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–+ servings
homemade butter in dish with wooden spoon.
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Homemade Butter

This foolproof method yields clean, fresh-tasting results every time, with real buttermilk as a bonus. Makes about 1 cup of butter.
Mixing Time35 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Pantry Staple
Keyword: homemade butter
Servings: 1 cup of butter
Calories: 809kcal
Author: Katie

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

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).
    mixture beaten until butter separates from 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.
    butter/buttermilk poured through sieve and spoon pressing all buttermilk out into bowl below.
  • 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!
    salt mixed into butter.

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!

Nutrition

Calories: 809kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 86g | Saturated Fat: 55g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 269mg | Sodium: 1227mg | Potassium: 226mg | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 3499IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 158mg | Iron: 0.3mg