Capture basil's bright, herbaceous flavor in this easy, creamy basil butter made in 10 minutes with just 4 ingredients! Great for melting over grilled veggies, fish, meats, or biscuits, or for serving on a vibrant summer cheese board.
This herbaceous basil butter is an easy way to preserve summer flavor, especially when you find yourself with extra basil on hand! I love having it stashed in the fridge to spread on crackers for a quick snack.
My friend Linnea told me that in Scandinavia they call it "tooth butter" when you spread butter so thickly on a snack that it leaves tooth marks when you bite into it.
If you're anything like me, you'll want to pile everything high with tooth butter once you've made a batch of this verdant basil butter!
And if you've got other herbs to use in addition to basil, try my shallot herb compound butter made with parsley, dill, tarragon, and/or chives.
Ingredients
This compound butter recipe comes together with just 2 main ingredients:
- butter
- fresh basil
- lemon zest
- salt
How to Make Basil Butter
Method
Much like my favorite basil pesto recipe, I found that blanching and shocking the basil before incorporating it into the butter serves two key purposes:
- It keeps the color bright green
- It makes the flavor pop
When I tried this recipe with raw basil, it turned dark quickly and the flavor tasted more muddy. It's absolutely worth the extra effort to blanch and shock!
Here's how to make this delicious basil butter:
- Start by bringing a small pot of water to a boil, and prepare an ice water bath in another medium bowl.
- Add the basil to the boiling water and cook until it's bright green, then plunge it into the ice water to stop the cooking.
- Once you've squeezed out as much water as possible, chop the basil finely.
- Then add it to the softened butter along with a bit of lemon zest and salt to make the flavors pop.
- Devour!
What to serve with Basil Butter
This basil butter can swing sweet or savory.
Try it:
- Melted over steamed corn or potatoes, or grilled or roasted summer vegetables such as zucchini or asparagus
- As part of a vibrant summer cheese board
- Spread on toast with peaches and honey
- Cooked into scrambled eggs
- Slathered on gluten-free almond flour biscuits
- Tossed with pasta or gnocchi
- Served with sourdough focaccia
- Swirled into polenta
How to Store
This basil butter keeps beautifully in the fridge for several weeks. I threw it in a lidded container but you could also shape it into a log and wrap it in parchment paper if you'd like to cut pretty rounds of butter.
You could also freeze it in ice cube trays, then pop them out and store them in a freezer bag. Or scoop the butter using a small spring-loaded ice cream scoop and place the scoops on a small baking pan lined with parchment paper, then freeze until solid and transfer to a lidded container for longer storage.
Either way, you'll have instant basil love all year round.
Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or Pinterest, purchase my award-winning gluten-free baking cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this basil butter recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.
10-Minute Homemade Basil Butter
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
- a few scrapes of lemon zest
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- First, blanch and shock the basil. This will keep the basil butter bright green and full of fresh flavor. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Make an ice water bath in a medium bowl.
- Add the basil leaves to the boiling water and cook until bright green and wilted, 20-30 seconds. Drain well and immediately plunge into the ice water bath to stop the cooking.
- When the basil is cold, drain it well and squeeze it with your hands to remove as much liquid as possible. Chop the basil finely.
- Place the softened butter in a medium bowl with the lemon zest and salt. Add the chopped basil and stir it into the butter. If you like, beat the soft butter with a spatula or electric beaters to lighten it. Alternatively, place everything in the bowl of a small blender or food processor and pulse until lightly aerated, being careful not to melt the butter.
- Swirl the butter into a serving bowl or storage container. Use right away or refrigerate until cold, 1 hour and up to several weeks. Or freeze for longer storage.
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