Lemon Sauce for Chicken – A sauce can totally make the meal, and that’s just what this dairy free lemon sauce for chicken or fishes does! The bright, tangy flavor combined with the rich and creamy texture does wonders for making simply prepared proteins taste a bit more special. It also takes the monotony out of leftovers, and is easy to pack up as an on-the-go dipping sauce!
Oh, did I mention that it’s thick and creamy, WITHOUT the addition of gluten and dairy?! Whip up a double batch of this Lemon Sauce for Chicken, and store in the fridge for the next time you need an extra burst of flavor in your meal! Let’s get into the details.
Lemon Sauce for Chicken or Fishes
I initially created the creamy lemon sauce recipe for my gluten-free oven “fried” chicken. The sauce is absolutely delicious and creamy, and pairs perfectly with healthy fried chicken! While fried chicken is delicious on its own, in my opinion, there’s always room for added flavor, and this Lemon Sauce for Chicken or Fishes Recipe definitely upped its game!
After the first time tasting the finished product, I was addicted. Ever since, I have been putting it on everything from grilled fish to baked potatoes and pasta! Trust me, if you have the sauce ready made and sitting in your fridge you will find a use for it!
The best part is, it takes no more than 5-minutes to make. All you have to do is put just eight ingredients in a high speed blender, whirl together and serve. It’s as easy as 1-2-3!
Like mentioned above, this Lemon Sauce for Chicken or Fishes is thick and creamy, yet still gluten and dairy-free! Normally, recipes will use wheat, dairy-based cream, or cornstarch to thicken sauces. However, none of these exactly fit perfectly into our nutritional framework.
Not only do we avoid gluten and dairy for health purposes, but we like to pack our food full of the most nutrients possible, so we wanted to find a better option than cornstarch.
How to Make Healthy, Creamy Sauces
One thing you’ll notice about us here at Clean Cuisine, is that we use cashews, macadamia, and pine nuts in many of our recipes. This is because they offer a neutral flavor, while adding a smooth and creamy texture to recipes! In this Lemon Sauce Recipe, we opted for pine nuts, as they offered a complimentary flavor to the rest of the ingredients, while giving us that perfectly smooth and thick consistency we were looking for.
Allergic to nuts? My husband is too, and I’ve already experimented with alternatives for those who need nut-free options. When making this recipe for my husband, I swapped out the pine nuts for sunflower seeds, and got amazing results! Still smooth and creamy, with an amazingly delicious flavor, but completely nut-free!
Recipes to Try with Lemon Sauce for Chicken or Fishes
Since making this recipe a few years ago, the ingredients have not changed, but we now add it to so many dishes.
This Lemon Sauce for Chicken or Fishes is delicious on much more than just chicken and fish! It’s a delicious and clean alternative to Hollandaise sauce when drizzled on asparagus, makes a great alternative to mayonnaise as a sandwich spread, and is the perfect dipping sauce for any chicken recipe!
This sauce really is so versatile and delicious in a wide variety of dishes! Here are just a few of my favorite recipes to drizzle in this Lemon Sauce Recipe: Recipe for Chicken Nuggets: Recipe for Chicken Nuggets are delicious enough that the whole family will love them. Plus, our recipe for chicken nuggets is gluten free!
Broccoli with Bacon Salad: This Broccoli with Bacon Salad is loaded with fruits, veggies, and seeds. Swap out the Homemade Ranch for our Lemon Sauce Recipe!
Slow Cooked Salmon with Citrus: This particular recipe for Slow Cooked Salmon combines the brightness of citrus with the crispness of white wine. Drizzle on our Lemon Sauce Recipe for an added punch of flavor!
Healthy Pasta Salad Recipe: Healthy Pasta Salad Recipe is both gluten free and very, very healthy. It’s loaded with vegetables, super easy to make & delicious to eat!
Hamburger Recipe on Grill: This is the BEST Hamburger Recipe on Grill – delicious grass-fed burger is juicy, flavorful and a classic dinner for your menu. This Lemon Sauce Recipe makes the perfect sauce for hamburgers!
