Use this garlic butter to make garlic bread, melt over steamed vegetables, or make a quick pasta side dish.
There is a fancy French name for this butter recipe, but it is so easy I don’t think we need to complicate it with hard-to-pronounce words. We’ll just call it The Best Garlic Butter.
As a matter of fact, the most difficult part of this recipe is waiting for the butter to come to room temperature. But it is worth it. Whether you are slathering it on French bread for amazing garlic bread or just melting a bit on top of veggies or a baked potato, you will love this garlic butter recipe.
So, why is this garlic butter the best? First, it’s because of the fresh ingredients, for sure. There’s garlic in there, as expected. But also, there’s a bit of shallot or onion. That adds a lot of dimension and some extra heat. The fresh parsley brings in a little brightness.
But more importantly, I think this butter turns out so amazing because it’s made in the food processor. That really whips it all up so the butter is extra creamy. But also, it completely extracts the juices from the other ingredients (the garlic, onions, and parsley) to make the flavor extra intense and very even. Finally, when this butter melts onto something hot, you don’t get little clumps of ingredients anywhere. It all melts in. It’s so seriously good.
Ingredients
I usually start with unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt that goes into my food. But salted butter works, too. Just remember to taste the mixture before you add more salt. You could even fully commit and make your own homemade butter from heavy cream.
I like to use fresh ingredients so my best garlic butter has fresh garlic, shallot or onion, and fresh chopped parsley in it. You’ll want to mince or finely chop the garlic and shallot if you’re mixing it up by hand. My food processor is powerful enough to get everything really fine with minimal chopping beforehand though. If you know yours struggles, go ahead and chop everything first.
You might be wondering about the shallot/onion and the parsley in there. Are they necessary? Yes. I promise that this is a huge part of what makes this recipe so good. Onion and garlic just go together. They complement each other and bring out extra flavors in each other. The parsley, and I mean flat-leaf parsley, not curly parsley, adds freshness and brightness. It’s like, you didn’t realize that onion and parsley were missing from your garlic butter until you tried it and then realized that they should have always been there.
Note: Since I don’t always have all of these things on hand (I don’t always have fresh parsley and I do run out of garlic sometimes), I also have learned how to make it delicious using pantry staples. If you know the amounts to use, you can totally use garlic powder instead of garlic, onion powder instead of onion, and dried parsley instead of fresh.
Conversions For Pantry Staples Instead Of Fresh Ingredients
- I believe the more garlic the better. If you prefer less garlic, you could reduce the number of cloves. Not too much, this is garlic butter after all. To determine how much garlic powder to use in place of fresh garlic, remember that 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder approximately replaces one garlic clove.
- I like the shallot to play a supporting role in this recipe, so I would caution using any more than 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder in its place. For reference, 1 teaspoon of onion powder is equal to a little over 5 tablespoons of onion.
- When dried, parsley reduces to half its fresh volume, so 2 tablespoons of dried parsley will replace 1/4 cup of fresh.
How To Make Garlic Butter
First, gather and prep all your ingredients. Remember, the butter needs to be softened in order to properly combine, so get that out a little in advance.
Chilled butter normally needs 30 minutes or so to soften on the counter. You could soften it in the microwave using the defrost button for 5 seconds at a time. But keep in mind that you don’t want it to actually melt, just soften.
To make garlic butter, simply put all your ingredients in your food processor and process until smooth. I have to say that I used to just chop everything up and mix it by hand. But using the food processor was a game-changer. It whips the butter up really nicely and makes everything really smooth, which means that it doesn’t have little clumps when it melts. But more importantly, it really extracts all of the juices from the garlic and puts them right into the butter. It’s truly is the best garlic butter. And, that’s all it takes for delicious homemade garlic butter!
Ways To Use The Best Garlic Butter
- Garlic Bread. This is definitely one of the best ways to use this garlic butter recipe. You can also make garlic bread in the air fryer.
- Melt a pat of butter over your favorite vegetables.
- Toss pasta with garlic butter and freshly grated Parmesan cheese for a simple crowd-pleaser.
- Add a dollop on top of a perfectly cooked steak for a steakhouse experience at home.
- Mix some into hot mashed potatoes for an instant flavor boost.
- Use on your grilled corn on the cob instead of regular butter.
How Long Does Garlic Butter Last?
In the fridge, this garlic butter will last for two weeks when stored in an air-tight container. If you want to keep it longer than that, it will need to be properly stored in the freezer where it will be good for up to six months.
