Brown butter is magical and tastes toasted and nutty. Use it in both sweet and savory dishes. Jump to the Brown Butter Recipe or read on to see our tips for making it.
Browned butter is easy to make, too. All you need is 5 minutes.
What is brown butter?
Brown butter is regular butter that has been cooked just long enough to toast the milk solids found in the butter. All you’re doing is cooking the butter just a tiny bit past the melting point. By doing this, you create this magical nutty flavor that you just don’t get with regular melted butter.
We love using browned butter in our kitchen. Within five minutes, you can add a nutty, buttery flavor to any dish. We’ve used brown butter in our Brown Butter Pasta With Walnuts and Brown Butter Kale Pasta. It is also excellent added to muffins and even brownies!
How to Make It in 5 Minutes
- Grab a wide heavy-bottomed pan and place it over medium-low heat.
- Add the butter. As it melts, continuously swirl the butter around the pan. The butter will go from brown to burnt quickly, so stay close.
- Keep swirling the butter over the heat until it is light brown in color and smells nutty. Take it off the heat and use it in any of your favorite recipes that call for melted butter.
TIP: For herb-flavored brown butter, add a handful of fresh sage leaves, rosemary sprigs or fresh thyme to the pan while you make the brown butter.
Recipe updated, originally posted April 2012. Since posting this in 2012, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne
How to Make Brown Butter Perfectly Every Time
- COOK
- TOTAL
Brown butter is easy to make and can be used in both sweet and savory dishes. The hot brown butter can be used immediately in savory dishes like pasta or chicken. For sweet recipes, let it cool then use it in place of regular melted butter.
You Will Need
16 tablespoons butter (2 sticks)
Directions
1Add butter to a wide heavy-bottomed pan over medium-low heat. As the butter melts, continuously swirl the butter around the pan. The butter will go from brown to burnt quickly, so stay close to the pan when you do this. Continue swirling the butter over the heat until it is light brown in color. Once light brown and smells nutty, remove from the heat.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
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Brown butter with Mizithra cheese over spaghetti or whatever your favorite pasta is!! DELICIOUS!!!
can’t wait to make it.
Yes, I made it but I’m wondering if I can freeze what I’m not using at this time? Thank you so much!
Yes you can freeze it
Love this explanation on what exactly brown butter is!
I will try to make heard from a friend it is great with roasted cauliflower, gotta try it.