How to Brown Butter

Once you’ve tried brown butter, there’s no turning back – it will be your new best friend in the kitchen! Rich and velvety, browned butter can transform any dish from ordinary to extraordinary by adding a new dimension of mouth-watering flavor. Once you know how to brown butter, you’ll crave its nutty, buttery goodness on everything from pancakes to pasta!

Learning how to make brown butter will seriously up your cooking game – and it’s surprisingly easy, too. Before you know it, you’ll want to whip up a delicious brown butter sauce and add it to everything you make.

This is why browning butter is such a well-loved process in many home kitchens (and professional restaurants!) – you can replace regular butter with brown butter and easily give your favorite dishes added depth!

Also known as buerre noisette (French for ‘hazelnut butter’) due to its beautiful golden-brown color and nutty aroma, brown butter is versatile and delicious. Browned butter works well in both sweet and savory dishes, and its unique flavor will add an element of indulgence to any recipe.

What is Brown Butter?

So it’s clear that I love brown butter, but what exactly is it? Well, browning butter is simply the process of cooking butter just past the boiling point and allowing the milk solids to caramelize. Doing this creates a nutty, sweet, and slightly toasted flavor. Brown butter can be used in various recipes, including brown butter sauces and brown butter cookies – be sure to check out my list of ideas below!

Why You’ll Love Browned Butter

• Ready in under 10 minutes. Brown butter adds a fantastic aroma to any dish. All it takes is a few minutes of cooking the butter, and you’ll soon be enjoying that nutty deliciousness.
• So versatile. Browned butter is incredibly useful and can be used in many recipes. From breakfast to dessert, brown butter will take your meals to the next level.
• A new flavor to try! Browning butter allows you to introduce your family and friends to a totally new flavor profile. Your loved ones won’t be able to resist its toasted, buttery aroma and taste!

Learning How to Brown Butter

Before I explain exactly how to make brown butter, it helps to understand the process of browning butter. Creating browned butter is incredibly simple, but it can quickly go wrong if you don’t pay attention to the process. 

Butter is made up of around 18% water, 80% butterfat, and 2% milk solids. When you brown butter, some of this water evaporates, leaving the butter fat and milk solids behind. The milk solids start to turn brown, creating browned butter. As this happens, you’ll also notice a nutty aroma which will help you to know when the butter is ready. 

Here is an overview of the browning butter process:

1. The butter melts in the pan and starts to bubble. (If you wanted to make a brown butter sauce, you would add the herbs and seasoning at this point.)
2. The butter fat and milk solids will start separating.
3. The melted butter will begin foaming as the water evaporates, do not leave the browning butter – brown butter can burn very quickly! Continuously stir the butter with a wide rubber spatula to ensure the milk solids don’t stick and burn.
4. Once it reaches a medium golden color and smells nutty, it is done!
5. Immediately transfer to a heatproof bowl to stop the cooking process.

Now that you know what brown butter is and the process of how to make it, all that’s left is to learn how to make brown butter!

Ingredients For Brown Butter

• Butter

For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.

How to Make Brown Butter

1. In a medium skillet, melt the butter on medium heat, stirring occasionally.
2. The butter will melt, simmer and then start to foam. Once the butter starts to become foamy, it is beginning to brown. DO NOT LEAVE IT!
3. Check how brown it is by running a wide rubber spatula through the mixture.
4. Once it is medium golden and has a nutty aroma, immediately transfer it into a heat-proof bowl.
5. Place the browned butter in the refrigerator to cool until you’re ready to use it.

5 Tips for Making Browned Butter

Here are my tips and tricks to help ensure you get the perfect brown butter every time:

1. Use a light-colored pan: If possible, try to use a light-colored pan such as ceramic, aluminum, or stainless steel. This makes it easier to monitor the color changes and prevents the butter from burning.
2. Do not leave the pan: When you are browning butter, it is essential that you stick around and watch as it turns golden. The process goes quickly, and if you leave the pan unattended, it can burn very easily.
3. Use a wide rubber spatula: I highly recommend using a wide rubber spatula when browning butter. This will help you to thoroughly mix the butter, clear away the foam (so you can see the changing color), and prevent it from sticking and burning.
4. Focus on the smell: When you are browning butter, focus on the scent. You should notice a nutty aroma when it is done.
5. Take it off the heat: Once the butter is ready, it is essential to transfer the brown butter to a heatproof bowl or container. This will stop the cooking process and prevent your browned butter from browning further.

How to Use Brown Butter

Once you have made your brown butter, you can add it to any recipe your heart desires! For some inspiration, here are some ideas for using browned butter:

• Drizzle over my whole wheat pancakes or waffles
• Stir through cooked pasta
• Add a spoonful to steakhouse mashed potatoes
• Spread on toast for a unique flavor
• Use it to make brown butter cookies – like my chocolate chip brown butter cookies or brown butter snickerdoodles!
• Make a brown butter sauce for my herb-crusted chicken
• Replace normal butter in any baking recipe for an extra flavor boost

Brown butter is a fantastic way to add a nice complexity to your dishes, so why not give it a try today?

Browned Butter Recipes

If you’re looking for more delicious browned butter recipes, check out this list. It’s full of main dishes, side dishes, and desserts.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter Sage Sauce is a delicious, easy recipe with only 5 simple ingredients.

These Sour Cream Cookies are a delicious soft cookie topped with a brown butter frosting. A very simple cookie with tons of flavor.

Take your basic banana cake to the next level with this easy to make recipe for Brown Butter Banana Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting. Made in a baking pan, you are going to actually look forward to overripe bananas.

This simple one-pan brown butter sweet potato casserole dish is creamy and enveloped in warm spices. It’s not only easy to make, but it is also budget-friendly—the right addition to all the festive holiday dinners.

It’s time to take your side dish game to a whole new level with Brown Butter and Hazelnut Green Beans. Al dente green beans in chorus with the crunch of the toasted hazelnuts create an incredibly simple yet satisfying side dish.

You’ll love how the creamy flecks of goat cheese add a final touch of acid and tang to the dish too—you can bet folks will be fighting for any leftovers.

This pumpkin pecan bundt cake with brown butter maple glaze is bursting with warm fall spices. It’s a great bake ahead dessert or breakfast year-round.

Crispy roasted Brussels Sprouts drizzled with nutty brown butter and topped with dried cranberries and toasted almonds is the easiest, most delicious vegetarian side you can put on your holiday table.

Golden pan-seared chicken coated in nutty brown butter and fresh herbs, all made in one skillet! Pan-seared Skillet Chicken with Brown Butter and Fresh Herbs is easy enough for a weeknight family meal and impressive enough to entertain. It’s the perfect dinner whenever you want juicy chicken breasts in a simple pan sauce.

This brown butter granola with walnuts is lightly sweetened, delicious and totally easy to make. In less than 30 minutes, you can have homemade granola for a fraction of the price of store bought varieties.

These Strawberry Thyme Blondies are a dream combination of textures and flavors! The brown-butter blondies are topped with a strawberry-thyme mascarpone mousse that is *almost* too pretty to eat!