How to make brown butter, an easy process that makes for a nutty, highly flavoured butter that's perfect for cookies, cakes, and more. Browning butter isn't hard and it's well worth doing, but there a couple of things to look out for when making it. Read through the full guide below if it's your first time making brown butter!
Use your brown butter in this pumpkin bread pudding, nutty brown butter chocolate chip cookies, or brown butter sesame cookies (these are made by cooking the sesame seeds with the brown butter for even more flavour).
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Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Butter: there are, of course, no substitutions for butter when making brown butter. Since you're going to get loads of flavour from the browning process, this is a time to use a slightly less fancy butter type. We haven't found that any vegan butter alternatives brown that well. It doesn't matter if it's salted or unsalted.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Method
Step 1: add the butter to a saucepan or pan.
Step 2: cook, stirring constantly, until a deep brown colour and immediately pour out of the pan.
Top Tips
- Measure after browning: brown butter, by definition, loses some of its water content when browned. You will have a smaller volume of butter in the pan after browning it, so make sure you measure after, not before. You can assume you'll lose a little over a tablespoon from ½ cup of butter.
- Remove from the heat: once the butter is browned, it should be taken off the heat immediately and transferred into a different dish. It will continue to cook if left in the pan and has a high chance of burning.
- Use a large pan: a saucepan is great for smaller amounts of butter, but if you want to brown a larger batch, you'll need a wide pan. Choose metal or ceramic: non-stick and cast iron pans make it hard to tell if the butter is burning.
Recipe Notes
You can use brown butter in any recipe that calls for melted butter (again, make sure to measure after browning). It can't be substituted in recipes that require creaming butter.
The butter will look foamy during this process. This is normal and you're seeing the milk fats in the butter.
Try browning your butter in the microwave if you don't want to use the stove. Brown the butter by placing it in a heat and microwave-safe container and cooking it in the microwave in one minute increments. Do this until the butter is dark brown and smells nutty and rich. Be sure to cover the container as the butter cooks to prevent splattering.
How to Store
Storage: leave to cool at room temperature until the butter has solidified, then store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.
Freezing: transfer cooled brown butter to an airtight container and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and melt over low heat before use if needed.
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How to Make Brown Butter
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
- Saucepan
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- Heat-safe bowl
Ingredients
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Add the butter to a light-coloured (metal or ceramic) saucepan or pot.½ cup + 1 tablespoon butter
- Cook over low-medium heat for 12 to 14 minutes, stirring or swirling the pan frequently. Once the butter has turned a deep amber colour and smells very nutty, it's finished. It will foam up as it's cooking.
- Immediately pour your brown butter into a heat-safe bowl to prevent burning. Let it cool for about 10 minutes before using in a recipe that calls for brown butter or melted butter.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate and is provided as a courtesy. For precise nutritional data, please calculate it independently using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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