Homemade Garlic Herb Butter

Homemade Garlic Herb Butter is the best rich and flavorful topping for steak or prime rib! This quick and easy recipe is as simple as combining quality butter with minced garlic and fresh herbs. Keep the compound butter in the refrigerator or freezer to always have on hand for spreading on bread, veggies, pasta, chicken, or shrimp.

Best Garlic Herb Butter Recipe

After learning the best way to cook filet mignon in the oven, I knew it was not complete until I had the perfect garlic herb butter to complement it.

And much like the steak recipe, I was surprised to discover how easy it is to make your own at home. You will only need a few simple-to-find ingredients and less than 10 minutes!

Also, since it freezes and refrigerates wonderfully, you will be able to use a tablespoon or two when you want to add a bit of garlicky goodness to your next steak, shrimp, or vegetable dish!

No need to pull out a garlic press or finely chop a bunch of herbs for added flavor. Nope, you’ll already have your restaurant-quality compound butter ready to rock and roll!

Ingredients

• Butter. Choose a quality stick of butter you love the flavor of. Kerrygold or Plugra are excellent options. Earth Balance sticks are great for a dairy-free or vegan compound butter. Salted is recommended; however, if you are watching your sodium intake or prefer a little more control over the level of salt in your foods, you might want to opt for an unsalted butter. Softened butter is key to this herbed butter, so plan ahead.
• Garlic. Fresh finely minced cloves of garlic give an amazing flavor. Learn how to mince fresh garlic for the best results. You can also try roasting the garlic cloves, if you’d prefer! Garlic powder or garlic salt will not give you the same flavor.
• Herbs. A combination of fresh parsley, fresh rosemary, and fresh thyme are used in this recipe. Mix things up and try oregano, dill with lemon zest, basil, or cilantro and lime zest. Fresh is better than dried herbs, but adjust the amounts if you go that way. Or, give it an extra flavor kick with red pepper flakes! You can also use a blend, like Italian seasoning.

How to Make Garlic Butter

Please see the recipe card below for more detailed ingredient amounts.

1. Cream the Butter

Make sure the butter has reached room temperature. The softer texture is ideal for mixing. Microwave it for 20-30 seconds if it isn’t to your desired consistency. However, do be careful that the butter does not completely melt!

Place the butter in a medium-sized bowl. Use a fork to mash the butter into a creamy consistency.

2. Mix in Garlic and Herbs

Add the garlic and herbs and stir until everything is well incorporated.

At this point you can use it immediately, or shape it into a log.

3. Roll into a Log

Place the mixed butter at the end of a 12-inch long sheet of wax paper. A piece of plastic wrap is much harder to work with.

Form the butter into a log approximately 6- to 8-inches long.

Fold the wax paper over the log and begin to roll it, keeping the cylinder shape as you go.

Twist the ends of the wax paper so the cylinder is sealed tightly.

4. Chill in Fridge

For the log of butter to hold its shape, it must be refrigerated for at least 2 hours. You can also pop it in the freezer and speed this part up to 30-45 minutes.

How to Use Garlic Butter

As mentioned previously, this garlic herb butter was made to top a steak but has SO much potential to bring tons of flavor to many delicious dishes. A few ways you can use up your herb butter include:

• Bread – Slather some garlic spread on to turn a loaf of bread or dinner rolls into the best garlic bread you’ve ever had! Homemade garlic bread is a game changer. Melted and brushed, this homemade garlic butter sauce is a great way to add garlicky flavor to a pizza crust. It can be a great dipping sauce for French bread, too.
• Pasta – Add a touch of lemon zest and juice to make an incredibly easy pasta sauce. It’s also delicious on gnocchi.
• Vegetables – The majority of this recipe was used for making air fryer broccoli and roasted asparagus, but would also be amazing on boiled corn along with some Parmesan cheese or on an air fryer baked potato.
• Meat – Melt it over the top of prime rib, shrimp, and chicken.

FAQs

Recipes to Use Garlic Butter

Use this delicious garlic butter to add amazing flavor to the following recipes.

Top a juicy steak, like Filet Mignon or Air Fryer Steak. Or pile it on Bacon Wrapped Scallops.

Add it to a side, like Bacon Wrapped Asparagus, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, or Loaded Hasselback Potatoes.

It’s also delicious in Pasta Primavera with Lemon Garlic Butter.