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Once you learn How to Make Butter you will realize just how simple it is! Not only is it delicious, but you’ll also love knowing how to make homemade butter using only one ingredient.

Homemade butter spread on a saltine cracker
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It is super frugal and easy too. In fact, you can get your kids involved in making butter at home. We did this over our last fall break. I’m not sure why I’m just now sharing it with you, but I know you will love that I did.

We love making homemade butter for the holidays. It is a special addition to our dinner and even better topped on these Empty Tomb Rolls.

Why We Love This Recipe

I remember making butter at home when I was a little kid. Or maybe we made it in Kindergarten class, either way, I remember being fascinated that if you shook some “white liquid” (that I now realize was cream!) long enough you ended up with delicious butter, that simply tasted amazing spread on saltine crackers.

I wanted to share that experience with my kids. So we did it and they were all amazed at just how easy it was and how it tasted!

Ingredients

Carton of Heavy Whipping Cream

For the full recipe, scroll to the bottom for the recipe card.

Variations Ideas

  • Add Fresh Herbs – Take it up a notch by adding herbs or flavorings to it before you refrigerate it. Add some chopped basil, parsley and garlic for a quick garlic basil butter. Parmesan and cheddar cheese are also a good flavor combo. Cinnamon butter is also a great option.
  • Salted Butter – If you want the delicious taste of salt, just sprinkle some in and give it a quick shake. It doesn’t take much to make it nice and salty.

How to Make Butter in Mason Jar

Pouring heavy whipping cream in a mason jar

Step 1 – You pour about ¼ cup of heavy whipping cream into your mason jar. Make sure the lid is on tight.

Little hands shaking the mason jar with a lid of heavy whipping cream

Step 2 – Shake the jar. This is where I get my kids to help.

Homemade butter in a mason jar

Step 3 – The fun part is about halfway through you can take the lid off and show them that they made whipped cream.

Homemade butter in mason jar with a serving on a knife

Step 4 – After a while, the cream turns into more of a solid and there will be a lot less liquid left. This is liquid buttermilk. You can strain it off, or leave it in if you want a thinner butter. Use a fine mesh sieve to drain.

  • Step 5 – Wrap the butter in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for about an hour. You can eat it immediately, and believe me, we did. However, I liked it better when it was nice and cold.

How to Make Butter in Food Processor

Homemade butter can also be made in a food processor. Pour the heavy cream into the bowl of the food processor and begin running the machine. Once you see the liquid splatter on the side of the food processor then stop the machine.

You will know that the process is done is when you see butter and buttermilk separated. If you do not, continue running the food processor. You may need to rinse the butter to remove the buttermilk.

How to Make Butter in Blender

Pour the heavy whipping cream in the blender and blend on high speed until the cream begins to separate into butter and buttermilk and splashing on the sides.

You may need to stop the blender several times to scrape the sides of the blender to make sure the cream gets into the blade.

Homemade butter can also be mixed with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or a hand mixer in a large mixing bowl.

What to Do with Leftover Buttermilk?

When your butter gets to the stage where it separates from the liquid, place it on cheese cloth and squeeze to remove the remaining buttermilk. Some people find that pouring in a small amount of ice cold water before they remove the butter solids will help the solids separate from the buttermilk better. Rinse the butter to remove the remaining buttermilk, you don’t want it to go waste.

Once you strain the buttermilk, don’t toss it. You can use the buttermilk in pancakes, use it in homemade ranch dressing, gluten-free biscuits, or really any recipe that calls for buttermilk. So really, this recipe is a two for one!

Homemade butter in a carton

Serving Suggestions

This homemade bread is delicious on Homemade Kings Hawaiian Rolls Recipe and it was amazing on those warm rolls or toast with honey. It is also delicious served on Peanut Butter Bread, Oatmeal Banana Bread and Applesauce Bread.

You can even use it to top these Homemade Mashed Potatoes or make garlic butter to top this Air Fryer Steak.

