There is nothing better than soft butter melting into a hot biscuit. The creamy butter spreads smoothly over the biscuit and melts evenly over the entire biscuit. We’ve been spoiled on spreadable margarine, that spreads smoothly every time. If you are lucky enough to live in a climate that allows for keeping a butter dish on the counter, real butter is spreadable at room temperature. However, if you are forced to keep butter in the fridge, it quickly becomes too hard to spread. Your biscuit is covered with chunks of butter that tear the biscuit. My mom, Betty-Lou Seager, has been making homemade spreadable butter for years! This simple spreadable butter recipe is sure to be a hit at your home too.
Why Choose Real Butter?
Margarine was invented in 1869 as an alternative to butter. It was originally made from tallow that was churned with milk. Margarine as we know it, made with vegetable oil, became popular by 1902 when the process of hydrogenation of oils was patented. By 1969, margarine production began to rival butter sales in both Europe and the United States.
The hydrogenated oil that margarine and butter spread is made from has some serious side effects on your health. Each family needs to evaluate the processed foods they choose to use in their home. At Kowalski Mountain, Philip and I are choosing to do better. We grew up and fed our own families processed foods. Like anything, you don’t know what you don’t know, but when you do know, you have to choose to do better.
I have always been a cook who made homemade meals, however, I still used convenience foods and hydrogenated oils in my meal preparations. Over time, I have slowly transitioned away from these ingredients. Margarine is a convenience food that we have replaced in our house.
Using Real Butter
Depending on where you live, a butter dish may be a good option. Simply place the butter in a covered butter dish and put it on the counter. Room-temperature butter is safe to eat and will spread smoothly. However, if you live in a hot climate, the butter may go rancid if you don’t use it fast enough. Living in Central Florida, we struggle with this issue, or the butter is too soft and melting too much. As we commit to making more all-natural food choices, I thought it was time to give homemade butter spread a try.
Necessary Ingredients
Making your own spreadable butter is so simple! The only two ingredients necessary to make a basic butter spread is sticks of quality butter and oil. You can customize this to your taste preferences. We use salted butter, however, if you want to control the amount of salt in your butter spread, you can use unsalted butter and salt it yourself. If you have access to homemade butter, even better! For now, we have to purchase our butter in the grocery store.
Choosing an Oil
When choosing the types of oil it’s best to avoid hydrogenated oils. I raised my family in an era when canola oil was deemed the most heart-healthy oil. I’ve used it for years. However, it is hydrogenated oil, meaning highly processed and not as healthy as it was once proclaimed. Our goal is to produce a healthier option, not just a more cost-efficient option
Your best option to create an all-natural butter spread is to choose a natural oil. It must remain liquid at room temperature to create a spreadable butter. Good options are olive oil, avocado oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, or grapeseed oil. While regular coconut oil is a natural oil, it is solid at room temperature and is not appropriate to create a spreadable butter.
Which Oil is Best?
This is really up to you. What natural oil is your preference? The first time I made spreadable butter, I made it when avocado oil. I really liked it, however, Philip felt it had an aftertaste. Avocado oil is also a more expensive oil.
Olive oil is our favorite oil to make butter spread. Extra virgin olive oil will have a more robust flavor and may change the flavor of your butter spread. Regular olive oil or light olive oil will have a more mild flavor.
When first making butter spread, you may want to make a half batch, to experiment with the different oils you choose. I did this for several weeks until we settled on our process. A mild-tasting oil will produce a butter spread with a more distinct taste of butter rather than your chosen oil.
How Much Oil?
The amount of oil in spreadable butter recipes varies. I’ve seen recipes with as little as 1/3 cup of oil. Some recommend a 2:1 ratio, which would be a 1/2 cup of oil to two sticks of butter. My mom makes her butter spread with 2/3 cup of oil to two sticks of butter. We found the butter to be a little less spreadable than we wanted. I increased the oil to 3/4 cup of oil to reach the spreadable consistency that we desired. The best part of making butter spread at home is you can make it exactly to your preferences.
Step-By-Step Instructions for Spreadable Butter
To create your own spreadable butter, the first step is to set your sticks of butter out and allow them to come to room temperature. I use two sticks of butter to make my spread. This step can’t be rushed. Since butter is stable at room temperature you can plan ahead for this. I put the sticks of butter out before work and when I come home, they are ready to process. Room temperature butter will produce a smooth butter spread.
Once the butter is at room temperature. Put the softened butter into your mixer or food processor. Go ahead and give the butter a stir to blend the two sticks of butter together. Once stirred, measure your choice of oil and add to the bowl.
Mix the oil and butter until it is smoothly blended with no lumps. I use the whisk attachment on my kitchen aid to mix this best. If you would like to control the amount of salt, you can salt your own butter spread at this point. Once blended, pour the butter spread into an airtight container. I use a pint mason jar.
Spreadable Butter with Bonus Garlic Spread
My mom Betty-Lou Seager taught me how to make spreadable butter that I can keep in the fridge. We don't use butter quickly enough to use a butter dish, but this spreadable butter is perfect to keep in the fridge.
We use this for all of our spreadable butter needs, I'm adding instructions to make garlic bread.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks of butter, softened
- 3/4 cup oil your choice. We prefer olive oil, but avocado oil is a good option as well.
Instructions
- Allow 2 sticks of butter to soften.
- Unwrap and put into kitchen aid for smoothest butter (or hand mixer)
- Add 3/4 cup olive oil. (Can reduce to 2/3 cup oil if you prefer)
- Mix until smooth, pour into a pint jar, and refrigerate.
Notes
To make easy garlic bread, I purchase french bread from the local bakery. Cut lengthwise. Spread both sides generously with spreadable butter spread. Sprinkle both sides with garlic powder to your preference. Sprinkle both sides with parsley. Lightly sprinkle both sides with seasoning salt. Add cheese if you like
Put the two pieces of bread back together and cut them to meet your family's needs. I cut one loaf of french bread into 3 to four pieces for separate meals.
Wrap bread in foil and freeze. When needed, pull out of the freezer and bake frozen bread in preheated oven at 350 degrees until heated through.
Check out my favorite zucchini bread recipe to try this spreadable butter on!
Flavored Butter Spreads
Once you have a good basic spreadable butter recipe you can venture out to make flavored spreads. A nice garlic spread made with crushed garlic, parsley, and salt flakes. Cinnamon butter spread is perfect for sweet potatoes. Maybe a delicious blend of honey butter, it’s a perfect way to use honey from Kowalski Apiary! Share with me in the comments the flavored spreadable butter recipe that is your favorite flavor blend!
About the Author: Barbra-Sue Kowalski grew up on a small hobby farm. She was always drawn to farm life, however, she was stuck in an urban life far from her roots. Barbra-Sue was a single mom for 13 years, raising her 3 children on her own. She met Philip in 2018 and they married in 2021. Between the two of them, they have 5 grown children and 5 grandchildren. These empty nesters are following their dreams! As they both turn 50, they are building their off-grid homestead to live the life that they dream about. Learn more about Philip and Barbra-Sue here. Contact them here. To leave a comment on this post, please scroll down.
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