How to Make Homemade Butter
Making your own homemade butter is actually quite simple. With just heavy cream, salt, and lots of mixing, you can get fresh butter plus buttermilk. It tastes fresh and clean – much better than store-bought (as most things do). I know you’re tough, but please don’t try to mix this by hand. It just takes way too long.
Homemade Butter
Equipment
- Hand or stand mixer
- Whisk
- Large spoon
- Cheesecloth
- Fine mesh sieve
- Large bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream (let it come to room temperature)
- ½-1 teaspoon sea salt
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Instructions
- Whisk. Add your cream to a large bowl (or stand mixer) and whisk on low for 10-12 minutes until the consistency thickens and the cream becomes whipped cream.
- Beat. Swap out the whisk for a beater on a hand mixer. If you are using a stand mixer, you can keep using the whisk attachment. Beat at medium-high speed and continue mixing the whipped cream. After about 20 minutes, the whipped cream will change consistency again and form small clumps. After 25 minutes, the consistency will continue changing and become pale yellow.
- Reduce speed. Around 30 minutes, the liquid will begin to separate from the solid butter clumps. Reduce the mixer’s speed to prevent splattering. The mixture will turn more yellow in color. Around 35 minutes, you will see a clear difference in color and consistency between the butter and the buttermilk. The butter is the little yellow fat clumps in the whitish liquid (buttermilk).
- Separate. Cover a fine mesh sieve with cheesecloth and place a bowl underneath. Pour the mixture over the cheesecloth-covered sieve and let all the buttermilk pour into the bowl below. Press the butter clumps with the back of a large spoon to squeeze out all the buttermilk you can. Remove the buttermilk bowl and set aside.
- Rinse. Rinse the butter with cold water for about 3-5 minutes to remove all of the excess buttermilk from the butter. Gently press with a spoon to get it all out. The water should run clear. This will help to preserve the butter and make it last longer. After rinsing, gather the butter in the cheesecloth and carefully squeeze out any excess liquid.
- Add salt. Place your butter in a bowl or dish. Add ½ teaspoon of sea salt to the butter. Mix well and taste. If you prefer more salt, add up to another ½ teaspoon of sea salt and mix well!
Notes
- This recipe uses 2 cups of cream to give you nearly 1 cup of butter. The more cream you use, the more butter you will get. You can expect to get about half butter and half buttermilk (a little bit less butter than buttermilk). This can vary from batch to batch.
- The listed times are not strict for every batch. Keep track of your time, but don’t worry if yours takes longer or is done sooner. Look for the visual cues.
- Choose a bowl that is big enough to allow for some splatter. The bigger, the better!
As you continue to mix the cream past the whipped cream stage, the fat molecules begin to stick together, creating butter and releasing the liquid, buttermilk. The temperature of the cream will affect how long it takes. If it’s too cold, it will take forever. If it’s too warm, you’ll get greasy butter. Let it come to room temperature before you start.
The most important step is to wash your butter thoroughly. I know it can be tempting to skip or do a quick rinse, but removing all the buttermilk is crucial – any left behind will make it spoil faster. Keep rinsing until that water runs completely clear.
Tips for Success
Use high-quality heavy cream – ultra-pasteurized works, but regular pasteurized is better.
Watch for the visual cues (texture and color changing) rather than strictly following the time guidelines – every batch is slightly different.
Reduce your mixer’s speed as soon as you see separation beginning to avoid the buttermilk splattering.
Keep rinsing and kneading until the water runs completely clear – even slightly cloudy water means there’s still buttermilk in there.
Ingredients and Equipment
Heavy Cream: Look for a cream with at least 36% fat content. Local or organic isn’t necessary, but avoid ultra-pasteurized if possible.
Sea Salt: Adds better flavor than table salt, but either works.
Stand or Hand Mixer: While a stand mixer is easier, a hand mixer works just fine – you’ll just need more patience.
Large Bowl: Pick one with high sides – this gets messy
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Make It Your Own
There are lots of ways to add different flavors.
- Add fresh herbs during the final mixing
- Try cultured cream for a tangier taste
- Mix in roasted garlic
- Use different salts (smoked salt works well)
- Save the buttermilk to bake some buttermilk blueberry waffles for breakfast the next day!
II know this takes longer than just grabbing a stick at the store. But I think it’s worth trying at least once. Who knows? Maybe you’ll love the fresh taste so much you’ll start to make all your own from scratch…or maybe you’ll buy some from the store too. I do both. No judgement.
By Katie Shaw
Katie lives in Virginia with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens. She loves creating simple tutorials for sourdough, bread, and soap. Her recipes, articles, and YouTube videos reach millions of people per year.