Learn to make homemade butter from scratch using heavy cream and a stand mixer. (Because everyone deserves a bit of better butter.)
You can totally make butter at home. And you should.
Butter is one of the easiest skills for beginner homesteaders to learn. That’s why I put it on my list of 10 simple ways to homestead without a farm.
I think a lot of people secretly believe you need a cow, a butter churn, and a bonnet to make butter from scratch.
Let me remind you: it’s not 1883 anymore and we are not living out on the prairie with Laura Ingalls Wilder.
You can be wearing your coziest sweatshirt, listening to a podcast, and letting your stand mixer do the work while you make one of the simplest (and most satisfying) homestead projects ever.
(Hooray for electricity! And yes, I’m aware of the irony of making butter “the old-fashioned way” using modern day machinery.)
Using a stand mixer results in real, spreadable, old-fashioned butter, but easier, faster, and with way less arm fatigue!
And the result is a creamy, dreamy, delicious spread that Paula Deen herself would be proud of.
Golden, rich, and the absolute best accompaniment to a loaf of fresh sourdough bread.
Once you try it, I’m confident that you’ll love the taste (and thrill) of your own homemade butter.
Spread it on toast, or use it in butter-rich recipes like the herby sourdough crust for my chicken pot pie.
Or make a fancy butter board like I did in this post.
Gather Ingredients and Equipment
To make your own homemade butter, you will need:
- Heavy cream (not ultra-pasteurized if you can help it; use whatever amount you have or that fits in your mixing bowl)
- Stand mixer, hand mixer, food processor, or blender (I tested 3 of these to see which made butter the fastest. See my results in this post.)
- Colander
- Water
- A pinch of good sea salt (optional, but highly encouraged)
Let’s get started!
How to Make Butter
Step 1: Pour your cream into the mixer.
Put the whisk attachment on. Start slow and then build up to medium-high speed.
Today I’m “churning” 2 pints of heavy whipping cream.
Pro Tip: Room-temperature cream turns to butter faster than cold cream. If you think of it, set your cream out 30 minutes before whipping.
Step 2: Whip it. (Whip it good.)
First, you’ll get whipped cream. Keep going.
Then the cream will deflate and look a little sad. Keep going.
(You’ll notice I switched to a paddle attachment here, but it’s not necessary.)
Finally, the cream will “break,” the buttermilk will separate, and little yellow clumps of butter will form. Yay!
Pro Tip: Drape a kitchen towel over the mixer to keep the cream from splashing everywhere. Make sure the towel doesn’t get caught in the mixer!
Step 3: Strain the buttermilk.
Stop the mixer and use a colander to strain the buttermilk. Pour off the liquid into a clean jar.
Save the buttermilk in the fridge for making fluffy pancakes or biscuits.
Step 4: Rinse the butter.
Run fresh water over the butter solids while you squeeze and fold it with your hands. Keep rinsing until the water runs clear. This step removes leftover buttermilk, which helps your butter last longer.
Step 5: Shape and chill.
You can roll the butter into a log, pack it into a butter dish, or press it into a cute mold if you’re feeling fancy. Then pop it in the fridge if you’re not using it right away.
For this batch, I used 2 pints of heavy cream and ended up with a little less than 300g of butter and about a pint of buttermilk.
Keep your homemade butter in an airtight container in the fridge and use within 2 weeks. If your butter starts to smell cheesy, this is a sign that not all the buttermilk was removed and it will not last for much longer before spoiling. In that case, use or freeze your butter within the next day or so.
You Just Made Butter
Homemade butter doesn’t just taste better—it is better. It’s fresher, creamier, and a total flex.
And now that you’ve done it once, imagine all the possibilities:
- Honey butter for weekend pancakes.
- Herb butter for grilled steaks.
- Cinnamon butter on dinner rolls.
- The best homemade butter board of your Tik Tok dreams.
The hardest part will be pretending you’re not going to eat it straight off the spoon.
I think Paula would approve.
Liked making butter from scratch? Try making another pantry staple with me: chicken bone broth in an Instant Pot.
Homemade Butter FAQs
Yes! Here are 4 other options:
1. Hand mixer: works well, but could be a bit messy with the cream splashing around!
2. Food processor: fast, compact, and tidy (best for small batches)
3. Blender: makes butter quickly without splashing
4. Mason jar: a great way to keep kids busy and wear them out; fill a jar halfway with cream, tighten the lid, and shake. It’ll take 10-15 minutes to get butter.
Find out whether a food processor, blender, or stand mixer makes butter the fastest in this post.
Nope! Store-bought heavy cream works just fine. Look for a carton labeled “heavy cream” or “heavy whipping cream”. Try to find one that isn’t ultra-pasteurized (UP) and it’ll whip up even faster and taste way better.
Fresh butter lasts up to two weeks in the fridge. If it’s rinsed well and all trace of buttermilk is gone, it can last up to 3 months. Butter that’s well-wrapped can keep in the freezer for up to a year.
Rinsing the butter in cold, running water helps to remove buttermilk which will make your butter spoil faster.
Save it in a glass jar and store it in the refrigerator. It’s fantastic for use in any recipe calling for buttermilk. Think pancakes, waffles, biscuits, or scones.
If it’s too soft or watery, you may not have rinsed or pressed out enough buttermilk. In that case, perform Step 4 again as described above. If it’s crumbly, your cream might have been too cold. Don’t worry, though, it’s still edible!
Not always, but that’s not really the point. Making your own butter allows you to control the quality of the ingredients, produces better flavor, and it’s fun!
Homemade Butter
Equipment
- Stand mixer, hand mixer, food processor, or blender
- Colander
Ingredients
- Heavy cream not ultra-pasteurized
- Salt
Instructions
- Pour your cream into the mixer bowl with the whisk attachment. Start slow and then build up to medium-high speed.
- Whip the cream until the solids separate from the buttermilk.
- Strain the buttermilk and reserve for future use.
- Run fresh water over the butter solids while you squeeze and fold it with your hands. Keep rinsing until the water runs clear. This step removes leftover buttermilk, which helps your butter last longer.
- Shape the butter into logs and chill.