Easy Homemade Grass-Fed Butter Using a Mason Jar
Published March 25, 2020 • Updated July 10, 2026
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I make my own grass fed butter with just heavy cream, a mason jar, and about ten minutes of shaking. It's the one keto staple I never buy from the store anymore because fresh churned is that much better.
I started making my own butter about four years ago because I wanted to know exactly what was going into it. Store-bought is fine, but once I churned my first batch in a jar, I realized how different fresh butter actually tastes. The flavor is sweeter, the texture is creamier, and the color from pastured cream is this deep, almost golden yellow that store butter can’t touch.
The whole process is just shaking heavy cream until the fat separates from the liquid. Here’s what actually happens inside the jar: for the first 2-3 minutes, the cream thickens into whipped cream and the jar goes quiet. Around 5-6 minutes, that whipped cream starts breaking into grainy clumps. Somewhere between 8-10 minutes, those clumps pull together into a solid ball floating in liquid. That liquid is real buttermilk (not the cultured kind from the store), and I save every drop for baking.
I use heavy whipping cream from pastured cows because the fat content is higher and the butter comes out noticeably richer. Spring and summer cream, when the cows are eating fresh grass, produces the most golden butter I’ve ever made. Regular cream works too, but the result is paler and milder. For a low-carb kitchen, this is one of the simplest upgrades I’ve made.
Room temperature cream is the key. I pull it from the fridge and let it sit on the counter for at least an hour before I start. Cold cream will eventually churn, but it takes twice as long and my arms were not happy the one time I tried it. Reader Priya shared a technique in the comments that I’ve used ever since: shake hard for the first 3 minutes, then ease up when you feel it start to thicken. It genuinely saves your arms.
Once everything separates, I knead under cold water to wash out the remaining buttermilk. This step is what keeps the butter smooth instead of crumbly. I knead until the water runs completely clear, then pat dry and shape. If you skip it or rush through, you’ll end up with butter that falls apart and goes off within days.
Plain is what I make most often, but compound butters are worth the extra minute. Garlic and fresh rosemary is my go-to. I’ve also mixed in everything bagel seasoning, which pairs surprisingly well on toast or alongside chimichurri sauce on a steak. For cooking, fresh butter makes a real difference in recipes like keto alfredo sauce where the cream flavor actually comes through. I’ve stirred a spoonful into chicken bone broth for extra richness, and it’s great for browning keto bread crumbs in a skillet.
For storage, I wrap individual portions in parchment paper and keep them in the fridge for up to two weeks. I also freeze regularly. I roll into 4-ounce logs, wrap in parchment then foil, and they hold for about three months in the freezer without any change in flavor or texture. Having a stash means I always have fresh butter on hand, even when I don’t feel like shaking a jar.
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Ingredients
1 pint grass-fed heavy whipping cream, room temperature -
1/4 teaspoon salt (omit, if making unsalted butter)
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Heavy cream
Let the heavy cream sit out at room temperature for 1-2 hours. If you try to churn it cold, it will take longer to turn into butter. Pour heavy cream into a 16 oz mason jar. Sprinkle in salt if making salted butter.
Shake it
Tighten the lid and shake for 5-10 minutes until the liquid separates from the butter. The liquid part is grass-fed buttermilk. The solid part is grass-fed butter.
Strain it
Once the liquid has separated, strain the buttermilk using a fine mesh strainer to catch the butter. Save the buttermilk for recipes shown below.
Knead the butter
In a small bowl, pour 1/2 cup water to the butter and knead the butter with your hands, butter paddles or a spoon to clean the butter and remove excess buttermilk.
Remove the butter
Remove butter from water bath and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Continue to knead butter with hands or butter paddles to catch excess buttermilk.
Storage
Store butter in a small mason jar or wrapped up in parchment paper.
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a stand mixer or blender instead of shaking by hand?
I've done it both ways. A stand mixer with the whisk attachment works great for larger batches, and I use it when I'm doubling the recipe. A blender also works but it's harder to control the separation point, so for a single pint I still prefer shaking by hand. The jar gives me the most consistent results with the least cleanup.
