Easy Brown Butter

Here’s my method for how to brown butter perfectly every time. It takes 5 minutes, and you can use this brown butter in your favorite baking and savory recipes.

Brown butter is regular butter cooked a bit longer than usual until the milk solids toast and turn brown. You’ll cook the butter just past the melting point.

Browning butter creates a magical toasty flavor you don’t get with regular melted butter. Brown butter (or beurre noisette in France) tastes nutty, toasted, and like toasted hazelnuts.

How to Brown Butter

You will need a heavy-bottomed pan and butter (salted or unsalted butter) to brown butter. Add your butter to the pan over medium-low heat.

As the butter melts, continuously swirl it around the pan. As it melts, the butter will begin to foam, and the color will change from light yellow to golden and finally to brown (it only takes a minute or two)). Browned butter can go from perfect to burnt quickly, so stay close.

Keep swirling the brown butter over the heat until it is light brown and smells nutty. Remove it from the heat and then use it in your favorite recipes calling for melted butter (you can swap regular melted butter for more flavorful brown butter in most cases).

For herb brown butter, add a handful of fresh sage leaves, rosemary sprigs, or fresh thyme to the pan while you make the brown butter.

Storing Brown Butter

Homemade brown butter lasts in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or frozen for up to 3 months. The butter will solidify again, but you can warm it over low heat when needed. To freeze brown butter, pour it into a clean ice cube tray, freeze, and then transfer the frozen cubes to a freezer-safe container or bag.

How to Use Brown Butter

Use brown butter in almost any recipe that calls for melted butter. Toss cooked pasta or noodles with browned butter, as we do for our brown butter pasta with egg and this kale pasta. I also love drizzling vegetables with brown butter before (or after) roasting them. It’s absolutely amazing when used to make mashed potatoes, and it makes the best popcorn!

For sweeter recipes, swap plain melted butter for brown butter in cookies, bars, and even buttercream (yes, you can chill the butter and whip it!). I love using brown butter to make chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, and blondies. It also makes these easy sautéed apples extra delicious, and I love drizzling it over oatmeal.