Cowboy Butter Recipe That Makes Everything Better

Cowboy Butter Recipe: That Magical Stuff Your Steak Has Been Waiting For – I have a confession to make: for years, I’ve been quietly slipping herb-flecked butter onto perfectly good steaks when nobody was looking.

Cowboy Butter

Lumina Liu

Cowboy Butter is a tasty spread made with herbs and spices. It's great for adding flavor to steaks, turkey, chicken, and more. You can use it as a dip or shape it into a log for spreading.

4.9 from votes

Prep Time 5 Minutes

Cook Time

Total Time 5 Minutes

Course Miscellaneous

Cuisine American

Servings 10 servings

Calories 94 kcal kcal

Ingredients

 

• ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon coarse Dijon Mustard
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅛ teaspoon pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

 

1. In a medium bowl, add the softened butter, dijon mustard, chives, parsley, thyme, garlic, lemon juice, paprika, salt, pepper, cayenne, and red pepper flakes. Mix together until combined. This will make about ⅔ cup of butter. (You could also mix the ingredients in a food processor.)
2. To make a compound butter: Scoop the cowboy butter onto a piece of plastic wrap. Roll the butter into a log shape, pressing and shaping as you go until the butter is completely wrapped in plastic. Twist the ends of the plastic wrap together and refrigerate until firm (2 hours up to overnight).
3. To make a butter dip: Melt the mixture in the microwave in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until fully melted.
4. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 94.00 kcalFat: 10.00 gCarbohydrates: 1.00 gCholesterol: 25.00 mgProtein: 0.10 gSaturated Fat: 6.00 g

Keyword Cowboy Butter, flavored butter, compound butter, herb butter, steak butter, dipping sauce, homemade butter spread

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It felt like cheating somehow—this easy trick that transforms a simple piece of meat into something that makes people exclaim mid-bite.

But today I’m coming clean about my butter-pushing ways, and I’m taking it up a notch with what might be the most addictive compound butter I’ve ever made.

Enter cowboy butter. Yes, it sounds like something you’d find in a Lonesome Dove episode, but I promise it’s worth getting past the slightly amusing name.

This isn’t just melted butter with some lazy sprinkles of herbs. This is a flavor bomb of fresh herbs, punchy dijon, garlic, and just enough heat to make you notice without setting your mouth ablaze.

What Makes Cowboy Butter Recipe So Special?

What I love about this cowboy butter recipe is that it sits right in that perfect spot between “impressively fancy” and “I threw this together while helping my kid with homework.”

It’s butter that’s been given purpose and personality, transforming everything it touches.

The first time I made it, I served it with a simple grilled steak that was, let’s be honest, slightly overcooked (timing meat and a Zoom call turns out to be beyond my multitasking abilities).

But this butter—this magical, herby, slightly spicy butter—saved dinner entirely.

My friends asked what restaurant the sauce was from. I may have let him believe it was complicated for just a moment before coming clean.

The Versatility Factor

While cowboy butter recipe originated as a steak companion (at least in my imagination), it refuses to be pigeonholed. I’ve since melted it over roasted potatoes, spread it on warm bread, and even dabbed it onto grilled fish.

Last Thanksgiving, I slipped it under turkey skin before roasting, and my mother-in-law asked for the recipe—which might be the highest culinary compliment I’ve ever received.

You can use it as a spreading butter, formed into a log and sliced into perfect rounds that melt seductively atop hot food.

Or melt it completely for a dipping sauce that makes even the most basic dinner roll feel special. It’s the culinary equivalent of that friend who somehow makes every gathering better just by showing up.

How to Make Cowboy Butter

The beauty of this cowboy butter recipe is that it takes about five minutes of actual work but delivers returns for days.

It’s also forgiving—if you’re short on one herb, just add more of another. The butter police won’t come for you, I promise.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• ½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, softened (cold butter will fight you, and life’s too short for butter battles)
• 1 tablespoon coarse Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced (please, not from a jar if you can help it)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅛ teaspoon pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

The Simple Process

Remember how I said this was easy? I wasn’t exaggerating. Here’s the process:

1. Put your softened butter in a medium bowl. If your butter isn’t softened, you can place it on a plate near your preheating oven for a few minutes, but don’t microwave it unless you’re planning to use it immediately as a sauce. Nobody wants partially melted butter when they’re trying to make a compound butter.
2. Add everything else: the Dijon mustard, minced herbs, garlic, lemon juice, and all those lovely spices. If you’re feeling particularly lazy or efficient (I use these terms interchangeably), you could toss everything in a food processor. But honestly, mixing by hand takes just a minute and creates fewer dishes, which is always a win in my book.
3. Mix until everything is evenly distributed. You want a consistent blend where no ingredient is having its own private party in one corner of the bowl.

