How to Make Homemade Butter from Raw Milk Cream

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Butter made from the fresh cream skimmed off of a jar of raw milk, from grass-fed cows, is by far the most delicious and nutritious butter to consume! Better than any store-bought butter. For those who may be new to the raw milk world, one of the easiest things to learn is how to make homemade butter from raw milk cream. There are multiple methods to try, and while some methods are easier than others, the result is always delicious fresh butter.

Featured image of homemade raw butter from cream of raw milk

When I was new to the raw milk world I would skim the cold cream off the top of the milk and enjoy it in my coffee in the mornings. However, I quickly decided I wanted to learn other ways to enjoy this tasty heavy cream! There is a lot of information out there regarding raw milk and what you can do with it, but as a beginner I wanted to start simple. That is how I discovered these super simple method for homemade butter.

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Why Raw Milk?
Sourcing Raw Milk
Ingredients
Methods - How to Make Homemade Butter from Raw Milk Cream
Instructions
Equipment
Storing Homemade Butter
FAQ
How to Make Homemade Butter from Raw Milk Cream
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Check out some of my other Raw Milk Recipes:
Easy 2 Ingredient Homemade Cottage Cheese (Raw Milk)
Super Easy Homemade Greek Yogurt (Raw Milk)
2 Ingredient Homemade Mozzarella Cheese Recipe

Why Raw Milk?

Cow’s milk is actually really good for you! One of my children would break out in a horrible facial rash whenever they would consume pasteurized dairy, and it was at that point I started to really research all there is to know about store bought milk and raw milk. Unpasteurized milk has beneficial bacteria, that can act as a great probiotic, which can benefit the digestive system and overall gut health. Raw milk is full of beneficial nutrients, beneficial enzymes, vitamins, and minerals - which can significantly benefit ones health and overall immune system. There is a common misconception regarding the safety of consumption and the benefits of raw milk, but this science backed article does a great job of explaining things. If the raw milk comes from a health cow, following a sanitary process safe for human consumption, the risk of becoming ill is incredibly low (somewhere around 1 in 6 million chance).

Sourcing Raw Milk

It is my dream to someday have a family milk cow, my own cow. In the meantime, I was fortunate to find a local farmer gal who sells raw milk from her jersey dairy cow named Cloud. If you don’t have a milk cow of your own (many beginners in the raw milk world don’t) I would recommend searching realmilk.com. One important factor in choosing a raw milk supplier, for me, was a well cared for and healthy cow. In addition, I wanted to be sure the suppliers process was extremely sanitary. When we went for our first raw milk pick up, we got to meet Cloud, and the supplier discussed the importance of a sanitary process - I was thrilled. In some states the purchase of raw milk for human consumption is illegal, but other states do allow it and may even sell it in a local grocery store.

Ingredients

Cream of Raw Milk - I typically buy 1-2 gallons of raw milk each week. After the milk has sat in the refrigerator for a day or so, I skim the cream off the top and store it in a clean mason jar. I use the cream throughout the week for cooking or baking (see homemade pumpkin muffins recipe or Creamed Cabbage recipe), and any remaining cream toward the end of the week I process into my own butter. So yes, I do make butter on a regular basis.
Salt - This is optional, but salt is a great addition to homemade butter. Use ¼ teaspoon per 4oz butter to best replicate the store bought variety.

See recipe card for quantities.

Methods - How to Make Homemade Butter from Raw Milk Cream

There are multiple methods to choose from, some simpler than others. Some may seem a little outdated, but are valid methods nonetheless.

Single Serve Blender - this is my favorite way to make butter. It is the quickest, cleanest method. However, this isn’t always the best way. If the cream refuses to turn to butter with this method I like to use my stand mixer.
Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer - this has proven to be the best method for making homemade butter. I like to use the whisk attachment on my stand mixer and a splash guard or bowl shield. Start on a slower speed and slowly increase the speed without splashing the cream everywhere. This method can take a little more time than the single serve blender or food processor, but is quicker than simply shaking a mason jar.
Food Processor
Shake a Mason Jar - this method takes more personal effort and energy exertion, and definitely isn’t the easy way. However, shaking a mason jar consistently will eventually produce homemade butter.
Butter Churn - this is a more common method from old fashioned butter-making days. May people today do not have a butter churn on hand.

