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This butter board consists of spreading room temperature butter onto a board (or plate) and topping it with various toppings. Think of it like a buttery spread that’s the perfect appetizer for a group. Serve this with an Aperol Spritz Recipe or a Summer Rosé Sangria.
The butter board I built consists of roasted garlic, Calabrian chili paste, sweet honey, flakey sea salt and Italian parsley. It’s served with crispy radishes and toasted bread. You could do it any which way you ‘d like to. There are so many paths to choose from! All are delicious.
What is a Butter Board
The butter board went viral on TikTok by Justine Snacks. She took inspiration from Joshua McFadden from his very popular cookbook. (If you haven’t been to his restaurant, you definitely should, if you’re ever in Portland!)
The idea is simple: you spread room temperature butter all over a board, top it with lemon zest, onions, fresh edible flowers and/or herbs. A butter board is meant to be served as an appetizer for a group. Serve it with your favorite bread or crudite.
How to Make a Butter Board
- Start with room temperature butter.
- For this particular butter board, it requires roasting some garlic. Slice the ends off of two heads of garlic and place in the center of a piece of foil. Drizzle the cut side with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper. Wrap it up and transfer it to a 350F oven to roast for about 45 minutes.
- When the roasted garlic has cooled (you don’t want to add it to the butter if it’s hot because it’ll melt the butter), squeeze out the cloves and set them aside.
- To assemble the board, add the butter in an even layer to a serving board or flat plate. Add a few pieces of garlic to the butter. I added it around the butter.
- Top with a few dollops of Calabrian chili pate. A drizzle of honey. A sprinkling of flakey sea salt. And top it with some fresh parsley leaves.
- I like to serve this with quartered radishes and some pieces of toasted bread.
Other Butter Board Combinations
I went with a combination of sweet and spicy. I like the idea of switching it up and here are some ideas I was toying with:Â
- HAM AND BUTTER: Go the French-inspired route by doing room temperature butter, slices of thin ham and sliced cornichons. It’s a simple combination of fat, flavor with a punch of brininess.
- FIGS AND HONEY:Â Figs are thriving right now. Surely I think a combination of room temperature butter, sliced figs, honey with fresh thyme would be delicious.Â
- TOMATO CONFIT: Make some tomato confit. Spread some butter the board, top with roasted tomatoes, a little basil and flakey salt.
Recipe FAQs
Here’s the thing: communal boards can be done safely when you add a few butter knives and a stack of small plates or napkins. Signal to your guests: USE THEM! Lol. Basically, I understand the push back from some people.
It first appeared in Joshua McFadden’s book, Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetables. Made very popular and went viral because Justine Snacks made it.
Good-quality, high-fat content butter should be used. KerryGold is a good brand to use. Basically, any European-style butter will work great.
More Cozy Appetizers
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Spinach Artichoke Dip
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Caramelized Shallot Dip
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Butter Board
Ingredients
- 2 heads of garlic
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 8 ounces room temperature butter, (salted or unsalted)
- 2 tablespoons Calabrian chili paste
- Honey of choice, (I went with wildflower)
- Flakey sea salt
- Fresh basil leaves, as garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Slice the tops off of two heads of garlic. Place them in the center of a piece of foil. Drizzle the tops with olive oil and sprinkle with a few pinches of salt and a few rounds of freshly black pepper. Wrap them up and place it on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven to roast for about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let the steam release from the garlic. We want them to cool slightly because we don’t want to add piping hot garlic to the butter or it will melt.
- Pick a plate or clean cutting board (I went the flat plate route) and smother the butter onto the plate. You want an even layer. Not too thin and not too thick. I say about 1/4-inch thick. I also went over with a butter knife to create little indentations in the butter. I think this makes nice little nooks and crannies for the calabrian chili paste and ingredients to rest in.
- Squeeze out the cloves of garlic and set aside.
- Top with few softened garlic cloves. They’ll fall apart—that’s fine. And then add a few spoonfuls of the Calabrian chili paste, a drizzle of honey and a sprinkling of flakey sea salt. Top it with fresh Italian parsley leaves. And serve it up with quartered radishes and toasted bread.
Notes
- HAM AND BUTTER: Go the French-inspired route by doing room temperature butter, slices of thin ham and sliced cornichons. It’s a simple combination of fat, flavor with a punch of brininess.Â
- FIGS AND HONEY:Â Figs are thriving right now so I think a combination of room temperature butter, sliced figs, honey with a bit of fresh thyme would be delicious.Â
- TOMATO CONFIT: Make some tomato confit. Spread some butter the board, top with roasted tomatoes, a little basil and flakey salt.Â
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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