
This selfmade cowboy butter transforms a stick of butter with recent herbs, zesty lemon, garlic, and a touch of chili warmth. The result’s a flavor-packed compound butter that’s scrumptious with absolutely anything.
Serve cowboy butter as a topping for grilled steaks, pork chops, and veggies, or as a dipping sauce for steak bites, salmon bites, and extra!

Between Yellowstone, 1883, and nation music topping the charts, cowboys are having their 12 months! So, what higher time to share one in every of my favourite compound butter recipes: Cowboy butter. 🤠 Creamy butter filled with zesty herbs, garlic, lemon, and chilies, it doesn’t get higher! This cowboy butter recipe makes an irresistible dipping sauce, and it’s additionally nice rolled up in a log to slice and serve over steak.
Why You’ll Love Cowboy Butter
- Serve it with ANYTHING. The herbs and spices in cowboy butter pair particularly effectively with steak (like a London broil, yum!), however don’t let that cease you from including it to pork steak, veggies, and seafood, like grilled fish and scallops.
- Versatile. Get pleasure from this butter sliced so as to add to your favourite dishes, unfold on dinner rolls, or melted as a cowboy butter sauce for dipping. I’m discovering each excuse to make use of it currently, and after you’ve tried it, I’m certain you’ll, too.
- Customizable. This cowboy butter recipe is adaptable, whether or not you like it daring and spicy, zesty, or delicate. Have enjoyable taking part in round with the herbs and spices to get it precisely the way you prefer it.

Recipe Components
Cowboy butter is a compound butter, which is only a fancy title for butter mixed with herbs and seasonings. I exploit the same herb compound butter in my tomahawk steak recipe.
Right here’s a brief overview of the substances in my cowboy butter recipe. You’ll discover the printable recipe card together with a photograph step-by-step on the backside of the publish.
- Butter – No shock right here! I like to recommend unsalted butter, so you’ll be able to season it to style. The butter must be softened to room temperature earlier than you begin.
- Herbs – Recent parsley and chives. You should utilize dried herbs, however on this case you’ll want roughly 3x the quantity of dried herbs to recent.
- Lemon – I extremely advocate recent lemon zest and juice. If you happen to don’t have recent lemon, you might use bottled lemon juice and easily skip the zest. The flavour simply received’t be as vibrant.
- Garlic – Freshly minced, or substitute ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder per clove.
- Crimson Pepper Flakes – Plus paprika, for a spicy kick. If you happen to’re delicate to chili, you’ll be able to skip the pink pepper flakes and use delicate paprika as an alternative.
- Salt and Pepper – I exploit freshly cracked pepper and desk salt to boost the flavors.

Learn how to Soften Butter Rapidly
Did you overlook to take your butter out forward of time? No worries! These are among the tried and true methods I’ve softened butter shortly in a pinch:
- Use a heat bowl. My methodology of alternative! Fill a heat-proof glass or ceramic bowl with scorching water, then go away it for five minutes. Afterward, dump out the water and canopy the butter with the empty, heat bowl. It’ll soften up shortly within the residual warmth.
- Lower it into cubes. Take your butter out and minimize it into 1” cubes, then cowl it with plastic wrap and go away it on the counter for 10-Quarter-hour. You would additionally grate the butter, because it softens quicker in smaller items.
- Use the microwave. Place the fridge-cold butter in a microwave-safe dish and zap it within the microwave for 5-10 seconds at a time, till it’s simply mushy to the contact. Ensure to not soften it!

Katerina’s Ideas and Variations
- Make it prematurely. I like to organize the cowboy compound butter a day earlier than I plan to make use of it, or on the very least a couple of hours prematurely. The flavors get higher with time. In any other case, it’s high quality to soften and serve instantly as a dipping sauce.
- Scale it up. As written, this recipe requires one stick of butter, however you’ll be able to completely scale it up. See the part additional down for recommendations on the best way to retailer your compound butter.
- Completely different flavors. Check out completely different herbs and mix-ins like thyme, coarse mustard, and cayenne for extra kick. You would additionally check out bolder flavors like horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, and scorching sauce.
Methods to Use Cowboy Butter
Cowboy butter is scrumptious as a ramification on dinner rolls, or I’ll use it as a Southwestern-style basting for pan-seared tomahawk steaks, pork chops, seafood, and extra. It’s even scrumptious on veggies, like sautéed broccolini or oven-roasted greens.
Generally, I’ll pop it into the microwave for a couple of seconds to soften it for a straightforward, flavor-packed dipping sauce to pair with garlic breadsticks, grissini, or crispy potato wedges. It’s additionally nice so as to add to foil packets on the grill, like this grilled shrimp boil or steak and potatoes in foil. The sky’s the restrict!

Correct Storage
- Refrigerate. Tightly wrapped in plastic wrap or parchment paper, this cowboy butter lasts about 1 week within the fridge.
- Freeze. Alternatively, you’ll be able to freeze this compound butter for as much as 2 months. I like to recommend putting the wrapped butter into freezer baggage beforehand. Thaw the butter within the fridge earlier than you utilize it.
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Soften the butter. Earlier than you begin, be sure that your butter is at room temperature. Go away it on the counter till softened.
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Put together the lemon and herbs. Finely chop the parsley and chives. Finely grate the lemon zest. Peel and mince the garlic.
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Mix the substances. Add butter, parsley, chives, lemon zest, lemon juice, minced garlic, pink pepper flakes, and paprika powder to a bowl, and season to style with salt and pepper. Stir utilizing a spatula till effectively mixed. You too can fluff the butter with a handheld mixer.
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Wrap the butter. Switch the butter onto a chunk of parchment paper. Roll the parchment paper up and twist the ends like a chunk of sweet. If you happen to should not have parchment paper, you should utilize plastic wrap.
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Chill. Refrigerate the cowboy butter for 4 hours or till agency. Slice and function desired.
- Change up the flavors. You may attempt completely different taste profiles and make this compound butter with thyme, coarse mustard, and cayenne.
- Serving it. You may serve cowboy butter as it’s or soften it and use it as a dipping sauce.
- Butter choices. I counsel utilizing unsalted butter, as it’s higher to season it to your liking.
Serving: 1tablespoon | Energy: 104kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.4g | Protein: 0.2g | Fats: 12g | Saturated Fats: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fats: 3g | Trans Fats: 0.5g | Ldl cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 15mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 512IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.1mg
Dietary information is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values could differ in keeping with the substances and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed information.
Learn how to Make Cowboy Butter
Take the butter out of the fridge about 20-Half-hour earlier than you begin. Then, comply with these simple steps:


- Prep the substances. First, you’ll chop the chives and parsley, grate the lemon after which juice it, and mince the garlic.
- Mix. Add all of these substances to a bowl along with your softened butter, pink pepper flakes, and paprika. Season the butter to style with salt and pepper, and provides all the pieces a great combine. You are able to do this by hand utilizing a spatula, or with an electrical mixer.


- Wrap the butter. Switch the completed cowboy butter to the middle of a chunk of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Roll it up and twist the ends, like a chunk of sweet.
- Chill. Place your wrapped butter into the fridge to sit back for 4 hours, or till it’s agency. This step additionally lets the flavors mingle, so don’t skip it! Whenever you’re prepared, slice the cowboy butter and use it nonetheless you’d like.
