Homemade Garlic Parmesan Sauce is delicious with pasta, chicken, and more. You only need 20 minutes and a handful of ingredients.
This creamy Garlic Parmesan sauce recipe is easy to make and can be used on pasta, veggies, or chicken wings. It takes about 20 minutes to make and uses ingredients you may have on hand already. In addition to the important flavors of fresh garlic and Parmesan cheese, you’ll need butter, flour, milk, heavy cream, and some seasonings.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
What Is Garlic Parmesan Sauce?
This is similar to alfredo sauce, but with more garlic and more Parmesan. It’s great on pasta, but it’s also an amazing chicken wing sauce. If you love Garlic Parmesan wings, you’re going to love this!
How To Make The Sauce
You’re basically cooking some garlic in melted butter to soften it and then adding some flour to make a roux. That will be what thickens the sauce. Then you’ll slowly drizzle in milk while whisking continuously so that the sauce stays smooth and doesn’t get lumpy. Then add in some heavy whipping cream. If you’d like, you can skip the cream and just use more milk. It won’t be as rich, but it will still be tasty.
Heat that up to a simmer so that it thickens. Then you’ll melt in four ounces of shredded Parmesan. That’s a bit more than a cup once it’s shredded. Note that it’s best to shred it yourself because the pre-shredded often contains an anti-caking agent which can make the sauce have a slightly grainy texture.
Season the sauce with salt and pepper. You can also add in some Italian seasoning, if you’d like, or some dried basil and/or oregano. If you’d like a little heat, you can add red pepper flakes or a pinch of cayenne. And that’s it!
Using Garlic Parmesan Sauce
Toss it with cooked drained pasta or with cooked chicken wings. You could also use it as a pizza sauce for a white pizza. I love it drizzled over steamed broccoli and cauliflower as well.
It’s also a really tasty dip for veggies. Crunchy carrots, celery, raw broccoli, and cauliflower dipped in warm Parmesan sauce is so good! But the sauce is also tasty as a dip when not heated so, go ahead and chill it for a cool dip on your canape tray.
How Much Sauce To Use For Pasta
How much of the Garlic Parmesan sauce do you use for a pasta dinner? You’ll start with 12 ounces of dry pasta. Cook it according to package directions, drain it, and then toss it with the full sauce recipe. If your box of pasta is 16 ounces, this will work but with one modification. Before draining the pasta, scoop about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water out of the pot. Then drain the pasta. Toss it with the garlic-Parm sauce. Then, drizzle in a tablespoon or two of the hot pasta water and toss again. That should be enough to loosen everything up and coat the pasta, but you can add a little bit more water if you’d like.
How Much Sauce To Use For Chicken Wings
If you like your wings lightly coated in sauce, measure 1/3 cup of the warm sauce into a medium-sized bowl and add 6 cooked chicken wings. Toss to coat.
If you like a heavier coating, then go with 1/2 cup of sauce for 6 wings.
After coating the wings in sauce, I sometimes like to add a bit more flavor by adding in some unmelted Parmesan cheese and some uncooked minced garlic. So, you’d make your sauce as instructed below. But in addition, in a separate bowl mix together a clove of minced garlic with 1 ounce of shredded Parmesan cheese. Once your sauce is cooked and your wings are cooked, toss those together, then add in some of the shredded Parm and garlic and toss again. It’s so seriously good!
Storing And Reheating
Store the sauce covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can reheat it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until heated through, stirring after each interval. Alternatively, you can heat it in a saucepan on the stove over low heat, stirring often.
More Sauce Recipes You’ll Love
If you love the taste of this creamy garlic sauce, make sure to try these recipes too.
- White Sauce (Bechamel)
- Velouté Sauce
- Garlic Butter Sauce
- Greek Yogurt Alfredo Sauce
- Espagnole Sauce
- The Best Ever Cheese Sauce
Garlic Parmesan Sauce Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
This recipe makes about 2 and ½ cups of sauce. For pasta, cook 12 ounces of dry pasta according to package instructions and drain it. Then toss it with the full sauce recipe. For chicken wings, use 1/3 to 1/2 cups of warm sauce tossed with 6 cooked chicken wings.
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup milk
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream*
- 4 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese (just over 1 cup)
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- ¼ tsp. Italian seasoning (optional)
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in the flour to form a paste. Slowly drizzle in the milk and cream, whisking continuously. Bring to a simmer while continuing to stir.
- Remove from the heat and add the cheese, salt, pepper, and the Italian seasoning (if using). Stir until smooth.
- Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
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Notes
*If desired, use milk instead of whipping cream. The sauce won’t be as rich but will still be delicious. Another alternative is to use canned evaporated milk, which is very thick and creamy as well, and easy to have on hand in your pantry.
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