How To Store Garlic Butter
If you will be freezing for longer term storage, make sure that you leave 1/2 inch of headroom (the space between the butter and the lid) in your freezer container as the butter will expand as it freezes.
Another option is to shape the garlic butter into rolls. This is done by placing 1/2 of the mixture on a piece or wax paper and rolling into a log. Twist the ends to seal and repeat with remaining mixture. Your garlic butter rolls can be placed in the refrigerator until firm and sliced to serve. To freeze, place the rolls into a freezer bag and use within six months.
Simple, versatile, and freezable are three reasons I always have this garlic butter on hand.
Podcast Episode: How To Make The Best Garlic Butter
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this butter, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
The Best Garlic Butter Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Use this garlic butter to make garlic bread, melt over steamed vegetables, or make a quick pasta side dish.
Note: This recipe originally called for 2 tsp. of garlic powder as an alternative to the fresh garlic. We’ve since retested and adjusted the measurements, but are letting you know in case you’ve made it that way before and enjoyed!
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (or 1/2 – 1 tsp. garlic powder)
- 1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley or 2 Tbsp. dried parsley
- 2 Tbsp. minced shallot or onion or 1/4 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Notes
- If freezing, make sure that you leave 1/2 inch of headroom (the space between the butter and the lid) as the butter will expand as it freezes.
- Alternately, you can shape into rolls by placing 1/2 of the mixture on a piece or wax paper and roll into a log, twist the ends to seal. Repeat with remaining mixture, place in the refrigerator until firm and slice to serve. To freeze, place the rolls into a freezer bag.
This post originally appeared in September 2018 and was revised and republished in September 2022.
I hadn’t made garlic butter in the food processor before. You’re right that it made a huge difference. Thanks!
Cheryl, So happy you liked it!
Hi Christine, being a single dad of two beautiful children with Autism, your garlic soup recipe has transformed a bland diet into something new, thank you for introducing a soup that offers a sensory distraction, kind Regards Matt Glaze…..
You’re very welcome, Matt! So glad it worked well for both your kids. (And for readers looking for it, I believe he intended to post on this recipe)
Hi,
If one clove of garlic equals one eighth teaspoon, how does the recommended 4 cloves come to 2 teaspoons and not 4 eighths or one half teaspoon? Please help me. The recipe looks fantastic I’m just lost. Thank you!
Thank you for noticing that, Greg. We’ve adjusted the recipe to recommend using 1/2 tsp – 1 tsp of garlic powder if you’re using that instead of fresh.
Yummy! Saving this recipe to use on garlic bread!
Great, Amanda!
I always have fresh garlic in my kitchen so no garlic substitutions. I’d put it into the rolls to keep since you can just slice off what you need.
I’m a big garlic fan, so I always have fresh too! Enjoy, Sarah!
I love garlic butter
Me too, Francine!
I’ve never tried making garlic butter. It sounds so good.
It really is, Cheryl!
This is great, it got my son to quit using that horrible garlic salt, I always have fresh garlic but he doesn’t want to chop or make anything and this is just wonderful.
Great to hear, Jennifer!
sounds like something to try!
Enjoy, Saundra!
I love having garlic butter on hand in the frig. It adds a little something to sooo many dishes!
I agree, Tina!
Smart idea, definitely would lke to make garlic bread.. it’s divine!
Yummy! Thanks, Calvin!
We love garlic butter at our house, Im making garlic bread with this recipe!
Excellent, Debbie! Enjoy!
This is an awesome recipe! Thank you for making something so wonderful and simple and not too intimidating!!
You’re welcome, Maggie!
This would be perfect to make homemade garlic bread! Thanks for sharing your recipe :)
I agree! Thanks, Andrea.
I make a lot of compound butters and will have to add this to my rotation.
I think you’ll love it, Sandy!
Mmmm… Garlic butter is the best! I’ve never thought to add shallots to mine, sounds like the perfect compliment to add in!
Thanks, Angelica! It’s so good.
I love anything with garlic so this garlic butter would be perfect for bread, veggies, rice… even salmon. Yum
Thanks, Elizabeth!
Thank you so much for giving equivalent measures for dried ingredients! Very helpful.
You’re welcome, glad it helped!
That’s it??? That’s what I found on the internet??? How uninventive!
Why isnt the oven temp mentioned on a lot of the garlic butter receipes?
Jill, Garlic butter doesn’t go in the oven to be made so there is no oven temperature. If you’re looking for garlic bread, which does go in the oven, head over here https://cookthestory.com/how-to-make-the-best-garlic-bread/