What's better than regular butter? Brown butter! Its toasty, nutty flavor adds delicious depth to baked goods. Learn how to make it with this simple guide!
Learn how to brown butter! I’m always a fan of simplicity when it comes to baking. But for the right recipe, even I will admit that pulling out an extra pan and taking a few minutes to brown butter is worth it.
Brown butter has a rich, nutty scent and toasty flavor—think butterscotch. When you add it to baked goods like chocolate chip cookies and blondies, it packs in all that toasty, nutty goodness, making your treats taste extra-delicious and complex.
Browning butter intimidated me for years, but with the right equipment (a light-colored pan is KEY!), it’s actually super easy. Learn how to make it with this simple step-by-step guide!
What is brown butter?
Brown butter is simply butter that has been lightly toasted on the stove. You’ll melt it, then continue cooking it until the milk solids in the butter turn golden brown.
It has an amazing nutty and caramelized smell and taste. You’ll love using it in baking recipes!
How to Brown Butter
If you’re learning how to make brown butter for the first time, you won’t believe how easy it is! It takes less than 10 minutes on the stovetop:
Start by choosing the right pan. You need one with a light-colored interior.
This allows you to see the color of the milk solids in the butter as it cooks. Butter can quickly go from perfectly browned to burnt, so a light-colored pan will help you take the butter off the heat before it gets too dark. I’ve tried browning butter in a dark pan before, and I can tell you from experience that it’s super hard to see the milk solids! I almost always undercook brown butter (meaning that I don’t actually brown it) in a dark pan because I’m so nervous that I’ll overdo it and burn it.
For 1 to 2 sticks of butter, I like to use a white, beige, or light stainless steel 8-inch skillet. A medium light-colored saucepan works too.
Slice the butter into pats and place it in the skillet. Melt the butter over medium heat.
Cook, stirring, for 5 to 10 minutes. As you cook, the butter will start to foam. After a few minutes, the foam will subside slightly, and you’ll see small specks at the bottom of the pan. These are the milk solids in the butter.
It’s ready when the milk solids are golden brown. (Look at the photos above and below. See those little brown bits in the butter? That’s what you’re going for!) It will have the BEST rich, nutty aroma too.
Remove the butter from the heat and pour it into a heatproof bowl right away. It could burn if you leave it in the hot skillet.
That’s it!
Recipe Tips
- Stir constantly throughout the cooking process so that the butter cooks evenly. Stirring also helps you see through the foam in the pan and monitor the color of the milk solids. I typically reach for a rubber spatula when I’m browning butter. A wooden spoon works too.
- Reduce the heat if necessary. Temperatures vary from stovetop to stovetop! If you find that your butter is sputtering a lot as you cook, your stove is probably too hot. Reduce the heat to medium-low to help the butter cook evenly.
How to Use Browned Butter
A recipe doesn’t have to specifically call for brown butter in order for you to use it!
You can use it anytime a recipe calls for melted butter. Just replace the melted butter with an equal amount of butter that you’ve browned.
Here are a few recipes that call for melted butter:
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Perfect Oatmeal Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Banana Bread
- Homemade Cornbread
- Easy Homemade Pancakes
Brown butter would be delicious in all of them! I also call for it specifically in my homemade blondies recipe. It adds so much flavor!
I’ve written a lot about baking recipes, but brown butter isn’t just for dessert. You can add it to savory dishes too!
- Try it as a dipping sauce for steamed artichokes,
- swirl some into butternut squash soup,
- fold it into mashed sweet potatoes,
- or toss it with pasta. I love it on this butternut squash ravioli.
How do you like to use it? Let me know in the comments!
How To Brown Butter
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, sliced into pats
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a light-colored pan over medium heat. Stirring constantly with a spatula or wooden spoon, continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the butter smells nutty and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan turn golden brown. The butter will foam around the edges in the first few minutes of cooking. The foam will subside slightly before the butter is fully browned.
- Immediately pour the browned butter into a large heatproof bowl to prevent burning. Use in any recipe that calls for browned butter or melted butter, or allow to cool to room temperature and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
