Herbed butter is a fabulous and satisfying condiment. It can be used on just about anything — sandwiches, vegetables, chicken, steak, pasta, eggs, fish, shrimp, bread, and potatoes — the possibilities are endless!
Plus, it's a wonderful way to have "fresh" herbs at hand. Herbed butter adds a burst of flavor with minimal effort, turning simple dishes into something extraordinary.
Here are some tips for making it and storing it, and some delicious serving ideas.
Butter: Room temperature (unsalted, preferably, for better control of flavor)
Fresh herbs: Any single or combination of herbs, finely chopped
The recipe is simple — mix butter with your choice of ingredients, and that's it!
Prep the butter: Allow the butter to soften at room temperature for easy mixing.
Choose your herbs: Finely chop your herbs. Some great choices are sage, tarragon, parsley, garlic, dill, or basil.
Mix together: Combine the butter and herbs in a bowl. Mix until well combined.
Shape and store:
Log roll — Roll it into a log and wrap it in plastic wrap.
Portion — Alternatively, press the butter into silicone ice cube trays or Souper Cubes for convenient portioning.
Refrigerate or freeze — Store in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for months. Slice off what you need or pop out a portion from the freezer.
When I have leftover fresh herbs, I whip up a batch of herbed butter and freeze it in Souper Cubes. This way, I always have a pat — or more — ready to go whenever I need it.
You can also pack a lot of herbs into a small portion of butter and add more butter when cooking. This is a great way to preserve your fresh herbs as well as maximize storage space.
Sage butter
Parsley butter — my son's favorite ingredient!
Here are some examples of cooking with herbed butter to inspire your own creations.
Sage butter — on vegetables like roasted squash, grilled cheese, or pasta, for an elevated buttered noodle.
Grilled cheese with sage butter
Burro e Salivia — sage butter pasta
Tarragon butter – divine on steaks, chicken, or fish. It's all you need to season!
Tarragon butter on pan-seared steak
Parsley and garlic butter — garlic bread, sautéed shrimp, or on steak.
Shrimp with parsley butter and garlic
Sea bass with parsley butter and lemon
Basil butter – Try it and see what you like!
Basil, parsley, and dill butter on toast with cucumbers and shrimp
Dill butter — fabulous on salmon and shrimp
Dill, garlic, lemon butter — and I added celery leaves!
Have fun making your herbed butter! I'd love to hear about what you create.
I almost always have sage butter and parsley butter in the freezer. These were two of my kids' favorites for pasta and grilled cheese — and a sneaky way to add some healthy flavor!
Herbed butter is endlessly customizable — try experimenting with a few tablespoons of butter and some fresh herbs and see how you like it. Then you can make a batch to freeze, and you'll have a nutritious, flavorful, gourmet condiment on hand when you need it.
