Finished jars of canned butter
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How I Can Butter (Rebel Canning)

Byfreezedryingmama

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When butter goes on sale, I stock up. And when my freezer is full, I can it. Shelf-stable butter is one of my favorite rebel canning projects, and having it on hand during a power outage or a lean month is a real blessing.

Boxes of Kirkland salted sweet cream butter
Rebel canning: this is how I do it
Canning butter isn’t a USDA-tested method, and the National Center for Home Food Preservation recommends against it. Oven canning isn’t recommended by any testing authority either. This is how I do it in my own kitchen, not official guidance. If you’d rather play it safe, store butter in the freezer, where it keeps beautifully for months.

What You’ll Need

  • Butter (salted or unsalted)
  • Clean half-pint or pint jars, new lids and bands
  • A heavy pot
  • A canning funnel and ladle
  • An oven
Pile of unwrapped butter sticks

How I Can Butter

1. Heat the jars

I warm my clean jars in the oven so they’re hot when the butter goes in.

Clean empty jars warming on a tray in the oven

2. Melt the butter and cook off the water

Melt the butter in a heavy pot and let it simmer gently to drive off the extra water. Keep a close eye on it and stir. You don’t want the salt and milk solids on the bottom to brown.

Butter melting in a large pot on the stove

3. Fill the jars

Ladle the hot butter into the hot jars through a funnel, wipe the rims very well (grease is the enemy of a good seal), and add the lids and bands.

Prepping canning lids
Funneling melted golden butter into small jars

4. Oven can

I put the filled jars in a 300°F oven for 25 minutes, then let them cool on a towel. As they cool, the lids seal.

Jars of canned butter cooling on a towel
Finished jars of canned butter

How I Use Canned Butter

  • Cooking and baking just like regular butter
  • Power outages and camping
  • Stocking the pantry when butter is on sale

Store the jars in a cool, dark place, and toss any jar that smells sour, looks moldy, or has a lid that’s popped.

More rebel canning: rendering and canning beef tallow.

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