How to Make Homemade Butter in Stand Mixer + Video
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It’s easy to make this homemade butter recipe with just two ingredients; it’s fun and simple! Plus, you’ll have fresh, creamy butter on hand whenever you need it. Making your own butter is tastier and higher quality than anything that you’ll buy from the store!
When it comes to easy homemade butter, the most important thing to remember is that you need to follow the directions on the recipe card.
Fresh butter isn’t hard to make, but there are certain steps that have to be followed to get the right texture and taste.
The whole process of making your own butter is a great way to learn how to create a staple ingredient that many people spend big bucks on at the store.
And once you make your own homemade butter, you’re never going to want to eat store-bought butter again.
Table of Contents
Homemade Butter Recipe
The cost to buy dairy products is always changing.
But when you have homemade butter in your freezer, you won’t need to worry when the prices go up!
It is perfect on our 4-ingredient beer bread.
This is a fun food science project for kids, too. It will fascinate them to see liquid transform into solid right before their eyes!
Ingredients for homemade butter
This homemade butter recipe makes about one cup or 8 ounces (2 sticks) of butter.
Here are the ingredients you will need:
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon table salt
Heavy Cream Butter Kitchen Tools
- High-speed mixer with the whip attachment
- Fine mesh strainer or sieve
- Large bowl or pitcher
Making Butter Tips & Tricks
Here are a few tips to help you make the perfect batch of creamy, homemade butter.
- Be sure that the heavy cream is very cold. You can even place it into the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes before you start to churn it.
- Give it a good, firm squeeze! When it’s time to squeeze excess water from the butter, don’t be shy. You want to be sure to remove as much water as possible.
- Hold it just right. To prevent a lot of butter from getting between your fingers, hold it between the palms of your hands.
How to make butter
1. Pour the cold heavy cream and salt (if you’re making salted butter) into your stand mixer.
2. Whip the cream at high speed until it separates.
*NOTE: The cream will thicken a lot before it begins to separate. This process will take roughly 4 to 5 minutes.
3. After it separates, pour the contents through a fine-mesh strainer that is set on top of a large bowl or pitcher.
*NOTE: The liquid that strains through is known as buttermilk. However, it is NOT the same as buttermilk that you buy at the store.
At this point, store it in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks.
It can be used to make buttermilk pancakes, muffins, dressing, or anything else that calls for cultured buttermilk.
4. Rinse the butter with 2 cups of cold water, then squeeze it firmly between the palms of your hands to remove all of the liquid.
The rinsing process is necessary because the water removes any traces of buttermilk that are on the butter.
5. Place the butter in a bowl, or form it into sticks and wrap them in waxed paper.
Making Butter FAQs
No, there is no suitable substitute for heavy cream. You cannot make butter from milk or from half-and-half.
This is because those dairy products do not have enough fat in them. Heavy cream butter is a fantastic texture and flavor due to its fat content.
A lot of baking recipes call for unsalted butter. If that is what you want, just leave out the salt when making the butter. You can make butter recipes in small batches as well if you want to try different methods and tastes.
Store your heavy cream butter in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks. Or, place it in a freezer-safe container and freeze it for up to 3 months.
Now that you know how to make butter yourself, the next step is to decide how you want to use it!
Our recommendation? Spread it onto a slice of warm, homemade Amish bread
Nope, you don’t need any special equipment at all! You can make this with a stand mixer or hand mixer and a few other simple supplies. Make sure that you have clean hands for when you’re squeezing out any excess liquid, and you’re well on your way to having your own ball of butter to enjoy.
Nope, due to the ingredients, this needs to be stored in the fridge. Don’t worry, it will last a long time (up to 6 weeks), and can be set out to soften a bit if you want it nice and soft to spread of sourdough bread or freshly baked bread.
You can even store the butter in a mason jar or baby jars topped with plastic wrap or aluminum foil if you don’t have an airtight container. Just be sure to keep the air out of it so that it doesn’t take any scents or flavors from the fridge.
You bet! I think this would make a fantastic pie crust! Instead of spending tons of money on pounds of butter at the grocery store, grab a large mixing bowl, and start making your own pound of butter at home.
There are so many different ways that you can enjoy using a cup of butter in your baking dishes.
If you want to add honey or even some fresh herbs to your batch of homemade butter, go for it! Fresh herb butter is great for toast or to pair with pasta dishes, and honey butter is one of my favorite things to enjoy on toast with a cup of coffee in the morning hours.
Once you get the hang of butter making, you’ll find that making different types of butter isn’t hard to do! Forget about paying big bucks for a stick of butter at the store the next time you’re there, and make your own instead. You’ll get the best results with the most flavor – and have fun doing so!
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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How to Make Homemade Butter in Stand Mixer + Video
Ingredients
- 3 cups cold heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon table salt
Instructions
- Pour the cold cream and salt into your stand mixer. You can also use a food processor or an electric whisk.
- Whip the cream until it separates. It will really thicken before it begins to separate. It will take roughly 4 to 5 minutes.
- After it separates, pour the contents through a fine-mesh strainer that is set on top of a large bowl or pitcher. *NOTE
- Rinse the butter with 2 cups cold water, squeeze butter to remove all of the water.
- Place in bowl or form into sticks, by wrapping in wax or parchment paper and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks.
Video
Donna’s Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published April 2020, updated and republished January 2025
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We’re Donna and Chad, the dream team behind The Slow Roasted Italian. Our focus is on taking complicated OUT of the kitchen. Life is busy enough, making meals should be fast and easy, to help make your life as simple as possible. Read More >>
how much acid (vinegar, lemon,etc.) do you add to the remaining liquid to turn it into buttermilk?
1 tbsp vinegar to 1 cup milk
I love homemade butter! But it's just too expensive for everyday use. I can buy a pound cheaper than the cream for 8 oz. I'll still make it for special occasions though.
Making butter was the very first thing I did when I got my first Kitchenaid mixer. My son thought it was really cool because we used it to make our own garlic butter.
How do you make unsalted butter? The same process, less the salt?
This is so easy to make, and a fun activity for the family to do together! Even better with your beer bread recipe
I have some frozen cream in the freezer. Could I thaw and use it to make butter?
Thanks