Rosemary butter is an excellent way to add a delicious flavor to many different dishes. It’s especially great with steak, potatoes, and roasted veggies. It’s surprisingly easy to make, and you can make it with or without garlic.
How to make rosemary butter
Rosemary butter is a delicious way to use up homegrown, fresh rosemary at the end of summer.
One of the great things about rosemary butter is its versatility – it can be used as a spread for toast or sandwiches, as a topping for grilled meats, chicken breast, or vegetables, or simply as a delicious way to add some extra flavor to a dish.
While you can find rosemary butter already made at many stores, it’s also very easy to make at home, and only requires a few ingredients.
Some other compound butters you might like to try are: tarragon butter and lemon dill butter.
Scroll down for the printable card for this rosemary butter recipe, or read on for all the details.
Ingredients
Quantities given in recipe card below.
Unsalted butter
Use regular unsalted butter (note: always use real butter, not margarine). It needs to be room temperature, so remember to get it out of the refrigerator 1-2 hours before making this recipe.
If you don’t have unsalted butter, you can also use salted butter, just omit the additional salt from the recipe.
Fresh rosemary
Freshly picked, washed, and finely chopped. It is best to use new rosemary growth with softer leaves than the older growth with very hard leaves.
>> Related post: How to Harvest Rosemary
Finely ground black pepper
This is optional, and can be added to taste.
Salt
I usually use kosher salt, or other flaked salt as it dissolves so easily in the butter. However, fine sea salt is also a good option.
You want something that will dissolve in the softened butter easily so you don’t end up with crunchy butter.
Optional garlic
Use one clove of garlic, freshly crushed. Rosemary garlic butter is delicious, but you can skip this ingredient if you are not a fan of garlicky butter.
Directions
Step 1: Pick the leaves from the sprig of rosemary, and chop finely. Crush or finely chop the garlic.
Step 2: Cut the butter into 6-8 pieces and place it into a mixing bowl. Mash it with a fork until it softens.
Step 3: Gradually add the rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper to the butter, mashing it thoroughly with a fork to ensure that each addition is well mixed with the butter.
Step 4: Once all the ingredients are added and well mixed, transfer the rosemary butter to an air tight container and store in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Serving
This herb butter is particularly good melting on top of a freshly grilled steak, but here are some other ideas to try:
- Spread garlic rosemary butter on a sliced baguette and melt under a hot broiler/grill to make delicious rosemary garlic bread.
- Use it for cooking any meat or vegetable dish that needs a hit of flavor.
- Add to a hot pan of roasting potatoes for crispy rosemary butter roasted potatoes.
Storage
As with any herbed compound butter, store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.
A convenient way to store it is to roll it into a roll of waxed paper with twists at either end. Then use a sharp knife to slice the butter into coins for serving.
For longer term storage, you can keep this butter in the freezer for up to 6 months. Store in portions in freezer-safe zip lock bags. Remember to label and date them.
Rosemary butter recipe
How to make rosemary compound butter.
Ingredients
- 1 stick/ 4 ounces / 125g unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
Instructions
- Wash and finely chop rosemary leaves. Crush or finely chop the garlic clove.
- Cut the stick of butter into 6 or 8 pieces, and place in a mixing bowl.
- Use a fork to mash the butter until is softened.
- Slowly add the chopped rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. Continue to mash the butter with each addition until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Transfer the butter mixture to a small bowl and cover with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving time.
Notes
Rosemary butter should be stored in the refrigerator, and should last up to a month. For longer storage you can keep in in the freezer for up to 3 months. Use an air-tight freezer-safe container.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
5Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 182Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 426mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
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- How to Store Fresh Rosemary
- How to Harvest Rosemary
- What to do with Rosemary Cuttings?
- Herbs to Substitute for Rosemary
- Drying Rosemary