This Rosemary Garlic Butter is one of my favorite compound butters to make and is something I almost always keep on hand. It comes together easily and is a great way to pack in the flavors of fresh rosemary and garlic into any of your cooking or baking.
This Rosemary Garlic Butter is delicious served on any kind of bread (especially if it's warm!). You can also use compound butter on meats, pasta, potatoes, and more.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Compound butter is a quick and easy way to elevate a dish with additional flavors. Place a dab of butter on top of a grilled steak, use it to flavor your sous vide cooking, or use it to grease your skillet or sautée pan for veggies and more.
- This is an easy recipe that comes together in about 15 minutes!
- It's perfect to serve on these Sourdough Discard Rolls or with this Sourdough Discard Cornbread!
- This recipe is easy to adapt to use other ingredients or herbs to suit your taste.
- You can freeze compound butter and use it whenever you need a slice.
- If you like to make other ingredient-style recipes, try this Homemade Vanilla Extract and this Pumpkin Pie Spice.
Ingredients
There are only a few things you'll need to make Rosemary Garlic Butter.
- Fresh rosemary: I highly recommend using fresh rosemary rather than dried rosemary for this recipe. The fresh herbs give a wonderful flavor that just cannot be replaced!
- Unsalted butter: Using unsalted butter helps control the amount of salt that you're adding to the butter overall.
- Garlic: I always recommend using fresh, whole garlic rather than pre-diced, or jarred garlic.
- Lemon juice: A little bit of lemon juice goes a long way in this recipe to keep it feeling light and fresh.
See full recipe below for detailed directions.
Substitutions & Variations
This is a very adaptable recipe and compound butter can be made with almost any ingredient. Below are a few easy variations to try:
- Lime Jalapeńo Butter: Use lime juice instead of lemon, then add 1 teaspoon lime zest and 1 Tablespoon minced jalapeńo to the butter. This is great to serve with grilled corn or other vegetables!
- Sundried Tomato Butter: Add 2-3 Tablespoons diced sundried tomatoes to the mixture instead of the rosemary and garlic.
- Dill & Shallot Butter: Instead of rosemary and garlic, use fresh dill and minced shallots. Use 1-2 Tablespoons minced shallots. This combination works with other herbs as well!
- Herb Butter: This recipe uses rosemary and garlic, but you can use any herbs (I recommend using fresh rather than dried herbs). Parsley, dill, sage and thyme would all be wonderful. You can also make a mix of more than one herb!
I have not tested this recipe with other variations, but if you do, let us know how it turns out in the comments! I always love to hear how you're adapting these recipes and use those as ideas for future recipes as well!
How to Make Rosemary Garlic Butter
This garlic butter comes together in a few easy steps. The full recipe with detailed directions is at the bottom of this post.
- Step 1: Prep your ingredients by chopping the rosemary and fresh garlic.
- Step 2: Add the softened butter, chopped rosemary, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to a small mixing bowl.
- Step 3: Mix to combine (I find using a fork is best here to crush the butter). You can serve this immediately, or prepare for freezing.
- Step 4: To freeze, place the butter in a rough log shape near the bottom of a piece of parchment paper.
- Step 5: Use your hands to roll the butter in the paper. This does not need to be very tight, but you can use the tension of the paper to creat a tighter roll.
- Step 6: Pinch and twist the ends of the parchment paper. This will help push the butter together in the center to make a solid log of butter.
- Step 7: Freeze the butter log in the parchment paper overnight (or for at least 6-7 hours).
- Step 8: Slice the butter log into disks for easy single-serving use (you can slice right through the parchment paper). Transfer the disks to a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 6 months.
Expert Cooking Tips
- Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature before you combine the ingredients. If the butter is still hard, it will be very hard to mix.
- Use a fork to mix the butter and ingredients together - it's easier to crush the butter and thoroughly mix.
- Use this butter right away, or store compound butter in the freezer to make it last longer!
- Looking for other delicious sides for your meal? Try these Sourdough Discard Garlic Rolls and this Sourdough Discard Focaccia.
What is compound butter?
Compound butter is a mixture of butter and other ingredients that is used to enhance flavors in cooking and baking. You can make compound butter with almost any ingredients.
How to Use Compound Butter
There are many ways that you use compound butter; I've included a few of my favorite options below:
- With bread, rolls or biscuits: Fresh bread and rolls are delicious spread with compound butter, especially when the rolls are still warm and the butter melts! Try these Sourdough Discard Rolls!
- With grilled corn or vegetables: Spread compound butter on grilled corn or other roasted vegetables. This also works great on smashed potatoes.
- On meats (steak, chicken, pork) or fish: Serve a seared steak or piece of chicken with a dab of compound butter on top for additional flavor.
- For sous vide cooking: Throw a disk of frozen compound butter in a bag of ingredients that you will cook sous vide. The butter will melt and add amazing flavor to whatever you're cooking.
Storage
Refrigerator Storage: Store the compound butter in an airtight container or covered butter dish in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Freezer Storage: Roll the butter into a log in parchment paper, then slice into individual disks to make it easier for single-serve usage. Store the slices (or the full parchment butter roll) in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag for up to 6 months.
To use the frozen butter, you can either let the butter thaw to room temperature or add a frozen disk of butter to a dish you're making (or a bag for sous vide cooking).
Recipe FAQs
I highly recommend using fresh herbs as it will add more flavor to the butter.
Yes. There are a few great variations listed in the post above, but this is a very adaptable recipe. You can use any herb combination that sounds good to you!
More Side Dish Recipes
If you tried this Rosemary Garlic Butter or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you! Happy Baking!
Rosemary Garlic Butter
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped
- 1 Tablespoon garlic about 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- pinch salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine softened butter, chopped rosemary, minced garlic, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl.
- Mix with a fork until well incoporated. At this point, your butter is ready to eat!
- If you'd like to freeze your butter, roll your butter into a log with parchment paper and freeze overnight. Then slice into disks and use or thaw as needed.
Reshoto says
hello,there! I just mae this recipe an added some creation of mine :Because mast is just after the corner I decide it to curve this butter dip in a small jars like a candle with crunchy bread.You actualy start the candle and dip in melted "wax" (careful not to put the candle out):-)
Jennifer says
Have you ever used plant based butter to make a compound butter?
Jessica Vogl says
You certainly could! Just make sure you choose a plant-based butter that you like the flavor of 🙂