Tips for Making the BEST Lemon Sauce for Chicken or Fishes
Behind any great recipes, are some great cooking techniques and tricks. For this Lemon Sauce Recipe, the tricks are quite basic and simple, but most definitely go a long way in determining the outcome of the recipe.
#1: Soak Pine Nuts (or Sunflower Seeds) Beforehand: One of the ways we achieved such a smooth and creamy finished product with this recipe was by presoaking the pine nuts (or sunflower seeds) before blending them up. Soaking before blending helps soften the nuts so that they blend more easily, creating a smooth, and creamy texture. Our rule-of-thumb is to soak at least 3 hours before use, or you can “flash soak” by using the hot water method.
#2: Use a High-Speed Blender: While you can technically make this sauce with any type of blender, a high-speed, high-quality blender is going to offer drastically better results. Invest in a high-speed blender now, and you’ll notice a ginormous difference in the texture quality of your smoothies, soups, sauces, and desserts!
That’s really it! Just a couple of small, intentional methods to create this sauce, and we promise, you’ll see BIG results!
For those of you with food allergies and food sensitivities, it’s helpful to know the Creamy Lemon Sauce recipe meets the following dietary restrictions:
Grain Free / Gluten Free /Egg Free / Dairy Free/ Bean Free/ Soy Free/ Paleo-Friendly/ Vegan/ Vegetarian
Ready for the recipe? Let’s get into it!
PrintLemon Sauce for Chicken
Creamy and a little tangy Lemon Sauce recipe is served perfectly with simply prepared chicken or fishes. It’s also delicious on burgers, baked potatoes or drizzled on steamed broccoli.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dips
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil can sub with unrefined avocado oil
- 6 cloves garlic
- 3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 teaspoon raw honey
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, can sub with sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
Add all ingredients to a high speed blender and process until smooth and creamy. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
(Note: Lemon sauce will keep for up to 5 days stored in a covered container in the refrigerator.)
Keywords: Lemon Sauce for Chicken or Fishes
Looking for more clean recipes?
Be looking for more clean sauce recipes be sure to check out the ones we have on the blog HERE!
Sanja says
Hi, I tried this recipe today and it is sooo good…My daughter loves ot too thank you so much!
Aimee Harris Niedosik says
Thank you Sanja for sharing — it is definitely our favorite sauce for chicken and fish. So glad you both enjoyed it.
Gemma says
If I keep mustard powder around but not mustard as I don’t like it (but mustard powder and seeds add to other dishes without overpowering so I use them), how much powder would I substitute approx? Please and thanks I can’t wait to try this!
Madison Suttles says
Hi, Gemma!
I actually made this with mustard seed powder the other day as well. It’s completely up to personal preference and how much of a mustard flavor you like, but I opted for the same amount as called for in the recipe, and used 3/4 teaspoon of mustard powder!
Hope this helps,
Madison
Sharon Caldwell says
This is so so excellent!!!
Thank you! My youngest daughter has been dairy free for over a year and I cannot believe this sauce contains no milk. It is divine!!!
★★★★★
Aimee Harris Niedosik says
Oh Sharon, that is such wonderful news. Thank you for letting us know and giving it a try. It is one of our favorite sauces to keep in the fridge!
caroline says
would you marinate a fish filet in this or cook fish in this sauce? Or should you just use it as a topping after the fish is cooked?
Ivy Larson says
Hi Caroline, I apologize for not responding sooner, somehow your comment got lost in the shuffle. But as for the fish, I would suggest using it as a topping after it is cooked! I suppose you could also use it as a marinade, but since I haven’t yet tried that I don’t want to say for sure it would work. I hope this helps? Please let me know how you like it if you give it a try!
SUZANNE says
Looks good – but why not give how many servings?? many recipes today omit this information – very frustrating … 🙂
Josefin says
This sounds so delicious, however I’m allergic to pine nuts (and all other nuts). What do you think I can use instead? sunflower seeds?
Thanks!
Ivy Larson says
Hi Josefin, I am so sorry for the lengthy delay getting back to you. I have just been completely swamped ever since the launch of the book and I am behind on just about everything (sigh…) But as for what to substitute, the sunflower seeds might work perfectly. I would suggest soaking them in water for at least an hour though, that should help soften them up significantly. Please let me know how it goes if you give it a try!