1 Ingredient Homemade Butter (With Video)

Silky, smooth and creamy, homemade butter is way easier to make than you think! It’s made with only one (or 2) ingredient and once you taste it you’ll never want to have any other store-bought version ever again!

Jump To Recipe

Jump To Video

— Get Printable Recipe —

About This Recipe

Making butter at home might seem like a tough task, but believe it or not, homemade butter is quite simple to make! It requires only one ingredient: fresh/heavy cream, which is whipped until it is separated into the butter fats and buttermilk, it’s that simple!

To make homemade butter I like to use the easiest way, and that’s to use a stand mixer. You can also use a hand mixer, blender, mason jar or even a whisk, although you will need strong arm muscles and about 30 minutes for the latter two options (it is possible!).

Why make butter at home?

There can be many reasons why you would want to make butter at home, here are some of them:

Homemade butter is just more fresh! Compare it with any store-bought version and the difference is clear. The butter at the supermarket has been sitting there for quite a while, which makes it loose so much of that fresh flavor!
It’s healthier. With no hidden trans-fats and broken-down nutrients, homemade butter is much healthier than store-bought butter.
Homemade butter has a higher milk fat content than store-bought butter-which is a good thing! It makes the butter more flavorful, more creamier and more enjoyable!
You get buttermilk. The tangy liquid left behind after the glob of butter comes together is buttermilk, this can be used in any recipe that calls for buttermilk like pancakes, cakes and even fried chicken! Plus it’s not processed like the buttermilks you would find at the supremarkets!
And the most important point…. it just tastes incredible! Smooth, creamy and irresistible, it can be flavored however you like, salted, unsalted! I personally love to keep mine unsalted and pair it with some fig jam on a slice of soft baguette!

What You Need To Make This Recipe

I used cold fresh cream, but you can also use heavy whipping cream (cold).

What is fresh cream? It’s what is collected from fresh whole milk after it’s boiled and allowed to cool overnight (this was collected over the course of about 2 months and stored in the freezer!). I find that this homemade butter recipe is much quicker to make using fresh cream rather than heavy cream, although both will work just as well.

How To Make Homemade Butter

Step 1: The first thing you wanna do is make sure your heavy/fresh cream is cold. It will not whip properly if the cream is at room temperature, so if your cream isn’t cold refrigerate it overnight before starting.

Step 2: Transfer the cold cream into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Star beating the cream on medium speed at first for 5-7 minutes, the cream will start to become fluffy and then curdle into small pieces.

*If you’re using heavy whipping cream the cream will turn into whipped cream at this stage, keep whipping and the cream will start to curdle.

Step 3: Add in about 10 ice cubes one at a time while still beating on medium speed. Once you’ve added all of the ice cubes cover your stand mixer with a kitchen towel and turn up the speed to high. Beat for another 12-15 minutes. The butter will start to clump together on the whisk attachment and separate from the buttermilk.

Step 4: Turn off the mixer and pull off all the butter from the whisk into a bowl of cold water. Then strain the small pieces of butter in the buttermilk(don’t throw away the buttermilk) as well and combine that with the rest of the butter. Using your hand bring all of the butter together into one big ball (if it’s too big, you could also make 2 balls instead). Carefully squeeze out the excess water from the butter.

Step 5: Rinse the blob of butter under running cold water (2nd wash) then squeeze out the water as well as you can. At this point you could add in salt if you like and give it a mix.

Step 6: Shape the butter however you’d like and wrap it in some parchment paper and store in the refrigerator.

Pro Tips

I recommend storing the butter in the refrigerator, but if you’re going to leave it at room temperature than make sure to add salt to your butter, it helps to preserve the butter.
Store the butter in an air-tight container to keep the butter fresh.
This recipe does make a lot of butter, but you can easily half it to make less.
Do not skip rinsing the butter in cold water, otherwise the buttermilk will remain in the butter and make it rancid.
Using cold water will prevent the butter from getting too soft and sticking onto your hands.
Have fun with it! I think this the most important part, because I’m not going to lie, this processes does get a little messy, which makes it perfect to do with kids! And the end product is totally worth it!

FAQ’s

Can I make butter with milk?

No, butter cannot be made with milk, because it doesn’t contain enough fat. So you’ll need heavy whipping cream or fresh cream.

Can I make butter without a stand mixer?

Yes, butter can be made using a whisk or even a mason jar (just shake the jar like your life depends on it:)), but it’ll also take double the amount of time and a lot of muscle power. If that’s two things you’ve got or you just want to do an arm workout, then definitely you can go for it!

Does homemade butter need to be refrigerated?

I always refrigerate mine, but if you want you could leave it at room temperature, here are some tips to follow:

Add salt to your butter, this will help preserve it.
Store the butter in an air-tight container to keep it fresh for longer.
Make sure your home does not get too warm!

What can I make with the buttermilk?

Here are some of my recipes that call for buttermilk: (I know they’re all desserts, it’s just what I specialize in! :))

Check out my YouTube Channel for more delicious recipe tutorials! Made one of my recipes? Tag me on Instagram, I would love to see your creations!

Recipe Card

1 Ingredient Homemade Butter Recipe

Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 0 min

Total Time: 30 min

Course: Breakfast

Servings: ~ 4 cups

— Print Recipe —

Ingredients

8 cups fresh/heavy whipping cream, cold
10 ice cubes
1 1/2 tsp salt *optional

Instructions

Add the cold fresh/heavy cream to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a large bowl if you’re using a hand mixer).
Beat on medium speed for 5-7 minutes until the creams starts to curdle slightly. (passed the whipped cream stage)
Reduce the speed to low and add in the ice cubes. Cover your stand mixer with a kitchen towel (to prevent splashes) and increase the speed to high. Beat for another 10 minutes, the butter will start to clump onto the whisk.
Using your hands transfer the clumps of butter stuck on the whisk into a large bowl filled with cold water. Strain the buttermilk and collect the small pieces of butter in it as well. Combine all the butter into one large ball ( or 2 smaller balls) and squeeze to remove the excess buttermilk and water.
Rinse the ball of butter under running cold water or even another bowl of fresh clean cold water.
Squeeze out as much of the water as you can and that’s it! At this point you can add in the salt if you want your butter salted, just sprinkle it on and mix using a large spoon.
Shape the butter however you’d like and in how many blocks you’d like. Wrap in parchment paper and store in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Watch Video Tutorial

Homemade Butter Recipe Video