Brown butter is melted butter with a nutty and bold flavor brought on by gently cooking it. You can use this one-ingredient wonder as a sauce or as an ingredient in endless sweet or savory recipes. Read success tips above and recipe Notes below before beginning.
Recipe by Sally on September 7, 2019
Prep time: PT1M
Cook time: PT10M
Total time: PT10M
Rating
5 stars ( reviews)
Keywords
brown butter
Ingredients
1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) butter, cut into 1-Tablespoon-size pieces*
light-colored pan or skillet
Categories
Topping
Cuisine
American
Steps
Browning butter is pretty quick, so don’t leave the stove unattended. Have a heatproof bowl next to the stove ready to go for step 3.
Place the butter in a light-colored pan over medium heat. Medium heat ensures the butter cooks evenly, an important factor in this process. Stir the butter the entire time to keep it moving. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam and sizzle around the edges. Keep stirring. In about 5–8 minutes from when you started (depending on the amount of butter you used), the butter will turn golden brown. Some foam will subside and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan will be toasty brown. It will smell intensely buttery and nutty.
Immediately remove the pan from heat and pour the butter into heatproof bowl to stop the cooking process. If left in the hot pan, the butter will burn.
Use as desired.
Reviews
Kate on 2023-04-20 (5 stars): I tried this yesterday and made cupcakes. The measurement decreased, so I added a bit more butter. Do you use the amount before or after browning?
Laura on 2025-11-20 (5 stars): This makes a great sauce for pumpkin or butternut squash ravioli. After the butter is browned, I remove it from the heat and whisk in the juice from about ¼ of a lemon. Pour over the drained pasta and then toss with finely grated parmesan cheese and either ground cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice to taste. It's delicious!
Jean on 2025-11-25 (5 stars): I tried this and it turned out beautifully! Watching the video helped a lot. And it really enhances my chocolate chip cookies!
