Easy Lemon Dill Sauce

This easy lemon dill sauce is bright, creamy, and packed with fresh flavor, making it the perfect finishing touch for seafood, chicken, and vegetables. It comes together in minutes and adds a fresh, tangy balance to any dish.

Having a go-to staple dip or sauce to pair with fresh or roasted vegetable sides, a baked potato, potato chips, or with your favorite protein is the perfect way to elevate a dish. This creamy dill sauce does not disappoint!

The best part of this recipe is that it’s made up of a lot of your fridge and pantry staple items. While it always tastes better the longer it marinades, it’s still delicious when you whip it up to use right away for a last minute way to dress up a simple meal.

While it’s perfect for a last-minute veggie dip (or a good sub for ranch, for example), I love to use this dill sauce for salmon. Dill, lemon, and delicious garlic herb base are the perfect pairing! Grab all the recipe details below or jump to the recipe at the bottom of the page and dive in.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Fresh or dried herbs both work beautifully. If all you have on hand is dried dill and dried parsley, this sauce still delivers. A short rest time lets the dried herbs hydrate and bloom into the sour cream base so the flavor is just as good.

It is ready in 5 minutes with no cooking required. Everything goes into one bowl, you stir it together, taste and adjust, and you are done. Cleanup is minimal and the result is a sauce that tastes like you put in a lot more effort than you actually did.

It works on almost everything. Seafood, chicken, roasted vegetables, baked potatoes, chips, crudités, grain bowls, and more. This is one of those sauces that earns its place in your fridge because it has so many uses throughout the week.

Lemon Dill Sauce Ingredients:

The Base

• Sour cream. Greek yogurt is a great substitute if you want a slightly tangier, higher protein version. Full fat works best for the richest texture.

The Flavor Builders

• Fresh lemon juice. Bottled works in a pinch but fresh makes a noticeable difference here since it is one of the primary flavors in the sauce.
• Dijon mustard. Whole grain mustard is a good substitute and adds a little texture if you enjoy that.
• Fresh garlic cloves, minced. Garlic powder can be substituted if needed, use about half a teaspoon in place of the fresh cloves.

The Herbs

• Fresh dill or dried dill. Fresh gives a brighter, more vibrant flavor. Dried works well too, just use half the amount.
• Rosemary
• Chives
• Fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper

Tips For Preparing Your Sauce:

• Start by mixing your sour cream, lemon juice, and garlic in a bowl. If you prefer a runnier sauce for salmon recipes or other proteins (as opposed to a bit thicker for a dip), you can add a few tablespoons of olive oil too.
• Mince your fresh dill and fresh herbs finely and add them in. Stir and taste to get an idea of the flavor and adjust if needed.
• If you’re using dried herbs, allow the dip to sit for 10-15 minutes and then taste and adjust as desired. The dried herbs will become slightly more hydrated in the mixture.
• Season with your salt and pepper, and be sure to taste your dill sauce again.

Storage

Store the lemon dill sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Give it a good stir before serving since it may separate slightly as it sits. This sauce does not freeze well due to the sour cream base, so make only what you plan to use within the week.

What To Pair With It

• These crispy air fried salmon fillets or my air fryer crab cakes
• It is a great topper sauce for my smoked baked potatoes
• Pair with my grilled chicken pita wraps
• Serve alongside this grilled branzino recipe