Use garlic butter to make a quick pasta sauce, add a knob or two on top of grilled or roasted meat, stir it into rice or other grains, or top off baked potatoes. It’s also perfect for sautéing vegetables and spreading on bread for delicious garlic bread. Try it on sandwiches, mix it into mashed potatoes, or use it as a finishing touch for steamed vegetables. The options are endless.

This recipe makes a large batch of garlic butter using four sticks of butter, intended to be portioned and frozen for later use. You can halve or quarter the recipe if needed. To store, wrap all the garlic butter in parchment paper, form a log, and freeze it to cut pieces as needed. Alternatively, divide the butter into smaller portions, wrap each in parchment paper, and freeze. Another option is to freeze individual portions and place them in a plastic bag for long-term storage, or fill individual jars or containers and freeze them.

Customize the add-ins by changing up the herbs, omitting or changing the type of cheese, or adding other spices or flavors such as lemon or orange zest.

This recipe was tested using Diamond Crystal coarse kosher salt. If you use Morton's kosher salt or fine salt, decrease the volume by half. If you are not using cheese you may need to add a bit more salt.

Roasted garlic can also be purchased premade in the deli section. To make roasted garlic: cut off the top of a garlic bulb to expose the cloves, drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil, and bake at 400°F for 30-40 minutes until the cloves are soft and golden brown. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the cloves and us as instructed.