The Best Homemade Bacon Butter

Have you ever heard of bacon butter? It's a creamy, salty compound butter with bacon and herbs that is perfect to add flavor to steaks, vegetables or even to use a smear on bread.

Some things in life you never forget and I will never forget the first time I tried this bacon and butter recipe. I’d never tasted anything quite like it and I couldn't believe how amazing it tasted.

It's made with real butter blended with bacon. We still always have some of the best bacon butter in our fridge or freezer.  Just in case we are in the mood for some late-night popcorn or even a simple grilled cheese sandwich.

If you love the flavor of bacon, you will definitely enjoy this homemade bacon aioli or this onion bacon dip.

Why You Will Love Butter and Bacon

• An easy way to add flavor to meals. It takes a dish from bland or dull to incredible in minutes.
• Takes only minutes to prepare.
• Flexible recipe and easy to store. You can make just enough to serve with a meal or make a big batch for your fridge or freezer to use whenever needed.
• The ingredient list is short and simple.

What is Compound Butter?

Simply, it's flavored butter but more specifically the butter is beat until creamy and then ingredients such as herbs, garlic, shallots, and even bacon are mixed into the butter.

It's used as a spread or formed into rolls or other shapes or serving and is often added to dishes to improve the taste or flavor and add depth. This bacon and butter recipe is simply one type of compound butter you can prepare.

Compound butter can easily be made at home by blending or whipping herbs and spices into softened butter. However, you can also find them in the store but personally, I prefer to make homemade flavored butter to save a bit of money and to make it exactly the way I like it. 

Ingredients

You can mix together bacon and butter with a few pantry staples in just a few minutes. Let's take a look at what you need.

• Bacon: Use any bacon you enjoy.
• Aromatics: Chopped onions and garlic are sauteed and mixed into the butter.
• Butter: Use a quality salted butter.
• Honey: Just a touch for a little sweetness. You can also swap it for maple syrup or agave syrup though they each taste a little different.
• Green onions: Fresh green onions add delicate onion flavor and some color to homemade bacon butter.

Check the list of ingredients in the recipe card for the full list of what you need along with the quantities.

How to Make Bacon and Butter Spread

Once you gather all your ingredients together, you're ready to get started making this easy flavored butter recipe.

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add the chopped bacon, and cook until crisp. Remove the cooked bacon from the skillet and allow it to drain on a paper towel.
2. Reserve a few tablespoons of bacon fat in your skillet to cook the garlic and onions. Add the onions to your hot skillet and cook until tender. Add garlic and cook for another minute or two.
3. Remove from heat and set aside to allow to cool completely to room temperature.

4. In a medium-sized bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer, whip butter until very soft.
5. Add cooked onions, garlic, and bacon. Mix until well blended.

6. Stir in the honey, green onions, and pepper.
7. Transfer the whipped butter to a container with a lid for easy access.

8. This homemade compound butter with bacon can be stored in your refrigerator for at least 5 days or frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
9. Serve on sandwiches, popcorn, eggs, potatoes or beef, or anything else you use butter for.  

How to Store

There are a few different ways to store this bacon and butter spread. Let's look at the options.

In a Jar or Container

The easiest is to store it in a jar with a tight-fitting lid such as a mason jar or recycled jelly jar. Just make sure it is well sealed and store it in the refrigerator or freezer.

Shape It Into a Log

After your compound butter is prepared, the butter can be shaped with parchment paper or plastic wrap so it can be easily sliced or measured.

• Place the butter in the middle of a sheet of parchment and fold the parchment over.
• Then roll the butter back and forth, kind of like a rolling pin or like a burrito or wrap, until it is in a log shape.
• Wrap or roll the parchment up tightly so it is surrounded by parchment paper or plastic wrap. Don't forget to cover and seal up the ends.
• Refrigerate for at least two hours and then after it firms up, it will slice easily.

Shape It Into Rosettes

This method works great for serving it up on individual butter plates or if you want a fancier presentation to top off a steak.

• Transfer the softened butter to a pastry bag with a star tip and squeeze out the desired size portions of butter on a parchment-lined sheet pan.
• Place the tray into the freezer and flash freeze the butter rosettes. Once firm you can transfer them to an airtight container and store them in the freezer until you're ready to use them.

Can You Freeze Bacon Butter?

Yes, you definitely can!  I usually make a batch and freeze a few packages or smaller portions of it so I have it when I want it. 

Simply put, I wrap the portions in parchment paper and then place them all into a resealable bag with as much air removed as possible! 

I just remove some butter from the freezer when I know I am going to use it and it defrosts so quickly.  If I need it melted I toss a frozen piece into the microwave or into a pot on the stove!

Storage Details

Freezer: You can keep compound butter frozen for up to 3 months.

Refrigerator: It will last up to 10 days in the refrigerator, depending on what you used for flavor. As you might expect, fresh herbs don’t last as long as dried herbs and spices. 

Variations

The possibilities are endless when it comes to changing up bacon butter or using completely different combinations.

As a general rule, for every one cup of butter (two sticks or one-half pound) use a one-quarter cup of minced fresh herbs OR two teaspoons of dried herbs or spices.

For liquid ingredients, you want to use roughly one tablespoon of liquid ingredients per stick of butter.

Always add at least a pinch of sea salt or salt if you're using unsalted butter. 

• Sweet Honey Butter: For every stick of butter you use add one tablespoon of honey, one-half teaspoon of cinnamon, and one-quarter teaspoon of vanilla. Perfect on warm bread, biscuits, rolls, pancakes, waffles or french toast, vegetables and so much more!
• Spicy Honey Butter: For every stick of butter add one tablespoon of honey and one-quarter teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.
• Herb Compound Butter: This is basically bacon butter without the bacon! You can go with garlic on its own and then mix in whatever herbs you want. You can also make herb butter with bacon by mixing in whatever herbs you prefer in place of the green onions.
• Simple Garlic Butter: For every stick of butter add two tablespoons of minced fresh parsley and two minced cloves of garlic though you can always add the amount of garlic you enjoy! You can even try it with Oven Roasted Garlic Bulbs and Puree.
• Chipotle Bacon Butter: Mix two teaspoons of chipotle in adobo sauce into the flavored butter.

How to Use Butter and Bacon

I can't wait to show you all of the things you can do with bacon butter. Wait until you try a bunch of them.

• Add it to a slice of toast or crackers.
• Make a grilled cheese sandwich or any sandwich with bacon and butter.
• Use it on a baked potato or a serving of mashed potatoes.
• Drizzle it all over a bowl of microwave popcorn.
• Melt it in a skillet and use it for making scrambled eggs.
• Add a slice to the top of a freshly cooked steak, lamb, pork, chicken, or fish.
• Place it under the skin of a whole chicken, turkey, or duck before roasting
• Add it to veggies including steamed or roasted vegetables, carrots, and corn on the cob.
• Use it on baked goods such as scones, muffins, biscuits, English muffins, pancakes, and waffles.

Can you think of any I've left out? I'm sure I have since the possibilities are endless.

Expert Tips

• Let the butter soften fully before beating. This makes it easier and allows the butter to incorporate more air which makes it fluffier.
• Use high-quality bacon for the best flavor.
• Add salt if using unsalted butter for the whipped flavored butter for better flavor.
• Allow it to sit in the fridge or freezer for at least two hours if you plan on slicing it. This also allows the flavors to meld together better.

FAQs

Video

Take a moment to check out our video for The Best Bacon Butter below!

More Bacon Recipes

This post was originally published June 2017. It has been republished with new images and content.