How to Brown Butter 4 Ways (Stovetop, Instant Pot, Microwave, and Slow Cooker)

This simple tutorial will teach you how to brown butter perfectly every time using your method of choice: stovetop, instant pot, slow cooker, or microwave. Golden, nutty, and richly flavorful, use brown butter to instantly elevate your next recipe!

🤷‍♀️ Why brown butter?

Butter is great, in pretty much all cases. But if you haven’t tried brown butter, you are seriously missing out. Really. The day you try it, you will be forever converted. It's a game changer for simple recipes, sweet and savory alike. It’s deep, toasted, nutty flavor has a special way of convincing people that you slaved over your recipe… but nope. You didn’t have to, because it is only one ingredient and takes less than 10 minutes to make.

🧈 How to make

There are a variety of ways to make brown butter, but whichever method you use will follow the same four stages. Each stage is a visual cue, more or less, helping you know where the butter is in the process.

1. Melted - Melt your butter completely. I suggest starting with cubed pieces to help it melt faster and evenly. 
2. Foaming - After a few minutes, it will begin to sizzle and foam. 
3. Light brown - The foam will start to fade away and the butter will turn a light golden color. The milk solids, which look like small specks, will begin to sink to the bottom. It will also start to smell very nutty and almost caramel-y at this point. 
4. Dark brown - The foam will continue to clear and the butter will darken the longer it cooks. The milk solids will settle on the bottom of the pan and toast deeply. It should still be very fragrant, but not smell burnt.

Watch your butter very carefully as it nears the last stage since it can go from brown to burnt in a flash. Once it has reached the desired golden color, remove it from the heat and pour it into a heat-proof bowl to prevent continued cooking.

1. Stovetop method

The classic method for making brown butter is on the stovetop. Use a medium to large skillet, keeping it on medium heat the whole time to help it cook evenly without burning. It is best to use a light colored skillet to more easily see the color of the butter, but any skillet will do.  

Start by melting the butter, stirring often, until it begins to sizzle. As it starts to foam, continue to stir and watch carefully for color to begin developing under the foam. Once it is golden brown, watch carefully and remove it from the heat as soon as it is the depth of color you would like.

2. Instant pot method

If you need a completely hands-off method, the Instant Pot is your friend. Place the butter in the Instant Pot, seal it, and set it to manual for 10 minutes. Once it is finished, immediately open the steam vent and, once the steam has released, remove the lid and take the pot out of the base to remove it from the heat source (pro tip: use a towel and open the vent away from you to prevent getting burned). It is very important to do this as soon as it is finished. Letting it sit longer will continue to cook the butter, which could cause it to burn. Ten minutes should be the perfect time for a medium-golden color. 

3. Microwave method

If you need your butter in a jiffy, your best bet may be the microwave. Fair warning, this option can be messy if you aren’t careful. Place the butter in a large microwave-safe container (clear glass is best so you can see the color of the butter). Promise me you will use a large container… larger than the one pictured. The butter splatters a lot, so anything smaller will leave you with melted butter everywhere (speaking from personal experience 😅). Cover the container with a plate and microwave on high for 4-8 minutes, pausing to swirl and check the color every 30 seconds. The time varies a lot depending on your microwave, so watch it carefully. Again, once it is the golden color you are going for, remove it from the microwave.

4. Slow cooker method

If you have several hours and don’t want to stand over the stove cooking, the slow cooker works as well. Place the butter in a small or medium slow cooker and cook for 3 hours on high, stirring the butter every 30 minutes. During the second-half of the cooking time, be sure to watch the color of the butter. Once it has reached the golden-level you would like, turn off the heat.

👩🏻‍🍳 How to use

Brown butter can be substituted in almost any recipe that calls for butter. Get creative! I haven’t tried one recipe that I didn’t like with brown butter. Here are some ideas to get you started: 

• In your favorite granola recipe
• Over pancakes or waffles (try these Famous Farm Buttermilk Pancakes)
• In all recipes with pumpkin or pecans
• With herbs over chicken (this 5 Minute Brown Butter Chicken and Crispy Sage is SO good)
• In rice or potato dishes (like these Red Skinned Mashed Potatoes)
• Over pasta with fresh herbs
• In cookie recipes (my favorite are these Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies)
• In all other dessert recipes - bars, cheesecakes, pies, rice krispies, and the list goes on...

👨🏼‍🍳 Tips & Tricks

• Use a clear or lightly colored pan or container so that you can easily see the color of the butter. 
• The deeper the brown color, the more rich and nutty the flavor will be. You can lightly brown the butter for recipes that you want to add an extra subtle flavor too, or you can brown it deeply for recipes that you want the butter to star in.
• Take the butter away from the heat source as soon as it is the depth of brown you would like. Butter goes from brown to burnt in a flash. Brown butter is magical, burnt butter is not. 
• Keep ALL of the brown butter, little specks included. The small specks are the toasted milk solids and they contribute immensely to the flavor of the butter.

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