This 3 ingredient garlic butter recipe is perfect for giving any dish a creamy garlic flavor. It takes minutes to prepare, stores for ages and tastes fantastic with meats and pasta.
🌟 Why this recipe works
Delicious garlic butter is very versatile and mixes with other dishes like mashed potatoes, pasta, and soups for a garlicky kick. It also tastes amazing, melted into a garlic butter sauce for a salad or garlic bread, while my favorite way to enjoy it is to place a frozen butter cube on top of a hot steak.
The method is so simple that it's perfect for any home cook to make in 2 minutes with only a bunch of parsley, minced garlic, and some butter required to combine in a bowl.
The easy garlic butter recipe will become your go-to ingredient to make any recipe taste buttery and full of delicious herby, garlicky flavor with a smooth texture.
If you have never made homemade garlic butter before, here are three reasons to love this recipe:
- It has a long shelf life.
- You can mix it with any recipe.
- It's inexpensive and super fast to make.
🍽 Key Ingredients
All you need is a bowl and three household ingredients to make this delicious garlic butter recipe.
Fresh Ingredients: I always use fresh garlic and fresh parsley to give the butter a more intense flavor.
Butter: For this recipe, I use salted butter at room temperature so it mixes easier. You can use unsalted butter also and add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Substitutions
Garlic
If you want a more subtle garlic flavor, you can substitute fresh for powdered garlic, using half the amount.
🍽 How to make
This homemade garlic butter recipe is super easy to make in under 5 minutes with only 3 ingredients. Learn how to make garlic butter with my 3 step instructions, top tips, and variations sections.
Instructions
Step 1
Finely chop the fresh parsley leaves and press garlic cloves.
Step 2
Combine the finely chopped ingredients with the softened butter in a bowl with a spoon until smooth and creamy.
Step 3
Spread it on hot bread and enjoy.
Optional: Add a pinch of salt and pepper to your desired taste.
💭 Cooking tips
Use room temperature butter
Soft butter mixes so much easier than cold butter and helps create a smoother consistency, so make sure to leave the butter out of the fridge 30 minutes before mixing it.
Texture
This butter is delicious mixed with tiny pieces of garlic and parsley, but if you want a completely smooth consistency without any lumps, place the ingredients into a food processor for a few minutes.
Flavor
Fresh garlic and parsley give this butter its strong flavor, but if you only have garlic powder and dried parsley on hand, you can combine them with the butter, although it will not be as fragrant as fresh ingredients.
📖 Recipe Variations
Four irresistible garlic butter variations using the same recipe:
Roasted garlic butter
Roasting the garlic first before mixing it with the butter softens the strength of the garlic but adds a new dimension to the overall flavor. The garlic becomes sweeter when roasted and becomes softer, making it easier to mince.
Double the garlic quantity to achieve the best results.
Garlic and parmesan cheese Butter
This variation is amazing as a buttery sauce mixed with pasta dishes. Combine the ingredients in a bowl and when the butter is soft and spreadable, mix in 2 tablespoons of fine parmesan cheese.
Half & half garlic butter
A combination of olive oil and butter works well for making garlic butter and adds extra flavor. Mix half the butter with the other half of olive oil and combine with the garlic and parsley.
Garlic & chili butter
Bring some heat to the butter by adding half a teaspoon of finely chopped chili or red pepper flakes to the mixture. It tastes delicious smothered over a steak!
🥗 What to serve with
Garlic butter is perfect for spreading on bread, using a dipping sauce, and freezing into cubes ready to mix with pasta and soups.
Pasta
Garlic butter and pasta are a wicked combination, and this super creamy and cheesy garlic butter pasta is delicious. If you love easy pasta recipes, this one is a must-try for flavor and quickness.
You can even spread the butter mixture on a loaf of French bread to make garlic bread to serve with the pasta, which pairs wonderfully.
Cauliflower
If you're looking for something low on carbs and high on flavor, these cauliflower recipes are perfect for keto-dieters and turn everyday side dishes like mashed potatoes and cauliflower rice into heavenly cauliflower goodness with butter & garlic.
Beef
There's nothing quite like a perfectly cooked steak or a bottom round roast with a cube of garlic butter. It is mouth-watering and one of the best ways to use this creamy, garlicky butter.
🙋 Frequently Asked Questions
What do you use garlic butter for?
You can use it to make sauces, spread on toast, mix with pasta or fried vegetables, and any recipe that uses butter and needs enhancing with garlic.
What herbs can you use with garlic butter?
Fresh parsley is the best herb to use with garlic and butter because of its mild flavor and versatility.
If you don't have any fresh parsley on hand, you could use rosemary, oregano, or thyme.
🧊 Storage
Garlic butter is excellent for cooking and storing in the fridge or freezer for weeks and months.
Fridge - You can store the butter in the same bowl you mixed it in covered with plastic wrap or transfer it to an airtight container and place it in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
Freezer - Transfer the homemade garlic butter to an ice cube tray and freeze them for up to 6 months.
👪 Serving Size
This homemade garlic butter recipe will give 8-10 servings, depending on how much you use. I always double the quantity and freeze the butter in ice cube trays in my recipes.
📋 Recipe
Garlic Butter
Ingredients
- 90 gr butter - salted
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ cup parsley - chopped
Instructions
- Finely chop the fresh parsley leaves and pressed garlic cloves.
- Combine the finely chopped ingredients with the softened butter in a bowl with a spoon until smooth and creamy.
- Spread it on hot bread and enjoy.
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