From easy garlic bread and smothering mashed potatoes to decadent finishing butter for steaks, knowing how to make garlic butter has saved me time and money. Besides, all you really need is garlic and butter.
Have you seen the price of gourmet foods? Actually, all food, for that matter. You know I’m looking for ways to scrimp. Besides, it’s hard to find ready-made foods without additives and preservatives.
DIY garlic butter tastes better and is a lot cheaper than the store-bought stuff. Plus, you can customize it, use organic ingredients, and have it on hand for anything that comes up.
Why Make Your Own
Besides the above reasons, controlling the salt, customizing the strength of the garlic flavor, and adding more herby goodness are my main reasons for making my own garlic butter recipe.
In addition, everyone seems to be on a diet now. So you can customize this recipe by using ghee for a paleo version or plant-based butter for vegans. How easy is that?
How to Make Garlic Butter
- Mince garlic and soften unsalted butter at room temperature. (I roasted the garlic first, but feel free to use raw—Photo 1)
- Mix butter, garlic, finely chopped parsley, and salt in a small bowl with a large spoon until thoroughly combined. Serve as is or proceed to the next step for cute garlic butter slices. (Photos 2-3)
- Roll – Place the herbed butter on plastic wrap and gently roll it to form a log. Pinch and fold or knot the ends of the plastic wrap. (Photo 4)
- Chill the roll in the refrigerator for at least an hour or until it firms up. Remove and slice into circles. Enjoy on toast, mashed potatoes, steak, and roasted vegetables.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Soften butter at room temperature for easier mixing.
- Omit the salt if using salted butter.
- If your butter is rock hard, soften it in the microwave in 5-second bursts, flip it, and repeat until soft. An internet hack I learned recently is to heat a drinking glass with boiling water, empty it, and place it upside down over your stick of cold butter for 5-10 minutes. Another quick way to soften butter is to cut it into small cubes and let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
- Roast the garlic first, mash, then mix as usual for roasted garlic butter.
How to Make It With Garlic Powder
No judgment here. We’ve all been in a pinch with no fresh garlic on hand. Add 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder and ¼ teaspoon dried garlic to your softened butter, mix well, and proceed with the recipe.
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
Garlic butter is a great make-ahead. It will last in the fridge for a week, and the flavor just keeps getting better.
You can also freeze it for 6 months or more. I love filling an ice cube tray with the softened butter and then popping the frozen cubes into a freezer ziplock bag. Then, I can get the amount the recipe calls for without thawing it all.
Ways to Enjoy Garlic Herb Butter
Hot garlic bread is the first obvious way. But it enhances so many recipes. Roasted vegetables, steamed broccoli, green beans, finishing butter for steak, roast chicken, baked fish, and, of course, corn on the cob are all mouthwatering.
More Tasty Garlicky Recipes You’ll Love
This blog post was originally published in February 2020 and has been updated with additional tips and beautiful photos
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