How much butter does one pint of cream make?
I consistently get about half a cup of butter and a full cup of real buttermilk from one pint of heavy whipping cream. The exact amount depends on the fat content of your cream, but that ratio has been reliable for me across different brands.
Should I use pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized cream?
I always go with pasteurized. Ultra-pasteurized cream has been heated to a higher temperature, which changes the protein structure and makes it harder to churn. I tried both side by side once, and the ultra-pasteurized took me almost 20 minutes of shaking with a noticeably softer result. Pasteurized cream churns faster and the butter texture is firmer.
Can I freeze homemade butter and how long does it last?
I freeze it all the time. I roll it into 4-ounce logs, wrap in parchment paper, then a layer of foil, and it keeps for about three months without any change in flavor or texture. I pull a log out the night before and let it thaw in the fridge. I always keep at least two logs in the freezer so I never run out.
Why is my homemade butter crumbly and how do I fix it?
I've had this happen twice, and both times it was because I didn't knead out enough buttermilk. When buttermilk stays trapped in the butter, the texture goes grainy and crumbly instead of smooth. The fix is kneading under cold running water until the water runs completely clear. I also make sure my cream is at room temperature before I start shaking. Cold cream produces a stiffer, less pliable butter that's harder to work smooth. If your butter is already crumbly, you can re-knead it under cold water and press it back together.
How do I know when the butter is done separating?
I go by sound and feel. For the first few minutes, the jar is heavy and quiet because the cream has thickened into whipped cream. Around 5-6 minutes, the whipped cream breaks apart and the jar suddenly gets louder as liquid sloshes around grainy clumps. When I see a solid yellow ball floating in thin white liquid, separation is complete. I switched to a quart-size jar after a reader tip, and the extra room lets the cream move more freely, which shaved a couple minutes off the process.
Can I add flavors to the butter?
I do this constantly. My go-to is garlic with fresh rosemary, mixed in right after churning while the butter is still soft. Everything bagel seasoning is another one I keep coming back to. I've made a batch with keto taco seasoning stirred in for topping grilled chicken, and garlic herb butter is great on a board next to bacon jam and cheese.
What can I do with the leftover buttermilk?
I save every drop. The buttermilk you get from churning is different from the cultured kind at the store, and I think it tastes better. I use it in pancake batter, biscuit dough, and it makes a great base for keto ranch dressing. Between this and recipes like keto avocado mayo, I barely buy condiments from the store anymore. The buttermilk keeps in the fridge for about a week.
What cream should I use, and does the brand matter?
This matters more than the shaking technique, because the butter can only taste as good as the cream you start with. I use heavy whipping cream from pastured cows, and a few brands have been reliable for me: Organic Valley Pasture-Raised, Kalona SuperNatural, and Straus when my store carries it. I reach for the cream with the deepest yellow color, since that tint is the quickest sign the cows were actually out on grass. I skip ultra-pasteurized when I can because it churns slower and finishes softer. Regular grocery cream still works fine, the butter just comes out paler and a little milder.
What does 100 percent grass-fed mean, and why is the color so yellow?
Most cream labeled grass-fed comes from cows that still get some grain in winter, so it usually lands around 70 to 85 percent grass-fed rather than fully pastured. Truly 100 percent grass-fed means the cows were on grass year round, and I can almost always tell from the color. That deep golden yellow comes from beta carotene the cows pull straight from fresh grass, which is why my butter is brightest in spring and early summer and noticeably paler by midwinter. When I want the richest batch, I buy the cream with the most yellow tint I can find and save the pale winter cream for cooking instead of finishing.
Can I make cultured, European-style butter this way?
I do this whenever I want that tangy, European-style flavor instead of clean sweet cream. Before churning, I stir a couple tablespoons of live-culture plain yogurt or store buttermilk into the room-temperature cream, cover it loosely, and leave it on the counter for about 12 hours until it smells faintly sour. Then I shake it exactly like the plain version. That short culturing step is what gives cultured butter its slightly sour, artisan taste, and I find the finished butter also keeps a little longer once I've kneaded the liquid out.
