Your Ultimate Guide to Garlic Butter

If you're a food lover,  you probably already know the magic garlic butter can bring to almost any dish. Garlic has a rich history to pair with its rich flavor—dating back to centuries ago when ancient Egyptians used it not just as a flavor enhancer, but as traditional medicine. Pair one of the most beloved, flavorful spices with butter, and you have a combination that can take any dish to the next level.

With its versatile flavor, garlic butter can be used in a wide range of recipes, from sauces and spreads to marinades and dressings. If you're looking for a quick and easy way to add extra flavor (without the extra prep time) to your meals, then garlic butter is the perfect place to start.

What is garlic gutter?

At its simplest, garlic butter is a blend of butter and minced or crushed garlic. And while you can use this combo as is, here at Epicurean Butter we like to up our game a bit. We have three different garlic butter options to help you make restaurant quality food at home in less time, with fewer ingredients. 

Our most popular flavored butter, Roasted Garlic Herb, combines fresh, creamy, European-style butter (82% butterfat), roasted garlic, and a few savory chopped herbs like parsley, basil, and oregano. Our Lemon Garlic Herb Flavored Butter takes that same butter, garlic, and herbs, then adds—you guessed it—lemon juice to incorporate an irresistible tart, citrus element. Last but certainly not least, our Garlic Parmesan Flavored Butter swaps that lemon out for parmesan cheese.

How to use garlic butter

When we say garlic butter is endlessly versatile, we mean it. The uses are infinite, but here are some ways we recommend enjoying this savory spread:

• Spread it: Soften garlic butter and use it as a spread for bread, rolls, or croissants to add something new to your dinner table bread and butter option. Feeling fancy? Use it to make the easy garlic bread or make your own garlic croutons. That side Caesar salad won’t know what hit it. 
• Get saucey: Melt garlic butter in a saucepan and use it as part of an effortless sauce for  folding into pasta or basting your meats. We not-so-humbly recommend our take on BBQ sauce for grilling season. Garlic butter makes the perfect shrimp scampi, too.
• Top it: Use a spoonful of garlic butter as a finishing butter to add depth, moisture, and flavor to meat, poultry, and seafood. Add it to oven-baked veggies just a few minutes before they’re done to make brussels sprouts more appealing for the kids.

More garlic butter recipes

Did you think we were done? We’ve got plenty more garlicky, buttery dishes to help you keep your weekly meal planning from being overwhelming and your recipes from having too many steps. Try out some of these favorites:

• Scallops Provencal
• Loaded Baked Potato
• Garlic Herb Pizza Twists
• Garlic Cheddar Irish Soda Bread
• Mashed Potatoes With Roasted Garlic Herb Butter
• Garlic Butter Mac and Cheese
• Butternut Squash Bisque

Garlic butter shelf life and storage

How long does garlic butter last?

If you make your own garlic butter, be sure to use it within two weeks. When you buy Epicurean Butter, you’re good to go until about five months after production. Just check the dates on the packaging.

Does garlic butter need to be refrigerated?

While those butter dishes look nice on the counter, and we all love slicing through soft butter when we need it, your butter will last much longer if you refrigerate it between uses. Just set it on the counter and let it get to room temperature when you want to be able to spread it over those dinner rolls.

Can you freeze garlic butter?

Yes! You can store garlic butter for up to a few months in the freezer. Pro tip: Put your butter on some saran wrap, gently but tightly wrap it up, and place it in your freezer. Label the container with the date and type of butter to avoid confusion later. Then be sure to get it cold in the refrigerator before freezing, and begin to thaw in the fridge when you’re ready to enjoy.

Where to buy garlic butter

You can experiment with making garlic butter at home, or you can trust the experts and buy one of our chef-crafted flavors that are ready to help you make meals made at home simpler, more delicious, and more fun. Make memories, not messes.

Order any of our garlic flavored butter flavors straight from the Epicurean Butter website and have them shipped to your door. We recommend mixing and matching all three in the recipes above so you can experiment to find your favorite flavor combinations. You really can’t mess it up!

What is in HelloFresh garlic butter?

One of the questions we get most often is what is in HelloFresh garlic herb butter. Now that you’re familiar with Epicurean Butter’s variety of garlic butter options, you have the inside scoop on what’s in your meal kit. Through our partnership with HelloFresh, we’re able to provide you with easy to use squeeze packs that give you the exact amount of flavored butter you need for your meal. We don’t like to waste your food or your time. If your squeeze packet has the Epicurean Butter label on it, you’ll know it’s our Roasted Garlic Herb!

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