Can You Freeze Butter? Yes! Here's How.

Have fresh-tasting butter on hand any time

Freezing butter

The Spruce / Cara Cormack

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If you have more butter than you can use, freezing it before the best-by date is a good way to preserve it. Refrigerated butter has a shelf life of about 1 to 3 months, but when frozen successfully, you can use it for a long time with great results. If your butter is fresh, it should keep well in the freezer for about 1 year.

After a year, frozen butter will still be safe to use, assuming it has remained frozen the entire time, but you might start to notice signs of freezer burn.

illustration that shows what you need to know about freezing butter
The Spruce / Alex Dos Diaz

How to Freeze

Freezing butter is a simple process. Keep the butter in its original box or container so you'll have the package with the sell-by date or best-by date to refer to later, and you won't have to bother labeling anything. Place boxes or sticks into storage bags before freezing.

If you don't have the original packaging, wrap the butter tightly in foil or plastic and place it in a freezer bag. Since cutting frozen butter can be challenging (and dangerous), pre-slice the sticks into manageable 1 or 2-tablespoon pieces and wrap them individually as directed above.

Be sure to store frozen butter away from pungent frozen foods, such as onions, since butter easily picks up flavors and odors of the foods stored around it.

How to Use

Depending on the recipe, you can use butter while it's still frozen. If your recipe calls for melted butter, take it straight from the freezer to the pan or microwave to melt it. You can also grate frozen butter. Simply grate the amount needed over a piece of waxed paper or a cutting board. The small pieces will thaw quickly.

If you need to cream the butter, it must be defrosted before use. The best way to do this is to place it in the refrigerator overnight. Cutting a frozen stick of butter isn't advisable, so it's better to thaw a whole stick or pound at a time, depending on what you're using it for.

If you need butter immediately, you can thaw it in the microwave by heating it for 10 seconds, flipping it to another side, and heating it for another 10 seconds. Continue doing this, watching it closely, until the butter is soft but not melted.

Butter out of package
The Spruce / Cara Cormack