Learning How to Make Whipped Butter at home is easy! All you need are 2 ingredients: butter and milk. Double or triple the recipe because whipped butter is a delicious spread on almost everything!
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Homemade whipped butter
Have you ever noticed how restaurant butter always tastes better? More often than not, it’s because the butter has been whipped! Pancake houses and steak houses typically serve whipped butter, giving the traditional spread extra rich flavors and a fluffy, spreadable texture.
Learning How to Make Whipped Butter is easy. Milk is whisked into regular butter until all of that air transforms the dairy-rich spread into a mix that’s light and fluffy. You don’t need any special equipment or fancy ingredients - an incredibly easy recipe!
Just like compound butter, whipped butter is the perfect canvas for customizing with savory and sweet flavors. For example, you can whisk in raw honey to make whipped honey butter or minced garlic to make whipped garlic butter. There are endless customization ideas, and you can find even more below!
One taste and you’ll want to use your homemade whipped butter on everything. It’s a delightful spread on crusty sourdough slices, on top of steaks and mini pancakes, or spread on your blueberry muffins in the morning. Once you see how easy it is to make whipped butter, it’ll surely become a staple in your kitchen.
Looking for more helpful how-to guides? Check out my collection of how-to guides and these guides for more restaurant staples like How to Make Caramel Sauce, How to Make Brown Butter, Homemade Almond Butter and How to Make Fresh Ricotta!
Ingredient notes
All you need are 2 ingredients to upgrade a regular stick of butter into a luscious batch of whipped butter:
- Unsalted butter - I recommend using quality, grass-fed unsalted sticks of butter for a fresh, clean slate of flavor.
- Milk - Whole milk or heavy cream will smooth out the whipped butter and add an extra layer of richness.
- Optional Garnishes: Sea Salt, fresh herbs, maple syrup (for sweetened butter), parmesan cheese, or garlic are wonderful additions!
Equipment
- Standing mixer - Or a hand mixer. No matter which electric mixer you use, it’s a key tool in saving you time and effort.
- Large Mixing Bowl- The bowl from your standing mixer will work perfectly! Otherwise, use a medium-sized or large mixing bowl.
- Airtight containers - For storing your whipped butter in the fridge.
How to make whipped butter
Once you try making whipped creamy butter once and discover just how easy it is, you’ll never settle for regular butter again. Here’s how it’s done:
Step 1: Bring ingredients to room temperature. Pull your butter and milk from the fridge and let them sit on the kitchen counter for at least 30 to 45 minutes or gently microwave at 20% power in 20 second intervals. Room temperature ingredients are a breeze to work with and blend together with ease.
Step 2: Whip the butter and milk. Whip the softened plain butter in a bowl with the room temperature bit of milk until the two transform into a light and fluffy consistency. Once you've reached soft peaks and a smooth texture, use the whipped butter mixture right away on a piece of bread or store it for later.
Quick tips
- Yes, you can over whip butter. It will take a couple of minutes to whip the butter even with a stand mixer, but if it’s whipped past a certain point, the fluffy peaks fall flat and the mixture may become thin and greasy.
- Buy butter in bulk! This way, you always have a stick to make whipped butter, clarified butter, ghee, brown butter, compound butter, and the best baked goods.
Customize the flavor
Whipped soft butter doesn’t have to only be served plain. Upgrade the tasty spread with any of these sweet or savory flavorings:
Savory whipped butter
- Add fresh parsley, dill, tarragon, or chives to make herbed whipped butter. You can use dried herbs as well!
- Whisk in finely minced garlic or black garlic and a pinch of salt.
- Give your whipped butter a smoky kick with paprika.
- Make it even hotter with cayenne, chili powder, or red pepper flakes.
Sweet whipped butter
- Whisk in honey, cinnamon, and brown sugar and spread on warm dinner rolls
- Add a burst of citrus with fresh lemon or lime zest.
- Use dried fruit, like raisins or dried cranberries, mixed with warm spices.
- Add pumpkin pie spice!
Ways to use whipped butter
- As a luscious topping on seared steak and seafood.
- Spread over slices of sourdough homemade bread, garlic bread, pesto and black pepper focaccia, or olive and sun-dried tomato focaccia.
- Spread on a slice of dessert bread like banana warm bread or raspberry pecan babka.
- Brush a layer of whipped butter on salted honey Hawaiian rolls, waffles, sourdough french toast, or pancakes.
Frequently asked questions
Hand whipping butter can take between 2 and 5 minutes. It needs constant, vigorous whisking, which is why an electric mixer is almost necessary for this recipe.
After a few minutes of whisking, the butter becomes light and creamy with a pale yellow color. Whisk just until it appears extra smooth and spreadable.
Use unsalted full-fat butter to make whipped butter. My butter of choice is grass-fed butter.
I don’t recommend it. Whipped butter melts and burns much quicker than regular butter. It’s best served as a spread or garnish either chilled or at room temperature.
Storing and freezing
To store: Keep freshly whipped butter refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
To freeze: You can also freeze your whipped butter in an airtight container for up to 1 year. It will lose some of the initial bounce and fresh, fluffy texture once thawed, but a quick whip in the standing mixer should fix this.
More how-to guides
As always, I love seeing your creations and hearing from you! So, if you make whipped butter, please leave a review or share your creation with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!
How to Make Whipped Butter
Equipment
- Airtight Containers
Ingredients
- ½ cup (115 g) Unsalted Butter, softened, room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon (30 g) Milk, room temperature
- Additional ingredients for flavoring, honey, herbs, freeze-dried fruit butter, salt, spices, citrus, brown butter etc
Instructions
- Pull your butter and milk from the fridge and let them sit on the kitchen counter for at least 30 to 45 minutes or zap in the microwave at 20% power in 20 second increments. Room temperature ingredients are a breeze to work with and blend together with ease.½ cup Unsalted Butter, 1 Tablespoon Milk
- Whip the softened butter in a bowl with the room temperature milk until the two transform into a light and fluffy consistency. Use the whipped butter right away or store it for later.Additional ingredients for flavoring
Video
Notes
- How long does it take to hand whip butter? Hand whipping butter can take between 2 and 5 minutes. It needs constant, vigorous whisking, which is why an electric mixer is almost necessary for this recipe.
- How do you know if butter is whipped enough? After a few minutes of whisking, the butter becomes light and creamy with a pale yellow color. Whisk just until it appears extra smooth and spreadable.
- What type of butter is best for making whipped butter? Use unsalted full-fat butter to make whipped butter. My butter of choice is grass-fed butter.
- Can I cook with whipped butter? I don’t recommend it. Whipped butter melts and burns much quicker than regular butter. It’s best served as a spread or garnish either chilled or at room temperature.
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