3-Ingredient Lemon Honey Sauce

updated Feb 26, 2020
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Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Jesse Szewczyk

A simple recipe for a sweet-and-sour lemon honey sauce that pairs perfectly with cooked chicken breasts, grilled shrimp, or salmon.

Makes1 cup

Prep5 minutes

Cook4 minutes to 6 minutes

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Post Image
Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Jesse Szewczyk

This simple three-ingredient lemon honey sauce gives just about anything — cooked chicken breasts, grilled shrimp, salmon — an instant flavor boost. It’s also a super-simple recipe that comes together in less than 10 minutes. It’s basically the perfect make-ahead recipe for meal preppers: You can whip up a big batch of it on the weekend, stash it in the fridge, and use it to drastically improve your weeknight meals.

Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Jesse Szewczyk

Why You Should Choose Fresh Lemon Juice Over Bottled

Because this sauce is made with only a handful of ingredients, we recommend using fresh lemon juice instead of the bottled variety. Juice from fresh lemons is more fragrant and nuanced, and gives this sauce a bright citrusy flavor that pairs perfectly with the sweetness of honey. While you can use bottled lemon juice, it’s often more acidic compared to the fresh stuff, so we recommend starting with 1/4 cup instead of 1/2 cup and adding more to taste.

Read more:

Help! Is There a Good Substitute for Fresh Lemon Juice?

Lemon Honey Sauce

A simple recipe for a sweet-and-sour lemon honey sauce that pairs perfectly with cooked chicken breasts, grilled shrimp, or salmon.

Prep time 5 minutes

Cook time 4 minutes to 6 minutes

Makes 1 cup

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

  • 4 cloves

    garlic

  • 4

    large lemons

  • 2 tablespoons

    olive oil

  • 1/2 cup

    honey

  • 1/4 teaspoon

    kosher salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon

    freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Mince 4 garlic cloves. Juice 4 large lemons and measure out 1/2 cup of juice. Save any leftover juice for another use.

  2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and 1/2 cup honey and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the sauce is smooth and slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. (Sauce will thicken slightly when cooled.)

Recipe Notes

Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.