How to Make Homemade Compound Butter

I love elevating dishes with dips, dressings, and sauces from scratch, and this easy-to-make compound butter is a particular favorite of mine.

Use it to saute or fry, add it to baking recipes, or simply add a pad on top of a juicy steak.

When you want to take your dish to the next level, Compound Butter is such an easy way to add rich, delicious flavor! 

Try lemon herb compound butter for bread machine brioche or Blackstone potatoes, whip up garlic compound butter for steak, and so much more.

What Is Compound Butter?

Compound butter isn’t fancy.  It is softened butter mixed with flavorings.  

You mix, roll into a log and chill it until firm.  It takes just 10 minutes to make, and is the perfect way to elevate your meals. I like to keep a log in the freezer at all time.

With so many variations to taste, you can see which flavor sounds best or try them all.

Once you see how easy it is to make, you’ll want to put Compound Butter on everything! Let me show you how easy making compound butter is.

Let's Talk Ingredients

• Butter - Start with unsalted and let it come to room temperature. Softened butter is the best way to ensure that the flavors get completely incorporated.
• Salt and pepper - Add to taste for each compound butter recipe. (I tend to use a teaspoon salt per recipe.)

Flavors to Try

Garlic Herb Butter

Minced garlic, fresh herbs, and a little lemon zest. Great with steak, pasta, and on bread.

Lemon Herb Butter

Herbs, and lemon zest. Lovely on turkey, fish, or pasta.

Blue Cheese Butter

Crumbled blue cheese, minced shallot, and chives. This is the one for a ribeye.

Cilantro Lime Butter

Cilantro, lime zest and juice, a pinch of cayenne. Try it on corn, chicken, or shrimp.

Horseradish Butter

Prepared horseradish, chives, and garlic. Made for prime rib and roast beef.

Sriracha Butter

Scallions and a good squeeze of sriracha. I especially love this one on shrimp.

Tips for the Perfect Compound Butter

• Let the butter come to room temperature before combining with other ingredients in the food processor.
• Use fresh herbs whenever possible. They will infuse the butter with more flavor than dried herbs.
• Don’t skip the salt and pepper since they will enhance all the other flavors of your compound butter.
• I like to use a food processor, but you can mix in a bowl if you do not have one.

Serving Suggestions

• Oven Roasted Tri Tip is full of flavor, and topping it with herb butter takes flavors to the next level.
• Don't miss this Blackstone Steak - you won't believe how easy and delicious it is.
• If you want to make one of these compound butter recipes for steak, pair it with delicious Keto Flank Steak!
• Lemon or garlic herb butter would go beautifully with Instant Pot Frozen Whole Chicken.
• Spread a little butter on these Keto Biscuits for classic comfort food with a flavor-packed twist.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you use compound butter?

Most commonly, you’ll see compound butter used with meats, fish, or vegetables.

But you could also add it to your baking, throw it in a pan anytime you are sautéing or frying your ingredients, and so much more.

Try using it as a substitute any time you’d use regular butter!

Does compound butter need to be refrigerated?

Yes. It is perfectly safe to keep compound butter at room temperature for a few hours, but you should store it in the refrigerator beyond that. Keep it tightly wrapped in parchment or plastic wrap.

Can you freeze compound butter?

Absolutely! This is my favorite way to store it. Simply place the compound butter in foil, then in a freezer-safe container or bag.

(You can wrap it in wax paper, parchment paper, or plastic wrap before you wrap it in foil if you like.) 

You can freeze it for up to 6 months.

To serve, slice off the butter that you need. Allow the butter to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to soften.

Tools Needed

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• Food processor
• Plastic wrap

Storage

Compound butter can be stored in the refrigerator wrapped in plastic wrap for up to 5 days. When I know I am going to grill steaks, I will make compound butter on the weekend so the meal comes together in a flash.

For longer storage, wrap in aluminum foil, place in a freezer-safe container or bag, and freeze for up to 6 months.

How to Make Compound Butter

Soften a stick of butter, fold in your flavorings, and roll it into a log in plastic wrap.   Chill until firm. A food processor makes it faster, but a bowl and a fork work too.

Let's go step by step.

Place the butter and seasonings in a food processor. Pulse until well combined.

Rolling It Up

Place a piece of plastic wrap on a work surface. Use the lower portion of the plastic wrap to form the butter into a log, then roll the butter up in the plastic wrap.

Twist the ends of the plastic wrap to seal.

Chill until firm.