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    Home » Recipes » Helpful How-To Guides

    How to Make Brown Butter

    Published: Mar 3, 2023 · Modified: Sep 26, 2023 by Emily Laurae · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    If you’ve ever wondered “How to Make Brown Butter,” it’s much easier than you think! It only requires 1 ingredient and about 15 minutes of your time. The moniker beurre noisette – French for “nutty butter” – sums up why you should try your hand at it. You’ll want to use this golden wonder on anything and everything!

    Brown Butter or beurre noisette in a bowl.
    Jump to:
    • ⭐ Why You’ll Love This Recipe 
    • 🧪 The Science Behind Browned Butter
    • 🍴Ingredients
    • ⚒️ Equipment
    • 📖 Step by Step Instructions
    • ❓ How To Use Browned Butter
    • 👩🏻‍🍳 Expert Tips
    • 💭 Recipe FAQs
    • More How To Recipes
    • How to Make Brown Butter
    • 💬 Comments

    ⭐ Why You’ll Love This Recipe 

    Brown butter is an absolute game-changer. Although the idea of browning butter may induce panic, never fear! The success of achieving perfectly browned butter is dependent on using your senses, so get ready to be thrilled. It's a great way to add intense flavor, deeper flavor and caramel flavor into your baking and cooking adventures!

    The process of making brown butter doesn’t just yield a delicious result, it is also a true pleasure to witness. Pour yourself a glass of something tasty and strap in for the chemical reaction ride!

    At first, your only job is to watch. The stick of butter goes through several stages of development — melting, bubbling, separating, and eventually, browning milk proteins. Once you note these stages, you’ll easily be able to scale the amount of butter up or down according to your needs.

    🧪 The Science Behind Browned Butter

    Browning butter is also a great olfactory introduction to the Maillard reaction — the chemical transformation that makes perfectly browned steak or golden roasted potatoes so delicious. 

    Butter’s main flavor compound is butyric acid, while butyrate is the scent compound that is given off during a Maillard reaction. You’ll know when your browned butter is done browning because you’ll be able to smell its uniquely delicious aroma! Just trust yourself; you’ll know when it’s ready.

    Nutty brown butter is a fantastic addition or even replacement within a number of recipes - pop in an airtight container and save for using in all kinds of recipes. Whether you are hoping to add flavors to popcorn, brown butter chocolate chip cookies, cakes, breads, rice krispie treats, savory recipes – take the flavor to the next level with a bit of brown butter. 

    🍴Ingredients

    Butter in a bowl.

    This might come as a shock to you, but you only need one ingredient to make browned butter:

    • BUTTER! Make sure to get the really good stuff here for the most nuanced flavors. Look for identifiers like grass-fed, organic, and/or cultured sticks of butter. I also prefer to use unsalted butter so I can more easily adapt it to use in other recipes. Remember, you can always add salt, but you can’t take it away!

    ⚒️ Equipment

    Browning butter is a simple task that doesn’t require much, aside from: 

    • A Heavy Bottomed Pan - This will ensure even cooking and help prevent scorching.
    • Sharp Eyes & A Keen Sense of Smell. Honestly, once you make brown butter once, you’ll wonder what all the anxiety was about. If you’re tuned into the moment, you will have no problem identifying when your batch is ready.

    📖 Step by Step Instructions

    • Start the cooking process by melting your cold butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Use a pan with a light-colored bottom so you can keep track of the color.
    • First, the butter will melt and look opaque.
    • Next, once your butter melts it will begin to bubble. The bubbles will be small and vigorous, and it’ll be hard to see the bottom of the pan. Keep the faith.
    Cubes of unsalted butter in a dutch oven.
    Butter slowly starting to melt in a dutch oven.
    Butter starting to bubble and foam in a dutch oven as it starts to become brown butter.
    • After the foaming subsides, you’ll start to hear a splutter. This is an indication that the butter has separated into solids and liquids. Now you’ll need to pay closer attention.
    • Swirl the pan occasionally to make sure that the butter is cooking evenly. The coloring will darken, but your most reliable cue that your butter is done browning is how it smells and sounds!
    Completed brown butter in a dutch oven.
    • Once the butter has developed a light golden brown coca-cola color, the noise/sputtering subsides and smells deliciously nutty, your browned butter is done!
    • Then, pour directly into a heatproof glass jar as the butter cools. This will prevent the butter from cooking further and burning.
    • You'll find that there are little brown bits or brown specks at the bottom of the pan as seen pictured below - those are golden milk solids with the best nutty flavor. Make sure to not leave those butter browns behind as they are packed with nutty, rich flavor - they're truly liquid gold!

    ❓ How To Use Browned Butter

    Feel free to use this easy recipe for browned butter immediately. It goes great on:

    • Popcorn - toss the kernels in this toasted flavor instead of regular melted butter
    • Pasta - brown butter sauce anyone?!
    • Vegetables
    • Eggs
    • Pancakes and Waffles
    • Breads
    • Everything, really.

    You can also store browned butter in a heatproof container (like a mason jar) and refrigerate it for later. I love using it in:

    • Coconut Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats
    • Banana Cake with Brown Butter Buttercream
    • Brown Butter Double Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

    If you allow the browned butter to chill entirely, you can then let it come back to room temperature to sub into basically any recipe that calls for you to cream butter. 

