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    Home » Recipes

    Published: May 17, 2023 Updated: Oct 15, 2023 By: Melissa Oleary

    White Wine Garlic Butter Sauce For Pasta

    Jump to Recipe
    Total Time: 25 minutes minutes
    2 comments
    5 from 9 votes

    If you are looking for a quick and easy butter sauce for pasta that is absolutely delicious, look no further than this white wine garlic butter sauce for pasta, seafood, or vegetables. This creamy and flavorful white wine butter sauce is perfect for a weeknight dinner or even a fancy dinner party. Enjoy it as is or with your favorite additions.

    closeup of white wine garlic butter sauce

    About this white wine butter sauce

    This easy-to-make white wine butter sauce with garlic uses the techniques that you use to make a beurre blanc sauce. In a sense, you can call this a beurre blanc pasta.

    If you have never made this type of sauce before, it is very easy! The idea is you are whisking the butter portion of this sauce into the wine and garlic which helps thicken the sauce and makes it delicious and creamy.

    My family calls this an elevated butter pasta. I love that it's fancy enough to serve to guests and easy enough for a weeknight meal. My kind of pasta recipe!

    If you love easy buttered pasta, you should also try my ravioli and asparagus!

    White wine garlic butter sauce ingredients

    white wine butter sauce ingredients

    This is such an easy butter sauce recipe for pasta. You only need a few ingredients:

    • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small cubes
    • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
    • 1 cup dry white wine like Gavi, Pinot Grigio, or Sauvignon Blanc.
    • Olive oil.
    • Kosher salt and pepper to taste
    • Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
    • Chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

    How to make this butter white wine sauce for pasta

    reducing wine for white wine butter sauce
    cooking garlic for butter sauce

    The first part of the white wine garlic butter sauce:

    1. Reduce the wine.
    2. Cook the minced garlic until fragrant, but not browned.
    whisking butter for white wine garlic butter sauce
    white wine garlic butter sauce for pasta

    Whisk in the butter:

    1. Now add a few cubes of butter at a time to the pan and whisk it until the butter melts.
    2. Keep doing this until all the butter is used.

    By whisking in the butter in this white wine sauce, the butter sauce becomes nice and thick. This is the beurre blanc method I mentioned earlier.

    cooking pasta for butter sauce
    adding pasta to white wine garlic butter sauce

    Assemble it:

    1. Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve some of the pasta water for the sauce.
    2. Add the cooked pasta to the white wine garlic butter sauce and toss well. Add in Italian parsley if you are using it.
    3. Serve with fresh Parmesan at the table.

    This white wine garlic butter sauce for pasta is sure to become one of your go-to recipes when you need something that is both quick and satisfyingly delicious!

    Best white wine to cook with

    One of my favorite white wines from Italy is the Gavi wine and it makes a really nice white wine to cook with as well. If you love Pinot Grigio, you will love the Gavi varietal of wine. I find it is smoother and lighter.

    Here are some more great white wines to cook with:

    • Pinot Grigio
    • Chardonnay
    • Sauvignon Blanc

    Of course, always make sure that whatever wine you cook with is one that you love to drink. Never buy cooking wine since the flavors of this subpar kind of wine will reduce and become more pronounced in the dish that you are making.

    If you are not a wine drinker, you can ask someone at your local wine store for some recommendations. If you have extra wine left over, pour it into ice cube trays and freeze for later meals.

    White wine pasta sauce

    For this white wine pasta sauce, you can use any shape of pasta that you prefer. I love using Casarecce (what you see in the pictures), Cavatappi, bow tie pasta (also called Farfalle) or penne pasta.

    Storing

    This white wine butter sauce is best made right before you are ready to eat it. The white wine butter sauce only takes minutes to make so there is no need to have to make it ahead of time.

    If you do have any leftover pasta that you mixed into this white wine sauce, go ahead and store that in a container with a lid in the fridge for up to 2 days.

    Pairing Ideas

    Here are some of our favorite things to serve with this white wine sauce:

    • spinach and pancetta
      Spinach with Crispy Pancetta and Shallots
    • spinach and mushroom salad in a white bowl with a lemon on the side.
      Spinach and Mushroom Salad
    • peans with pancetta and shallots
      Peas and Pancetta
    • Italian Peas with garlic and parsley
      Italian Peas with Garlic and Parsley

    More easy pasta recipes like this

    If you love this white wine garlic butter sauce, you may also like these:

    • spaghetti aglio e olio
      Spaghetti with Olive Oil and Garlic (Aglio e Olio)
    • Pasta Nerano mixed together in a stainless steel frying pan
      Spaghetti with Zucchini (Spaghetti alla Nerano)
    • pasta with pancetta
      Pasta with Pancetta and Mushrooms
    • ricotta pasta with mushrooms and asparagus
      Asparagus and Mushroom Pasta with Ricotta
    closeup of white wine garlic butter sauce
    Print Recipe
    5 from 9 votes

    White Wine Garlic Butter Sauce for Pasta

    This simple and delicious white wine garlic butter sauce makes the perfect ssauce for pasta and is perfect for a quick meal or for entertaining.
    Prep Time5 minutes mins
    Cook Time20 minutes mins
    Total Time25 minutes mins
    Servings: 4 servings

    Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!

    Author: Melissa Oleary

    Ingredients

    • 1 lb Pasta Casarecce, penne or your favorite pasta.
    • 12 tablespoon unsalted butter cut into small cubes
    • 4 cloves of garlic finely minced
    • 1 cup dry white wine like Gavi Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc.
    • 1 teaspoon Olive oil
    • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt plus more to taste
    • ¼ teaspoon Ground black pepper
    • Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for topping optional
    • Chopped parsley for garnish optional

    Instructions

    • Heat a large pot of water for the pasta then cook pasta until al dente according to the manufacturers instructions.
      1 lb Pasta
    • For the sauce, add olive oil to medium sauce pan over medium heat.
      1 teaspoon Olive oil
    • Add garlic and cook for about 2 minutes or until the garlic just starts to soften.
      4 cloves of garlic
    • Add white wine and reduce by almost half.
      1 cup dry white wine like Gavi
    • Now with a whisk, add 2-3 cubes off butter into the pan and whisk until the butter melts
      12 tablespoon unsalted butter cut into small cubes
    • Add 3 more cubes of butter and repeat the whisking.
    • Keep doing this until all of the butter is used.
    • Season with salt and pepper to taste.
      ½ teaspoon Kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon Ground black pepper
    • If using, stir in fresh parsley.
      Chopped parsley for garnish
    • Toss in your favorite pasta.
    • Garnish with Parmesan.
      Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for topping

    Nutrition

    Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 836mg | Potassium: 403mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1542IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutrition Values are estimates only.

    See full nutrition disclaimer here
    Course :entertaining, Main Course, quick meal

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    Reader Interactions

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      Recipe Rating




    1. MC Otterson says

      July 02, 2023 at 2:52 am

      5 stars
      This is a very good light white wine sauce. Tried it for the first time with long time friends. They absolutely loved it. I made the sauce for the linguini with scallops and shrimp. Excellent!

      Reply
      • Melissa says

        July 02, 2023 at 11:38 am

        I am so glad everyone enjoyed it! It sounds perfect with the seafood 🙂

        Reply

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    I am so excited you are here. My name is Melissa and I started this recipe website to share easy recipes that I have been cooking for years. I have written hundreds of easy recipes that are tested and perfected. Some of the recipes I learned during my years of working in restaurants, some from owning my own food company and others come from friends and traveling.

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