Grass-fed butter is a healthier alternative to regular butter since it comes from cows that eat a grass-based diet. Because of this, the grass-fed alternative is known to have stronger nutritional values, offering better health benefits.
Also known as pastured butter, grass-fed can be recognized easily by its distinguished, deep-yellow color and thicker texture. However, another standout quality is its rich, wholesome flavor.
If you are serious about consuming foods with the most nutritional value, you should consider grass-fed butter over commercial butter. Grass-fed butter can be pricy if purchased in the store. Often, a pint of grass-fed heavy cream is less expensive than a brick of grass-fed butter, like Kerrygold or Vital Farms.
Your best bet to ensure the best of price, taste and quality is to churn it at home and make mason jar butter. It allows you to adjust the quantity of buttermilk and salt according to your own preference. Churning homemade butter also means 100% preservative-free produce.
To learn more about grass-fed butter, its benefits, making it at home, and homemade butter benefits, read on.
Note that grass-fed butter is different from organic butter. While it comes organically from the cows, those cows are not necessarily grass-fed. On the other hand, Irish butter is mostly grass-fed butter because it is made from grass-fed cow’s milk. Kerrygold butter is from Irish cows.
The best way to get access to healthy, 100% organic and preservative-free grass-fed butter is to make it at home. Homemade butter is not just healthier – it ends up being cheaper too. Above all, by making the mason jar butter at home, you get to decide exactly how it tastes – salted, unsalted, or flavored however you like.
Also, remember to store homemade buttermilk in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
You can speed up the churning process by adding a marble to the mason jar. The stone will act as an agitator and allow the butter to churn faster.
Who said healthy means giving up the taste? The best advantage of making homemade butter is that you can make it taste as simple or flavorsome as you want. You can also add seasonings like basil, garlic powder, and thyme. It adds great flavor and makes it easier to stick with keto.
The homemade butter that’s made with grass-fed milk has a shelf life of 3-5 days when stored at room temperature. The life extends to 7-10 days when it is stored in the refrigerator.
First batch came out great. Making this every week.
Has anyone tried this with regular heavy cream? I can't find grass-fed anywhere near me but I really want to make this.
Regular cream works fine, Steve. The grass-fed part is mostly about flavor and color (it churns up a deeper yellow and tastes a bit richer) but the process is the same. I've done batches with both.
I cannot believe this worked the first time!! We are never buying butter again.
Tamika, that's exactly how it went for me too. Try mixing in everything bagel seasoning right after it separates, while it's still soft. I make a batch of that almost every week now.
Save the buttermilk when you strain it. Used mine in keto pancakes the next morning and they came out noticeably lighter than usual. First time making butter from scratch here, and I honestly wasn't sure I'd know when the shaking was done, but the texture change makes it obvious, the cream goes from thick and resistant to almost liquid right when the solids clump up. The two-hour room temp rest is real, I almost grabbed cold cream straight from the fridge. Rolled it in parchment and shaped into a log before refrigerating, thirty seconds and portioning is so much easier that way. Making this every week now.
Does the buttermilk actually freeze?
It does. I freeze mine in ice cube trays so I can pull out a tablespoon or two for pancake batter without thawing the whole thing at once.
Ice cube trays. So much easier than defrosting a whole portion every time.
I make whipped cream in my KitchenAid all the time, so I keep eyeing the whisk attachment while I'm supposed to be shaking the jar. Would that work here, or does the shaking motion do something a mixer can't? I'm assuming you'd still need the cream at room temp first and the water kneading step after.
The KitchenAid does the same thing, just without the arm workout. I use it when I'm making a double batch. Room temp cream and the kneading step stay exactly the same.
Good to know! Double batch it is.
Gave my daughter the jar to shake. She's hired.
Mine insisted on the same role. Still does.
