Meet Cowboy Butter: The New Dipping Trend You Need to Try

I really love a perfectly cooked steak, so when I saw TikTok after TikTok of home cooks dipping their beautiful slices of beef into "cowboy butter," I had to try it for myself. Cowboy butter, a compound butter made of garlic, herbs, and spices, has become a social media sensation, with more than 67 million views on TikTok extolling the melty, buttery delight to date.

One TikToker called the mixture the “best steak sauce ever,” while another said it’s at the “top of their list” for best dipping sauces for a steak. Based on the hype, and the beautiful images of steak dipped in butter, I was convinced and set out to make it in my own kitchen.

What Is Cowboy Butter and How Do You Make It?

Compound butter is just softened butter mixed with other ingredients to add sweet or savory flair. In the case of cowboy butter, it gets flavored with garlic, fresh parsley, chives and thyme, Dijon mustard, lemon zest and juice, paprika, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and chili powder.

While we're not totally sure where the name comes from, it stands to reason that it's an ode to the rustic nature of this zesty, flavorful butter sauce that you can slather on just about anything to kick it up a notch. And it’s simple to make: stir together softened butter and the other ingredients and allow it to harden into a log (or your preferred form), then slice. Alternately, you can mix the ingredients into melted butter if you are using it right away as a dip. You can find more detailed instructions on how to make this viral condiment along with the full list of ingredients on our Cowboy Butter recipe page.

What Does Cowboy Butter Taste Like?

When I made my own cowboy butter at home, I was thrilled to find that it was amazingly easy to lasso together. After letting the flavors hang out by allowing the butter to harden back into its original form, I melted some to dip our steak dinner into. It was incredible both on my ribeye and poured over the baked potatoes we made in the air fryer while the steak was cooking.

The compound butter has a savory, garlicky, oniony vibe from the minced garlic and fresh chives. The other fresh green herbs give it earthy notes, and the salt, spices, and citrus give it the perfect bold finish. It’s also got some smoky highlights from the addition of paprika and chili powder.

Is Cowboy Butter Just for Steak?

While TikTokers are in love with dipping their steak in cowboy butter, the mixture can be used for so much more. It’s perfect for dipping any protein into, from shrimp to chicken to pork—and would also be amazing to spread onto warm bread or stirred into mashed potatoes.

Basically, any savory use you can think of for butter would only be enhanced by subbing your standard stick for this homemade deliciousness, including using it as a topping for sautéed or roasted vegetables or grilled corn on the cob.

How to Store Cowboy Butter Leftovers

I thought the happiest moment of the meal was dipping the steak in the delicious butter, but it may have been when I realized the recipe had made enough to put back into the refrigerator for another day.

Like any compound butter, it’s totally okay to store cowboy butter for another meal. Leftovers can be kept in a sealed container for two weeks in the fridge or will last up to six months in the freezer. Happy trails!