Easy Homemade Herb Butter (Compound Butter)

Fresh herbs are one of the first things I harvest from my garden in the Spring. And I love using them to make this easy homemade herb butter (compound butter). It’s seriously restaurant quality! And just the most delicious herby butter you’ve ever tasted. You can customize the herb combinations to create new delicious compound herb butter recipes. I think you’ll love this one!

I dreamed up this herb butter recipe last Spring.

I had just fallen in love with the art of sourdough (if you know, you know) and wanted to level it up with a delicious butter. Enter this homemade herb butter recipe.

What I think really sets my compound herb butter recipe apart from the others on the internet is that the herbs are first soaked in olive oil. This really infuses the flavours and brings out the taste of the herbs.

I love making a whole batch of my homemade herb butter and freezing it so I can use it all Winter long. It’s such a nice treat when the weather has turned and there’s no more fresh herbs to harvest outdoors.

I hope you’ll try it! Please do leave a comment below if you do.

What Garden Herbs Are Best For Homemade Herb Butter (Compound Butter)

I don’t discriminate when it comes to choosing herbs to add to homemade compound butter!

There’s so many great ways you can go!

Here’s a few ideas for compound butter herb combinations:

• Chives and flaky sea salt (as pictured in this recipe)
• Basil, lemon and garlic
• Lemon balm and sautéed onions
• Oregano, garlic and red pepper chilli flakes
• Thyme, lemon and honey
• Dill and lemon
• Tomato paste, oregano and sun-dried tomatoes

If you’re inspired to grow your own herbs for this recipe, check out my blog post 10 Of The Easiest Herbs To Grow From Seed For Beginners.

What’s Compound Herb Butter?

I was so confused when I started writing this recipe and saw all the other content out there calling it ‘compound butter.’ I’ve always just called this recipe my “herb butter.”

But alas, we must oblige to what the internet is searching for.

Compound herb butter is simply butter that has been softened and mixed with other ingredients. Compound is a French term also referred to as “beurre composé.”

So to keep it simple, compound butter is herb butter! Call it what you will!

What Tools Do You Need To Make Herb Butter?

You do need need a handful of kitchen tools to successfully make my easy homemade herb butter recipe.

• A stand mixer — We love our Kitchenaid! We’ve had it for over +15 years and it still seems brand new.
• A food processor or high speed blender — I just use my Vitamix for this recipe and it works well though you do need to ensure you have enough oil to cover the blade.
• A whisk
• Butter molds — here’s a link to my square molds (as pictured above) but I love the look of a stick butter mold too, linked here! Whichever you choose make sure they’re silicone so they don’t stick.

What Ingredients Do You Need To Make Herb Butter?

You don’t need a ton of ingredients to make my easy homemade garden herb butter! Which I love.

A simple, easy recipe? With garden harvest? That’s really what I’m all about.

Here’s a list of 3 ingredients you’ll need to make compound herb butter:

• Salted butter — I like the Gay Lea brand here in Canada but you could also choose a vegan option. I’d recommend staying away from margarine as it likely won’t hold its shape in the mold.
• Extra virgin olive oil — any high quality olive oil will do, such as this cold-pressed one by Terra Delyssa
• Fresh herbs — of you’re choosing! There’s no right or wrong answer here.

And that’s it!

Now here’s a list of all the other “optional” ingredients you could include in your compound herb butter recipe:

• Lemon zest or juice
• Grated garlic
• Sautéed onion
• Flaky salt — we love using Maldon salt!
• Red pepper chilli flakes
• Fresh, chopped hot peppers
• Honey (hot or regular)
• Finely chopped nuts
• Edible flowers
• Fresh cracked black pepper

What Type Of Butter Should I Use For Compound Herb Butter?

I personally find compound butter tastes best when you use a salted butter as opposed to unsalted. Though it does come down to your preferences.

So choose salted or unsalted butter based on what you like best as well as what you plan to serve your herb butter with.

Easy Homemade Herb Butter Recipe (Compound Butter)

I hope you love this recipe!

Please do leave a comment below if you make it.

And be sure to check out my other Spring recipes.

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