Flavoured butter is one of the easiest ways to make it look like you’ve put in far more effort than you actually have. Ten minutes, one bowl and no cooking required… suddenly, a plain steak, slice of toast or baked potato has a lot more going on. Here’s how to make it, ten flavour combinations worth trying, and what to do with the log once it’s chilling in the fridge.
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What is flavoured butter?
Flavoured butter is simply butter with other ingredients beaten into it. That’s genuinely all there is to it. Chefs call it compound butter, while you might see it described as finishing butter when it’s melting over a steak in a restaurant. Different names, same simple idea.
It works because butter carries flavour better than almost anything else in your kitchen. Fat holds onto garlic, herbs, chilli and citrus in a way that water simply can’t, then releases it all the moment it hits something warm. Which does mean the butter you start with matters rather a lot.
How do you make flavoured butter?
Soften 250g of butter to room temperature, then beat in your flavourings until evenly combined. As a rule, use around two tablespoons of chopped herbs, aromatics or sweet flavourings per 250g. Roll into a log in baking parchment, chill for two hours, then slice into discs as you need them.
The base ratio that works for any flavour
Two tablespoons of flavouring per 250g of butter is your starting point, and you can build almost anything from it depending on personal preference.
- Fresh herbs are forgiving, so go up to three or four tablespoons if you want it nice and green.
- Strong ingredients need a lighter hand: stick to a teaspoon or two for things like Marmite, anchovy or ground spices.
- Anything wet (honey, maple syrup, citrus juice etc) should stay under three tablespoons or the butter loosens and won’t set into a neat log.
The one rule worth following: chop everything as finely as you can. Big pieces of garlic or herb sit in the butter rather than flavouring it, and they make slicing a nuisance.
Salted or unsalted?
Nobody ever tells you this, so we are here to let you know which type of butter works best and when:
- Use salted butter for anything savoury where the flavouring itself isn’t salty. Garlic, herbs, chilli, citrus. The salt sharpens everything and means you don’t have to season separately.
- Use unsalted butter for anything sweet, where salt is a distraction. Second, and this is the one people get caught out by, use unsalted butter for anything already salty such as Marmite, anchovies, capers, miso or seaweed.
An important note on spreadable butter: it’s brilliant on toast, but not the one for making flavoured butter with. It contains oil, so it never firms up enough to slice. Save it for the morning!
How to shape and roll a flavoured butter log
Tip your mixed butter onto a sheet of baking parchment and spread it into a rough sausage shape along one edge, leaving a few centimetres clear at each end.
Fold the parchment over the top, then use the edge of a ruler or the back of a knife to push against the base of the log while pulling the paper towards you. This is the bit that turns a lumpy mess into a proper cylinder. Twist the ends like a Christmas cracker and chill for at least two hours.
If you’d rather skip all that, press the butter into a small ramekin and put a lid on it. Simpler to look at, but it works just the same.
Savoury flavoured butter recipes
All of these use 250g of butter (one whole pack of Cornish Dairy Co. butter). Slice off what you need and keep the rest in the fridge.
Garlic and parsley butter
The one everybody wants. Split a baguette, fill the cuts, wrap in foil and bake for fifteen minutes.
- 250g salted butter
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 4 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- a squeeze of lemon juice
Garlic and herb butter
More savoury and woody than the parsley version. Push it under the skin of a chicken before roasting, and it bastes itself.
- 250g salted butter
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 2 tbsp mixed thyme
- rosemary and chives
- plenty of black pepper
Chilli and lime butter
Made for corn on the cob and grilled prawns. Also very good stirred through rice at the last minute.
- 250g salted butter
- 1 to 2 red chillies, finely chopped
- zest of a lime
- 1 tbsp coriander
Marmite butter
Divisive! Beat it in until it’s evenly brown rather than streaky, then put it on crumpets and see if you change your mind.
- 250g unsalted butter
- 2 tsp Marmite
Anchovy butter
Doesn’t taste of fish, tastes of savoury depth. Melt a disc over lamb chops or roasted broccoli.
- 250g unsalted butter
- 6 anchovy fillets mashed to a paste
- 1 tbsp parsley
- black pepper to taste
Cornish seaweed butter
A proper coastal one. Gentle, briny and slightly sweet, and unbeatable on new potatoes or a piece of white fish.
- 250g unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp dried seaweed flakes
- a squeeze of lemon
Sweet flavoured butter recipes
Use unsalted butter for all of these:
Cinnamon and honey butter
Whip this one rather than just mixing it, so it goes pale and fluffy. Warm crumpets, pancakes, or the last of yesterday’s Cornish scones.
