Butter makes everything better, but brown butter takes to your dishes to a whole new level! Discover sweet and savory recipes that use beurre noisette, an easy French technique that turns butter into an incredibly aromatic condiment.
Brown butter… I’m sure you’ve seen it mentioned in countless recipes—especially if you’ve browsed my recipe section! But what is brown butter? How is it different from regular butter? And what makes it so special?
Before we dive into this collection of incredible sweet and savory brown butter recipes, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page as to what brown butter is!
What Is Brown Butter?
Brown butter, or beurre noisette as you may see it referred to in some dishes, is butter that has been just that… browned in a pan. It’s melted and simmered until the milk solids separate and settle to the bottom of the pan, where they gently cook until they’re a lovely rich brown hue and an incredible nutty aroma fills your kitchen!
In turn, you can take that beautiful brown butter and use it in any manner of dishes—both sweet and savory—knowing that you’ll be adding a whole other dimension of flavor to your finished dish.
To satisfy your sweet tooth, you can use brown butter in your baking to add extra warmth to cookies, cakes, blondies, banana bread, and even frosting! You’ll find so many options in this brown butter recipe collection.
But brown butter isn’t just for baking—it has some seriously tempting savory applications too! Make a decadent risotto or add some extra oomph to mashed potatoes. Increase the depth of flavor in your roasted veggie dishes, pasta, and even fish. Everything tastes better with brown butter!
Before you get cooking and baking, make sure to read through my detailed article about brown butter. You’ll learn all about this French technique and tips about how to use it! I’ve also made a fun how-to video that shows you how effortless it is to make brown butter so you can feel confident to use it in your own recipes.
I hope you enjoy this collection of sweet and savory brown butter recipes from bloggers around the globe. Be sure to let me know what you make!
Table of Contents: Jump to Recipe! show
Sweet Brown Butter Recipes
1. Brown Butter Apple Blondies
by Food Nouveau
These decadent brown butter apple blondies turn the quintessential fall fruit into an easy treat topped with an irresistible salted butterscotch glaze.
2. Brown Butter Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
by Barley & Sage
These brown butter espresso chocolate chip cookies are soft, chewy, and every coffee lover’s dream! They have a rich, coffee flavor from the espresso powder. Perfect for when you want a cookie to go with your morning coffee!
3. Classic French Financiers
by Food Nouveau
Learn all about French financiers, the elegant tiny cakes made with brown butter you can serve for tea or dessert, or make as a delicious edible gift. This recipe includes several flavor variation ideas!
4. Soft Baked Gingerbread Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting
by Midwestern Homelife
These Gingerbread Cookies are soft and fluffy cookies filled with warm and spicy flavors. Delicious rolled in sugar, irresistible frosted with easy browned butter frosting. These sweet cookies are perfect for the Christmas season or after-school snacking!
5. Brown Butter Hazelnut Layer Cake
by Barley & Sage
Toasted hazelnuts and browned butter are a match made in heaven! With tender hazelnut cake layers, toasted brown butter buttercream, and crunchy hazelnut praline filling, this three-layer Brown Butter Hazelnut Cake is a show-stopping fall dessert!
6. Black Sesame and Chocolate Financier Cake
by Food Nouveau
This Black Sesame and Chocolate Financier Cake looks utterly spectacular but it’s actually easy to make: if you can make muffins, you can achieve this cake! Plus, you can make the batter and even bake the cake in advance, which makes it the ultimate stress-free dessert.
7. Brown Butter, Hazelnut, and Cherry Clafoutis Bars
by Food Nouveau
These juicy, nutty, and rich Cherry Clafoutis Bars are a celebration of sweet summer cherries, in portable form. The brown butter combined with toasted hazelnuts make the crust irresistibly aromatic!
8. Apple and Blackberry Brown Butter Crumble
by Vikalinka
This classic Apple and Blackberry Crumble is taken to the next level by infusing the crumble topping with toasted brown butter. You’ll never want to make your crumblessansbrown butter again!
9. Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie
by Chenée Today
This brown butter sweet potato pie recipe is an old-fashioned sweet potato pie with the added richness of brown butter, along with the “black-bottom” technique of Patti LaBelle’s famous pie. The only soul food Thanksgiving pie you need!
