20 Deeply Delicious Brown Butter Recipes

There's no "butter" way to add flavor to your recipes

By
Cathy Jacobs
Cathy Jacobs
Cathy Jacobs
A freelance journalist and avid home cook, Cathy Jacobs has more than 10 years of food writing experience, with a focus on curating approachable menus and recipe collections.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Published on 07/14/21
Baked Apple Pork Chops With Brown Butter and Brown Sugar

The Spruce/Diana Chistruga

Brown butter (or buerre noisette, if you're fancy) is a staple of French kitchens, and super-easy to whip up at home. This one-ingredient wonder is made simply by cooking unsalted butter in a hot pan until it turns golden-brown and gives off a nutty fragrance. The resulting magical elixir—known as liquid gold to most—is a secret weapon for adding rich, caramelized depth of flavor to all your cooking and baking.

So how you can you use this chef's trick in your own cooking and baking? You can use brown butter anywhere you would normally use regular butter, from your breakfast toast and pancakes, to simple pasta dishes, buttery baked goods, and pan sauces. We've rounded up some of our favorite brown butter recipes here to give you inspiration.

Make-Ahead Tip:

  • You can prepare brown butter ahead and store it in the fridge for up to a week, or 3 months in the freezer (ice cube trays are handy for this).
  • When ready to use, just slice the solidified brown butter into pats, and either melt it in a pan, or leave it to come to room temperature.
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  • 01 of 20

    Sage Brown Butter Sauce for Pasta

    Sage Brown Butter Sauce for Pasta

    The Spruce/Diana Chistruga

    Once you get this easy recipe under your belt, you'll never be pressed for what to serve last minute guests again. Nutty brown butter is infused with garlic and fresh sage leaves in this amazingly quick, 5-ingredient pasta sauce. It's a versatile dressing for any kind of noodles from fettucine and spaghetti to butternut squash ravioli.

  • 02 of 20

    Pumpkin Cake With Browned Butter Icing

    Pumpkin Cake With Browned Butter Icing

    The Spruce/Diana Chistruga

    Browning the butter for the frosting of this wonderful pumpkin spice cake is a great way to infuse it with extra fall flavor. We use a classic buttercream icing here, but you could substitute your favorite cream cheese icing, or a purchased frosting if you are pressed for time. Either way, it's a cozy autumn cake that's ideal for Thanksgiving.

  • 03 of 20

    Brown Butter Cookies

    Brown Butter Cookies

    The Spruce/Kristina Vanni

    Rich and nutty brown butter takes classic sugar cookies to another level. You can make the cookie dough ahead, freezing it in logs, for easy slicing and baking whenever the mood to eat fresh-baked cookies strikes. They are a great addition to any holiday cookie swap.

  • 04 of 20

    Skate Wing With Brown Butter

    Skate Wing With Brown Butter

    The Spruce/Julia Hartbeck

    Skate wing is a mild, sweet, quick-cooking fish that is popular in French cuisine. The key to preparing it well is to cook it gently, so as not to toughen the delicate flesh. Our bistro-style recipe calls for pan-cooking skate wing in a simply delicious brown butter sauce. It takes a mere 15 minutes on the stove-top, and yields a company-worthy dish.

    Continue to 5 of 20 below.
  • 05 of 20

    Brown Butter and Sage Biscuits

    Brown Butter and Sage Biscuits

    The Spruce Eats/Nita West

    The classic flavor combination of brown butter and sage makes these flaky biscuits extra-special. They bake up in less than 30 minutes, for an ideal accompaniment to your holiday dinner menu with turkey. They make a great weeknight side dish for leftover turkey casserole, too.

  • 06 of 20

    Baked Apple Pork Chops With Brown Butter and Brown Sugar

    Baked Apple Pork Chops With Brown Butter and Brown Sugar

    The Spruce/Diana Chistruga

    Pork and apples are a proven flavor combination, and this mouth-watering baked pork dish won't disappoint. It cooks budget-friendly boneless pork chops in the oven with apples, brown sugar, and butter under a tent of foil, so the meat stays moist. Use cubed, refrigerated brown butter for an even richer, more comforting fall flavor.

  • 07 of 20

    Blood Orange Sheet Cake With Bourbon Brown Butter Sauce

    Blood Orange Sheet Cake With Bourbon Brown Butter Sauce

    The Spruce/Lauryn Bodden

    Bring the wow factor to your dessert table with this gorgeous upside-down cake that is reminiscent of an old fashioned cocktail, in sheet cake form. The bourbon-spiked buttermilk and almond cake batter bakes atop a layer of bright blood orange slices and bourbon sauce, for a showy, caramelized crust when the dessert is inverted.

  • 08 of 20

    Sweet Potato Ravioli With Brown Butter Pecan Sauce

    Sweet Potato Ravioli With Brown Butter Pecan Sauce

    bhofack2/Getty Images

    The toasted taste of brown butter plays well with autumnal flavors such as sweet potatoes and pecans. Our homemade ravioli stuffed with a creamy filling of sweet potato and ricotta cheese, and dressed with a delectable brown butter and pecan sauce, take some time to assemble, but the results will wow your dinner guests.

