Gluten Free
Compound Butter
Prep
10 minutes
Yield
3 (compound butters)
🧈 Compound Butter is about to become your kitchen secret weapon! Three irresistible flavors that'll make everything taste restaurant-fancy!
Compound butter is a beautiful, beautiful thing. It’s softened, unsalted butter creamed together with herbs, spice blends, or other ingredients of your choosing. You can use the butter on anything! It’s so good melted on vegetables, as a spread on crackers, bread, sandwiches, or even on baked goods. These compound butter recipes are going to be your new favorite (and easy) things to make.
❤️ Why You’ll Love Compound Butter
- Incredibly Easy: In just 10 minutes, you can whip up any of these flavorful butter recipes without complicated techniques.
- Extremely Versatile: Use this butter on anything you’d normally put butter on – the applications are truly endless.
- Endless Opportunities: Create sweet and savory flavor combinations, or opt for just one or the other – you can go far beyond the recipes included here.
- Impressive Results: Compound butter elevates simple dishes into restaurant-quality meals with minimal effort.
- Long Storage Life: Make large batches and keep them for weeks in the fridge or months in the freezer.
🍲 Ingredients
Unsalted Butter – Use real butter, not margarine, and make sure you soften it to room temperature before using. Leave it on the counter for about 30-60 minutes until it’s soft enough to easily mix but not melted. Room temperature butter incorporates herbs and spices smoothly, creating uniform distribution throughout the compound butter for consistent flavor in every bite. European-style butter with 82 percent fat content holds its shape better and tastes richer than standard American butter, which typically contains only 80 percent fat. The higher fat percentage means less water content, resulting in compound butter that’s easier to form into logs, slices more cleanly, and delivers a more luxurious, creamy mouthfeel with more intense flavor.
Fresh Herbs and Spices – Use fresh herbs when possible for the brightest, most vibrant flavors, though dried herbs work well too (use about ⅓ the amount). Fresh herbs like rosemary, oregano, thyme, and basil provide aromatic oils that infuse the butter beautifully. Dried spices like cinnamon, garlic powder, and smoked paprika offer concentrated flavor that develops as the butter sits.
👩🍳 How to Make Compound Butter
Master Ratio
1/4 cup of softened butter + 4 tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs + 1/2 tsp salt + 1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper is the master recipe ration.
For this recipe I have outlined 3 classic flavor combinations, but you can use the maseter recipe above to creative and add your favourite flavours to your compound butter. Sweet or savoury! The possibilities are endless!
Garlic & Herb Butter (Savory)
- Combine ingredients: In a small bowl, combine softened butter, garlic powder, onion powder, and fresh oregano.
- Whisk thoroughly: Whisk until completely combined and all seasonings are evenly distributed throughout the butter.
- Garnish: Top with additional fresh oregano leaves to serve for visual appeal and extra herb flavor.
Perfect pairings: Toss with pasta, spread on garlic bread, or use as a finishing butter for seared steaks and roasted vegetables.
Honey Orange Rosemary Butter (Sweet-Savory)
- Mix base: In another small bowl, combine softened butter, honey, fresh orange juice, and finely chopped fresh rosemary.
- Blend well: Whisk until honey is fully incorporated and mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Finish: Top with fresh orange zest to serve, which adds bright citrus oils and beautiful color.
Perfect pairings: Spread on warm scones, melt over roasted carrots or sweet potatoes, or use as a glaze for roasted turkey or ham.
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Butter (Sweet)
- Combine sweet ingredients: In the last small bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon.
- Mix until smooth: Whisk until brown sugar dissolves and cinnamon is evenly distributed with no streaks.
- Add texture: Top with finely chopped pecans to serve for a delightful crunch and nutty richness.
Perfect pairings: Spread on pancakes, waffles, or warm oatmeal, or melt over baby back ribs, baked sweet potatoes and roasted squash.
Forming Butter Rolls (Optional)
- Create a cylinder: After whisking any butter variety, place it onto parchment paper and form a cylinder shape.
- Roll in parchment: Gently roll the cylinder over to completely cover with parchment paper. Lightly roll to create a uniform shape.
- Wrap and chill: Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until set and firm.
- Special technique for cinnamon butter: Refrigerate slightly, unwrap, and roll in chopped pecans, then refrigerate again for a coated exterior.
- Serve with style: To serve, unwrap and cut the ends off to create a clean, professional-looking cylinder ready for slicing.
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- Butter Temperature: Butter should be soft enough to easily mix, but not melted – too warm and it won’t hold its shape.
- Liquid limits: Use no more than 1 to 2 teaspoons of liquid per stick to prevent the butter from weeping.
- Uniform Mixing: Whisk thoroughly to ensure herbs and spices are evenly distributed throughout the butter.
- Taste Testing: Sample a small amount and adjust seasonings before forming into rolls or storing.
- Roll Formation: For cylinder presentation, use parchment paper to shape, then wrap in plastic for clean, professional-looking butter logs.
🗒 Substitutions
- Butter Base: Vegan butter or plant-based alternatives work perfectly for dairy-free compound butter options.
- Sweeteners: Maple syrup can replace honey, or agave for vegan sweet butter variations.
- Herbs: Experiment with thyme, basil, cilantro, parsley, or any fresh herb combination you enjoy.
- Nuts: Walnuts, almonds, or pistachios can replace pecans for different flavor profiles and textures.
