More Flavorful and Much Healthier Cajun Butter Sauce Recipe
I love seafood, but sometimes it can be a little bland. Fortunately, this homemade cajun butter sauce is the perfect way to jazz up your seafood!
It has just enough spice without being overpowering. This sauce is also great for chicken and steak.
Cajun Butter Sauce
Fresh herbs are key to the flavor of this sauce. If you want to make it taste like restaurant-quality, try to use the following fresh herbs: parsley, thyme, basil, oregano and cilantro. If you can’t find all of them in your local grocery store (or if they’re prohibitively expensive), don’t worry! You can still make a tasty sauce without them by substituting dried spices instead.
If you’re looking for an even easier way out of this dilemma then try using one of those fancy jars filled with pre-made sauces in place of fresh herbs or dried spices!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup Creole mustard
- 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce (you can use more or less if you want)
- 1/4 cup ketchup (again, you can use more or less as desired)
Method
- Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until melted and starting to bubble. Add the spices, garlic and lemon juice and cook for 30 seconds more.
- Add the heavy cream, reduce the heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes (the sauce will thicken as it cools). Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest right before serving.
Special Note
This sauce is great for seafood, chicken, pork, beef and vegetables.
It’s a spicy Cajun butter sauce that can also be used as a marinade. It’s perfect on shrimp or salmon!
Add-ins and Variations
Once you’ve mastered the base recipe, feel free to experiment! Here are some ideas:
- Add a little bit of lemon juice—you’ll get a slightly sharper flavor.
- Add a little bit of Worcestershire sauce or tabasco sauce for more spice and tang.
- Add a splash or two of white wine for an even richer flavor profile.
- Try adding paprika and garlic powder for extra depth and zing (a great idea if you’re making something like shrimp po boys or gumbo).
Pro Tip
The sauce will be a bit on the thin side when you first mix it, but give it a few minutes to sit and cool before using. This will allow the flavors to marry with one another and create a thicker consistency. If you want, add a touch of lemon juice to brighten up your sauce—just make sure not to overdo it!
You may feel tempted to use this recipe for just about anything that requires butter sauce, but we recommend keeping it limited to seafood dishes like grilled fish or shrimp kebabs.
This is a great sauce for seafood such as shrimp and salmon.
- This sauce is great on seafood such as shrimp and salmon.
- It can also be used as a dip, marinade or base for other sauces. For example, if you wanted to make a Cajun butter sauce with cream cheese instead of mayo and then use it as a spread on crackers or bread, that would work too!
- Use the cajun butter sauce on any meat that you think would benefit from some spice and flavor. For example: beef roast beef sandwiches with melted provolone cheese; grilled chicken breast topped with sauteed onions (or shallots) and mushrooms; pork tenderloin with sage leaves wrapped around it before roasting.
Cajun seafood sauce is being served
While using this sauce to serve as a dipping butter sauce for fish is more typical. Additionally, there are various additional ways you may serve it. A few suggestions for serving this cajun spicy butter sauce are as follows:
Salmon and other seafood dishes work well with this cajun butter dipping sauce, as do seafood boils and shrimp boils as well as shrimp, crawfish, crab legs, lobster, clams, mussels, and scallops.
Vegetables such as corn on the cob, fresh cucumber slices, boiled potatoes, or gumbo.
Steak-like meats. This sauce may be used to make a fantastic cajun butter steak.
Storing
Keep in an airtight container until you need it. For up to two weeks, I like to keep mine in the refrigerator. I also like to freeze the sauce I have left over. Any leftovers can be frozen for up to two months if placed in an airtight container.
Reheating requires briefly thawing the solid sauce then warming it briefly over medium heat until it melts. In a microwave-safe bowl, you may also microwave for one minute.
These delicious butter sauces are very simple to make for fish. You should absolutely serve fish with this sauce whenever you prepare it! Please take note that if you like this sauce, you might also like my mayo-based creamy cajun sauce.
This is a great sauce for seafood such as shrimp and salmon.