    Start experimenting with your favorite cake or cookie recipes to see how it changes them. I think you’ll be delighted with what you find!

    Did you come up with an amazing way to use your browned butter? Let me know in the comments below, or tag me on your socials! 

    Finished Brown Butter or beurre noisette in a bowl.

    👩🏻‍🍳 Expert Tips

    • Feel free to scale the recipe up as needed. Once you’ve made brown butter and witnessed all its steps, you’ll know when you’re getting close enough to jump in and start *really* paying attention. 
    • Make browned butter in advance, and always keep it on hand.  It will keep in the fridge for up to a month, so even if you don’t have a plan for it, make it! I can promise it’ll be a lifesaver on a busy weeknight when you forgot about dinner; combined with pasta, you don’t need much else! 
    • REMEMBER: All it takes to make brown butter is butter, a pan, patience, time, and a bit of babysitting. Watch the color develop, smell the nutty aroma, agitate the butter, listen to the sputtering sizzles that come from your pan, and you will succeed! 

    If you're looking for more essentials to try your hand at making in your kitchen, try my Homemade Almond Butter, Fresh Ricotta, Basic Pesto Sauce or Homemade Nutella!

    💭 Recipe FAQs

    What does brown butter taste like?

    The French sum it up best by calling it beurre noisette, which roughly translates to “hazelnut butter”; the end product does taste rather nutty.

    Is brown butter better?

    Can you say that 10 times fast?? LOL. All jokes aside, the nuanced flavor of brown butter does something quite wonderful to an already outstanding ingredient. While browned butter isn’t necessarily ideal for *all* applications, I’d venture to say that it is a delightful upgrade over regular butter in many situations. 

    How long do I need to brown butter?

    It all depends on your quantity. If you’re just doing a stick, it might only take 5 minutes, whereas if you’re doing a couple of pounds, it’ll take quite a bit longer. I encourage you to use your senses here – my step-by-step photos make it easier to gauge which step you’re in, but remember that you’re not done until the butter smells quite nutty!

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    If you try this recipe for Homemade Brown Butter, please leave a 🌟 review and share your creation with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter! 📧 

    Brown butter in a small bowl.

    How to Make Brown Butter

    If you’ve ever wondered “How to Make Brown Butter,” it’s much easier than you think! It only requires 1 ingredient and about 15 minutes of your time. The moniker beurre noisette – French for “nutty butter” – sums up why you should try your hand at it. You’ll want to use this golden wonder on everything!
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe
    Course: Snack
    Cuisine: American
    Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Servings: 10
    Calories: 163kcal
    Author: Emily Laurae

    Equipment

    • Saucepan
    • Spatula
    • Heatproof Glass Container
    • Heavy Bottomed Dutch Oven or Saucepan

    Ingredients

    Brown Butter  

    • 1 Cup Unsalted Butter

    Instructions

    Brown Butter

    • Start by melting your butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Use a pan with a light-colored bottom so you can keep track of the color while the butter starts to brown.
      1 Cup Unsalted Butter
    • Swirl the pan occasionally to make sure that the butter is cooking evenly
    • As the butter melts, it will begin to foam, sputter and the coloring will get darker
    • Once the butter has developed a deep golden brown color and has stopped sputtering, pour into a heatproof glass container and set aside

    Video

    Notes

    Expert Tips
    • Feel free to scale the recipe up as needed. Once you’ve made brown butter and witnessed all its steps, you’ll know when you’re getting close enough to jump in and start *really* paying attention. 
    • Make browned butter in advance, and always keep it on hand.  It will keep in the fridge for up to a month, so even if you don’t have a plan for it, make it! I can promise it’ll be a lifesaver on a busy weeknight when you forgot about dinner; combined with pasta, you don’t need much else! 
    • REMEMBER: All it takes to make brown butter is butter, a pan, patience, time, and a bit of babysitting. Watch the color develop, smell the nutty aroma, agitate the butter, listen to the sputtering sizzles that come from your pan, and you will succeed! 
    Frequently Asked Questions
    • What does brown butter taste like? The French sum it up best by calling it beurre noisette, which roughly translates to “hazelnut butter”; the end product does taste rather nutty.
    • Is brown butter better? Can you say that 10 times fast?? LOL. All jokes aside, the nuanced flavor of brown butter does something quite wonderful to an already outstanding ingredient. While browned butter isn’t necessarily ideal for *all* applications, I’d venture to say that it is a delightful upgrade over regular butter in many situations. 
    • How long do I need to brown butter? It all depends on your quantity. If you’re just doing a stick, it might only take 5 minutes, whereas if you’re doing a couple of pounds, it’ll take quite a bit longer. I encourage you to use your senses here – my step-by-step photos make it easier to gauge which step you’re in, but remember that you’re not done until the butter smells quite nutty!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 163kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 5mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 567IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg
    Enjoyed this recipe?Mention @emilylaurae or tag #emilylaurae!

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    About Emily Laurae

    Emily is the recipe developer, writer, and food photographer behind Emily Laurae. After finishing Pastry School and working as a chef in the restaurant industry, she created this blog to share those skills with home bakers and creators all over the world!

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