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Learn how to make compound butter in a variety of savory flavor combinations to use as a toast-spread, protein-topper, pasta sauce, and beyond. These easy compound butter recipes taste gourmet, but are so simple to make.
If you’ve been cooking with me here on Culinary Hill for a while, you know that I’m a card-carrying butter lover. To date, I’ve perfected recipes for za’atar butter, citrusy butter sauce, clarified butter, and buttercream, and I’m pretty sure I’d break out in a cold sweat if my refrigerator ever ran dry of the great gold stuff.
My trials related to compound butter confirm my dedication: I tinkered with 19 potential combinations, tested and tasted them all several times, and landed on these six as my ultimate favorites. Once I ran these by my Test Kitchen team and family, they co-signed that all are winners, and I think you and yours will think so, too.
So what is compound butter, exactly? It’s simply softened butter that’s whipped with various sweet or savory ingredients. Discover my top six mixes below, plus ideas for how to use compound butter to level-up the flavor in a wide variety of recipes.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Butter: Cold butter usually softens up in 30 minutes or so at room temperature (much longer if you’re using sticks that you’ve frozen). To soften butter in the microwave, cut each stick of butter in half, unwrap, and place on a microwave safe plate. Then cook the butter at 10% power for 1 minute. Gently press on the butter with your finger, and if it’s still too firm, cook for another 40 seconds at 10% power.
- Fresh herbs: Dried herbs can work in a pinch, but you can’t compete with the bright, verdant flavor that fresh herbs deliver. If you do opt for dried herbs, use one-third as much of the dried variety as I call for of the fresh. (In other words, instead of 2 tablespoons, use 2 teaspoons.)
- Roasted red peppers: Look for these already roasted and jarred, near the pickled or canned foods at your supermarket. For the compound butter recipe, I call for them pureed, which you can do by blitzing the peppers in a food processor or blender until they reach an even consistency.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a medium bowl, add butter and flavorings and stir until uniformly combined.
- Add to a piece of plastic wrap, wax paper, or parchment and roll into a cylinder.
- Twist the ends to close.
- Chill until firm, then slice.
- Serve on steak, chicken, fish, or vegetables.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: Each compound butter recipe makes about ½ cup of butter, or enough for eight 1-tablespoon servings.
- Storage: Store wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
- Make ahead: Compound butter can be made weeks ahead, even one month in advance.
- Freezer: Wrap rolls of compound butter in extra plastic wrap or foil and pack in freezer-safe bags. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Recipe FAQs
I’m a firm believer that there are few better condiments for Hibachi steak, grilled swordfish, rotisserie chicken, or pork chops than a slab of compound butter. You can also melt some in a skillet to toss with vegetables, eggs, or pasta, use compound butter as the base of a trendy TikTok-inspired butter board, slather on cornbread, adorn cooked corn… your possibilities are only limited by your imagination.
I call for combining the softened butter with its mix-ins in a bowl with a spatula, which works well and results in few tools to clean up. But you can certainly whip things up using a hand mixer or stand mixer; this will incorporate more air for a whipped compound butter consistency.
Grilled Beef Tri Tip
Today I’ll let you in on a California secret: Grilled Tri-Tip. It’s part steak, part roast, and 100% delicious. This little-known cut of beef is the star of Santa Maria barbecues and is sure to impress at yours.
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Compound Butter 6 Ways
Ingredients
Garlic-Herb butter:
- 1/2 cup butter softened (see note 1)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme (see note 2)
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
Shallot-Chive butter:
Basil-Lemon butter:
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Red Pepper butter:
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/4 cup roasted red peppers puréed (see note 3)
Blue Cheese butter:
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
Mâitre d'Hôtel butter:
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- dash white pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add butter and flavorings and stir until uniformly combined. Add to a piece of plastic wrap, wax paper, or parchment and roll into a cylinder.
- Twist the ends to close, then chill until firm. Slice to serve on steak, chicken, fish, or vegetables.
Notes
- Butter: Cold butter usually softens up in 30 minutes or so at room temperature (much longer if you’re using sticks that you’ve frozen). To soften butter in the microwave, cut each stick of butter in half, unwrap, and place on a microwave safe plate. Then cook the butter at 10% power for 1 minute. Gently press on the butter with your finger, and if it’s still too firm, cook for another 40 seconds at 10% power.
- Fresh herbs: Dried herbs can work in a pinch, but you can’t compete with the bright, verdant flavor that fresh herbs deliver. If you do opt for dried herbs, use one-third as much of the dried variety as I call for of the fresh. (In other words, instead of 2 tablespoons, use 2 teaspoons.)
- Roasted red peppers: Look for these already roasted and jarred, near the pickled or canned foods at your supermarket. For the compound butter recipe, I call for them pureed, which you can do by blitzing the peppers in a food processor or blender until they reach an even consistency.
- Yield: Each compound butter recipe makes about ½ cup of butter, or enough for eight 1-tablespoon servings.
- Storage: Store wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
- Make ahead: Compound butter can be made weeks ahead, even one month in advance.
- Freezer: Wrap rolls of compound butter in extra plastic wrap or foil and pack in freezer-safe bags. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.