Want to know when I share a new recipe? Subscribe today!
Homemade Spreadable Thyme & Onion Compound Butter
Thyme and onion compound butter is one of those little things that makes everything taste better. I soften good butter and mix it with caramelised onion, fresh thyme, and a pinch of salt – then roll it up and keep it in the fridge. It melts beautifully over grilled meats, roasted veg, or even a slice of warm sourdough. It’s simple to make, easy to store, and adds instant flavour whenever a dish needs that extra something. Proper kitchen magic in a log.
Ingredients
- 250g salted butter, room temperature androughly chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil or rapeseed oil
- 100g onion, roughly chopped
- 10g fresh thyme
- 10g fresh parsley
- Large pinch Maldon sea salt flakes
Instructions
- Blitz together all ingredients in the food processor, until smooth and creamy and the butter well combined with the other ingredients.
What I Cook With
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
25Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 89Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 70mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
Please note, this nutrition information is to be used as a guide only. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Want to know when I share a new recipe? Subscribe today!
Compound Butter: Thyme & Onion
A Family Favourite Reinvented
One of the very first things I ever got to “cook” as a kid was garlic bread. Not the kind with the frozen baguette and foil wrap, but proper, mix-your-own-garlic-and-butter slathered onto slices of bread. Tuesday night was always Spaghetti Bolognese night in our house, and garlic bread was a non-negotiable side dish. But every now and then, Mum would throw in a curveball and bring out a herb and onion bread instead. It was sweet from the onions, fragrant from whatever herbs she had on hand, and honestly, I liked it better than garlic bread. To this day, that flavour combination takes me straight back to those warm, carb-loaded dinners around the table.
Now that I’m older and have a freezer full of homemade compound butters (because of course I do), one of my most-used is this spreadable compound butter with thyme and onion. I always have it on hand. It’s perfect on hot toast, melted over veggies, tossed through pasta, or spread generously on slices of bread before baking in the oven. And yes, it’s absolutely what I use to make my grown-up version of that nostalgic herb and onion bread. If I’ve got soup on the stove or pasta bubbling away, you better believe this butter is making an appearance!
What makes it even better is the addition of olive oil, or any neutral oil, which keeps the butter soft and spreadable straight from the fridge. None of that hacking away with a butter knife business. I just scoop it out, slather it on, and enjoy the comfort of something that tastes like childhood but feels just a little bit fancy.
Freezer Staples and Fancy Twists
I love compound butter. It’s one of those little hacks that instantly elevates a meal, but takes next to no time to make. Most of the time, I whip up a batch when I’ve got fresh herbs needing to be used or a half onion sitting around with no other plans. Once made, I roll the butter up into little logs and freeze it. If I’m feeling very prepared (rare), I’ll slice it into discs first and freeze them separately. But let’s not pretend I do that every time.
This Thyme and Onion Compound Butter isn’t just a nostalgic throwback. It’s a genuinely handy addition to the fridge. I’ve melted it over chicken before baking, stirred it into rice, and even mixed a spoonful through scrambled eggs for an extra punch of flavour. Once, I dolloped a chunk onto a baked potato, added some shredded cheese, and had what I can only describe as a spiritual experience.
It’s also a great way to make an everyday dinner feel just that little bit more thought-out. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not out here making restaurant-level meals every night, but when I’ve pulled some sausages from the freezer and boiled a few potatoes, this butter can make the whole thing feel like I’ve tried. Even when I absolutely haven’t. That’s the joy of compound butter. It works hard so I don’t have to.
The Photography Struggle
I’ll be the first to admit I’m shocking when it comes to remembering to photograph my compound butters. I’ll make a batch, taste it, love it, use it, and then realise – too late, of course – that I’ve got zero photos. It’s like my brain completely blanks the moment a camera should come out. I’ve probably got a dozen versions stashed in my freezer that will never make it to the blog simply because I didn’t take a photo before they got sliced, frozen, or smeared across something delicious.
Honestly, I’m in awe of the big food bloggers who can style food, capture every stage of a recipe, and still keep their kitchen tidy. Me? I’m usually elbow-deep in butter, herbs stuck to my hands, dishes piling up, and the only photos I manage are blurry phone shots because my actual camera (my phone… cough…) is in the other room and I’ve already started eating. It’s something I need to get stricter with, and maybe one day I’ll be the kind of person who sets reminders or prints out checklists.
Until then, just know that any compound butter recipe I share here has been made, loved, and used multiple times before it ever makes it online. I’m not inventing these for content. They’re real, they’re useful, and they’re a little slice of everyday flavour magic. So if you see a recipe like this Thyme & Onion Compound Butter pop up, you can bet it’s become a staple in my kitchen.
Ingredients Breakdown
This recipe starts with a base of salted butter, roughly chopped to make blending easier. I prefer salted simply because it adds more flavour without needing to fuss about extra seasoning, and it’s what I always have on hand. The trick to making it spreadable straight from the fridge is adding a splash of olive oil or other neutral oil. It softens the butter just enough without messing with the taste or shelf life, which is ideal when I want to grab a spoonful in a hurry to toss through hot pasta or smear on toast.
To that, I add sweet, slowly cooked onion. It doesn’t need to be finely diced – roughly chopped is fine, as long as it cooks down enough to be soft and fragrant. This brings in a touch of sweetness and texture that balances out the creaminess of the butter. Then in goes a handful of fresh thyme and parsley. The thyme gives it an earthy depth while the parsley brightens things up. It’s a simple combo, but it does a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to flavour.
Finally, a good pinch of Maldon sea salt flakes is stirred through at the end. Not too much, just enough to make the flavours sing. Even with salted butter, I find the flakes give it a bit of crunch and lift. All in all, it’s just a handful of ingredients, but when they come together, it feels like something you’d get in a fancy café rather than your own fridge. Which is exactly the point.