Instructions

The first step is to skim the cream. Let the whole milk gallon of fresh milk (or half gallon of milk) sit in the fridge for a day or so, allowing the cream to rise to the top of the jar. There will be a distinct “cream line” where the top portion of the jar is a thicker, creamy color. The milk will sit in the bottom portion of the jar. With a small metal ladle or wooden spoon ladle, carefully scoop the cream into a clean mason jar. Be sure to not dip too low into the jar, it is important to just retrieve the cream and not any milk.

Choose a method or a vessel for processing the heavy raw cream into butter (see above).

Process the cream using the chosen method to make the butter and butter milk. For each method, the same steps apply:

First add the cream to the chosen vessel.
Next, churn, blend, mix, shake, or process the cream until it resembles whipped cream.
Continue with the processing until finally, chunky butter emerges and separates from the butter Milk.

For all methods the cream will first resemble whipped cream, and then chunky butter and buttermilk.

Use a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth to remove the leftover buttermilk from the butter. Pour the buttermilk into a mason jar to use in other recipes, like my sourdough pancake recipe.

Form the butter into a ball and rinse under cold water. Squeeze out any remaining butter milk.

Once the water runs clear, put the butter into molds and place in the fridge.

After the butter has been in the fridge for about an hour, remove from the mold and enjoy! Store in the fridge, or vacuum seal with a FoodSaver and store in the freezer.

Note: The amount of time it will take for the cream to go from heavy whipping cream to butter can significantly vary between the temperature of the cream (refrigerated or left on the counter for a while at room temperature) and the chosen method for processing the cream into butter.

Equipment

I have found that the easiest method to make homemade butter from raw milk is by using a single serve blender. Since I don’t have mass amounts of raw milk at any given time, I like to make the butter in smaller batches. I like to use the 24oz single serve Ninja Blender Cups and a Ninja Blender that also has the option of blending larger batches.

I often use my Kitchenaid stand mixer for butter making as well. This gadget is a great investment for any kitchen, especially for those looking to do more from scratch cooking or baking.

If you don’t have a FoodSaver vacuum sealer, you will definitely want one! We use ours almost daily for a variety of kitchen preservation needs. I have tried knock off brands, and they just don’t cut it like the FoodSaver brand. This is the FoodSaver vacuum sealer we have and love.

To make the cream skimming process easier and faster, I would suggest investing in a small ladle if you don’t already have one. You can skim the cream with a spoon, but the ladle is way more efficient overall.

I like to put my butter in a mold for the final step, especially if I will be freezing it. This gives you a nice stick of homemade butter, and tells you the amount of butter you have. This simplifies things when I reach for a frozen stick for baking! As an added bonus, I use these molds for other cooking/ meal prep food storage, too.

Storing Homemade Butter

Homemade raw milk butter should be stored in the refrigerator or the freezer. The buttter we use on a daily basis is stored in the refrigerator or in our butter crock. Freezing homemade butter will keep it fresh for longer. I like to pull frozen homemade butter from the freezer for baking. Raw butter doesn’t keep as long as pasteurized store bought butter, so keep that in mind. Wrap in parchment paper and store in a glass container or jar, airtight container,

FAQ

Is homemade butter healthier than store bought?

Yes! If you source raw milk from a healthy, grass fed cow, you will have a delicious nutrient dense butter.

Can I use the excess buttermilk for something else?

Yes! The butter milk can be used as a milk substitute in baking.

How much cream do I need to make butter?

Any amount will do! A small amount of cream will obviously not make a lot of butter, but if there is enough cream to blend it - butter will develop!

Why isn’t my cream turning to butter?

If there is too much milk in the skimmed cream it may not churn to butter. Set the cream in a jar in the fridge to let the cream rise to the top, and skim it. Then reprocess the cream. Patience is key to butter making, sometimes all that is necessary is to keep churning. Colder cream may take longer to turn to butter than a room temperature cream.