Compound butter is simply butter with an added flavor or two mixed in. It’s not just like buttering an item and then adding a sprinkle of the flavor – compound butter becomes a unique flavor unto itself. You can put these on breads, meat, pasta – anything you like.
One of the simplest examples will be familiar to most of my readers in the Southeastern US: honey butter, a simple blend of honey with butter, whipped together and served immediately. Some people like to roll them up and refrigerate them so they become solid logs you can put on the table, but with any of these recipes, you can just whip the ingredients together in a bowl and serve.
For flavor, I recommend Kerrygold. It can be hard to find in stores, but you can always get it on Amazon. It’s the most delicious grass fed butter out there (and I’ve tried them all). Grass fed supposedly means it’s actually healthy for you, or at least healthier than other butter. It has the best buttery flavor.
Compound Butter Recipes
Savory
1. Garlic Herb. You pick the herbs. Whichever way you go, it’s a garden-fresh flavor.
2. Red Wine Butter. Full-bodied flavor with shallots and herbs.
3. Smoked Paprika. Delicious and mildly smoky with a hint of spice from the smoked paprika.
4. Horseradish butter. Perfect for prime rib, with horseradish sauce and dijon mustard.
5. Herb Gorgonzola. If you like gorgonzola cheese, you can’t go wrong with this one.
6. Prosciutto, Parmesan & Toasted Pinenut. Nutty, smoky and salty, and great with pasta.
7. Lemon Basil Garlic. Inspired by the flavors of pesto.
8. Chipotle Butter. With chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce.
9. Chile Lime Tequila butter. Excellent with Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes. The tequila is optional.
10. Coffee Butter. With ground coffee and cream.
11. Bacon Onion Butter. Ideal for burgers or steaks.
12. Everything Bagel Butter. Poppy seeds, onion, and most of the rest of what’s delicious on a bagel.
13. Serrano Lime. With a spicy, tangy flavor, this one rocks a good steak.
14. Caper-Tarragon. Great with fish and chicken.
15. Italian Butter. With sun-dried tomatoes and herbs.
16. Roasted Garlic Butter. The roasting makes all the difference.
17. Ramp. With lemon and optional herbs, this is a great way to preserve ramp.
18. Ancho-Chili. This spicy butter is great with shellfish and seafood.
19. Roasted Red Pepper. Combines two of my favorite foods.
20. Black Olive Butter. Great for spreading on bread.
21. Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil. Very flavorful, and great on fish.
22. Grain Mustard Butter. With a touch of onion.
23. Tomato Butter. Another simple but wonderful combination.
24. Bacon and Blue Cheese. Salty and smoky, with lots of flavor from the blue cheese.
25. Cilantro Lime. Two wonderfully fresh flavors combined.
Sweet
26. Cinnamon Brown Sugar. Great alternative to honey butter. You can also add raisins into this one.
27. Strawberry. With actual chopped strawberries.
28. Honey Sriracha Butter. Sweet, garlicky, and spicy from the sriracha sauce.
29. Gingerbread Butter. A sweet, cinnamon butter with cloves and molasses.
30. Drunken Cranberry Orange Compound Butter. Cognac, chopped cranberries and orange zest.
31. Pecan Praline Honey Butter. Sweet and nutty, perfect for pancakes or waffles.
32. Texas Roadhouse Cinnamon Butter. Just like they make it at the restaurant.
33. Whipped Cinnamon Pumpkin Butter. With pumpkin puree and nutmeg.
34. Vanilla Honey Peach. Take honey butter to the next level.
35. Raspberry Honey Butter. With frozen raspberries.
36. Cranberry butter. Perfect for Thanksgiving dinners.
37. Jam Butter. Use any flavor of jam you like.
38. Blackberry Honey Butter. Rich, sweet and such a good way to use up blackberries before they spoil.
39. Chocolate Butter. Just chocolate and butter blended deliciously.
40. Nutty Orange-Maple. Orange zest and maple syrup make a great combination.
41. Cherry Sage. Sweet with a hint of herb.
42. Honey Sesame. With toasted sesame seeds.
These butters add so much to any meal. They can turn something as simple as a roll or piece of toast into a special treat. Try the savory ones on homemade pizza crust, or melted over a side dish like green beans. Get creative and enjoy!
Anita says
Hi, I haven’t had experience with making favored butter. What is the basic ratio of butter to herb/spices. I’d hate to just blend then discover the ratio’s are way off, not to mention expensive.
Thanks
SnappyLiving says
Herb and spice flavors come through very strong, so just a teaspoon or even less to a stick of butter can be plenty. I’d start with half a teaspoon of the seasonings to play it safe. You can add more later, but you can’t take it back out, lol.