- 250g unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp runny honey
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
Brandy butter
Christmas in a bowl. Beat the butter and sugar until properly pale before adding the brandy a splash at a time, or it’ll split. Keeps for a fortnight in the fridge.
- 250g unsalted butter
- 300g icing sugar
- 4 tbsp brandy
Vanilla and maple butter
Softer and more caramel than the honey version. Excellent on waffles and roasted squash alike.
- 250g unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Strawberry butter
Cook the strawberries down in a pan first and let them cool completely. Fresh ones make the butter watery; cooked ones make it pink and jammy.
- 250g unsalted butter
- 100g strawberries
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
What to serve flavoured butter with
Steak or grilled meats
Rest the steak for five minutes with a disc of garlic and parsley butter sitting on top. It melts into the resting juices, and you pour the lot back over. This is the entire trick behind steakhouse butter, and so easy to make at home.
Corn on the cob
Chilli and lime, no contest. Roll the hot corn straight in a slice of it.
Bread
Garlic and parsley for baguettes, marmite for crumpets, cinnamon and honey for anything toasted. Flavoured butter turns bread into a course.
Roast vegetables
Toss carrots, parsnips or new potatoes in a disc of herb or seaweed butter the moment they come out of the oven, while everything is still hot enough to melt it.
How to store flavoured butter
In the fridge
Wrapped tightly in parchment or sealed in a container, savoury flavoured butter keeps for about a week. Anything containing fresh garlic or fresh fruit is better used within three or four days. Sweet butters made with sugar last longer, up to a fortnight.
Keep your fridge between 0 and 5°C, and don’t leave the butter sitting out for hours once it’s made. The Food Standards Agency guidance on chilling and freezing is worth a read if you want the detail, but the short version is to soften it, mix it, then get it back in the cold.
Can you freeze flavoured butter?
Yes, and you should. A frozen log keeps for up to three months, and you can slice discs straight off it without defrosting the whole thing, which is exactly what you want on a Tuesday night.
Love Food Hate Waste recommends freezing butter in small portions, and an ice cube tray works brilliantly for this. One cube is roughly one steak’s worth. Pop them out once solid and keep them in a bag.
For more on getting the best out of a block, we’ve written a full guide on whether you can freeze butter and how to do it properly.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
The butter is too hard to mix – Cut it into cubes and leave it out for an hour rather than microwaving it. Melted butter won’t come back, and you’ll end up with a greasy paste instead of a smooth one.
It’s split or gone grainy- This usually means the butter was too cold, or you added liquid too fast. Keep beating, and it’ll often come back together. If it doesn’t, let it warm slightly and beat again.
It’s watery and won’t set- Fresh fruit, tomatoes and citrus juice all release water. Cook wet ingredients down and cool them before they go anywhere near the butter.
You can barely taste the flavouring- Give it time. Flavoured butter needs at least two hours in the fridge for everything to spread through properly and for the flavours to marinate.
It’s far too salty- You’ve probably used salted butter plus a salty flavouring. Start again with unsalted for anything involving Marmite, anchovy, capers or seaweed.
Conclusion
Every one of these starts with the same thing: a decent block of butter. Ours is churned using Cornish cream, which is where the buttercup yellow colour and the richness come from, and it’s the reason a two-ingredient recipe can taste like you did something clever.
Have a look at the full Golden Cornish Butter range, or find out where to buy it near you.
Flavoured Butter FAQs
Do you need a food processor to make flavoured butter?
No. A bowl and a wooden spoon are fine for herbs and aromatics. A processor only helps with sweet butters you want light and whipped, or anything fibrous like sun-dried tomatoes.
Can you make flavoured butter with fresh garlic?
Yes, and raw garlic gives the sharpest flavour. Crush it finely rather than chopping. Fresh garlic shortens the shelf life, so use the butter within three or four days or freeze it. Here in Cornwall, we have an abundance of wild garlic come springtime, so go and forage for fresh wild garlic for a springtime buttery treat.
How soft does butter need to be before mixing?
Soft enough to dent easily with a finger, but still holding its shape. Roughly an hour out of the fridge, cut into cubes. Never melt it, as melted butter won’t set into a sliceable log.
Can you use spreadable butter to make flavoured butter?
Not really. Spreadable contains oil, so it stays soft and won’t firm up into a log you can slice. Use a block of salted or unsalted instead.
Do you need to use flavoured butter straight from the fridge?
Take savoury butters out ten minutes ahead so they melt properly over hot food. Sweet butters for toast or scones are better closer to room temperature, so they spread rather than tear.