Garlic Herb Compound Butter is easy to make and has so many uses! Keep a log in the refrigerator or freezer to add flavor to vegetables, meats, and seafood, and to use as a spread.
There are certain make-ahead tips and tricks that can help any home cook’s time in the kitchen easier, faster, and more delicious.
Making your own compound butter is one of them!
If you’ve ever stared at the fridge wondering what to have for dinner, compound butters can help. They are a quick and easy way to add bursts of flavor to seafood, meat, poultry, and veggies.
This Garlic Herb Compound Butter is a classic that is so versatile. You’re gonna love it!
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🌟 Why you should make your own compound butters
This Garlic Herb Butter is one of my Go To easy compound butter recipes.
- Easy – Anyone can make this recipe. I’ve got the easy to follow step-by-step photos below in this post to help you make it.
- Fast – You can whip up this garlic butter in 10 minutes!
- Freezer-friendly – Compound butter is great to keep in the fridge or in the freezer. It will last up to 6 months in the freezer.
- Versatile – You can use this herb butter on so many foods! It has amazing flavor that can be used in so many different ways. Try it on roast fresh vegetables, fish, shrimp, crab, chicken, turkey, pork, beef, tofu… the possibilities are endless!
- Inexpensive – Made from softened butter, fresh herbs, and seasonings, making your own garlic compound butter is an inexpensive way to add big flavors to any dish.
🛒 Ingredient notes
You only need a few simple ingredients to make this homemade garlic herb butter full of delicious flavors, and the measurements are forgiving.
- Unsalted butter – You’ll need a stick of butter. Make sure you use room temperature butter that is soft to the touch (but not melty). It needs to be easy to mix with the other ingredients.
- Fresh herbs – This is where you can use what you have on hand, but try to stick to 2-3 herbs at the most. Fresh rosemary and parsley are absolutely perfect together in this butter!
- Seasoning – Fresh garlic brings big flavor to the herbs in this butter, and a little bit of kosher salt and black pepper balances out all of the flavors.
- Acidity – A little lemon juice (or lemon zest) helps break down the butter and herbs, allowing them to incorporate nicely together. It also adds some nice bright acidity and balance to each bite!
✅ Step-by-step instructions
Full instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, but here’s a step-by-step photo guide to help you make this delicious homemade herb butter.
- In a medium bowl using a fork, mash down the softened butter.
- Add the remaining ingredients (minced garlic, herbs, and spices) to the bowl and mash together with the fork until well combined.
- Form the butter mixture into a log shape.
- Wrap the butter log in parchment paper.
- Make sure you label the butter so you know what it is! This is especially helpful when you have several different compound butters in the freezer at a time. Also add the date it first went into the freezer.
You can use this immediately and keep refrigerated in an airtight container for 5 days. Or freeze the leftover compound butter wrapped in parchment paper and sealed in a freezer bag for up to 6 months.
👩🏻🍳 Frequently asked questions
In addition to parsley and rosemary, you can use a variety of herbs in various combinations to create different butters. Try basil, thyme, and oregano for an Italian herb compound butter. Or fresh chives, dill, basil, and parsley butter would be delicious for seafood.
Yes, you can use dried herbs. However, you may need to adjust the measurements. Also, the flavor of dried herbs vary greatly depending on how fresh they are, where the herbs come from and how they are packaged, how the herbs have been stored… With so many variables, it’s impossible to give a measurement for dried herbs vs. fresh herbs when making butter. If you use dried herbs, I suggest tasting as you go and adjusting as neeeded.
Wrap each log of butter in a piece of parchment paper, then store in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 6 months. Then simply slice the butter as you need it. If you are going to be using this butter soon, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
🍽 Serving ideas
This garlic herb compound butter is a great way to add flavor to so many different foods:
- Use it as a spread on warm bread or crackers. It looks beautiful on any charcuterie board! (We’ve got a Brunch Board, Turkey Charcuterie Board, and Christmas Charcuterie Board this butter would be great for!)
- Add it to sauces for pasta recipes.
- Flavor simple grilled meats or Dutch Oven Beef Brisket with this herbaceous butter. It’s also the perfect complement to air fryer whole chicken.
- Slather it on shrimp skewers, grilled salmon, or air fryer crab legs.
🍳 Kitchen tools and equipment
Ready to make this recipe? Here are the kitchen tools and equipment you’ll need:
- Bowl – A mixing bowl will do, but you can also grab any medium sized bowl or small bowl from your cupboard to make this!
- Fork – Use a fork or a potato masher to mash down the softened butter and mix all of the ingredients together.
- Parchment paper – Use parchment paper to wrap around the butter and help it keep its shape. I personally prefer parchment paper to wax paper or plastic wrap, but you could use either of those as well.
More make-ahead recipes
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
Garlic Herb Compound Butter
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic (about 2 large cloves)
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl using a fork, mash down the softened butter. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mash together with the fork until well combined.
- Form the butter mixture into a log and wrap with parchment paper.
- Freeze for at least 2 hour before using.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