🗒 Best served with
- Sheet Pan Pancakes (High Protein)
- Potato Stacks
- Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto
- Pan Fried Shrimp with Parsley, Butter and Feta
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Storage times vary depending on your compound butter ingredients because fresh herbs, garlic, and other raw additions have different shelf lives than dried spices and sweeteners.
Fresh herb and garlic butters should be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Freeze these savory butters for 3-6 months for longer storage.
Sweet-only compound butters made with honey, maple syrup, cinnamon, and dried spices last 2-4 weeks refrigerated since they don’t contain fresh ingredients that spoil quickly. These can also be frozen for 3-6 months.
For freezer storage, I recommend using the freezer coin method and portioning your compound butter into convenient serving sizes. You can use an ice cube tray to create individual tablespoon portions or form the butter into logs and wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Pop frozen butter cubes directly into hot dishes or thaw logs in the fridge overnight before slicing.
🤔 Common Questions
Café de Paris butter is a classic French compound butter with a complex blend of herbs, spices, and aromatics including parsley, chives, tarragon, garlic, shallots, capers, anchovies, curry powder, paprika, and brandy or cognac. It’s traditionally served melted over grilled steaks and became famous at Geneva’s Café de Paris restaurant in the 1940s.
Absolutely! Compound butter actually improves as it sits and flavors meld together. Make several days ahead for the best flavor development.
While unsalted is preferred so you can control seasoning levels, salted butter works – just reduce or omit any additional salt in the recipe.
Fresh herbs provide brighter, more vibrant flavor, while dried herbs offer concentrated, more intense taste. Use about ⅓ the amount of dried compared to fresh.
Yes! The recipes are designed to make all three at once, or pick and choose your favorites based on your preferences.
Cut butter into small cubes to speed softening, or use a cheese grater to shred it – both increase surface area for faster temperature adjustment.
A fork works perfectly for small batches and gives you better control over texture, especially when you want to keep some ingredients chunky. A food processor is ideal for larger batches or when you want a super smooth, uniform consistency, but be careful not to overwork the butter or it can become greasy.
Slice compound butter into rounds about ¼ to ½ inch thick for the perfect portion size. Thinner slices melt too quickly, while thicker slices take longer to melt and incorporate into dishes. This thickness also creates an attractive presentation when served on steaks or vegetables.
The options are truly endless! Here are some fun flavor combinations that I hope will inspire you:
Miso Lemon Butter – Toss with udon or ramen noodles, spread on grilled fish, use for stir-fried vegetables, or melt over edamame and bok choy.
Truffle Parmesan Butter – Melt over risotto, mashed potatoes, grilled steaks, scrambled eggs, or use to finish mushroom dishes and roasted cauliflower.
Everything Bagel Butter – Spread on bagels, toast, crackers, or English muffins, use on baked or roasted potatoes, or melt over steamed vegetables and grilled corn.
Lemon Dill Butter – Melt over grilled salmon, baked cod, steamed asparagus, roasted potatoes, or spread on crusty bread to accompany seafood dishes.
Chipotle Lime Butter – Perfect for grilled corn on the cob, tacos, quesadillas, grilled chicken, black bean burgers, or melted into Mexican rice.
Lavender Honey Butter – Spread on scones, shortbread cookies, croissants, or tea cakes, or use as a unique topping for vanilla ice cream and pound cake.
Blue Cheese Chive Butter – Melt over grilled steaks, burgers, baked potatoes, or use to finish pan-seared mushrooms and caramelized onions.
Za’atar Lemon Butter – Spread on warm pita bread, melt over roasted eggplant or cauliflower, toss with couscous, use on grilled lamb chops, or finish hummus bowls.
Harissa Honey Butter – Slather on grilled corn, spread on naan bread, melt over roasted chickpeas, use for shakshuka, or finish tagine dishes and roasted root vegetables.
Thai Basil Lime Butter – Toss with rice noodles, melt over grilled shrimp or fish, use for stir-fried vegetables, finish Thai curry dishes, or spread on banh mi sandwiches.
Gochugaru Sesame Butter – Perfect for Korean BBQ, toss with kimchi fried rice, melt over steamed bok choy, spread on rice cakes, or use to finish bibimbap bowls.
Maple Sage Butter – Melt over butternut squash soup, spread on cornbread, use for roasted Brussels sprouts, finish pumpkin ravioli, or slather on sweet potato biscuits.
Cranberry Orange Butter – Spread on holiday rolls, muffins, or scones, use on roasted turkey, melt over oatmeal or porridge, or serve with Christmas morning pancakes and waffles.
Strawberry Basil Butter – Spread on spring scones or biscuits, use on angel food cake, melt over grilled chicken, finish asparagus dishes, or serve with fresh bread and goat cheese.
Grilled Peach Thyme Butter – Spread on cornbread or buttermilk biscuits, melt over grilled pork chops, use for summer squash, finish sweet corn, or serve with BBQ chicken.
Compound Butter
Ingredients
Garlic & Herb
- ¼ cup softened butter
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp fresh oregano chopped
Honey, Orange & Rosemary
- ¼ cup softened butter
- 1 ½ tsp honey
- 2 tsp fresh orange juice
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary chopped
- ½ tsp orange zest
Brown Sugar & Cinnamon
- ¼ cup softened butter
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine softened butter, garlic powder, onion powder, and fresh oregano. Whisk until combined. Top with fresh oregano to serve.
- In another small bowl combine softened butter, honey, orange juice, and fresh rosemary. Whisk until combined. Top with orange zest to serve.
- In the last small bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Whisk until combined. Top with chopped pecans to serve.
Worked great!