Sage Butter Sauce (With Video)

Sage Butter Sauce uses just 2 ingredients to create a deliciously rich and buttery restaurant-quality sauce at home in only 5 minutes.

This savoury butter sage sauce is great on everything from pasta to vegetables or drizzled over chicken or steak.

The secret ingredient that takes the flavour of this sage butter sauce to the next level is brown butter.

Please don't stop reading here...brown butter is one of those recipe techniques that seems harder than it actually is!

To tell the truth, I was a little intimidated - but I decided to give it a go because I love having this sauce at a restaurant and it was so much easier than I expected to make myself!

The French term for this type of melted butter sauce is beurre noisette - which literally translates to hazelnut butter.

The secret to making brown butter is to not walk away once the butter starts to foam. As the butter is heated, the milk solids (which are the specs you will see at the bottom) can go from lovely nutty brown to burnt very quickly.

Be warned - answer the phone at your peril!

As usual, I have included a video of me making this recipe (it's in the recipe card at the bottom of the page) - this is a really helpful resource to show the change in colour as the sauce cooks.

Why you will love this recipe

• 2 ingredients (plus salt and pepper).
• 5 minutes.
• Ah-maze-ing taste, it's a classic for a reason.

What you need to make this recipe

*Please see the recipe card below for exact quantities and detailed instructions

• unsalted butter
• fresh sage leaves
• salt and fresh black pepper

*Please see the recipe card below for exact quantities and detailed instructions

How to make sage butter sauce?

1. Place cubes of unsalted butter in a medium-sized pot over medium heat to melt.
2. The melted butter will start to foam up as it continues to heat.

3. At about the 4 minute mark, the butter starts to change from yellow to a brown colour.
4. At this point, toss in the sage leaves and continue to simmer for about another minute until the butter has a nutty aroma and there are brown specs in the bottom of the pan. Then remove it from the heat and immediately pour the sauce into another bowl straight away.

Top tips for the best result

• The butter is cubed so that it melts more evenly.
• Once the butter starts to bubble and become foamy, keep watching it. Don't walk away or you risk it burning.
• It's best to make this sauce in a light-coloured pot, this makes it easier to spot the change in colour as the butter cooks.
• It's important to pour the melted butter (along with the crispy sage leaves) immediately out of the hot saucepan/pot and into another container once it's "browned", or it will keep cooking with the residual heat in the pot and can burn.

Storage

Store this butter sauce covered in the fridge for up to a week.

Reheat in the microwave in 10 second bursts.

Serving suggestions

• Serve the sauce over any kind of pasta or potato gnocchi, filled pasta like ravioli or tortellini goes especially well.
• Drizzle this sage brown butter sauce over vegetables like pumpkin or sweet potatoes.
• Pour over mashed potatoes, using the fried sage leaves as a garnish.

Frequently asked questions

Other recipes you may enjoy

Garlic Butter Sauce - another fast and tasty 5 minute sauce made with melted butter, garlic, parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice. Great for dipping.

Cafe De Paris Butter - a gorgeously savoury compound butter made with herbs, mustard and parmesan cheese.

📖 Recipe