Browned butter featured image

How to Brown Butter (Beurre Noisette)

A little patience, a lot of flavor.

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Brown butter is one of the easiest ways to add rich, nutty flavor to almost anything you make. With just one ingredient and a little patience, you can transform regular butter into something special.

Recipe Info

Here’s what you need to know about making brown butter:

  • There’s just one ingredient. All you need is regular butter. That’s it.
  • Takes about 10 minutes. The process takes some time, and there’s no way around it.
  • As easy as it gets. You just cook butter on the stove until it browns, stirring now and then. No special tools or skills required.

What is Brown Butter?

Brown butter (beurre noisette in French) is regular butter that’s been cooked until the milk solids toast and turn brown.

That process deepens the butter’s flavor, making it richer, nuttier, and slightly caramelized. It adds an extra layer of complexity to anything you use it in—sweet or savory.

It’s basically letting your butter almost burn, but in a controlled manner.

Browning butter is incredibly simple, but the flavor payoff is huge. And once you learn this one technique, a whole world of delicious recipes opens up.

Hopefully, you’re sold on why it’s worth learning how to brown butter. Let’s get into the how.

Step-by-Step: How to Brown Butter?

  1. Melt the butter. Cut the butter into cubes, place it in a saucepan, and set it over medium heat. Stir occasionally as it melts.
  1. Listen for the sizzle. As it heats up, the butter will start to sizzle around the edges, and there will be a gentle sizzling sound. Keep stirring occasionally, especially if it starts to foam.
Butter starts foaming
stir occasionally as the butter heats and sizzles
  1. Crackling begins. The sizzling will turn into a crackling sound—tiny, sharp pops instead of a continuous sizzle. Keep stirring. You’re on the right track.
  2. Crackling fades. That pleasant crackling sound you got used to? It will slowly die down, and things will get quiet. You’re almost there.
Melted butter foaming
The sizzling turns to crackling, then fades as it quiets—keep stirring, you’re almost there.
  1. Check the aroma. Start watching closely, stirring as needed. You’re looking for a nutty smell and brown specks forming on the bottom of the pan. There will likely be a lot of foam at this point, so use a spoon to check underneath. If it smells rich and nutty and you see brown specks, it’s done.
  1. Brown butter is ready. Take it off the heat. It’s now ready to use.
  2. (Optional) Strain the butter. If you prefer a smoother texture, pour the brown butter through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the toasted milk solids. I pretty much never do that – those toasted specs are where the flavor is.

This process takes about 8 to 12 minutes, depending on how much butter you’re browning and the heat level.

I’ve written this step-by-step in detail so you can confidently follow along. No second-guessing whether everything is going as it should or if you’re doing anything wrong.

Need a quick summary? Here you go:

To make brown butter, cook butter over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes until it smells nutty and you see brown specks at the bottom of the pan.

A small bowl of browned butter

Tips

Here are a few key tips to help you nail brown butter every time:

  • Adjust heat as needed. If the butter is taking forever to change color, turn up the heat slightly. If the sizzling or crackling is super intense, lower it. You want a steady, controlled transformation.
  • Stir, but don’t hover. Some recipes say to stir constantly, but occasional stirring works fine for me. I usually prep other ingredients next to the stove and stir the butter every minute or so. More often if it starts foaming intensely.
  • Cool it down quickly. If your recipe calls for warm (but not fresh-off-the-stove-hot) brown butter, speed up the cooling by placing the saucepan in a bowl of cold tap water for a few minutes.
  • Keep a close eye near the end. Once the crackling stops, things move quickly—brown specks appear, the flavor peaks, and then it can start burning. It’s a gradual change you need to watch closely and stop cooking at the right time. If you’re unsure whether it’s ready based on the flavor and looks, carefully taste a tiny drop to check for that rich, nutty flavor.
Browned butter on a plate
Browned butter on a plate

Storage

You can store leftover brown butter sealed tightly in the fridge for about a week for best quality.

Recipes with Brown Butter

Here are all my recipes that use brown butter:

Browned butter pouring from a spoon into a small bowl

How to Brown Butter

A little patience, a lot of flavor.
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Course: General
Cuisine: French
Keyword: Brown Butter, Butter
Servings: 7 tablespoons brown butter

Equipment

  • Heatproof spoon

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons butter

Instructions

  • Melt the butter. Cube the butter and melt it in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
    8 tablespoons butter
  • Listen for the sizzle. As it heats, the butter will sizzle around the edges. Keep stirring occasionally, especially if it foams.
  • Crackling stage. The sizzle will turn into a sharper crackling sound. Keep going (and stirring regularly).
  • Quiet phase. The crackling will fade and things will turn quiet. You're close.
  • Check for browning. Stir and look for lots of brown specks at the bottom. A rich, nutty aroma means it’s ready.
  • Remove from heat. Once browned, take it off the heat and use as needed.
  • (Optional) Strain the butter. If you prefer a smoother texture, pour the brown butter through a fine-mesh sieve. I typically skip this step.
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