bright lemony flavor. It is very powerful.
- The juice gives you a bit of acidity which is welcome in this heavier buttery sauce. Be sure to avoid getting seeds in your sauce. I always squeeze mine over the palm of my hand to catch the seeds.
- Once the butter is melted, turn the heat off and add the other ingredients. Stir well. This avoids the possibility of boiling your butter or boiling off any of the juicy acidic lemon.
- Before serving, stir well and tell your guests to stir their sauce before adding to their food.
- Here's some interesting info about Lemon pepper sauce from the NY Times
Substitutions
- Butter: I recommend using either salted or unsalted real butter, however, if you can't find this it is possible to use a butter substitute (margarine, for example) or a butter flavored olive oil. If you use either of those, the taste will be somewhat different and you'll want to taste at each step of the recipe.
- Lemon: There really isn't a way to substitute for the lemon zest, however, you can use the bottled lemon juice for the fresh lemon juice if needed.
- Pepper: Both the cracked black pepper and the ground pepper are needed in this recipe, however, if you only have one or the other, then use that. If using only cracked black pepper, use a larger grind for the cracked pepper and a smaller grind for the ground pepper. If using only ground pepper, then taste as you go until it is the right amount of peppery for you.
- Salt: The pinch of salt is really necessary to give the pop you'll want in the final product.
Watch Me Make This
Can You Give Me a Hand
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Lemon Pepper Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 tbs butter
- 2 lemon zest
- 2 lemon juice
- 1 tbs black cracked pepper
- 2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pinch kosher salt
Instructions
- Over low to medium heat on the stove top, melt the butter in a small sauce pan.
- When the butter is melted, add the zest and juice of two lemons, cracked black pepper, ground pepper and a pinch of salt. Turn off the heat.
- Mix well with a spoon and serve immediately. Mix just before using on your dish.
Notes
- When melting the butter, do so gently over a low heat. This takes a bit longer, but it helps keep things on an even keel while cooking.
- You can make this sauce last minute. I haven't noticed that it tastes better after sitting for a while.
- The cracked black pepper is going to add bigger pops of flavor to your sauce, so that is why it is included. The ground black pepper gives you some heat and also pepper flavor.
- When zesting a lemon, be sure to avoid getting down into the "white" part of the lemon as it is way more bitter. The yellow part will give you the bright lemony flavor. It is very powerful.
- The juice gives you a bit of acidity which is welcome in this heavier buttery sauce. Be sure to avoid getting seeds in your sauce. I always squeeze mine over the palm of my hand to catch the seeds.
- Once the butter is melted, turn the heat off and add the other ingredients. Stir well.
- This avoids the possibility of boiling your butter or boiling off any of the juicy acidic lemon.
- Before serving, stir well and tell your guests to stir their sauce before adding to their food.
- Butter: I recommend using either salted or unsalted real butter, however, if you can't find this it is possible to use a butter substitute (margarine, for example) or a butter flavored olive oil. If you use either of those, the taste will be somewhat different and you'll want to taste at each step of the recipe.
- Lemon: There really isn't a way to substitute for the lemon zest, however, you can use the bottled lemon juice for the fresh lemon juice if needed.
- Pepper: Both the cracked black pepper and the ground pepper are needed in this recipe, however, if you only have one or the other, then use that. If using only cracked black pepper, use a larger grind for the cracked pepper and a smaller grind for the ground pepper. If using only ground pepper, then taste as you go until it is the right amount of peppery for you.
- Salt: The pinch of salt is really necessary to give the pop you'll want in the final product
Nutrition
Sometimes we fall short of loving each other the way that God intends.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres
Bill Knee says
How much zest and lemon juice
Wendi Spraker says
The zest of 2 lemons and the juice from those lemons as well.
Chris David says
Its really a nice recipe and mouth watering.
Wendi Spraker says
Thanks!
Wendi J Spraker says
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