Quick & Easy Compound Lemon Garlic Butter With Fresh Herbs
It’s easy to add flavour to your favourite dishes with a ready made stash of compound butter. This delicious compound lemon garlic butter is packed with zesty lemon, garlic and fresh herbs. It’s perfect for flavouring all kinds of savoury dishes and is a great way to use up left over herbs.
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Lemon garlic butter ingredients
Compound butter is a really easy way to add flavour to everything from meats and vegetables to starting a risotto or creating a pasta dish.
For this zesty compound lemon butter you’ll need:
- 125g salted butter
- 1 Tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon of chives, chopped
- 1 clove fresh garlic, crushed or finely minced
- 1 – 2 Tablespoons grated lemon zest (zest of one lemon)
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (juice of half a lemon)
If you don’t have salted butter, you can use unsalted butter, but add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the recipe.
Best lemons to use
We used Eureka lemons as they have a great tangy flavour and not too many seeds, but any variety of lemon will be fine for this recipe.
Method
Ideally remove butter from the fridge at least an hour before you want to make this recipe, so that it can soften at room temperature. If you forget, don’t worry – you can soften it slightly in the microwave for a short time on low to medium heat.
If using store bought lemon, remove any citrus wax before using in this recipe. Wash and pat dry lemon before zesting regardless.
Chop salted butter into cubes and add to a small mixing bowl.
Add choped parsley, chives, crushed/minced garlic, grated lemon zest and lemon juice to the bowl with the butter.
Tip: use kitchen scissors to cut the chives into small pieces – it’s much easier than using a knife.
Use a fork to mix the ingredients together well.
Spoon the butter mixture into a log shape on some non-stick parchment paper.
Roll the butter in the paper to shape into a round log and twist the ends of the paper to seal.
Place the butter roll in the freezer for at least half an hour to firm.
Remove butter from the freezer and slice into rounds with a hot, sharp knife.
Serves 12.
Ways to use lemon garlic butter
This delicious flavoured butter is so versatile. Melt it in a frying pan to start a rissoto, or add to cooked pasta for a wonderful lemon and herb flavoured side dish or even a main.
Add a slice to flavour chicken, fish, tofu, haloumi or even steak while it is cooking. Compound lemon garlic butter is also perfect for flavouring vegetables, from roast potatoes to green beans.
Storage and freezing
Lemon garlic butter will keep in the fridge for up to a week. If you are not planning to use it straight away, you can freeze the flavoured butter for around 3 months. Freeze in the non-stick parchment paper tightly wrapped with cling film (or an eco-friendly alternative) to keep it air tight.
More lemon recipes and ideas
If you love lemons, discover other lemon recipes including our lemon curd and sweet macadamia lemon cookies.
Explore helpful tips for cooking with lemons and flavours that go with lemon for delicious combinations. Or learn about the best types of lemons to grow for cooking.
For more ideas for cooking with lemons and other citrus, as well as citrus inspiration for your home and garden, we’d love you to subscribe.
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Quick & Easy Compound Lemon Garlic Butter With Fresh Herbs
Equipment
- 1 chopping board
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 citrus juicer
- 1 citrus zester
- 1 small mixing bowl
- 1 fork
- measuring cups and spoons
- non-stick parchment paper
Ingredients
- 125 g salted butter
- 1 Tablespoon parsley, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon chives, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed or finely minced
- 1-2 teaspoons lemon zest (zest of one lemon)
- 1 Tablepoon lemon juice (juice of half a lemon)
Instructions
- Remove butter from the fridge at least an hour before you want to make this recipe, so that it can soften at room temperature. Or soften butter slightly in the microwave for a short time on low to medium heat.
- Chop salted butter into cubes and add to a small mixing bowl.
- Add choped parsley, chives, crushed/minced garlic, grated lemon zest and lemon juice to the bowl with the butter.
- Mix all ingrediengts together with a fork until well combined.
- Spoon the butter mixture into a log shape on some non-stick parchment paper. Roll the butter in the paper to shape into a round log and twist the ends of the paper to seal.
- Place the butter roll in the freezer for at least half an hour to firm.
- Remove butter from the freezer and slice into rounds with a hot, sharp knife.
