If you’re a home baker, you know all too well how often recipes call for softened butter. And if you’re anything like me, the urge to bake up a delicious muffin or brownies could strike you at any minute.
So, waiting around for your butter to come to room temperature naturally can be agonizing. It generally takes 30-45 minutes for cold butter to come up to room temperature on its own.
The great news is, there are a number of ways you can soften butter quickly!
Green tip: Look for organic and palm oil-free butter if you can. Buying organic means you are supporting farms that do not use damaging pesticides and fertilizers, and palm oil production is a huge driver behind deforestation.
Why Softened Butter?
Softened butter strikes the perfect balance between cold and solid, and melted and liquified. It is quintessential in baking to have softened butter, because it allows you to “cream” the butter and sugar together.
Creaming butter and sugar not only gives you a silky-smooth starting point for your batter, but it actually aerates the butter.
The sugar crystals react with the butter when you whip it, added tiny air bubbles. This will lead to a more moist, light texture on your cookies, muffins, brownies, and cakes.
How Do I Know My Butter is Softened?
The easiest way to check whether or not your butter is perfectly softened is by poking it. If your finger leaves an imprint, then your butter is nice and softened.
How to Soften Butter Quickly
The Microwave Method
While this is arguably the easiest way to soften your butter, it’s also the trickiest. That’s because the heating time will vary greatly depending on the amount of butter, the wattage of your microwave, and the initial temperature of your butter.
That being said, it can be done safely in shorter increments. For a whole stick (1/2 cup) of butter or more, start with 10-seconds on high. Then, continue to heat in 5-second intervals, checking in between, until you get your butter softened.
For anything less than 1/2 cup of butter, start with 5 seconds (not 10).
Let it Warm Near/On the Oven
Another way to bring your butter up to temperature more quickly is to allow it to sit on or near your oven as it preheats.
Though most of the heat is contained on the inside of the oven, some heat will inevitably escape, warming your butter and softening it more quickly than it would otherwise soften at room temperature.
The Water Bath Method
This is as simple as adding your butter to a storage bag and submerging it in lukewarm water.
Green tip: Reduce your plastic waste by using these Reusable Storage Bags!
Add warm water to a large mixing bowl and place your butter in the bag, ensuring it is tightly sealed, and place the bag in the water.
Note that the butter will likely float, so it’s best to flip it after a couple of minutes. It will usually be soft within 3-5 minutes.
Cube it!
Cubing your butter softens it more quickly because it gives the butter more surface area exposed to the room temperature air.
The Rolling Pin Method
Similar to the cubing method, rolling the butter out gives it more surface area, bringing it up to room temperature quicker.
Place your butter between two pieces of parchment paper and roll it out flat. It will be softened in just minutes.
Grate it!
Once again, just like cubing and rolling, grating your butter will divide it into smaller pieces, allowing more surface area and consequently, will bring the temperature up faster!
How to Soften Butter Quickly: At a Glance
| Method | Equipment Required | Total Time |
| Microwave Method | Microwave | under 1 minute |
| Near-Oven Method | Oven | 7-10 minutes |
| Water Bath Method | Large mixing bowl, storage bag | 5-7 minutes |
| Cubing Method | Knife, cutting board | 3-5 minutes |
| Rolling Pin Method | Rolling pin, parchment paper | 2-3 minutes |
| Grating Method | Cheese grater | 2 minutes |
