Easy Garlic Butter

This garlic butter recipe works magic with a savory twist! It’s perfectly flavored and versatile for bread, pasta, steak and more.

Here’s a cooking trick that works magic with just a few simple ingredients — and it’s so irresistible you’ll want to spread it all over. As if butter should taste better! Try it out Garlic Butter: a spread so delicious you won’t be able to tear yourself away from the dish. Spread it on crusty bread or, even better, pop it in the oven to make garlic bread. Or try it as a compound butter on steaks, baked or fried potatoes and more. From our first tasting we were won over: and we know you will be too.

How to make garlic butter

Garlic Butter is a homemade compound butter: softened butter mixed with garlic, herbs, and salt. The added flavors turn butter into a makeshift spread or sauce that goes well with roasted or sautéed vegetables, steak, bread, crackers and more. It’s easy to mix in minutes. Here are some tips for making garlic butter:

• Soften the butter. There are a few ways to do this; This is how it’s done quickly: Halve the butter lengthways, then into a total of about 12 pieces. Let it stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes until it softens.
• Mix with spices. Put butter in a bowl. Grate 1 medium clove garlic into the bowl, then add 1 tablespoon fresh chives and fresh parsley and a little ½ teaspoon salt. Puree the butter and stir in until completely combined.

A faster way to soften butter: the microwave

Want to make this garlic butter recipe ASAP? You can use a microwave to soften the butter. It’s not traditionally our preferred method, but it works here. Here’s what to do:

• Microwave on low power for a few 5 second bursts until soft, checking after each puff, being careful not to overheat.
• The microwave method is delicate and cooks unevenly. Be careful not to overheat the butter! In general, we do not recommend a microwave for softening the butter. However, since you won’t be using butter in baked goods (where texture is key), this technique works as a quick fix.

How to reshape garlic butter into a log

You can use this garlic butter right away by spooning it into a shallow bowl. However, if you’d rather save it for later, it’s easier to save it in the form of a log. You can cut pieces to use in recipes.

• Place the butter on a piece of cling film or parchment paper and use the cling film to roll into a stick shape. You may have to do this multiple times to get the perfect shape.
• Twist the ends and refrigerate the garlic butter until firm enough to slice (or until ready to serve). To speed up the cooling process, place in the freezer for a few minutes until firm.

Note on salinity

A note on the salt content in this garlic butter recipe! We prefer to use unsalted butter and add salt so you can control the flavor. The ideal salt level for us was between ¼ and ½ teaspoon, so we included a small ½ teaspoon of kosher salt here. That really brings out the flavor! Feel free to taste and adjust if needed.

Ways to use garlic butter

There are many ways to use great garlic butter: and our favorite is simply on crusty bread. It’s the best fun and easiest appetizer for entertaining! Everyone will be amazed. Here are all our ideas for using this delicious spread:

• Spread on crusty bread or crostini as an easy start.
• make garlic bread! Spread on both sides of a loaf of bread and bake at 350 for 8 minutes, then grill for 2 minutes until toasted.
• Use on a steak. Add a slice to a sizzling cut of steak for even more flavor.
• Add to roasted, mashed or baked potatoes. After roasting, toss with roast potatoes, toss in mashed potatoes, or spoon onto a baked potato.
• Add flavor to steamed or sautéed vegetables. Try steamed Brussels sprouts or sautéed green beans.
• Use on pasta. Make a quick pasta sauce by adding garlic butter, to taste, to a saucepan of hot pasta and stirring until melted.

More Garlic Recipes

Garlic is one of our absolute favorite ingredients in the kitchen: the savory flavor it brings to dishes is unreal! Here are some other ways to use it:

This garlic butter recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten free.