This herb butter is an essential recipe in our house, and today, I have two variations for you! For the colder months, herb butter made with rosemary, sage, and thyme is perfect for comfort food cozy dinners. I make it with bright, fresh herbs like parsley, dill, and basil in the summer to pair with simple dinners off the grill. This herb butter is also perfect for your Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas roast beef.
This recipe is endlessly versatile and makes everything it touches taste better! I use it to roast potatoes and veggies for family dinners or to make my Spatchcock Turkey, (coming soon) for Thanksgiving.
Herb butter is a staple in our house, but I’ve never written down my recipe to share! You’ll find a similar version in my Roast Chicken and Vegetables recipe, but I think you’ll also love my summer variation in the recipe card below as well.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Butter – I like to use salted butter because that is what I always have on hand. But you can also use unsalted butter and add salt to taste.
- Garlic – a bit of freshly minced garlic adds a lot of depth to herb butter, but I do like to keep it more subtle. Feel free to add more to your taste.
- Fresh herbs – for roasts in the winter months, I use rosemary, sage, and thyme. For the summer months, I use basil, cilantro, dill, parsley, and tarragon in different combinations. Refer to the recipe notes for measurements.
- Lemon – a little lemon zest is a nice addition to making poultry and pork. I sometimes leave it out if I intend to use it on roast beef.
- Sea salt & black pepper – salt and pepper to taste is essential to make sure this butter is extra flavorful.
How to make this recipe step by step
Step 1: Start by removing the stems from your herbs of choice. This is especially important when using rosemary sage and thyme because they have tough woody stems.
Step 2: Next, chop the herbs into fine pieces.
Step 3: Add the herbs and softened butter to a bowl, and then zest the lemon if you’re using it.
Step 4: Mince the garlic using a garlic press and add it to the bowl. Mash the herb butter together with the back of a spoon.
From here, you can use the herb butter as desired or refrigerate it for another day.
Ways to serve this
- Use this butter to make roast chicken, roast beef, roast pork, or roast veggies.
- Melt a couple of tablespoons of this herb butter and toss it with sliced or diced veggies on a parchment-lined sheet pan before roasting them at 425 until tender.
- We love the rosemary sage and thyme butter on roasted potatoes, squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes. The summer butter with basil, dill, parsley, etc., is perfect with grilled chicken, fish, pork, beef, veggies, and potatoes.
- This herb butter is perfect for your Thanksgiving turkey or your Christmas beef roast.
FAQ’s
I personally don’t recommend it because herb butter is a lot about the flavor of the butter. Instead, I like to use half the amount of olive oil for a garlic herb oil that can be used in the exact same way as the herb butter.
Yes, this herb butter is the perfect make-ahead recipe. It can be refrigerated for up to 1 week ahead of time or frozen and used when desired. It’s a great thing to have on hand to quickly add flavor to veggies, potatoes, squash, and any roasted or pan-fried meat.
Storing leftovers
- To store – keep this herb butter in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
- Make ahead – this herb butter can be made ahead and stored for up to one week, or frozen.
- To freeze – place this herb butter in an airtight container in the freezer for up to six months. Defrost in the fridge overnight before using.
Tips & Tricks
- For small portions, freeze this herb butter and ice cube trays. When the butter is frozen, pop them out of the ice cube trays and store them in an airtight container. This is the best way to have herb butter on hand to use in all sorts of ways.
- Try your own combinations of herbs with some garlic. I like to keep the garlic more subtle so that the herb flavor shines through, but you can always increase the garlic if desired. It’s better to keep the garlic subtle, especially with herbs like basil, dill, and tarragon.
- Another fun variation for this herb butter is to add a bulb of roasted garlic rather than raw minced garlic.
Dietary Options & Substitutions
- Dairy-free – I don’t recommend substituting dairy-free butter for this recipe. Instead, use half the amount in olive oil. This creates a garlic herb oil that is absolutely delicious on roast meat or vegetables as well as potatoes.
- Paleo – for Paleo substitute ghee.
More Sauces & Spreads Recipe Inspiration
I really hope you enjoy this Herb Butter recipe! If you do get a chance to make it, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Herb Butter
INGREDIENTS
- 8 tbsp salted butter - softened, 1 stick, 113 grams
- 1 tbsp thyme leaves - stems removed
- 1 tbsp rosemary - stems removed & chopped
- 1 tbsp sage - stems removed & chopped
- 1 clove garlic - minced, add more if desired
- 1 tbsp lemon zest - from 1 lemon, optional
- 1/2 tsp each sea salt & pepper - see notes
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add the softened butter, chopped fresh herbs, garlic, optional lemon zest, sea salt and pepper to a medium-sized bowl.
- Mashed the garlic and herbs into the butter with the back of a spoon until completely combined.
- Store the herb butter in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, or freeze up to 6 months.
- Use this herb butter on roasted meats, vegetables, potatoes, holiday turkey, roast chicken, to make garlic bread etc.