Lemon, Parsley, Garlic Compound Butter

This delicious lemon, parsley, garlic butter is easy to make and fantastic slathered on corn,  vegetables, chicken, steak, beans, or fish.

Lemon garlic parsley compound butter freezes well and also stays good in the refrigerator for at least one week. Freeze compound butter for 3-4 months.

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What is Compound Butter?

Compound butter is an easy and simple way to "up your butter game". It is basically room temperature soft (but not melted) butter that is mixed with other ingredients.

Compound butter is simply mixing herbs, spices, liquids, or other ingredients with soft butter.

The butter is then shaped into a log and wrapped in parchment paper, placed in the refrigerator, and used as needed.

How To Make Lemon Garlic Parsley Compound Butter

In this case, lemon, parsley, garlic compound butter is just that. Mix room temperature butter with minced garlic and parsley, a wee bit of salt, and lemon zest and lemon juice.

Form the lemon, parsley, and garlic compound butter into a log on parchment paper and roll it tightly (see video).

Compound butters can be used immediately without forming a log. If you're in a hurry or don't have parchment paper, then just place the lemon butter in a bowl in the refrigerator.

Pro-Tip: Compound butters taste better once the ingredients have had to time to mingle with each other while chilling.

How do I use Lemon, Parsley, Garlic Compound Butter?

Compound butter recipes are easy to make and versatile to cook with. 

Use it by adding a tab of lemon parsley butter on your favorite piece of meat (steak, chicken, salmon, etc) or vegetable or pasta either before or after baking or cooking.

For example, if you pan fry shrimp or chicken in the butter, there will be a nice browned caramelization to the dish, because cooking with butter at a high heat produces browning.

Another example, is that you finish off the recipe with a tab of butter after it's done cooking. That's a "cleaner" or more pure taste as the butter is not reacting as much to the heat. It's a more subtle taste.

Lemon compound butter is fantastic for a simple pasta dish by mixing a couple tabs with hot cooked pasta and letting it naturally melt into the hot pasta.

What are other compound butter recipe examples?

Compound butters can be savory or sweet. This lemon garlic butter is an example of savory.

My chili lime honey compound butter is an example of a sweeter butter (although it's still savory too).

Other examples of fun compound butters are: horseradish, lemon, and chive butter; pureed truffle butter; bacon onion butter; tarragon caper compound butter; sun dried tomato and dill compound butter; cinnamon brown sugar butter, and cranberry orange butter.

Again, the possibilities are endless so have a lot of fun playing and exploring and find your own favorite compound butter recipe.

I love butter - check out my post on how to make homemade butter from heavy whipping cream.

Lemon Garlic Compound Butter FAQS

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