This Cajun butter is bursting with rich, spicy flavors, and is sure to be a show-stopper on your dinner table.
The butter comes together in just a few minutes, and starts off with a scratch-made Cajun seasoning, which is actually pretty easy to put together.
This wicked delicious butter sauce works perfectly with your seafood boil, Cajun chicken and practically any other food that needs a bit of a flavor boost.
I’m a big fan of making condiments, sauces and preserved foods.
My refrigerator is almost always stocked up with a dipping oil, a hot sauce or two, and some compound butter.
Recently, I tried my hands at a nice pesto butter, and was amazed at how versatile it was.
So of course, I had to try out another recipe too, and that’s when I landed on this idea.
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What's So Great About the Recipe?
My favorite part about this Cajun garlic butter recipe has to be its versatility.
It isn’t just a good seafood boil sauce, but so much more. Plus, you can make it ahead of time too- it lasts for months in the freezer!
It’s time to get the flavors of Louisiana on your table folks!
Ingredients For the Cajun Butter Recipe
For this Cajun butter recipe, we’ll be making the homemade Cajun seasoning from scratch.
Butter: I used unsalted butter as the base for this butter sauce recipe. You can also use the salted version, and adjust the amount of salt you’re adding in towards the end.
Garlic: You’ll need a decent amount of fresh garlic for this recipe. Minced garlic is a great choice, but you can also finely chop it if you want a bit of texture.
Garlic powder: For some extra garlic flavor, we also add some garlic powder.
Guajillo chili powder: This one’s the real kicker to be honest- Guajillo chillies are packed with heat, and add that beautiful bright red color to the Cajun butter sauce.
Smoked paprika: To lend this flavored butter a smoky aroma, we’ll be adding some smoked paprika too.
Cayenne pepper: A dash of cayenne pepper is also thrown in to round up the flavors.
Dried parsley: Dried parsley brings a beautiful freshness and some nice specks of color throughout. You can also use fresh parsley if you have that at hand.
Lime zest: I used a fair bit of lime zest to bring some zesty, citrusy flavor to this compound butter.
Salt and pepper: And of course, you’ll need some salt and freshly cracked black pepper too.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Cajun Butter From Scratch
Ready to make this recipe? Here’s the step by step process to help you out.
First, in a mixing bowl, combine all the seasonings and spices.
Heat butter in a pan and add in the minced garlic. Sauté for a few minutes on low heat, and then take off heat.
Add the seasonings in and give it a good mix. At this point, you can serve this as a Cajun butter dipping sauce.
If you want it to have a spreadable consistency, transfer it to a glass container and pop it into the fridge until it solidifies.
Substitutions & Variations
- If you don’t have the Guajillo chili powder that the recipe calls for, you can substitute with any other variant of chili powder you can get your hands on.
- You can also quickly put this Cajun butter together by mixing some store bought Cajun spice mix with softened butter, transferring it to an airtight container and refrigerating it.
Remember that the mixture should come to a rolling boil- it should keep boiling even when you're stirring it. This will ensure that the peppers cook well, and the jelly reaches the right consistency.
Equipment
How to Store the Leftover Cajun Garlic Butter
The beauty of this no cook recipe is the fact that you can also make this in a batch and store it for later.
The butter keeps fresh in the refrigerator for weeks, and when you want to put it to use, just get it out and let it sit at room temperature for a while.
You can also freeze butter if you want it to last longer.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- Remember to give the butter a taste before you add in the salt, since most other store-bought spices and seasoning mixes already have salt added in. This can be particularly helpful if you’re trying to keep your sodium intake in check.
- I used dried parsley for this recipe, but you can also use fresh herbs if you want to.
- You can also toss fried or baked potatoes into some of this flavorful and garlicky butter and serve it as a nice side dish.
How to Use Cajun Butter
There are several ways to put this homemade Cajun butter to use! Here are some good ideas to get you inspired.
On Bread
If you’re a fan of herb butters, this flavored butter comes super close, and can be a super swap to choose when you really want your bread dish to have a bit of a kick.
I love spreading some of this butter on my morning avocado or egg toast.
On Grills
You can slather this rather delicious flavored butter on anything that’s grilled. I think it would taste incredible with some skillet charred corn or grilled corn on the cob.
As a Dipping Sauce
Melted Cajun butter can be a beautiful teammate to your biscuits and breads. You can also serve it as a dipping sauce for your favorite seafood!
I personally love serving it with shrimp. After all, who can say no to a good Cajun shrimp?
In Pasta Sauces
This Cajun garlic butter can also be a wonderful base for your homemade pasta sauces. Throw some of it into your marinara or tomato based sauce to jazz it up, or in your alfredo sauce for that little pop of color.
I’m actually planning on making a delicious cajun chicken alfredo using this savory butter dish.
In Stir Fries
You can also melt some of this Cajun butter and use it as the base of your stir fried dishes.
Simply melt some of this compound butter in a pan, throw in your choice of vegetables, and stir fry for a few minutes to turn it into a super easy and simple side dish.
This flavored butter is super easy to make, and is an absolute must if you’re looking to experiment with Cajun food.
FAQs
You can freeze Cajun butter for up to 4 months, if not more. Just remember to store it in a freezer safe container to prevent freezer burn.
To make Cajun butter sauce, just heat the butter a bit or microwave it and add a dash of lemon juice to add flavor to it.
Related Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Cajun Butter
Ingredients
- 200 g butter
- 5 garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Guajillo chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon lime zest
Instructions
- First, in a mixing bowl, combine all the seasonings and spices.
- Heat butter in a pan and add in the minced garlic. Saute for a few minutes on low heat, and then take off heat.
- Add the seasonings in and give it a good mix. At this point, you can serve this as a Cajun butter dipping sauce.
- If you want it to have a spreadable consistency, transfer it to a glass container and pop it into the fridge until it solidifies.
Nutrition
Food Safety
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove