This Leek Butter is an incredible way to elevate a slice of toast, roast vegetables, grilled meats, pasta, and more with just a few simple ingredients. Subtly sweet leeks combined with creamy, rich salted butter make for an incredible combo. Easily elevate your next meal with this delicious spreadable butter!
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If you love leeks, you're going to want to spread this leek butter on everything! It's soft and smooth, and an easy way to elevate meals or a slice of bread. It's an incredible, spreadable savory topping that makes any plate feel special!
This leek butter is featured in our luscious leek pasta - it's incredible!
Looking for new recipes to use leeks in? You'll love them on this burrata prosciutto arugula salad, or in this Finnish salmon soup (lohikeitto).
If you're in the mood for more butter recipes, try our fan-favorite cowboy butter dipping sauce, this sweet strawberry butter, this blueberry butter, our whipped honey butter, or our roasted garlic butter!
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❤️Why We Love This Recipe
- Only 5 ingredients needed. You only need 5 simple ingredients, and that's including salt, butter, and oil! Anything you need for this recipe can be found at most grocery stores.
- Easy method. Clean the leeks, then cook them until soft, then finally, food process them with butter. It's that simple! Anyone can make this recipe!
- Versatile. This tasty spreadable butter is great on bread, veggies, proteins, pasta, potatoes, and more! It's an excellent way to elevate your next meal!
🧈Ingredients
Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.
- Leeks. We use both the light green and the dark green parts of the leek. We separate them because the dark green parts need to cook for longer, as they are a bit more tough.
- Lemon. If possible, use an organic lemon because we will use both the zest and juice.
- Butter. We recommend using unsalted butter so that you can control the salt level completely. Use a high-quality, great-tasting butter here because it's the bulk of the flavor! You may also enjoy making your own homemade butter with our helpful guide!
Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.
✨Substitutions & Variations
Here are a few suggestions on additional flavors to try, or simple variations to this recipe.
- Swap olive oil. Feel free to use any cooking oil of choice, we love avocado oil.
- No unsalted butter. If you only have salted butter, that's okay! Just scale back on the amount of salt you add, or your butter will be too salty.
- Dairy-free/vegan. Use vegan butter instead of regular butter to make this recipe vegan.
- Garlicky. Add some fresh garlic when cooking the leeks for an extra kick of flavor!
- Add shallots. For more flavor, cook some shallots alongside the leeks for additional onion flavor.
- Spicy. Add some red pepper flakes to add a hint of spice to the butter.
🔪Prep work
- Allow the butter to sit out at room temperature for a while so it can become nice and soft.
- Separate the white/light green parts of the leeks from the dark green parts. Discard any layers that are beginning to wilt or damage, as well as the stems and roots. Cut both parts into rounds and keep them separate.
📋Instructions
Place the dark green parts of the leeks and the light green parts of the leeks in separate bowls filled with water. (Image 1)
Allow them to sit for about 10 minutes, rubbing them gently with your hands to dislodge any dirt so it can sink to the bottom of the bowl.
Then, place them on a paper towel-lined bowl or tray and dry them off very well.
Heat a Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add in some of the oil, followed by the dark green parts of the leeks with a pinch of salt. (Image 2)
Cook down until beginning to soften considerably, about 3-4 minutes. (Image 3)
⭑Pro Tip: Start by cooking the dark green parts of the leeks first, as they are tougher and will take longer to cook than the light green parts.
Add the light green parts of the leeks to the Dutch oven or skillet with another pinch of salt. (Image 4)
Continue cooking to soften, about another 2-3 minutes. (Image 5)
Remove the leeks from the pan and place them in a food processor. Allow them to cool for a few minutes (they will be quite hot), then add in the butter, the lemon juice, and the lemon zest. (Image 6)
Food process until smooth, and adjust seasonings to taste. (Image 7)
⭑Note: There are small fibrous threads in the leeks that you may notice after food processing. They are truly very soft, and won't disrupt your enjoyment!
Fried Leeks to Top (optional!)
If you'd like to make fried leeks to top a piece of toast, we've included instructions for that too! This step is optional, so feel free to skip it if you prefer.