Two Ways to Serve Your Cowboy Butter Recipe

Here’s where you get to decide the destiny of your cowboy butter creation:

Compound Butter Method

If you want to make something that looks impressive and can be stored for quick future use:

1. Scoop your freshly mixed cowboy butter onto a piece of plastic wrap.
2. Shape it into a log by rolling and pressing it within the plastic. Think of it as playdough for grown-ups with better taste.
3. Twist the ends of the plastic wrap like you’re sealing the world’s most delicious candy.
4. Refrigerate until firm—at least 2 hours, though overnight is better. The flavors meld beautifully with time.

When you’re ready to use it, simply slice off rounds and watch them melt into whatever lucky food you’ve chosen. There’s something undeniably satisfying about watching those herb-flecked butter coins slowly disappear into a hot steak.

Dipping Sauce Method

Sometimes immediate gratification is the only way to go:

1. Place your mixed cowboy butter in a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Heat in 20-second intervals, stirring between each, until fully melted.
3. Pour into a small serving bowl and watch people double-dip with reckless abandon.

This method is particularly wonderful for serving with bread, seafood, or as a finishing sauce for vegetables.

I once served it with artichokes, and we ended up drinking the remaining butter with spoons when we ran out of leaves. Not my proudest moment, but possibly one of my most delicious.

Storage and Planning Ahead

Your cowboy butter will keep beautifully in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container. If you’ve made it in log form, you can even freeze it for up to a month. Just wrap it in an extra layer of aluminum foil to protect against freezer burn.

I often make a double batch and keep half in the freezer for emergency flavor situations. Because yes, butter emergencies are real in my kitchen.

Perfect Pairings for Cowboy Butter Recipe

While this cowboy butter recipe is delicious enough to eat straight (not that I’ve done that… more than twice), here are some perfect pairings:

• Steak (obviously)
• Grilled or roasted chicken
• Turkey (especially smeared under the skin before roasting)
• Baked or grilled fish
• Corn on the cob
• Roasted potatoes
• Warm crusty bread
• Grilled vegetables
• Basically anything that could benefit from herby, garlicky, slightly spicy butter magic

Tips for Cowboy Butter Success

• Use the best butter you can reasonably afford. Higher fat European-style butters make an even richer end product.
• Fresh herbs really do make a difference here. If you absolutely must use dried, reduce the amounts by about two-thirds.
• If you’re not a fan of heat, you can reduce or omit the cayenne and red pepper flakes—it’ll still be delicious.
• For a smoky variation, use smoked paprika instead of regular.
• If you’re making this for a crowd and aren’t sure about spice tolerance, err on the side of milder—you can always offer hot sauce on the side.

A Few Variations to Consider

The beauty of cowboy butter recipe is its adaptability. Here are some variations that have worked well in my kitchen:

• Citrus Cowboy Butter: Add the zest of one lemon or lime for a brighter, more summery version.
• Blue Cheese Cowboy Butter: Fold in 2-3 tablespoons of crumbled blue cheese after mixing the other ingredients for a tangy twist.
• Maple Cowboy Butter: Add 1 teaspoon of maple syrup for a sweet-savory combination that’s excellent on cornbread or pancakes.
• Herby Garden Cowboy Butter: Double all the herbs and add a tablespoon of fresh basil for an even more aromatic version.

Whichever way you go, I promise this butter will become a staple in your kitchen arsenal. It’s one of those little culinary tricks that makes you seem like a much more sophisticated cook than the effort actually warrants—and aren’t those the best kind?

So the next time you have a perfectly respectable piece of meat or bread or vegetable that needs just a little something extra, remember that there’s probably some cowboy butter in your refrigerator, waiting to ride to the rescue.

Your dinner—and your dinner guests—will thank you.