Orange Butter

Use orange zest and fresh garden herbs to make orange butter! This citrus herb compound butter is easy to make and can be frozen for later.

Last summer I made lots and lot (and lots!) of compound herb butter with fresh herbs from my garden.

I portioned the butter into cubes, froze it, and now we have lots of fabulous butter on hand all the time!

I've already shared some of my favorite compound butter recipes for basil butter, chive butter, garlic scape butter, and mushroom butter, but there's another butter on my "must make" list.

Orange butter with herbs.

This tasty compound butter is similar to my chive butter, but the added orange zest makes this an entirely different (and amazing) flavor.

Looking for more ways to preserve your herb garden? Try freezing basil leaves, make basil vinegar, dried chives, herb salt and basil pesto.

What Herbs Should I Use?

This butter works well with chives or green onions (or a mixture!).

You could also use tarragon or basil.

What Kind of Orange Should I Use?

You only need the orange zest, so basically any variety of orange should be fine.

If possible, use organic oranges since you're using the peel.

How to Soften Butter

In my opinion, the easiest way to soften butter is to simply leave it at room temperature until it's soft.

The time needed will vary depending on the time of year and the temperature in your kitchen, but for me, the easiest method is to set the butter out on the counter overnight.

I've had mixed success using the microwave to soften butter. Sometimes I accidentally melt the butter instead of softening it.

How to Make Orange Butter

Start by adding the softened butter to a bowl.

Use a rubber spatula and beat the butter back and forth until it's smooth and creamy.

Next, add the herbs and orange zest.

It might seem like you're adding a lot of herbs, but it's not too much!

Use the rubber spatula to beat the herbs and zest into the butter.

Keep folding back and forth until all the herbs and zest are completely coated with butter.

How to Serve or Preserve Orange Butter

At this point, you've got options.

You can form the butter into a ball or a log and serve it right away.

It will make your dinner table look extra pretty.

If you like, you can store leftover butter in the fridge for a up to five days.

I prefer to freeze most of my compound butter for later.

My favorite way to freeze butter is to use a silicone ice cube tray. Scoop butter into each cube, and then later pop out the frozen cubes and store them in an air-tight container.

How to Use Orange Butter

Compound butter is always delicious on freshly baked bread, but I also love it with fish! I use this orange butter on my herb butter salmon.

I also use it with eggs, like this crab omelette.

It's also delicious with corn on the cob and roasted vegetables.