Garlic Parmesan Herb Butter for Steaks

Learn how to make garlic butter for steak with this 5-minute Garlic Parmesan Herb Butter for steak recipe. Use it as a finishing touch on my air fryer steak or pan-seared steak for extra flavor. You can also enjoy this simple recipe as a garlicky, buttery base for air fryer Cajun shrimp and garlic butter chicken. Ready in two-steps, but instructions for how to roll compound butter are included too!

Why Make Garlic Parmesan Butter

• Easy Garlic Herb Butter for Steaks: this garlic butter recipe uses just a few ingredients, including a prepared spice mix. Besides rolling the butter and letting it chill (if you wish for a fancy presentation), this butter can be ready in just two steps and less than 4-5 minutes. It is also a delicious way to make the perfect steak like your favorite steakhouses, but all from the comfort of your own home, whether for busy weeknights or relaxing weekends!
• Versatile in the Kitchen – even though this tastes fantastic on Ninja Foodi steak and steak bites, you can also use it to make chicken, fresh vegetables, and seafood. In fact, I use it as a base for easy recipes like garlic butter chicken and air fryer cajun shrimp, taking those dishes to the next level.

What is Herb Butter for Steak Made of?

This compound butter for steak uses just a few ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Butter: I find that unsalted butter is best for compound butter since it allows you to control the amount of salt in the final dish. I use 1/2 cup of butter (a stick of butter).
• Fresh Garlic: I’m using fresh minced garlic for a bold garlic flavor, but you can also use 3/4 tsp of dried garlic per clove if you’re in a pinch. Another option is to add a roasted flavor by using my air fryer garlic bulbs.
• Herbs & Spices: This recipe includes a prepared blend of dried herbs since it already includes many of the best herbs & spices for steak like parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage, savory and oregano.
• Parmesan Cheese: I get this fresh from the refrigerated section in the market. I have not tried to use the shelf-stable version. If you do, I recommend that you hold the salt.
• Parsley: I’m using dried parsley, but you can use some fresh parsley too if you prefer.
• Sea Salt: I’m using super fine sea salt, but you can use kosher salt, if you prefer.

You can get the full list of ingredient amounts and instructions from the full recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Garlic Butter for Steak

1. Add the ingredients to a bowl or food processor
2. Mix or whip the butter and other ingredients until well incorporated
3. Roll the butter if you wish
4. Refrigerate the butter for circular slices to top your steak

Top Cooking Tips & FAQs

• Quickly soften cold butter in the microwave: I tend to soften it in about 15-30 seconds in the microwave. The goal is not to melt the butter, but to make it easy to whip/mix. This softened butter will give you the best flavor for your juicy steak, seafood, and more.
• Use parchment for easy release and rolling: some people roll their compound butter in plastic wrap. I don’t. I find that it leaves too much butter in the grooves and is somewhat messy. Parchment paper not only rolls easy, but it allows you to make the butter without as much waste.
• Garlic Butter Sauce makes the best garlic spread: You can also use this compound butter recipe to make Keto garlic bread bites or use it on low-carb dinner rolls. To make a sauce, you can simply melt the butter.

Garlic Butter for Steak Variations

You can add different flavors to your steak with the following recipes. Instead of melting the butter to make a sauce, use softened butter.

• Cajun Garlic Butter Sauce Recipe
• Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce

How to Store Garlic Herb Compound Butter

The best way to store any leftover garlic compound butter is in an airtight container for the next day (up to 7 days in the refrigerator and up to 4 months in the freezer).

How to Roll Compound Butter

You can enjoy this recipe with just a pat of butter. But, if you’re looking to impress, you can roll your butter to get a more restaurant quality finish.

Fortunately, this step is super easy. Besides the pictures, you can watch this tutorial that I used to roll compound butter.

Best Herbs for Steak

I chose to include a herb sprinkle seasoning (the one I used for air fryer boneless chicken thighs and air fryer roasted chicken wings) to keep this recipe super simple.

It includes many of the best herbs and spices for steak like rosemary, parsley, tarragon, and sage.

But, you could swap the spice mix for fresh herbs. Some herbs that go with steak are:

• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Sage
• Parsley
• Cilantro – think of this as giving it a bit of a fresh flavor like chimichurri.
• Tarragon

Which butter is best for steak?

I find that steak seasonings are generally salty. Plus, everyone has their own preferences for salt on their food.

So, it’s best to use unsalted butter when making herb butter for any type of steak you’re making (whether that is steak bites, ribeye steak, New York strip steaks, tri-tip steak, filet mignon, and more).

By using unsalted butter, you can control the amount of salt on the finished meat.

Recipes using Garlic Herb Butter for Steak:

Add this easy garlic butter to the following dishes:

• Air Fryer Steak
• Top Sirloin Steak
• Air Fryer Asparagus
• Garlic Butter Chicken
• Air Fryer Cajun Shrimp

If you try this recipe, please stop back and leave it a star rating and/or a review in the comments. Stay connected & share photos of your creations with me & others on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!