10. Canadian Butter Tarts
by Canadian Cooking Adventures
Canadian Butter Tarts, one of Canada’s most renowned desserts, are made with just a few simple ingredients. To make them, small pastry shells are filled with a batter made with brown butter, sugar, syrup, and eggs. The tarts are then baked until the filling is semi-solid with a crunchy top. Simply irresistible!
11. Browned Butter, Pear and Dark Chocolate Baked Oatmeal
by Rachel Hartley Nutrition
A cake was actually the inspiration behind this recipe for this browned butter, pears, and dark chocolate baked oatmeal. Baked oatmeal is an easy make-ahead breakfast that you can adapt using seasonal ingredients. This version combines comforting flavors with fruity, juicy pears to create a good-for-you treat to start your days with.
12. Banana Bread Granola with Brown Butter and Maple Syrup
by Craving California
Brown butter adds a deep, caramel-like note of toasty, nutty richness to this decadent make-ahead granola infused with ripe mashed banana, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla. Serve with milk or sprinkle over yogurt for a simple, easy breakfast at home or on the go!
Savory Brown Butter Recipes
13.
by Food Nouveau
This rich, comforting, and utterly delicious Butternut Squash Risotto showcases a favorite Italian flavor trio—brown butter, squash, and sage—in a creative, memorable way.
14. Brown Butter Lobster Risotto
by The Flavor Blender
Simple, elegant, delicious, and impressive, this Butter Lobster Risotto is a special occasion-worthy dinner, featuring chunks of buttery lobster and creamy, cheesy risotto, that’s flavored with lobster and a drizzle of brown butter!
15. Easy Mushroom Ravioli with Brown Butter and Crispy Sage
by Killing Thyme
This 15-minute dish tosses mushroom ravioli with nutty brown butter and crispy sage. It’s an incredibly easy, yet deliciously elegant dish you can serve on weeknights, or at dinner parties, too!
16. Brown Butter Brussels Sprouts Pasta
by Recipe Runner
You’ll want to make this brown butter brussels sprouts pasta over and over again this fall and winter! This decadent and easy-to-make pasta dinner is full of sautéed brussels sprouts, pappardelle, a nutty brown butter sauce, and topped with parmesan cheese and toasted walnuts.
17. Pan-Seared Black Cod with Brown Butter
by Champagne Tastes
This decadent pan-seared black cod features fish cooked in butter, and then topped with a brown butter, cayenne, and honey sauce. It’s an easy and elegant fish dish you can serve for any and every occasion!
18. Brown Butter Basted Eggs
by The Suburban Soapbox
You only need five simple ingredients to make Brown Butter Basted Eggs, all of which you likely already have in your kitchen right now. This is one of those methods for making eggs that will make you think, wow, why haven’t I always done this?!
19. Roasted Cabbage Salad with Brown Butter Croutons
by Simple Bites
Smoky cabbage, bright lemon juice, and a grating of parmesan bring this simple salad to life. But it’s the Brown Butter Croutons that make it really addictive! You will want to make double and triple batches of the croutons just to snack on.
20. Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes
by Barley & Sage
These creamy brown butter mashed potatoes are made with rich browned butter, caramelized roasted garlic, and fresh herbs. This is the perfect side dish for Thanksgiving dinner, a family meal, or when you want to add some comfort to the menu. These will be on repeat during the holiday season (and all year long)!
21. Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Mascarpone and Brown Butter
by The Suburban Soapbox
Light, fluffy, creamy, and sweet, Mashed Sweet Potatoes are a fantastic addition to any dinner. Whipped roasted sweet potatoes are blended with creamy mascarpone and nutty brown butter for a flavor explosion you’re not going to be able to get enough of!
22. Easy Roasted Delicata Squash with Rosemary Brown Butter and Hazelnuts
by An Edible Mosaic
The natural sweet notes of brown sugar in roasted delicata squash pair well with the nutty crunch of hazelnuts and the richness of brown butter! This makes a beautiful side dish for fall and winter.
23. Sautéed Oyster Mushrooms with Brown Butter and Sage
by Craving California
These sautéed oyster mushrooms are perfectly tender, golden, and full of richness from nutty browned butter and crispy sage. This is a side dish that will make any meal pop with flavor!
24. Brown Butter Miso Roasted Eggplant
by Grateful Grazer
Brown Butter Miso Roasted Eggplant is the ideal savory side dish for Asian-inspired meals. This vegetarian recipe is quick, easy, and full of flavor from savory miso paste and nutty brown butter.