    Continue to 9 of 20 below.
  • 09 of 20

    Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash With Sage Brown Butter Sauce

    Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash With Sage Brown Butter Sauce

    The Spruce/Diana Rattray

    Spaghetti squash is an excellent option for low-carbohydrate diets, and the perfect stand-in for carboriffic noodles. The instant pot makes it a snap to cook this nutrient-rich vegetable in as little as 7 minutes. Browning the melted butter before adding it to the cooked squash with garlic, fresh sage, and simple seasonings is a simple trick that adds mega flavor.

  • 10 of 20

    Vegan Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats

    Vegan Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats

    The Spruce/Pete Scherer

    Win your next bake sale with these brown butter Rice Krispie treats. They've got all the sweetness and chew you love about the childhood favorite cereal bars, with an extra nutty taste from browned butter. They are also entirely vegan, and easy to whip up in under 30 minutes, with no oven required.

  • 11 of 20

    Plantain Pancakes

    Plantain Pancakes

    The Spruce/Ozoz Sokoh

    Cozy baking spices, and a little brown butter, add something special to these plantain pancakes. They taste a whole lot like your favorite banana pancakes, but with a sweeter, richer taste. Drizzle them with maple syrup and whipped cream, or even chocolate sauce, for the ultimate weekend brunch treat.

  • 12 of 20

    Rainbow Trout With Lemon Parsley Brown Butter Sauce

    Rainbow Trout With Lemon Parsley Brown Butter Sauce

    M_a_y_a/Getty Images

    Dress up rainbow trout fillets with a simple brown butter sauce, and you've got a no-fail dinner recipe you can pull out for last-minute guests. Flecked with chopped fresh parsley, this elegant broiled fish dish is easy enough for even beginner cooks, and takes only 20 minutes to prepare.

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  • 13 of 20

    Brown Butter Walnut Blondies

    Brown Butter Walnut Blondies

    Pete Scherer

    Move over, brownies. Our rich and gooey brown butter blondies were built for ultimate depth of flavor. They include brown butter, molasses, oats, cardamom, vanilla bean, and walnuts, for all the good dessert vibes. Whip them up in under an hour for potlucks and bake sales, or top them with vanilla ice cream or caramel sauce for an indulgent dessert.

  • 14 of 20

    Two-Ingredient Pumpkin Pasta With Brown Butter Sage Sauce

    Two-Ingredient Pumpkin Pasta With Brown Butter Sage Sauce

    The Spruce

    On cool autumn evenings, warm up with a velvety bowl of pumpkin pasta. All you need to form the delicious, handmade noodles are some flour and pumpkin puree, with no pasta maker required. Serve them up with a cheesy, sage-infused brown butter sauce for a delicious taste of autumn.

  • 15 of 20

    Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Diana Rattray

    Browning the butter for these chocolate chip cookies takes only a few minutes, and takes them to a whole new level of deliciousness, especially with the additional vanilla. They make a great lunchbox treat for kids. Or make them you after-work snack, with a glass of dairy or plant-based milk.

  • 16 of 20

    Soft Pumpkin Cookies With Brown Butter Icing

    Soft Pumpkin Cookies With Brown Butter Icing

    The Spruce/Cara Cormack

    Pillowy pumpkin cookies drizzled with a wonderful brown butter icing are a true delight for the whole family. They are a delicious accompaniment to your afternoon cup of tea or coffee, or a kid-friendly treat anytime.

    Continue to 17 of 20 below.
  • 17 of 20

    Butternut Squash With Pasta and Sage

    Butternut Squash With Pasta and Sage

    Diana Rattray

    Nutrient-rich butternut squash is one of those vegetables even picky eaters will like, especially when it's roasted to bring out its natural sweetness, and combined with pasta in a buttery, cheesy sauce. Using browned butter makes this rich fall vegetable dish even more special.

  • 18 of 20

    Fish With Tarragon Walnut Brown Butter Sauce

    Fish With Tarragon Walnut Brown Butter Sauce

    Getty Images

    Impress your foodie friends with a sophisticated fish dish that is secretly a snap to prepare. Our incredibly easy tarragon walnut brown butter sauce goes beautifully with any variety of white fish fillets. You can also re-purpose it for tarting up steamed vegetables.

  • 19 of 20

    Brown Butter Fudge

    Brown Butter Fudge

    Wolfgang Schardt/Getty Images

    Brown butter fudge is a rich-tasting twist on traditional butter-based fudges. Browning the butter gives it a nutty, caramelized taste that elevates a classic candy recipe. The end result is a smooth, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth fudge that tastes even better with the addition of walnut pieces.

  • 20 of 20

    Brown Butter Trout

    Brown Butter Trout

    Candice Bell/Getty Images

    A lemony brown butter sauce is all you need to bring out the natural goodness of fresh or frozen thawed boneless trout fillets. You need just 20 minutes, and 4 ingredients, to whip up this classic, French bistro-style trout dish. It's fabulous for weeknight dinners, or when company drops in.