How to Make Homemade Butter

Elevate your dishes (and slash your grocery bill while you’re at it!) with this simple homemade butter recipe. Honestly, the first time I made butter at home I couldn’t believe how easy it was – and how much better it tasted than anything from the shop. All you need when learning how to make butter is double cream, a hand mixer & about 10 minutes – then slather it straight onto sourdough for my Creamy Mushroom Toast.

Why you’ll love this recipe

If you’ve ever wondered how to make homemade butter, you’re in exactly the right place. And trust me, once you try it, you won’t go back. I started making my own butter a few years ago on a whim, and now it’s just part of how I cook.

• So easy: It only takes one main ingredient and about 10 minutes!! I promise this is one of the simplest things you’ll ever make in your kitchen. This Homemade Avocado Mayo Recipe is up there too!
• Cheap: It’s a great way to reduce your grocery bill, especially when you cook as much as I do! 300 ml of double cream will run you about £1.25 while buying a carton of butter will cost you about £2.50. For one of my favourite budget meals, try these Mango Sticky Noodles.
• Customisable: Another great note about this homemade butter recipe is that you can alter it based on your taste preferences. For example, you can turn this into an unsalted butter or salted butter recipe.
• You get a bonus ingredient: Ever heard of buttermilk? When you make butter at home, you get fresh buttermilk as a by-product – don’t throw it away! I save mine for pancakes, scones, or marinades.

This DIY butter is an excellent addition to breakfast dishes, like Healthy French Toast with Cinnamon, and Mini Pancakes with Biscoff.

Ingredients

• Double cream: I prefer using double cream for homemade butter since it will yield 200g of butter (what you normally find at the store). You can also use heavy cream, heavy whipping cream, or whipping cream to make butter. Note: Depending on the type of dairy you use, you may need to whisk it for longer to create butter.
• Salt: Totally optional, but a few pinches make a difference to the final flavour when making butter recipes. Leave it out if you need unsalted butter for baking or something like this Cowboy Butter. 
• Ice water: A small bowl of cold water with ice cubes  helps firm up the butter and squeeze out the last of the buttermilk.

Variations/Adaptations

• Make it vegan: You can turn this recipe into a dairy-free/vegan butter by swapping the cream with unsweetened, unflavoured non-dairy milk. If you’re creating vegan butter, you’ll also need almond flour, coconut oil, neutral oil, apple cider vinegar, and turmeric (for colour).
• Make it salted or unsalted: This is the beauty of DIY butter – you’re in control. Knead in a pinch of flaky sea salt for salted butter, or leave it plain for unsalted, which is better for precise baking recipes like these Chocolate Protein Muffins.
• Compound butter: Once your homemade butter is made, you can knead in anything you like, like fresh herbs, roasted garlic, lemon zest, chilli flakes. I love doing this for dinner parties – it looks impressive & takes about two minutes. This Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip is another go-to.

How to make butter

1. Start by placing your cream into a tall, narrow jug/bowl/container. Wide enough so that your hand blender can still fit though of course! Whisk the cream for 7-8 minutes, you have to be patient here as it takes a while for the butter to separate from the buttermilk, but it will happen!
   
   There will be a noticeable moment where the butter clumps around your blender and the separated liquid is the consistency of milk. Now it’s time to stop blending and pour the contents of the jug through a fine-mesh sieve. Make sure you place a bowl underneath to catch the buttermilk to use separately (Image 1).
2. Place the butter into an ice bath (bowl with water and ice cubes) (Image 2).

3. Use your hands to squeeze the butter and form into a ball. This will separate the last of the buttermilk in butter (Image 3).

4. Add to a sealable container and spread to form the base. Add an optional extra sprinkle on top and store in the fridge (Image 4).

Optional – season your homemade butter with salt by adding a few pinches of salt and then kneading it gently into the butter.  Serve with a fresh loaf of bread and enjoy!

For homemade seasonings, check out The Best Collard Greens Seasoning, Homemade Nando’s Seasoning (Easy Peri-Peri Spice Mix), and The Ultimate Pork Chop Seasoning.

What Equipment Do You Need to Make Butter at Home?

I usually reach for my hand mixer as it’s what I have on the counter, it’s quick, and it does the job perfectly for a small batch. But over the years I’ve tried a few different methods, and here’s the honest truth about each one.

A stand mixer is great if you’re making a larger batch of homemade butter and don’t want to hold anything – just set it and keep an eye on it. A food processor is actually the fastest method of all – the blades get through the cream in under 5 minutes, which is handy when you’re short on time. A blender can work too, but use short pulses and don’t walk away from it. And yes, you can make butter by shaking cream in a sealed mason jar – it works, it’s fun to do with kids, but your arms will ache. A lot. Stick to the mixer.

The one thing that matters more than which gadget you use is that your cream is cold. Room temperature cream takes much longer to separate and the results aren’t as good. Go straight from the fridge every time.

What cream do I need to buy to make homemade butter?

I prefer using double cream for homemade butter since it yields the same amount as in one carton from the grocery store. In the UK, double cream is the easiest to find and gives you a lovely creamy result. If you’re in the US, heavy cream or heavy whipping cream works just as well – you can look for one with at least 36% fat content. The higher the fat, the better and faster the butter comes together.

Serving Suggestions

Fresh homemade butter is obviously great slathered on warm bread straight from the oven, and that alone is worth making it for. But I use mine in everything. It makes the best garlic butter for spreading over chicken or tossing with veggies, and it takes baked goods to a completely different level when you know exactly what’s gone into it.

Try it with:

• Chocolate Tiffin
• Chocolate Chip Microwave Cookies
• Simple & Easy Brownies
• Garlic Butter Chicken
• Parmesan Tenderstem Broccoli with Garlic Butter
• Simple Fluffy American Pancakes

Leftover Storage and Reheat Instructions

Refrigerator: Store your homemade butter in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. Make sure you’ve squeezed out as much buttermilk as possible first as any leftover liquid will shorten how long it keeps.

Freezer: Homemade butter freezes really well for up to 3 months. I like to roll mine into a log using cling film, then I can just slice off what I need straight from frozen.

Reheat: No need to reheat, just move it to the fridge the night before you need it and let it thaw slowly. For baking, you can grate it straight from frozen if a recipe calls for cold butter.

Recipe FAQs

If you like making your own sauces & dipping sauces, try My Secret Peppercorn Sauce for Steak, Easy Gyoza Dipping Sauce {In Just 5 Minutes!}, Low Sugar BBQ Sauce Recipe, and Best Miso Dressing Recipe.