The water goes white the first time you knead it, then cloudy, then almost clear, and I stood there pressing butter in a bowl thinking this is the weirdest and most satisfying thing I've done in a kitchen in a long time. My daughter watched without saying anything until I transferred it to parchment and then said 'it looks like Play-Doh,' which, yes, exactly. I skipped the salt the first time just to taste what the cream became on its own, and the smell alone told me something was different. Kind of grassy and a little sweet in a way the Kerrygold from the fridge never quite manages. We put it on toast still warm from the toaster and she finished hers in about four bites, which is fast for her with anything I make from scratch. Already have cream sitting out for the next batch.
Yeah, that's exactly what fresh-churned looks like right before it sets. The grassy-sweet smell is real and I try to catch it right off the churn. It fades fast in the fridge. Kerrygold is grass-fed too, but that cream sat in cold storage. That's what you're tasting. For the next batch, Melissa, try adding flaky salt by hand after shaping instead of mixing it in. You get little pops of salt on your tongue instead of everything tasting the same.
That thud when the butter forms. Sold.
Gets me every time.
Had butter go rancid inside a week twice before I figured it out: not enough water changes during the kneading. Fresh cold water until it runs completely clear. Keeps two to three weeks in the fridge, no problem.
Leftover buttermilk is the culprit. Cold water changes until it runs clear, every time.
I spent the better part of a year convinced I had to just accept whatever was at the store and move on. Started keto and kept buying the same Kerrygold block over and over, which is fine, but something about making this myself, shaking the mason jar for those ten minutes until I could actually feel the moment the buttermilk separated, straining it out, kneading the butter under cold water until it ran clear, it felt like I was taking something back. The flavor is so much more alive, there is a freshness I can taste but can barely explain. Made it on a Sunday while the kids were at the pool and I felt like I actually knew what I was doing in my own kitchen for the first time in a long time. Fourteen months into keto and this is what I needed. Feels less like restriction when you're actually out here making something.
I still notice that moment when the jar goes from thick and quiet to suddenly sloshing around, even after making this way too many times. Fresh butter is almost impossible to describe to someone who hasn't made it. It just tastes like what butter is supposed to be.
Somewhere around batch six I switched from regular salt to fleur de sel during the kneading step and the butter hasn't been the same since (in the best way). The crystals don't fully dissolve and you get these little pockets of salt with every spread. Four stars only because ten minutes of shaking is apparently my arm's limit.
Fleur de sel for this is such a good call. The undissolved crystals are the whole point. For the arm thing, stand mixer with the whisk attachment if you're not already using it.
Tried folding in fresh chives and a pinch of smoked sea salt right at the kneading stage and it worked better than I expected. I was half braced for the herbs to get watery or slide out, but the cold water bath actually helped everything bind in. Spread it on a warm piece of cloud bread and it looked like something from a fancy cheese shop. I've been buying herb compound butter for years and I genuinely don't think I need to anymore.
Chives are one of the better herbs for this because they don't release much moisture when you knead. I've had basil turn a whole batch watery and slightly green. The cloud bread spread sounds really good.
Made this probably eight times now, and the biggest thing I've figured out is that cream temperature actually matters more than I thought. The first few times I got impatient and used cold cream and it took forever to separate. Now I leave it out the full two hours and it breaks in under seven minutes of shaking. I also started adding a little more salt than the recipe calls for, just a pinch extra, and it tastes so much closer to the cultured butter I used to get from the farmers market. The kneading step was awkward at first but once you get the feel for it, the texture is completely different from anything I've bought in a store. Keeping a double batch in the fridge on Sundays has become a habit I'm not giving up.
Cold cream drags it out, room temp and mine breaks around 6 minutes. The extra salt for cultured flavor is smart. Started doing that myself after trying it side by side with the farmers market kind.
Third batch this month and I genuinely stopped buying butter at the store. The shaking felt like a workout the first time. Now I kind of look forward to it.
Three batches in a month. The shaking gets almost meditative after a while. Save the buttermilk too if you haven't, it's nothing like what comes in the carton.