Blue Butter

By Mark Bittman

Updated March 7, 2025

Blue Butter
Grant Cornett for The New York Times. Food stylist: Michelle Gatton. Prop stylist: Theo Vamvounakis.
Total Time
10 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
Rating
4(145)
Comments
Read comments

Blue butter – obviously fat on fat – is blue cheese for people who think they don’t like blue cheese: The butter tames the sharpness, and the cheese makes the butter lively and intense. Serve this sauce alongside a grilled rib-eye for a contemporary take on a classic steakhouse cut.

Featured in: The Pleasure of a Steak at Home

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 2ounces blue cheese, at room temperature
  • 4tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • Salt and black pepper (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

152 calories; 16 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 0 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 165 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Cream the cheese and butter together with a fork; add salt and pepper if using. Roll into a log, wrap tightly, chill until firm and cut into thick slices to top the roast before slicing. Or serve the softened mixture by the spoonful after slicing.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
145 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Catherine DiNardo

I liked this but for my taste there needs to be much more blue cheese. I doubled the amount and would have added even more if I had it available. Served it softened over sliced grass-fed steak prepared sous vide at 133 degrees and then seared in a little butter with herbs -- it was a nice addition.

Karen L Davis

Oh, this is good -- and, of course, works on filets cooked on a grill, too. Doubled the blue cheese. Glad I did.

Mary T.

This is delicious! I added more blue cheese and because I had it Black Label Cambozola. It was delicious on sous-vide and grilled NY steaks. Some guests used it for the butter on their warm baguette. Later, when our arteries recovered, we still thought it was worth it.

Mary T.

This is delicious! I added more blue cheese and because I had it Black Label Cambozola. It was delicious on sous-vide and grilled NY steaks. Some guests used it for the butter on their warm baguette. Later, when our arteries recovered, we still thought it was worth it.

Chris

i wonder how this would be drizzled with runny honey...?

William Shaw

Maytag? That has always been my American blue cheese of choice, but I am open to suggestions.

CJ

Pointe Reyes. Great and a bit salty because of the grass near the ocean. I get it at Kroger, but Whole Foods has it, too.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.