Homemade Spreadable Butter

Forget to pick up spreadable butter when you went to the store? No need to venture out again … if you’ve got butter and oil at home, you can make it yourself!

This scenario did, in fact, happen to me recently … regardless of how carefully we think and plan, no doubt we always forget something. It’s certainly not the end of the world to run out of spreadable butter, but there’s a lot of toasting going on at my house lately with a fresh hot loaf of sourdough sandwich bread coming out of the oven at least every other day.

So I got to thinking … especially since the spreadable butter I’ve been buying lately is just butter and olive oil … um, why couldn’t I make this at home? I have quality butter and olive oil on hand. I went searching and found this recipe from Humorous Homemaking that I used for my initial guide. In her post, she mentioned she didn’t recommend using olive oil because she doesn’t like the taste of olive oil. She likes using grapeseed oil, something I definitely don’t have on hand.

We, on the other hand, very much like the flavor of olive oil, so much so that sometimes we dip our bread in it, you know, like they do at Italian restaurants. Yeah, we do that at home … sometimes.

However, we did quickly discover that extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) might be a little too strong for this particular purpose and we found we had to adjust the ratio of butter to oil from the original recipe to let the butter flavor shine through. If you are sensitive to the flavor of olive oil and really want your spreadable butter to taste more like, um, butter, then you’ll want to use a more neutral-tasting oil. For me, that would be avocado oil because I always have that on hand, or maybe canola oil, but if you have another vegetable oil at home that’s light in taste (or even light olive oil), then yes, use that.

Or if EVOO is what you have on hand, then go with 1/3 cup of olive oil or maybe a mix of EVOO and a more mild-flavored oil. If you use 1/3 cup of EVOO, you will still be able to detect the taste of olive oil, but the butter flavor should still shine through, especially if you’re using a good, flavorful grass-fed butter like Kerrygold. (Kerrygold doesn’t pay me to say that … I just really love their butter. And my dietician told me to incorporate more grass-fed butter into my diet to lower my cholesterol, so who am I to argue with that?)

What types of oil can you use for making spreadable butter?

You can use any vegetable oil as long as the oil you’re choosing to use is liquid at room temperature. Do NOT use regular coconut oil because it is solid at room temp and will not help with the spreadability of your butter. I think some oils may differ from others in how they respond to refrigeration, so if the butter isn’t as spreadable as you’d like with 1/3 cup, just set it out at room temp again and then whip in some more oil until you find the right mix for the oil you want to use. I would recommend making a note once you settle on the perfect ratio of YOUR oil for YOUR butter. Different types of butter are more spreadable than others out of the fridge. Grass-fed butter like I used (mine was from Kerrygold) is naturally more bendy and spreadable than butter that isn’t grass-fed, which is more brittle and breakable.

How good does homemade spreadable butter taste?

At my house we find this homemade version of spreadable butter is much better than the tubs of spreadable stuff you find at the grocery store. It has all of the flavor, without any weird additives or strange ingredients or trans fats. It’s nicely spreadable on your toast and won’t leave you with chunks of hard butter that tear up your bread. I’m guessing that results will vary depending on what type of butter and oil you use. I used Kerrygold salted butter with organic extra virgin olive oil from Costco and it tastes SO good on toast!

Personally, I like to spread it on a hot slice of toast and then do a second toasting to get the butter extra bubbly and hot, giving it a chance to soak into the top of the bread, almost sort of caramelizing the top of your toast. To me, a good slice of toast is a treasure. The intoxicating smell of it when it’s toasting, the feel of the butter as I spread it over the bread, watching it melt into the crevasses and holes in the bread, and then setting it back into the toaster oven for a second toasting, ah, yes, that’s the finale I love. That initial crunch I hear when I take the first bite … okay, I might be a little overly obsessive about toast, but can you blame me?

A good toasting butter is something that brings a little pleasure and joy to life. Seriously, it’s the little things in life that make life so much better … things like spreadable butter, the scent and taste of hot tea/coffee in the morning, feeling the warmth of the sun on your face and a gentle breeze in your hair. Sharing a smile and kind greeting with your neighbor from across the way. Hearing the birds chirping, seeing the new growth of leaves in the spring. There is so much joy right under our noses that we can’t see because we’re too caught up in our daily drama. Look for those little things that bring you joy, and take time for a deep breath to truly feel and savor those little moments. Especially right now.

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Now that you have spreadable butter, what are you going to spread it on? I’ve got a few ideas …

Sourdough and Yeasted Breads:

• BREAD MACHINE HAWAIIAN ROLLS
• SOURDOUGH BRIOCHE BURGER BUNS (or BREAD MACHINE BRIOCHE BUNS– sans sourdough)
• CRUSTY SOURDOUGH FRENCH ROLLS
• ARTISAN SOURDOUGH SANDWICH BREAD
• MY DAD’S SOFT & WONDERFUL YOGURT BREAD
• WHOLE WHEAT YOGURT BREAD
• OOEY GOOEY CINNAMON CARAMEL BREAD
• NO KNEAD PEASANT BREAD
• MULBERRY MAPLE OATMEAL BREAD
• SKOLEBRØD ~ NORWEGIAN “SCHOOL BUNS”
• WHITE WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
• PUMPKIN DINNER ROLLS

No-Yeast Breads:

• WHOLE GRAIN SOURDOUGH BREAD
• BACON CHEDDAR JALAPENO CORN MUFFINS
• CINNAMON CHAI BANANA BREAD
• SWEET HARVEST PUMPKIN ALE BREAD
• LIGHT RHUBARB PECAN STREUSEL LOAF
• SAVORY PUMPKIN CHEDDAR OAT BREAD
• HOPPIN’ JALAPENO CHEDDAR BEER BREAD
• HONEY APPLE BRAN MUFFINS
• WALNUT WHOLE WHEAT PEAR CHAI MUFFINS
• BANANA PEACH STREUSEL MUFFINS
• MORNING GLORY MUFFINS
• BACON BROCCOLI CHEDDAR CORN MUFFINS