This homemade Garlic Butter is a 10-minute, 4-ingredient recipe that can be used in so many different ways! It’s the best way to infuse flavor into meat, pasta, veggies, bread, you name it!
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Have you ever seared meat, made pasta, roasted veggies, or made a sandwich and just felt like it was missing something? Yeah, it probably needed garlic butter.
Trust me. This garlic butter will very quickly become a refrigerator staple. It is the best way to make any meal taste like it was made by a professional chef. It’s a simple 10-minute recipe that can take meat, pasta, veggies, one of Mom’s Homemade Buns or these Homemade Breadsticks from good to amazing.
P.S. Want to take your Slow Cooker Chicken Breast to the next level? Swap the butter for a couple scoops of this deliciousness.
Garlic butter ingredients:
This recipe is made up of ingredients you probably already have on hand!
- Butter: I recommend using salted butter. If all you have is unsalted butter, you can add salt to taste yourself!
- Garlic: I like to use fresh garlic, very finely chopped or pureed, for a more intense flavor, but if you prefer a more subtle garlic flavor, feel free to use garlic powder instead. You can also use this Roasted Garlic!
- Parsley: use finely chopped fresh parsley so it incorporates well into the garlic butter. If all you have is dried parsley, that will work as well.
- Parmesan Cheese: this is optional but adds a delicious cheesy saltiness.
How to make garlic butter
This easy recipe takes just 10 minutes to whip up!
- Combine all ingredients: In a medium bowl, add butter, garlic, parsley, and parmesan.
- Beat until smooth: Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy.
Tips and tricks
- Bring the butter to room temperature. The softer butter incorporates more easily with the other ingredients so you don’t end up with any chunks.
- Use fresh ingredients. I think that fresh garlic and parsley bring the best flavor, so if you have those on hand use them! If all you have are garlic powder and dried parsley, those will work as well.
- Dice and chop small. Be sure you dice or mince your garlic and chop your parsley pretty small in size. Garlic butter is delicious with a little bit of texture but you don’t want chunks.
- If you want completely smooth garlic butter with no texture from the garlic, feel free to throw everything into the food processor instead.
How healthy is garlic butter?
Garlic butter is really no less healthy than regular butter! The only additional ingredients are garlic, parsley, and optional cheese.
You could even argue that it is healthier because of the garlic, which is said to lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, boost immune function, and contain numerous nutrients, vitamins, and antioxidants.
However, some things are worth enjoying just because they’re delicious 😉
How to use garlic butter
Pretty much anything you can make using regular butter, you can make with garlic butter. Here are some ideas:
- On meat. Use it to cook steak, chicken, pork tenderloin, or salmon.
- Over pasta. Melt it into plain noodles or mix it into pesto pasta, Italian chicken pasta, or even spaghetti with meat sauce to kick the flavor up a notch.
- With veggies. Melt and drizzle it over roasted potatoes and carrots, steamed or roasted broccoli, Brussels sprouts, sautéed mixed veggies, you name it.
- On baked potatoes. Slice it and serve a slab of it on instant pot baked potatoes or air fryer baked potatoes.
- Over rice. Stir it into any cooked rice (brown rice, white rice, wild rice, etc.) to add a little bit of flavor.
- On sandwiches. Spread it on a grilled cheese sandwich or an Italian chicken sandwich.
- Over popcorn. Yep. Seriously. Melt it and drizzle it over popcorn for a buttery, savory snack.
- On bread. Slather it on crusty toasted bread for a makeshift garlic bread, serve it next to warm homemade dinner rolls, or use it in my homemade breadsticks recipe!
How to store
This homemade garlic butter will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months. When you’re ready to use, thaw it in the fridge if frozen, serve it from the fridge, or bring it to room temperature so it’s spreadable.
Garlic Butter
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter, room temperature (you can use unsalted and add salt)
- 3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped or pureed (about 1 ½ teaspoons fresh or ½ teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add butter, garlic, parsley and cheese.
- Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined and creamy. Taste and adjust to your preferences as desired.
- OPTIONAL: you can add the butter and garlic cloves to a food processor, and process until smooth for no garlic chunks. Then stir in parsley and Parmesan.
Notes
- Bring the butter to room temperature. The softer butter incorporates more easily with the other ingredients so you don’t end up with any chunks.
- Use fresh ingredients. I think that fresh garlic and parsley bring the best flavor, so if you have those on hand use them! If all you have are garlic powder and dried parsley, those will work as well.
- Dice and chop small. Be sure you dice or mince your garlic and chop your parsley pretty small in size. Garlic butter is delicious with a little bit of texture but you don’t want chunks.
- If you want completely smooth garlic butter with no texture from the garlic, feel free to throw everything into the food processor instead.
Nutrition Information
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Russell Smith says
I just found the website and haven’t tried the recipe yet. I have to comment on the print routine’s ability to delete parts of printout. If I can fit a recipe on fewer pages, I will do that. Your website is the only recipe site that lets me select what I want on the printout. Thank you!
The Recipe Rebel says
You’re welcome Russell! ENJOY!