One of the most exciting things about bringing home my dairy cow — besides milking her for the first time — was learning how to make homemade raw butter in my own kitchen. Years before that, the boys and I “churned” store-bought cream in a mason jar as a little science experiment. After an hour of shaking, we felt that thump hit the bottom of the jar and suddenly we had real butter in our hands. It felt like magic to us at the time and marked the beginning of realizing just how disconnected most of us are from our food.
The truth is, you don’t need a cow or raw milk to make incredible butter at home. Store-bought heavy cream works beautifully, and you’ll still get rich, delicious butter in just a few minutes. If you love making homemade spreads, try pairing this butter with my Homemade Whipped Honey Butter Recipe or learning how to clarify it into Homemade Ghee (How to Make Clarified Butter) for longer storage and high-heat cooking.
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Quick Look at This Recipe
Type: Homemade Butter
Difficulty: Beginner Friendly
Main Ingredient: Raw milk cream or store-bought heavy cream
Hands On Time: About 10 minutes
Total Time: About 10 minutes
Yield: Varies, roughly 1 to 1.5 cups butter per gallon of raw milk
Why You’ll Love It: A simple, old fashioned method that turns fresh cream into rich, homemade butter perfect for everyday cooking and baking.
Why Raw Butter Is Hard to Find
I was lucky to find a small local farm that sold raw milk and even raw butter from their Jersey cows. Jerseys naturally produce milk with a higher fat content than Holsteins, which is why the cream rises so beautifully. Most large dairies rely on Holsteins and keep the cream in the milk instead of separating it, which is why raw butter is much harder to find in stores.
That’s the beauty of making your own — with just fresh cream, raw or store-bought, you can turn it into real, homemade butter in minutes.
How To Source Raw Milk
If you want butter with the deepest golden color and richest flavor, raw milk or raw cream from small family farms is hard to beat. Jerseys, especially, produce cream that rises beautifully and churns into a naturally vibrant butter that tastes old-fashioned and incredibly fresh.
You can often find local farms through realmilk.com, and most farmers are more than happy to show you their setup and talk about their cows. If you’d like to know more about why we choose raw milk on our homestead, you can read my post Why We Love Raw Milk and Why It’s Good for Us.
But if raw milk isn’t available where you live, store-bought heavy cream will still make wonderful homemade butter, far better than anything pre-made from the grocery store.
How To Get Raw Heavy Cream
If the farm you buy raw milk from does not sell raw cream separately, you can still get beautiful cream right at home. Pour a gallon of raw, non-homogenized milk into a clear glass jar and let it rest in the fridge for a day or two. As it sits, the cream rises and forms a thick cream line at the top.
Once the line is visible, gently skim the cream using a ladle, turkey baster, or a measuring cup. The remaining milk will be skim milk. Some people enjoy it, but we usually save ours for baking or cooking.
And remember, store-bought heavy cream works perfectly for making homemade butter, so use whatever you have access to.
My Tips For Making Fresh Butter
- A stand mixer with a whisk is the easiest way to churn butter. Blenders and food processors work, but they need more scraping and make for a longer cleanup.
- If your mixer has a splash shield, use it. Otherwise place a towel over the bowl. Once the cream passes the whipped stage it will begin to separate quickly and the buttermilk can splatter.
- Use enough cream for the whisk to work well. About two cups is a good minimum.
- Bringing the cream to room temperature helps it churn faster.
- Save the buttermilk for baking. It works beautifully in my Buttery and Flaky Easy Sourdough Discard Biscuits, and you can also use it in my Easy Milled Wheat Sourdough Discard Biscuits Recipe by swapping the milk for buttermilk.
- If you plan to store your butter, rinse out the buttermilk using cold water. Press the butter lightly with a wooden spoon to remove as much moisture as possible. This helps it last longer in the fridge or freezer.
What You Will Need:
Heavy cream from raw milk
Stand mixer with whisk attachment
Splash shield or a clean kitchen towel
Rubber spatula
Wooden spoon
Clean bowl
Salt, if you want salted butter
How To Make Easy Homemade Butter From Raw Milk
Skim the cream
Carefully skim the cream off the top of your raw milk using a ladle, turkey baster, or measuring cup. Let the cream come to room temperature.
Whip the cream
Pour the cream into your stand mixer and place a splash shield or towel over the top. Start on low speed and gradually move to high. The cream will first turn into whipped cream, then begin to break.
