Garlic Parmesan Herb Butter for Steaks

This 5-minute Garlic Parmesan Herb Butter recipe for steak is so versatile in the kitchen. Use it as a finishing touch on my air fryer steak or seared top sirloin recipes. You can also enjoy it 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 This

• Easy Garlic Herb Butter for Steaks: this 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 5 minutes.
• Versatile in the Kitchen – even though this tastes fantastic on air fryer steak, you can also use it to make chicken, vegetables, and seafood. In fact, I use it as a base for garlic butter chicken and air fryer cajun shrimp.

What is Herb Butter Made of?

• 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
• Garlic: I’m using fresh minced garlic for a bold garlic flavor, but you can also use 3/4 tsp of dried minced 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 spice mix 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.
• Sea Salt: I’m using super fine sea salt.

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.
• 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.

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.

What Herbs Go with 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 your steak.

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

Recipes to Enjoy Garlic Herb Butter with:

• 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!