Herbed Compound Butter

By Melissa Clark

Updated March 31, 2025

Herbed Compound Butter
Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times
Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
5(496)
Comments
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A compound butter — a stick of butter seasoned with herbs, lemon and garlic or shallots — is one of the most versatile things to keep on hand. You can store it in the freezer, then slice it whenever you want to add herby richness to a dish. Use it on steak, fish, chicken or even mashed or roasted sweet potatoes. And feel free to vary the herbs to suit your taste. For a kick, a pinch or two of chile powder or a drizzle of hot sauce would do the trick. This recipe is part of The New Essentials of French Cooking, a guide to definitive dishes every modern cook should master.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings
  • ½cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1tablespoon minced shallots or 1 garlic clove, grated on a Microplane or minced
  • 1tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or rosemary
  • 1tablespoon minced parsley or chives
  • 1teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • ¼teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼teaspoon fine sea salt, more to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

103 calories; 12 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 0 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 0 grams protein; 39 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a bowl, mash together butter, shallots or garlic, herbs, lemon juice, pepper and salt.

  2. Step 2

    Spoon the butter onto a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap, form into a log and wrap well. Chill for at least 3 hours before using.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
496 user ratings
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Comments

Spencer

Such an easy way to upgrade any dish that uses butter. But it is really just the best on some fresh baguette paired with good friends and nice wine.

Kristine

I love compound butter. Like a lot. Just a word of warning, be sure to freeze this if you’re keeping it long term, as the garlic can slowly release botulinum as it degrades. It can be kept in the fridge for 5 days, after that freeze it up to 6 months.

Mona Lyn Reese

I made a double recipe and packed it into 2 oz logs; perfect for a 2-person family. I used the food processor. It took about 5 minutes, except for the time I had to wait for the butter to get soft enough.

Lexi

This is a great, simple recipe. The garlic from my garden is very potent, so I only used 1 clove even though I doubled the recipe. I used thyme, parsley, and rosemary, and for salt I ground up smoked sea salt. We used small silicone flower molds for individual servings at thanksgiving.

Mom from Massachusetts

I love this on baked fish. I put garlic powder and thyme on the fish. I put Rosemary/Parsley/Shallots in the butter with the lemon, salt and pepper. Excellent!

ACCM

Very good with rosemary. Next time I will reduce black pepper to improve flavor balance.

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