Can Butter Be Frozen?

Yes, you can freeze butter – in fact, unsalted butter can last up to five months in the freezer; salted butter up to nine with proper storage. It's a great way to extend its shelf life and prevent spoilage while maintaining butter's quality.

How to Freeze Butter

To keep it tasting as fresh as possible, keep the frozen butter in its original wrapping. You can also wrap it in foil or plastic and put it in an air-tight container. This will make sure the butter doesn’t absorb other flavors. You can freeze it in blocks, sticks or slice it into pats of butter. However you do it, be sure to label it and mark its sell-by date on the packaging so you have a reference to how old it is a year from now.

How to Thaw Frozen Butter

Keep the butter frozen until you’re ready to use it, then let it thaw in the refrigerator. Or, depending on how you plan to use it, consider grating the butter while it’s still frozen – it softens quickly and works well for baked goods. While freezing suspends the spoilage process, it’s recommended that thawed butter be used as quickly as possible.

If you found this helpful, you might want to check out our other guides to common dairy storage questions:

• Can You Freeze Milk?
• Can You Freeze Cheese?
• Can You Freeze Yogurt?
• Check out the facts behind common myths!