Three Simple Methods for Making Butter at Home!
Making rich, creamy butter at home is so much easier than you think! Once you know how to make butter, you’ll find yourself making it every week and flavoring it in a hundred different ways.

If you’ve been around for a while, you know how much I love being able to make things at home.
Whether it’s having a buttermilk substitute recipe up my sleeve or knowing how to make an amazing pumpkin pie spice, I like knowing how to make some key baking basics in my own kitchen.
You might think that making butter is just for your ancestors, but I can assure you that it’s not. Homemade butter has an incredible flavor and it’s unbelievably easy!
Whether you’re making it to impress dinner guests, turning it into a delicious compound butter, or simply looking for a way to use up excess heavy cream, knowing how to make butter is a skill worth keeping in mind.
There are three simple methods to make your own butter using tools you likely already have on hand, so let’s explore them!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Before we dig into the three methods for making butter, let’s talk about what you’ll need. The only required ingredient for homemade butter is heavy cream. That’s it!
If you wish to salt your butter, you’ll need anywhere from ¼ teaspoon to ½ teaspoon of salt per 16 ounces (2 cups/1 pint) of cream, but this is optional. More flavoring options will be discussed shortly.
Method 1: Making Butter in a Stand Mixer
The first method we’ll discuss is using your stand mixer. We can utilize our stand mixer to whip cream, so we can certainly use it to make butter, too. We just have to whip the cream a little longer!
How to do it
Start by pouring the cream into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the cream on medium speed for about 1 minute.
As the cream begins to thicken, increase the mixer speed to medium-high. After about 5 minutes of mixing, the cream will start to separate. Keep going until the butter and buttermilk (the liquid) have fully separated.
Since the buttermilk can splash out of the bowl in the last couple of minutes, drape a clean tea towel over the mixer to keep things tidy.
Once the butter solids and buttermilk have separated, strain off the buttermilk using a fine-mesh sieve. (Feel free to save this for another recipe!)
Next, we need to “wash” the butter. This is done by placing the butter in a clean bowl and covering it with cold water. Use your hands or a spatula to knead the butter—the water will become cloudy as any excess buttermilk is pressed out. Pour off the cloudy water and repeat this process until the water remains clear.
Now you can add salt if desired, and voila! Homemade butter!
Method 2: Making Butter with a Hand Mixer
Don’t have a stand mixer? No worries! You can also use your hand mixer with a large mixing bowl instead.
How to do it
Add the cream to a large mixing bowl. Beat the cream with your electric hand mixer on medium-high speed until the mixture starts to separate, which should take about 10 minutes.
As with the stand mixer method, you’ll want to continue beating until the butter and buttermilk have fully separated. Be prepared for some mess; draping a clean tea towel over the top of your hands and around the edges of the bowl can help minimize splattering.
Again, after separating, strain off the buttermilk and wash the butter just as described in the previous method. Once rinsed, add salt or your preferred flavorings, and enjoy!
Method 3: Making Butter in a Food Processor
What if you don’t have a stand mixer or a hand mixer? No problem! Your food processor will do the trick. This might actually be my favorite method because it’s the quickest and least messy since the lid keeps the buttermilk contained.
How to do it
Pour the cream into the bowl of your food processor. Run the food processor on high speed until the butter and buttermilk separate, which typically takes about 5 minutes.
After separating, strain off the buttermilk and wash the butter with cold water until the water runs clear. Add salt if desired, and you have delicious homemade butter!
Flavoring Ideas and Options
Now that you know how to make butter, you may wonder what you can do with it! The options are endless! You can leave it unsalted and use it in any of your favorite baking recipes or add some salt and slather it on top of a slice of bread. But don’t stop there; you can flavor your butter in numerous ways:
- Roasted garlic is fantastic mixed into fresh butter—delicious on rolls or steak.
- Fresh herbs like chives, rosemary, thyme, parsley, or tarragon can create delightful flavor combinations when finely chopped and mixed into butter.
- Add some citrus zest, such as lemon, for a refreshing twist!
- For a sweeter option, mix in powdered sugar and maraschino cherries for a delightful cherry butter for dinner rolls.
- And don’t miss out on trying a copycat of Texas Roadhouse’s cinnamon honey butter!
These ideas are just the beginning!
Storage and Freezing
Store your homemade butter wrapped in waxed paper or in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. If you have a butter bell, you can store salted butter at room temperature, making it readily available for spreading.
You can also freeze it for several months; just wrap it well and label it with the date you made it!
FAQs
Do I have to “wash” the butter?
Washing the butter by rinsing it in cold water to remove excess buttermilk is not strictly necessary, but doing so helps extend its shelf life. If you prefer to skip this step, you can simply press the butter with a spatula in a fine mesh sieve to eliminate some buttermilk.
Can I use the buttermilk that is leftover?
You can either discard the buttermilk left from making your butter or find uses for it. This buttermilk differs from what you buy in the store as it resembles skim milk with a slight tang. You can replace regular milk with it in baking recipes. Consider making homemade cultured buttermilk for recipes that require acidity.