Herbs, citrus, and even cheese flavor these 5 recipes for easy-to-make homemade compound butters to use on everything from hot veggies (roasted corn is a favorite!) to chicken, fish, pasta, and steaks, and it’s one of my secrets for jazzing up a gooey grilled cheese sandwich.
In This Post
More butter, more better. And when it’s of the infused-flavored variety, there’s always room for even more better butter.
Compound butters are something I like to keep on hand to effortlessly boost the flavor of meats, chicken, and burgers, or slither into pasta with a little cheese, or mix into scrambled eggs and omelets. And of course, it’s absolutely the best slathered on sweet summer corn.
While it would be easy to mix these flavor combinations together and set out in a bowl to serve from there, I like rolling them into logs and then cutting into slices to melt on just about anything for added flavor.
And because these buttery flavor bursts freeze well, it’s simple to pull them out on a whim and use to suit the tastes of everyone at the table.
Buttery Making Tips
These are a few noteworthy tips to follow when making flavored butters:
- Use unsalted butter so you can control your salty flavor.
- Softened butter makes it easy to fold your flavoring ingredients into the butter. To make the butter logs, simply spoon the butter mixture onto the bottom third of a piece of plastic wrap, then shape into rolls. Twist the ends of the plastic wrap as you roll.
- Chill each log for at least 1 hour or freeze for 20-30 minutes for the logs to take shape.
- Create your own seasoning blends by using complementary ingredients from your favorite ethnic profiles, or choose combinations from some of your favorite recipe blends.
5 Recipes for Homemade Compound Butters
For melt-in-your-mouth savory goodness, read on for five easy butters that will make your grilled veggies or chicken or beef sing!
Thai Basil and Lime Compound Butter
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter 1 stick, at room temperature
- ½ lime zested
- 1 tablespoon Thai basil minced
- ½ teaspoon 5-spice
- pinch of red bell pepper flakes
- pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Mix the ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap on a clean counter. Spoon the butter mixture onto the bottom third of plastic wrap, then roll into a log. Refrigerate for one hour, or until firm.
Cinnamon and Chipotle Chile Compound Butter
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter 1 stick, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Mix the ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap on a clean counter. Spoon the butter mixture onto the bottom third of plastic wrap, then roll into a log. Refrigerate for one hour, or until firm.
Lemon Dill Compound Butter
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter 1 stick, at room temperature
- 1 lemon zested, plus juice of half of the lemon
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill chopped
- pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Mix the ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap on a clean counter. Spoon the butter mixture onto the bottom third of plastic wrap, then roll into a log. Refrigerate for one hour, or until firm.
- ½ cup butter (1 stick), at room temperature
- 2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
- 1 tablespoon Frank’s Red Hot Sauce or other vinegar based hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
- Mix the ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap on a clean counter. Spoon the butter mixture onto the bottom third of plastic wrap, then roll into a log. Refrigerate for one hour, or until firm.
- ½ cup butter (1 stick), at room temperature
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- pinch of kosher salt
- Mix the ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap on a clean counter. Spoon the butter mixture onto the bottom third of plastic wrap, then roll into a log. Refrigerate for one hour, or until firm.
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Can you use margarine instead of butter?
Hi Carol, yes you could use margarine if you prefer.
OMG This was fabulous. The salmon with the lemon dill compound butter was outstanding. The pasta was awesome as well, although I added quite a bit of powdered garlic, which gave it a bit more flavor, topped with ptarmigan and fresh ground pepper. A glass of Pinot Grigio to accompany the meal made it a wonderful dining experience. Thank you for sharing.
I wanted to print out the recipes with maybe one photo showing the rolled tubes – but, on my phones, it showed it would be 26 PAGES to print!! Egads.
Guess I’ll have to do without…
The post you have shared is really nice as I have gone through some of the points was really helpful and beneficial to all users while preparing yummy food.
Okay I definitely have to make that lemon and dill one! It looks so good! The other ones look great too. Can’t wait to try making these at home, thank you for sharing!
I just had the best lavender and honey butter that was so good. Now I have even more to try. Oh you just made my summer butter better.
Compound butters are a must have in our house! my current favourite is maple bourbon, it’s so good on pancakes or steaks. I will be making some of your combos this week to keep on hand in the freezer
I love making white miso butter. It’s incredibly versatile and the umami hit from the miso is fantastic.
This got me excited! There’s something about compound butters that make them better taste enhancers than sauces (no offense meant to Chileheads :D ). Your recipes, OMG! I’d love them on my steak, thanks so much for sharing!
Flavored butter is the best! I know I’d use the lemon dill butter all the time, and the Thai basil lime butter sounds fab!
This is so cool! I love herbed compound butters, but your post made me realize there are so many more options I need to get into!!
Ah Becky, I love a good garlic and herb butter too, and you’re right, there are so many more out there! Next time I want to try a sweet version, too. Thank you for the comment!