Parmesan-Basil Butter Recipe

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated August 29, 2018
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Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt

Why It Works

  • Combining herbs and aromatics with butter creates the world's simplest sauce for grilled seafood, meat, and vegetables.

A compound butter flavored with Parmesan cheese, basil, garlic, and lemon. Use it on grilled meat, vegetables, or seafood.

Recipe Details

Parmesan-Basil Butter Recipe

Active 5 mins
Total 5 mins
Serves 10 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 stick unsalted butter (4 ounces; 115g), softened

  • 1/4 cup (about 10g) packed fresh basil leaves

  • 3/4 ounce (20g) finely grated Parmesan cheese

  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) juice plus 2 teaspoons (10ml) zest from 1 lemon

  • 2 medium cloves garlic, minced

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Combine butter, basil, Parmesan, lemon juice and zest, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor (see note) and pulse until garlic and herbs are chopped and lemon juice is incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper and pulse to combine. Wrap butter tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for several months.

Special Equipment

Food processor (see note)

Notes

Instead of using a food processor, you can mince the basil and garlic by hand and incorporate all of the ingredients using a fork in a bowl.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
92Calories
10gFat
1gCarbs
1gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10
Amount per serving
Calories92
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10g13%
Saturated Fat 6g31%
Cholesterol 26mg9%
Sodium 100mg4%
Total Carbohydrate 1g0%
Dietary Fiber 0g0%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 1mg5%
Calcium 23mg2%
Iron 0mg0%
Potassium 13mg0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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