Scrape and continue mixing
When it begins to separate, pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Continue mixing on high until the butter fully separates from the buttermilk.
Strain and save the buttermilk
Remove the butter from the whisk and pour the buttermilk into a storage container. Save it for baking. It works beautifully in my Buttery and Flaky Easy Sourdough Discard Biscuits, and in my Easy Milled Wheat Sourdough Discard Biscuits Recipe just use it to replace the milk.
Rinse the butter
Place the butter back into the mixer bowl and cover it with cold water. Use your hands to gently work the butter, refreshing the water until it runs clear.
Optional: Press out remaining liquid
Move the butter to a clean bowl and press it gently with a wooden spoon to remove any last traces of buttermilk.
Salt and shape the butter
Add salt to taste or leave the butter unsalted. Shape it by hand, press it into a bowl, or use a butter mold for charm.
Store the butter
Homemade butter freezes well for several months. Wrap it in freezer paper and place it inside a zip top freezer bag.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use store bought cream to make butter?
Yes. You can make this butter using either raw milk cream or store bought heavy whipping cream. The process is exactly the same and the result is still rich and delicious.
Why didn’t my cream turn into butter?
This usually happens when the cream is too cold or when a high speed blender whips it past the separation point. Let the cream warm slightly on the counter and use a stand mixer or hand mixer for the most reliable results.
How long does homemade butter last?
Homemade butter lasts about one week in the refrigerator or several months in the freezer when wrapped tightly in freezer paper and placed in a sealed bag.
What can I do with the buttermilk?
Save it for baking. You can replace the milk in my Buttery and Flaky Easy Sourdough Discard Biscuits or Easy Milled Wheat Sourdough Discard Biscuits for extra flavor.
Is raw milk required to make butter?
No. Raw milk cream creates a deep yellow, flavorful butter, but store bought heavy cream works just as well if that is what you have access to.
Freshly made raw butter is one of the most satisfying things to pull from your kitchen, especially when it comes from your own cow or a trusted local farm. If you want to learn more about why our family chooses raw milk, you can read my post Why We Love Raw Milk and Why It’s Good for Us. For a deeper dive into the benefits of raw dairy, see 13 Health Benefits of Raw Dairy Milk Consumption.
Tried this recipe?
I would love to see it! Tag me on Instagram @idiesfarm and #idiesfarm so I can share your beautiful creation!
How To Make Easy Homemade Butter From Raw Milk
Ingredients
- Heavy cream from raw milk
- Salt to taste unless unsalted butter is desired
Instructions
- Carefully skim the cream off the top of your raw milk using a ladle, turkey baster, or measuring cup. Let the cream come to room temperature.
- Pour the cream into your stand mixer and place a splash shield or towel over the top. Start on low speed and gradually move to high. The cream will first turn into whipped cream, then begin to break.
- When it begins to separate, pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Continue mixing on high until the butter fully separates from the buttermilk.
- Remove the butter from the whisk and pour the buttermilk into a storage container. Save it for baking.
- Place the butter back into the mixer bowl and cover it with cold water. Use your hands to gently work the butter, refreshing the water until it runs clear.
- (Optional) Move the butter to a clean bowl and press it gently with a wooden spoon to remove any last traces of buttermilk.
- Add salt to taste or leave the butter unsalted. Shape it by hand, press it into a bowl, or use a butter mold for charm.
- Work the butter with your fingers, almost like kneading dough, to get the remaining buttermilk out. Refresh your water with more fresh cold water as needed until the water is clear.
- Homemade butter freezes well for several months. Wrap it in freezer paper and place it inside a zip top freezer bag.
Notes
- Save the buttermilk for baking. It works beautifully in my Buttery and Flaky Easy Sourdough Discard Biscuits, in my Easy Milled Wheat Sourdough Discard Biscuits Recipe, and can be used in my Fluffy Sourdough Pancake Discard Recipe.
- If you don't have access to raw cream, you can use regular heavy whipping cream.
- Room temperature cream churns faster.
- Rinse the butter well with cold water to help it last longer.
- Pressing the butter with a wooden spoon removes extra moisture for better storage.
- Freeze homemade butter in freezer paper and a zip top bag for longer storage.
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Hi! I’m Stephanie, also known as Idie. Follow me as I tap into the methods of the past and learn how to make my world a little smaller.
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