Homemade butter is one of the easiest things you can make at home! It requires one simple ingredient and can be done in a few minutes!
Why should I make butter at home?
While butter is easy to find in stores, you may be wondering what the benefit of making homemade butter is. First, it is just a really cool process to see! I love seeing how a simple ingredient such as milk (or cream) can make so many other dairy products! Fresh milk can be separated into milk and cream, cream can then make whipped cream, butter, buttermilk, etc. The United States as a whole is so disconnected from our food system that something as simple as butter making can help bridge the gap.
My children were watching the whole process and were just amazed at the process. We talked about where milk comes from (spoiler alert it doesn’t just come from the store), how they then get cream from the milk, and how what we were doing creates the butter we all know and love. A great learning experience for everyone involved.
Ingredients for Homemade Butter
Cream – yup! Butter is made from one simple ingredient which is cream. Pay attention to if you are purchasing heavy cream (36-40% fat) or whipping cream (30-36% fat). The higher the fat percentage the more butter you will get at the end.
Salt – completely optional if you want to have salted vs unsalted butter.
How to Make Homemade Butter
- Add heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
- Gradually increase the speed of the mixer to high and whip until the butter and buttermilk separate. This timing depends on several different factors, but typically when I’m making butter it takes about 15-20 minutes.
- You should start to notice your cream has turned into fluffy whipped cream around the 5 minute mark. At this point I will stop the mixer every 5 minutes or so to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure that everything gets incorporated.
- Once it looks like the cream is starting to break I will place a towel over my stand mixer. As soon as the butter and buttermilk separate the liquid will splash and you will make a mess of the kitchen.
- Remove the butter from the liquid (Do not throw the liquid out, this is buttermilk and can be used in other recipes). Gently press the butter between your hands until you get most of the liquid out. Removing all the excess buttermilk will help your butter stay fresher longer.
- Once you have pressed as much of the buttermilk out as possible rinse in ice water.
- If you want to have salted butter this is where you add it.
- Now you have fresh made butter!
Do I have to have a stand mixer to make butter?
No, you can do this entire process several different ways. However, using a stand mixer is definitely the easiest! If you have an electric hand mixer you can whisk with that, grab an old fashioned butter churner (affiliate link), or even place your cream in a mason jar and shake. The stand mixer is just the fastest and easiest way to make your butter.
How much butter will heavy cream create?
1 cup of heavy cream will make about 4 oz of butter and 2/3 cup buttermilk. 2 cups of heavy cream will make about 8 oz of butter and 1 1/4 cup buttermilk. 4 cups (or a quart) of heavy cream will make about 1 pound of butter and 2 1/2 cups of buttermilk.
Is it cheaper to make homemade butter or buy it at the store?
When breaking down the cost of homemade butter, it is still less expensive to purchase your butter at the store. At the time of this writing (June 2024) a quart of store brand heavy cream cost $5.47. A quart of heavy cream will make about a pound of butter. While a pound of butter cost $3.78. However, when you make homemade butter you get the bonus of buttermilk! The equivalent amount of buttermilk is about $1.16 in my stores.
Want more recipes? These go great with butter!
Share Your Experience
I would love to hear about your experience making and enjoying my homemade butter! Feel free to tag me on Instagram or leave a review below. Your feedback helps me improve our recipes and provides inspiration to fellow home cooks.
Save this recipe for later by simply using the pin button on the recipe card or any of the photos above. Happy cooking!
Homemade Butter
Equipment
Instructions
- Add heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
- Gradually increase the speed of the mixer to high and whip until the butter and buttermilk separate. This timing depends on several different factors, but typically when I’m making butter it takes about 15-20 minutes.
- You should start to notice your cream has turned into fluffy whipped cream around the 5 minute mark. At this point I will stop the mixer every 5 minutes or so to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure that everything gets incorporated.
- Once it looks like the cream is starting to break I will place a towel over my stand mixer. As soon as the butter and buttermilk separate the liquid will splash and you will make a mess of the kitchen.
- Remove the butter from the liquid (Do not throw the liquid out, this is buttermilk and can be used in other recipes). Gently press the butter between your hands until you get most of the liquid out. Removing all the excess buttermilk will help your butter stay fresher longer.
- Once you have pressed as much of the buttermilk out as possible rinse in ice water.
- If you want to have salted butter this is where you add it.
- Now you have fresh made butter!
Super easy to follow!