This Trader Joe's Butter Is The Shortcut To Perfectly Seasoned Food

One of the many things Trader Joe's devoted fans love about the grocery chain is its private label products, like the unique sweet snacks you'll find in its stores. Part of the fun of shopping there is discovering different items to try as you peruse the aisles that could potentially become new TJ's faves. One product that many customers snap up elevates rich and creamy butter to another level: Trader Joe's Butter with Parmesan, Garlic & Herb.

The compound butter provides a shortcut for flavoring food since it combines butter and seasonings all in one. A creamery makes it for Trader Joe's in small batches and goes heavy on the cheese, with Parmesan making up a quarter of it. Regular and dried garlic and parsley are mixed in as well, along with lemon juice, shallots, white vinegar, black pepper, salt, and cornstarch. The $2.99 butter that first appeared in late 2024 comes plastic-wrapped in four-ounce logs, the same weight as a standard stick of butter.

Trader Joe's gives several ideas for how to use its butter, including melting sliced rounds on steak, scrambled eggs, corn on the cob, popcorn, and spreading it on grilled cheese. It also says you can slather it on a baguette and toast it in the oven for garlic bread. You could additionally baste a roast chicken or turkey or boost fish with it, or infuse flavor into savory baked goods like biscuits, rolls, and cornbread — even boost store-bought rolls with it. Indeed, adding herby compound butter to steak makes it restaurant-quality. 

Compound butters like Trader Joe's Butter with Parmesan, Garlic & Herb are a blend of butter with other ingredients you choose mixed in, and couldn't be simpler to make. You can generally substitute compound butter anytime you'd use regular butter, as long as the flavors complement what you're cooking or baking. To make it, let the unsalted butter soften and then mix in the other ingredients by hand, including the amount of salt you prefer. If you want something like the TJ's version but with less cheese, try making David Guas' magical roasted garlic compound butter. You could also indulge in a rich café de Paris butter recipe for a better steak.

The butter can be sweet as well as savory, like the much-loved Texas Roadhouse Cinnamon Butter. TJ's also has a sweet limited-time Butter with Brown Sugar & Maple Syrup as of November 2025 that's a perfect spread for breakfast dishes like pancakes, toast, or muffins, and desserts.

You can be as creative as you like with add-ins, trying ingredients such as hot sauce, Dijon mustard, citrus zest, minced spicy or sweet peppers, chili crisp, jam, honey, maple syrup, and a range of herbs, alliums, and grated or shredded cheeses, just to name a few. Spices can include ones like smoked paprika, chili powder, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, and Trader Joe's Everything Bagel Seasoning.

Roll the compound butter into a short log in plastic wrap or parchment paper, chill it in the refrigerator, and it will be ready to add new flavor to your food. It will be good in the fridge for about a week, or you can freeze it for up to three months – just thaw before using it.