Homemade bread can’t be served without this Roasted Garlic Compound Butter! Take your stick of butter up 10 levels with this easy 5-minute recipe. It’s an absolute must if you’re hosting guests. Try my blend of roasted garlic and fresh herbs, or check out my suggestions for different flavors to suit what you love best.
This compound butter has been in my back pocket for many, many years. Whenever I have guests over and bread is on the table, you better believe this butter will be also be featured. It takes me almost no time to whip up and it always, always, always ends up being the star of the entire night.
I’ve worked on my own perfect blend of flavors, but this recipe is so easy and forgiving you can, honestly, mix in anything you crave in any amount. Add more garlic, less, change the herbs, add some lemon zest, a little maple syrup; you get it!
Ingredients
- Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter to have full control over the amount of salt in this recipe, but salted butter will be great as well.
- Roasted garlic – Storebought or homemade. See the recipe notes or read below to learn how to make your own.
- Herbs – I like to use fresh thyme and parsley. Other herbs that would be great: tarragon, basil, sage, rosemary, chives, marjoram.
- Salt & pepper – Season to taste. Make sure to use less salt if you’ve used salted butter.
How to make roasted garlic compound butter
- Mix: all the ingredients together until well combined. Scrape the butter onto a sheet of plastic wrap, and roll it out to your desired shape.
- Set: Twist the ends and lightly tie them together. Transfer to the fridge for 1 hour or until the butter has hardened.
FAQ
There are so many wonderful ingredients you can use! Other herbs such as tarragon, basil, sage, rosemary, chives, or marjoram. You can also add a touch of sweetness with honey, agave, or maple syrup.
For different flavors try lemon zest, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red pepper, horseradish, dill, jalapeño, or mustard.
The tricky thing with substitutes, like margarine, for example, is that they stay soft and spreadable even when refrigerated. That just means it wont set into whatever shape you want! I still suggest letting the ingredients sit together for about an hour, but if your substitute stays spreadable, just leave it in a bowl!
If you’re using a butter substitute that hardens, you can follow this recipe exactly as is without any changes.
Yes, you can! Like the butter substitutes, just leave it in a bowl if you’d prefer the butter to be spreadable. I still would suggest leaving the ingredients to mingle and intensify for about 1 hour, but you can do this at room temperature. Setting the butter in the fridge is more to re-shape it and get it sliceable.
How to make roasted garlic
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- A) To use a whole head of garlic, first peel away any excess paper skin from the outside of the bulb. Slice off the top of the bulb to expose the cloves. Place the head on a sheet of foil. Drizzle with about 1 tbsp of olive oil and a pinch of each salt and pepper.
B) To use pre-peeled garlic, pile 10-14 garlic cloves in the middle of a sheet of foil. Drizzle with about 1 tbsp of olive oil and a pinch of each salt and pepper. - Wrap the foil around the garlic and seal completely. Place the package on a small sheet pan and roast for 30-40 minutes, until the garlic is browned and soft.
- Let the garlic cool for 10-20 minutes. If you’ve used a full head, squeeze the cloves out into a bowl. If you’ve used peeled garlic, transfer the cloves to a bowl and mash them with a fork.
Tips for making roasted garlic compound butter
- It may seem like a lot of garlic, but the roasting process really tames the flavor. That being said, you can use less (or more) if you’d like!
- Chop the herbs nice and fine. I find that big chunks of herbs will make the butter difficult to cut after it sets.
- If you use salted butter, be careful about the amount of extra salt you add. You might not even need to add any.
How to store leftover compound butter
Compound butter will usually last about 1 month stored in the fridge. The safest bet, however, is to use the expiry date on your package of butter. You can store the butter wrapped in plastic, bees wrap, parchment paper, foil, or transferred to an airtight container. You can also store compound butter in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Homemade is always better than storebought! Try these:
- The Best Homemade Guacamole
- Homemade Catalina Dressing
- Pickled Jalapeño Peppers
- Dad’s Classic Caesar Salad
- Homemade Salsa
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Roasted Garlic Compound Butter
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter unsalted*, softened
- 2 tbsp roasted garlic see notes for homemade
- 1 tsp fresh thyme stems removed, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Scrape the butter onto a sheet of plastic wrap, and roll it out to your desired shape.
- Twist the ends and lightly tie them together. Transfer to the fridge for 1 hour or until the butter has hardened.
Notes
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- A) To use a whole head of garlic, first peel away any excess paper skin from the outside of the bulb. Slice off the top of the bulb to expose the cloves. Place the head on a sheet of foil. Drizzle with about 1 tbsp of olive oil and a pinch of each salt and pepper.
B) To use pre-peeled garlic, pile 10-14 garlic cloves in the middle of a sheet of foil. Drizzle with about 1 tbsp of olive oil and a pinch of each salt and pepper. - Wrap the foil around the garlic and seal completely. Place the package on a small sheet pan and roast for 30-40 minutes, until the garlic is browned and soft.
- Let the garlic cool for 10-20 minutes. If you’ve used a full head, squeeze the cloves out into a bowl. If you’ve used peeled garlic, transfer the cloves to a bowl and mash them with a fork.
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