Dairy-Free Creamy Lemon Parsley Sauce

Lemons in a hessian sack
Rekha Garton / Getty Images
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 20 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Yield: 2 cups

When buying premade sauces at the store, chances are that many contain dairy, used either as a main ingredient or as a thickener. Having a dairy-free approach to eating might seem limiting at times, but the truth is that all the sauces you may think would be out of reach have a dairy-free version that is both delicious and suitable for your dietary needs. Our delicious lemon and parsley sauce is all that you would expect from a creamy sauce, plus it has a wonderfully bright flavor and can be used in a variety of ways. Serve it on top of poached eggs for a tasty breakfast, drizzle it on your favorite vegetables as a dressing, or serve it with flank steak or grilled chicken as an accompaniment. This sauce is easy to make, takes only 20 minutes, and makes a great amount of sauce (2 cups) so you can use it through the week in other preparations.

The sauce gets its tangy flavor from fresh lemon juice and Dijon mustard, but also a hint of sweetness from the addition of honey. If you have a vegan approach to eating and don't want to use honey, use light corn syrup instead, or plain sugar—though mix it well once in the pot to allow the crystals to dissolve while the sauce is cooking. We recommend using fresh lemon juice and not juice from concentrate, as the flavor is very different and the store-bought product has an artificial taste to it. You'd need between 2 to 3 medium lemons to get the necessary amount for the sauce, but if very juicy you might just need 2—buy lemons that feel heavy for their size and without any discolorations on their skin or mushy spots.

This is a dairy-free, egg-free, and soy-free sauce, but it does contain gluten from the flour used to thicken the preparation. If needed, replace the flour with 2 teaspoons of arrowroot, a gluten-free powder made from the arrowroot plant, but do make a slurry, mixing it first with a little of the rice milk before adding it into the pot. If using cornstarch instead, simply make a slurry with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and some of the rice milk before adding it to the sauce. This creamy sauce might become a new favorite in your house, as it's as versatile as it is delicious. Use it on baked salmon or trout, serve it with fried chicken tenders, or use it as a dipping sauce for crab cakes, fried shrimp, or fried calamari.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups rice milk, divided

  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

  • 2 tablespoons honey

  • 1/4 cup lemon juice

  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

  • 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Combine 1/4 cup of the rice milk with the flour in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring well until incorporated.

  3. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, and remove the pan from the heat.

  4. Serve warm or hot.

  5. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
112 Calories
2g Fat
24g Carbs
1g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 112
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g 2%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 784mg 34%
Total Carbohydrate 24g 9%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 15g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 7mg 36%
Calcium 156mg 12%
Iron 1mg 5%
Potassium 94mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)