Name: White Wine and Tarragon Cream Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup Heavy Cream; 2 tbsp. Chopped Fresh Tarragon; 1/2 cup White Wine; 1/2 cup Chicken Stock; 4 tbsp. Butter; 2 Garlic Cloves (minced); 1 Shallot (minced); 1/2 tsp. Salt; 1/4 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper

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A versatile white wine and tarragon cream sauce that's made with simple ingredients and comes together in less than 10 minutes. This herbaceous sauce is perfect for use on chicken, fish, or steak. It even works well tossed with warm noodles as a pasta sauce.

If you are looking for something to elevate your grilled meats and fish this summer, look no further than this creamy tarragon sauce.

Super simple to prepare, this sauce is brimming with flavor from white wine and tarragon. If you have never used tarragon before, I hope you try it! It may be less commonly used than say, parsley or basil, but this herb is a special one. I love it in this lemon tarragon chicken salad or on top of slow cooker chicken chasseur as a garnish.

tarragon cream sauce in a glass gravy boat.

What does tarragon taste like?

Tarragon has a slightly woody stem with soft, long leaves. The flavor has notes of anise and licorice.

Tarragon can vary.a good deal in strength of flavor depending on the season and where it's grown. In its prime, such as the spring/summer, it is full of flavor. When it is out of season, it will be much milder and more of the herb will need to be used to achieve the same amount of taste.

Looking for more ways to jazz up your dishes with delicious sauces? Try this cilantro marinade, garlicky tzatziki sauce, or thai cucumber sauce.

For another tasty meat sauce, try this Bavette Steak with Peppercorn Sauce. SO GOOD.

Ingredients

Heavy Cream
Chopped Fresh Tarragon
White Wine
Chicken Stock
Butter
Garlic Cloves
Shallot
Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper

How to make tarragon sauce

In a saucepan, melt 2 tbsp. butter over medium heat. Add in minced shallot and minced garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes until the shallots are translucent and the garlic has lost its bitterness. Do not brown.

butter, shallots, and garlic, in a blue pot.

Deglaze the pan with white wine and allow to simmer for 1-2 minutes to burn off the alcohol. Add chicken stock and reduce by half.

chicken stock added to sauteed shallots and garlic.

Add remaining ingredients and allow to simmer for 1-2 minutes, do not allow to boil.

Remove from heat and serve.

Recipe Tip

This sauce comes together quickly, so don't walk away from the stove! Each step only requires 1-2 minutes of cooking, before moving on to the next, so it doesn't take long for everything to come together.

What to use this tarragon cream sauce for?

This cream sauce is very versatile and would taste great on lots of things. Some of my favorite ways to serve it are:

on roasted salad
grilled steak (like sirloin or filet mignon)
grilled chicken breasts or chicken thighs
as a dipping sauce for lobster
as a dipping sauce for whole artichokes
as a pasta sauce

Variations and substitutions

up close of tarragon sauce with a whisk.

If you are unable to find fresh tarragon, dried tarragon works as well. Just make sure to use less than the original recipe calls for, as dried herbs are more concentrated in flavor. If you do not like the taste of tarragon, try subbing in fresh basil or parsley in this recipe.
We aren't wine drinkers in our house, so when a recipe calls for it, I generally sub in chicken stock. This recipe really benefits from the flavor of a dry white wine. The majority of the alcohol cooks of, but the flavor you are left with is "chef's kiss." If you would prefer not to use wine, you can sub in additional chicken stock or lemon juice.

Storage

Store any leftover sauce in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Reheat gently on the stove by bringing it up to a low simmer, but do not boil.

I do not recommend freezing this tarragon sauce, because of the cream.