Start by heating oil in a small, deep saucepan. Once hot, add in cleaned and well-dried parts of the light green parts of the leeks only! (Image 8)
Cook, stirring often to prevent burning, until you notice small golden brown bits appearing in the leeks. (Image 9)
Remove from the saucepan using a slotted spoon, then place on a paper towel-lined plate to soak up the excess grease. (Image 10) Sprinkle with salt, and let cool!
⭑Pro Tip: Be careful not to let the leeks burn! Keep a close eye on them and stir them often to prevent burning. We want them to be a bit golden brown, just not burnt. Burnt leeks will taste bitter.
Spread over toast, or use in your favorite recipes. Top with the optional crispy fried leeks and bit of flaky salt. Enjoy!
✨Tips & tricks
- Use high-quality butter. This will make a lot of difference in flavor. Because butter is the main ingredient in this recipe aside from the leeks, use the best quality you can find. It will have a huge impact on the flavor, so we recommend spurlging a little!
- Make sure your butter is really soft. Let the butter sit out at room temperature for 4 hours or more to ensure it's nice and soft. That way, it will easily become soft and spreadable when food processing.
- Clean the leeks well. Leeks have tons of dirt between the layers, so you want to be sure to rinse them off really well before cooking! No one wants a bite of dirt!
- Don't burn the leeks. Whatever you do, be careful that you don't walk away from the leeks cooking and let them burn, or else they will become bitter. Keep a close eye on them and stir them often.
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💭Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. To keep for longer, store in a freezer-safe container for up to 1 year.
🧈More Butter Recipes To Consider
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📖 Recipe
Leek Butter
Equipment
- Dutch oven or skillet
Ingredients
Leek butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large leeks, dark green tops only thinly sliced, and well-cleaned
- ½-1 teaspoon kosher salt to taste
- 2 large leeks, white and light green parts only thinly sliced, and well-cleaned
- 2 sticks unsalted butter softened
- juice of ½ a lemon to taste
- zest of 1 lemon
Fried leeks (optional)
- 4 tablespoons oil
- 1 large leek white and light green parts only thinly sliced, and well cleaned
Instructions
Leek butter
- Start by separating the white and dark green parts of the leeks, trim off the roots and any wilted or browned parts. Place the light green/white parts of the leeks in one bowl with water, and the dark green parts in a separate bowl with water. Use your hands to gently move the leeks around and loosen dirt from between the layers.
- Allow the leeks to sit for about 10 minutes, then drain away the water. Place them on paper towel lined plates or a baking sheet and dry them off very well.
- Heat a skillet over medium-heat, add olive oil, then add in the dark green parts of the leek with a pinch of salt, and saute for 5-7 minutes until they have softened considerably.2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 large leeks, dark green tops only, ½-1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Next, add in the white and light green parts with more salt, and continue cooking for another 4-5 minutes until they have softened as well. Remove from the heat.2 large leeks, white and light green parts only
- Add the butter, the cooked leeks, lemon zest, and juice to a food processor, and food process until soft, smooth, and spreadable.2 sticks unsalted butter, juice of ½ a lemon, zest of 1 lemon
Fried leeks (optional)
- Start by heating oil in a small, deep saucepan. Once hot, add in cleaned and well-dried parts of the light green parts of the leeks only!4 tablespoons oil, 1 large leek white and light green parts only
- Cook, stirring often to prevent burning, until you notice small golden brown bits appearing in the leeks. Remove from the saucepan using a slotted spoon, then place on a paper towel-lined plate to soak up the excess grease. Sprinkle with salt, and let cool!
Assembly
- Serve with toast, pasta, veggies, and more! Top with optional fried leeks. Enjoy!
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. To keep for longer, store in a freezer-safe container for up to 1 year.
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Notes
- Use high-quality butter. This will make a lot of difference in flavor. Because butter is the main ingredient in this recipe aside from the leeks, use the best quality you can find. It will have a huge impact on the flavor, so we recommend spurlging a little!
- Make sure your butter is really soft. Let the butter sit out at room temperature for 4 hours or more to ensure it's nice and soft. That way, it will easily become soft and spreadable when food processing.
- Clean the leeks well. Leeks have tons of dirt between the layers, so you want to be sure to rinse them off really well before cooking! No one wants a bite of dirt!
- Don't burn the leeks. Whatever you do, be careful that you don't walk away from the leeks cooking and let them burn, or else they will become bitter. Keep a close eye on them and stir them often.
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