Name: How To Make Brown Butter
Prep time: 1 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 6 min
Ingredients: ½ cup butter (sliced)

Learning How To Make Brown Butter requires just one ingredient, a whisk, a skillet, and less than 10 minutes of your time!

Once you learn this easy method, you’ll be ready for delicious recipes such as my Brown Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies! These delicious homemade jumbo cookies take just 25 minutes or less to bake!

Brown butter being ladled out of a bowl.

Magical Brown Butter

Elevate all of your recipes by learning How To Make Brown Butter! This quick and easy kitchen trick transforms all your recipes with delicious, mouthwatering flavor!

Brown butter also called beurre noisette, is just melted butter that’s been cooked to turn the milk solids brown and turn into brown specks in the pan. Once cooked the brown butter takes on a toasty and slightly caramelized flavor that gives your recipes a richer flavor! Plus that nutty aroma of brown butter is unmistakable!

This brown butter recipe can be used in any recipe that calls for regular butter. From baking to making sauces, to even pasta dishes, you’ll find yourself cooking up brown butter to use in everything!

Butter in a black dish on a rust colored tile surface.

Kitchen Tools & Ingredients To Make Brown Butter

Salted OR Unsalted Butter
Skillet
Whisk

Substituting Browned Butter For Butter In Baking Recipes

Even if your recipe doesn’t specifically call for brown butter you can still substitute it yourself! Doing so adds lots of deep, rich nutty flavor and oftentimes makes the recipe taste even better!

If you choose to do so, keep in mind that you’ll need to brown more butter than what your recipe calls for. This is because when browning butter, the amount of butter you start out with will not be the amount you end up with.

This is due to the loss of water from the browning process. To make sure you have enough brown butter for your recipe you’ll want to add an additional tablespoon of butter for every 1/2 cup of butter called for in the recipe.

Once your butter is browned, you’ll need to measure out the correct amount your recipe calls for.

Cookies made with brown butter, pecans, and chocolate on a rust colored surface.

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Heat sliced butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Cook the butter until its fully melted.
Whisk the butter constantly as it continues to cook until it begins to smell nutty and turns golden brown.
Remove the skillet from the heat as soon as the butter turns golden brown to ensure it doesn’t burn.
Store the brown butter or use it in your desired recipe!

Rebecca’s Brown Butter Tips

Choosing Your Pan – Using a stainless steel or light-colored pan or skillet (not a saucepan) is the best choice when browning butter. This way there’s more surface area and it’s easier to monitor the color changes in the browning process!
Use Room Temperature Butter – Allow the butter to sit out at room temperature for 15 minutes before cooking. Doing so will reduce the risk of burning the butter during cooking!
Slice The Butter – Slice up your butter before putting it in the skillet for a quicker, more even cooking process!
Whisking – Once the butter has melted in the pan, you’ll need to whisk it constantly to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan too much.
When To Remove The Pan – As soon as the butter turns golden brown it’s time to remove it from the heat as well as the pan! Leaving it in the hot pan will cause the butter to continue to cook, leading to burnt butter.
Straining The Butter – You don’t always have to strain the brown butter; the bits are what hold all the delicious brown butter flavor! Getting rid of them would affect the flavor you’re trying to add to a recipe! Although, if you’re using a recipe that requires a smooth consistency, such as a frosting, you would want to strain it. To strain it pour the hot brown butter into a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth that’s over a jar or container.

Step by step photo collage showing how to make brown butter in a skillet.

Using Brown Butter In Different Forms

If you’re using a recipe that calls for brown butter, make sure to check to see what form it calls for! Some recipes will call for melted, room temperature, or cold.

When the recipe calls for melted brown butter, such as a brown butter sauce for pasta or vegetables, you can use it as soon as the browning process is complete! Whereas if it calls for room-temperature brown butter, you’ll need to wait a bit.

For room-temperature brown butter, transfer the freshly browned butter to a heat-safe container. Then let it sit at room temperature for about an hour.

Lastly, for cold brown butter, you’ll need to place the melted browned butter into a heat-safe container. Then, place it in the refrigerator until it becomes solid.

Once the brown butter has adjusted to the form in which you need it, it can be used in your recipe!

How To Store Brown Butter

To store brown butter, place it in an airtight container or glass jar with a tight lid. Then store the brown butter in the fridge and use it within 10 days.

Brown butter in a white bowl on a ruse colored surface.

More Easy Kitchen Tricks To Learn:

How To Measure Flour – Prevents your baked goods from being dry and crumbly!
Learn How To Make Box Brownies Better – Effortless tricks that elevate any brownie mix!
Two Ways To Heat Treat Flour – A must-have for Easy Edible Cookie Dough!
How To Make Toasted Sugar – Adds a unique caramelized flavor to baked goods!
Make Cold Foam At Home – Who says coffee at home has to be boring?!

Did You Make This Recipe?

If you’ve tried this recipe, please let leave a review in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Don’t forget to tag me – @sugarandsoulco – on Instagram and Pinterest with your photos, or join our Sugar & Soul Show-offs Community and share them there.

5 from 3 votes