Spreading homemade butter over rolls in a baking dish

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you make Butter from Milk?

Sadly, no. There isn’t enough fat in store-bought milk to make butter, plus it’s been processed quite a bit. Raw milk sometimes works because it has such a high-fat content, but even then it doesn’t always work. It is best to just use whipping cream.

Is it Cheaper to make your Own Butter?

It can be cheaper depending on the cost of heavy whipping cream.

How Much Butter does this Recipe Make?

One pint of whipping cream will make approximately one cup, which is half of a box of butter or two sticks. If you can get your hands on raw cream, you will have a richer flavored butter that is sometimes hard to find in stores.

How to Store Leftover Homemade Butter

Store leftover homemade butter in an airtight container. I like to place in the refrigerator for a cold butter, but you can also leave at room temperature.

More Easy Homemade Recipes

If you make Homemade Butter Recipe, please leave us a comment. We love to hear from you.

Once you learn how to make butter with heavy whipping cream you'll be hooked! Making butter at home is super easy and it tastes so good!

How to Make Butter

5 from 5 votes
Homemade butter recipe. How to make butter with heavy whipping cream that tastes great. Making butter at home is super easy.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 1
Cuisine American
Course Mixes and Seasonings
Calories 205

Ingredients

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Instructions

  • Pour about ¼ cup of heavy whipping cream into a mason jar (or jar of choice with a very tight seal). Make sure the lid is on tight.
  • You shake it – you shake it – and you shake it.
  • After a while, the liquid mixture will no long be liquid and it will have hardened into a delicious homemade butter.
  • Once the liquid is gone and you start to see butter take shape. I placed it in the fridge for about an hour. You can eat it immediately, and we did. However, I liked it better when it was nice and cold.
  • This is unsalted butter. If you want the delicious taste of salt, just sprinkle some in and give it a quick shake. It doesn’t take much to make it nice and salty.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 205kcal, Carbohydrates 2g, Protein 1g, Fat 22g, Saturated Fat 14g, Cholesterol 82mg, Sodium 23mg, Potassium 45mg, Sugar 1g, Vitamin A 875IU, Calcium 39mg

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About the Author

Hi, I’m Carrie. Welcome to Eating on a Dime!

I’m on a mission to help you cook delicious meals without busting your budget. Together we are going to cook real food… for real families!

5 from 5 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. gary says:

    thanks Carrie you help me out a lot

  2. Carrie says:

    You’re welcome! I hope you both enjoy making this butter recipe.

  3. Suzanne says:

    Wow thaks so much for sharing?My grand daughter and I are gonna try this. She loves cooking and experiments and for sure we will try to make cinnamon butter as well. What a wonderful, tasty idea. Thank you for sharing,
    From grandma Sue & Érika?

  4. Carrie says:

    You’re welcome!

  5. Dee Dee says:

    5 stars
    Thank you so much Nancy I love your recipes keep them coming please. Thank you

  6. Tom Gorman says:

    Hi Carrie, love your site and the awesome recipes. Can I get on your email list if you have one? Hope you send out weekly recipes or something like that, thanks again.
    Tom

  7. Ally says:

    Love ?????? Gonna try this with my kiddos this afternoon. I’ve been looking for the mason jar butter churn for years and until then…i can do it this way. We did this in my 7th grade Texas history class. Just like this and i totally forgot. Thanks for the reminder.

    #mylifeisbeautiful347

  8. Katrina says:

    I am 53 years young and loved when I was in the kitchen with my mom baking from scratch. This recipe is right up my alley. This is something I can share with my granddaughter as she has picked up my love of baking. I have one question, can you use something else to do the shaking process? If so, what? Thanks again.

  9. Carrie says:

    Thanks for sharing Nancy!

  10. Nancy says:

    I’m so happy I found your site ! I’m a 70 yr. old woman that has been programmed in this generation that I can’t do things like I know can be done. I’d forgotten many of the old recipes I know we used when I was growing up. So “THANK You” so much. Keep them coming please.