Chardonnay Sauce
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This flavorful Chardonnay Sauce adds amazing flavor to chicken, seafood, or pasta dishes. The garlic and onion offer a punch without overpowering the chardonnay. It’s easy to whip up and will make dinner taste spectacular!
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Chardonnay cream sauce comes together with just a few ingredients in about 30 minutes. It’s versatile and can be used as a sauce for pasta or drizzled over seafood and chicken.
When choosing chardonnay, select one you would drink. Stay away from less expensive wines. Most of the time, they leave a vinegary taste instead of a wine flavor.
This recipe is similar to our white wine sauce and a close cousin to beurre blanc sauce. Like our lemon caper sauce, chardonnay sauce can be drizzled over a variety of seafood. And similar to amogio sauce, it’s a great sauce to serve over pasta.
Why This Recipe Works
- The richness of the butter, the acidity of the wine, and the subtle flavor of the onion combine to make a sophisticated and elegant sauce.
- A touch of Dijon mustard is added for a slight tanginess.
- You can make the sauce as thick or as thin as you’d like. Simply allow the liquid to cook down to your desired consistency.
Ingredients
For the ingredient measurements and the entire recipe, be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the blog post where the recipe card is located.
- Oil & Butter: Extra virgin olive oil and unsalted butter combine to add a robust buttery flavor.
- Onion: We used a yellow onion but sweet onion or shallot will also taste great.
- Garlic: We packed this sauce with garlic by using 4 large cloves.
- Chardonnay: Select a wine you would drink.
- Chicken stock: You may use a low-sodium stock if desired but we prefer regular for a touch of salt.
- Lemon juice: Fresh lemon juice will taste better than bottled.
- Dijon mustard: We like to add just a little Dijon for added flavor but you can omit it if you don’t have it on hand.
- Heavy cream: This gives the sauce a rich creamy texture.
Step by Step Directions
For the full recipe instructions, scroll down to the bottom of the blog post to the recipe card.
- Sautee the garlic and onion with oil and butter.
- Add the chardonnay and cook until reduced. Add the chicken stock and cook until reduced.
- Stir in the lemon juice and Dijon mustard.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the cream.
- Serve over grilled chicken breasts, seafood, or pasta.
Tips For Success
- Take care not to burn the garlic when sauteing. Garlic will taste bitter if it burns and this can ruin your lovely sauce.
- When reducing the chardonnay and stock, we like to reduce by half. You can adjust this depending on how thick or thin you want your sauce.
Chardonnay Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup minced yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ cups chardonnay
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- In a medium skillet over medium-low heat, melt the oil and butter. Add the onion and garlic. Sautee for 2 minutes until softened.
- Add the chardonnay and increase the heat to medium. Bring to a simmer and let cook until reduced by half, about 10 minutes, stirring ocassionaly.
- Add the chicken stock and simmer until reduced by half, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the lemon juice and Dijon mustard. Stir until well combined.
- Remove from heat and stir in the heavy cream.
- Serve the sauce over grilled chicken breasts, seafood, or pasta. This sauce is best used as soon as it's made.
Notes
- Chardonnay: Choose a good quality chardonnay that has great flavor and you would enjoy drinking.
- Make it spicy: Add up to 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper for a little heat.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided is for convenience and as a courtesy only. It is not guaranteed to be accurate because nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator and input the exact ingredients and brands you used in the recipe.