Butter Boards are all the rage in food trends right now! They are an easier, slightly more interesting version of a charcuterie board, and the perfect appetizer for the holidays, or even a last minute get together!
What is a Butter Board?
A butter board is a fancy way of serving butter. Butter is slathered on a serving tray (usually a wooden serving plank), then topped with herbs and seasonings. Bread and crackers are swirled in the butter, or guests can use a knife to spread the butter on them.
How to Create a Butter Board
There are loads of ways you can serve a butter board, but no matter your method, we recommend covering your serving tray with parchment paper to keep it clean (butter is greasy and can cause quite a mess). The only requirement to making a butter board is softened butter so it spreads easily. Leave butter out for about an hour on the counter before getting down to business.
Need softened butter in a hurry? Most microwaves have a softening setting if you forget to leave yours out on the counter to soften, or use one of these methods from the Food Network.
Slather the butter onto the parchment paper (I find using the back of a spoon works best!). You can get fancy and swirl it if you like! I added roasted garlic directly onto the butter and pressed it in to infuse the flavor.
You can flavor your butter to your liking, the possibilities are endless! Here are some ideas.
- Roasted Garlic, Lemon & Parsley
- Sun-dried Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella
- Cilantro, Lime & Queso Blanco
- Pomegranate, Rosemary & Honey
- Hot Honey, Sharp White Cheddar & Roasted Garlic
If you are really into aesthetics, try some edible flowers!
For food safety purposes, we recommend following these guidelines , but to be safe- we really recommend making this right before serving, and if you can’t, just refrigerate it to be safe. Keep in mind the seasonings/herbs you’re using for flavoring if you leave your butter board out on the counter and that those ingredients perhaps need to be refrigerated as well. When in doubt, follow the USDA guidelines for food safety.
If you love charcuterie adjacent recipes, here’s a few more we think you’ll like.
- Homemade Boursin Cheese
- Artisanal Crackers with Rosemary and Olive Oil
- Quick Pickled Onions
- Prosciutto Wrapped Appetizer with Apples & Cheese
Let’s EAT! – Kathi & Rachel
What do you think about this recipe? Have questions? Comment below! Don’t forget to like us on Facebook, and connect with us on Instagram and tag your @Laughingspatula recipes with #laughingspatula,while you’re at it…We love to see your pics!
Check out our video to make to make the process a little easier on you!
Ingredients
- 2 sticks of butter (softened) (salted or unsalted, chef's choice)
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1/4 tsp large flakey sea salt
- 1/4 cup roasted garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
- fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Spread 2 sticks of butter onto parchment lined serving tray (or wooden plank). Smash roasted garlic into butter and spread as desired.
- Sprinkle lemon zest, salt, pepper, and parsley on top of butter.
- Serve as desired and enjoy .
Rebecca says
Would you by chance have the recipe for the pomegranate, rosemary & honey butter board? Would love to try all of them! Thank you for the recipe! It’s delicious!
Kathi & Rachel says
Right now we don’t have the ones you requested but stand by for more butter board recipes soon!
KMQ says
Do you have a recipe for butter board with hot honey, white cheddar and roasted garlic?
Kathi & Rachel says
Depends on the size of the butter board you are using- but if you’re using 2 sticks of butter, I’d go with 1/4 cup of white cheddar shreds (or Unexpected Cheddar from Trader Joes in big rustic chunks!), 2 tbsp of roasted garlic, and drizzle hot honey over it (depending on how much you like). Enjoy!
Joycelyn says
Although I’ll be using your delicious sounding butter mixture to make a compound butter log, I would not eat any food that is served on a butter board after spending well over a month in hospital with an awful case of Salmonella which was traced back to restaurant who served all food on boards. Boards that cannot be properly sanitized due to the small cracks that form in the boards.
In my case I’d ordered the special house burger as this particular restaurant, was attached to a popular casino. Unfortunately, the burger I was served tasted and smelled like fish, even the bun reeked of fish. To this day I don’t know why I ate 3/4 of the burger other than I didn’t want to be the only one at our table to complain about the food.
The Restaurant after being shut down by Health department as well as having to undergo a full inspection, when health dept. cleared them to re-open, restaurant was told only regular ceramic plates and platters that could be properly sanitized would be acceptable to use.
Must add. I appreciate you sharing your recipes with your readers, though. you never fail to come up with tasty and best of all, fast and easy recipe ideas this old gal who’s slowing down in the cooking and baking department a lot, appreciates more than you know.
Thank you, ladies!
Kathi & Rachel says
Jocelyn, this is why we said to serve the butter board on a piece of parchment paper, the photos reflect that serving suggestion as well. Glad you recovered from your burger and enjoy our recipes!
Ashley says
So yummy!!
Kylie says
Such a fun new trend! Loved it