Homemade honey butter is a decadent sweet butter made with three pantry staples. Softened butter is whipped to fluffy perfection and sweetened just enough with any kind of honey you like. You’ll be using this silky spread on everything from pumpkin bread to muffins to pancakes!
While the combination of butter, honey, and salt is enough to delight your taste buds, you can include a variety of different ingredients for flavored butter. You can make cinnamon honey butter, add herbs for a sweet-and-savory twist, and even make it spicy or citrusy! For more sweet spreads, try my apple butter, pumpkin butter, and strawberry jam.
What You Need To Make This Recipe
Butter — since you’ll be adding salt, use unsalted butter and make sure it is softened before you start by setting the stick of butter out at room temperature for 30 minutes before mixing.
Honey — use any kind of honey you enjoy, like orange blossom, clover, or wildflower.
Salt — a little salt balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor of the honey.
How To Make Honey Butter
1. Add the butter to a medium mixing bowl or to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy.
2. Add honey and fine sea salt.
3. If adding additional ingredients like vanilla bean paste or cinnamon, add them to the bowl and beat until well combined.
4. If you want to create swirls of honey, add 1 tablespoon more honey and fold it in a few times with a spatula. Transfer the honey butter spread to a serving bowl. Serve this easy recipe with an additional drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of salt over the top if you like.
How to Serve and Use Honey Butter
You can use sweet butter in so many different ways. Here are a few ideas:
- Use it as a creamy spread on cornbread, scones, buttermilk biscuits, English muffins, banana bread, gingerbread muffins, and pumpkin bread.
- Add a generous smear to homemade bread: dinner rolls, French bread, crescent rolls, or white bread.
- Add a little dollop of honey butter to a baked sweet potato to enhance its natural sweetness.
- This flavored butter makes French toast even more decadent!
- Spread it onto warm pancakes or homemade waffles.
Honey Butter Variations
- Use salted butter: Simply leave out the added salt if you opt for salted butter.
- Spices: Add ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, or pumpkin pie spice to the butter with the honey. After beating the spices in, have a little taste and add more if you want.
- Maple syrup: For a totally different flavor, swap all or part of the honey for maple syrup.
- Hot honey butter: Use hot honey instead of regular honey or add a little sprinkle of cayenne pepper with regular honey.
- Vanilla: Add about ¼ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract.
- Citrus: For a zesty twist, add lemon zest or orange zest.
- Herbs: Finely chopped rosemary, thyme, or sage add an extra layer of flavor and earthiness that balances the sweet honey perfectly. This is excellent on sweet potatoes or homemade biscuits!
- Flaky sea salt: Sprinkle a little flaky sea salt over the sweet butter at the end for extra saltiness and a bit of texture.
What’s the best kind of butter to use?
Any kind of butter will work for this homemade honey butter recipe, but I recommend using a really good-quality butter since its flavor will be prominent. A high-fat butter, like European-style butter or high-fat grass fed butter, will yield the best honey butter that is creamy, fluffy, and airy.
How to Store
Store honey butter in an airtight container or tightly covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. I set it out for 20 to 30 minutes before I plan to use it to allow it to soften so it’s easier to spread.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Use soft or room temperature butter: Softened butter is a must for this simple recipe, so it is easy to whip. Set it out at least 30 minutes in advance. If you forget, learn how to soften butter quickly with my simple tutorial.
- If your honey has crystallized: Gently heat the jar of honey in a pot of warm water until it reverts to its liquid form.
- To get honey out of the measuring cup easily: Spray or rub the measuring cup lightly with oil before adding the honey. Doing so helps the honey slide right out of the cup.
- How to make honey butter without a mixer: If you do not own a hand mixer, you can make this honey butter recipe by hand by whisking it well in a bowl for about 30 seconds. However, the butter will need to be quite soft to make whisking easy. Also, keep in mind that you will not get the same light and creamy smoothness that whipping the butter with mixer results in, but it will still be very delicious!
- For honey-swirled butter: After the butter and honey are beaten together, add an additional 1 tablespoon of honey and fold it in 2 or 3 times with a spatula to create swirls of honey in the butter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, store honey butter, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Yes, you can freeze homemade honey butter. Scoop it onto a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap it well, and then add a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. After thawing, you can let it soften and whip it again to restore some fluffiness or serve it as-is.
Yes, you can. If you are using already whipped butter, you don’t need to whip it much to start; just give it a stir it to loosen up the texture and then stir in the honey and salt.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this honey butter recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Honey Butter Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature (227g)
- ¼ cup honey (60mL)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, beat the butter on medium speed with a hand mixer or mix well by hand for about 1 minute, or until smooth and a bit fluffy.
- Add 1/4 cup honey and salt. Beat until well combined. Transfer to a serving bowl.
- Serve with an additional drizzle of honey and sprinkle of salt over top, if you like.
Notes
- Use soft or room temperature butter: Softened butter is a must for this simple recipe, so it is easy to whip. Set it out at least 30 minutes in advance. If you forget, learn how to soften butter quickly with my simple tutorial.
- If your honey has crystallized: Gently heat the jar of honey in a pot of warm water until it reverts to its liquid form.
- To get honey out of the measuring cup easily: Spray or rub the measuring cup lightly with oil before adding the honey. Doing so helps the honey slide right out of the cup.
- How to make honey butter without a mixer: If you do not own a hand mixer, you can make this honey butter recipe by hand by whisking it well in a bowl for about 30 seconds. However, the butter will need to be quite soft to make whisking easy. Also, keep in mind that you will not get the same light and creamy smoothness that whipping the butter with mixer results in, but it will still be very delicious!
- For honey-swirled butter: After the butter and honey are beaten together, add an additional 1 tablespoon of honey and fold it in 2 or 3 times with a spatula to create swirls of honey in the butter.
OMG this honey butter is awesome!! I couldn’t stop eating it with crackers! Made it for Easter dinner having cornbread. I know my people will love it! Great recipe as all of your recipes!
When I get an update from you it makes my day. I absolutely love watching you on YouTube. I have shared your recipes over and over . I told both my children and they are both huge fans too. We all make your recipes. My husband and I are also in aww of your kitchen. And when you laugh it makes me giggle. We all adore you so much . Thank you so much for sharing so much of yourself with us. You are such a kind soul . Looking forward to seeing what fall brings . Super excited to see what you come up with. I hope you have a fabulous day.
Sara
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