Ube butter is exactly what it sounds like — your favorite ube jam transformed into a wonderfully creamy butter spread. Goes so well with buttermilk scones, ube pandesal, ube pancakes, ube waffles and more!
(Love making your own spreads? Try these recipes for lemon curd and orange curd. They only take 10 minutes to make and taste so much better than the ones you find in stores.)
You’ve probably seen ube butter or ube butter spread pop up on your social media feeds once or twice.
The thing is, they’re sold online and they are not cheap.
I have great news for you — it’s so easy to make at home.
You’ll only need 4 ingredients and 15 minutes so you don’t need to buy it from anyone else ever again.
Let’s get to it.
Why you’ll love making ube butter
- Delicious. If you think ube jam on bread can’t get any better, think again! Ube butter is creamier, more spreadable and tastes amazing too.
- Easy to make. You wouldn’t believe how easy it is to make. You literally only need to incorporate ube and butter. That’s it!
- Versatile. Then you’ll have this wonderfully versatile spread that goes so well on bread, can be made as filling for cakes, as base for frosting, and more.
How to make
Ingredients
You only need 4 ingredients to make this recipe.
- Butter — I always use unsalted butter in my recipes because I want to control the salt content. But you can also use salted butter if that’s what’s available.
- Ube jam or ube halaya — I make my own ube jam but if you’re buying a ready-made jar, make sure it’s ube jam that you enjoy eating on its own.
- Ube extract — you can find ube extract in the international or baking aisle of supermarkets, in Asian supermarkets, or in Amazon. This is an important ingredient as it brings that intense ube flavor and vibrant purple color to your butter.
- Salt — if you’re using salted butter, you can omit the salt.
Tools
The only tool you’ll need is a mixer. I like using my stand mixer but a handheld electric mixer works too.
Step-by-step photos
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy.
Add all other ingredients and continue beating on medium speed until smooth and incorporated. Transfer to a covered container or jar and serve.
Expert tips
Easy, right? Here are more tips to make it even easier.
- Butter. Make sure to use softened butter to make it easier to incorporate.
- Ube jam. Also make sure your ube halaya is at room temperature so it’s more manageable to work with.
- Beat until smooth. You want your ube butter to be smooth and creamy so beat until completely incorporated, or until you don’t see chunks of ube or streaks of butter anymore.
Recipe FAQs
Ube is the Filipino word for purple yam.
It’s been a staple in Filipino cuisine for generations and most often used in making desserts like ube cake, ube cookies, and more.
It’s also often paired with coconut milk, like in ube butter mochi and ube biko.
A lot of people mistake ube for taro, Okinawan sweet potato and purple sweet potato but they’re all different kinds of vegetables and have different flavor profiles as well.
I store ube butter in a covered container or jar in the fridge. It will firm up but will remain easily spreadable.
Stored properly, it should keep for up to 2 weeks.
Other buttery recipes
Love all things butter? Check these out:
Did you make this ube butter recipe? I’d love to hear all about it! Leave a comment or a star rating below. You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook. I’d love to see your creations!
You can also find me on Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube.
Ube Butter Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 7 oz ube jam or ube halaya about 1 cup, room temperature
- 1½ tsp ube extract
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy.½ cup unsalted butter
- Add all other ingredients and continue beating on medium speed until smooth and incorporated.7 oz ube jam or ube halaya, 1½ tsp ube extract, pinch salt
- Transfer to a covered container or jar and serve.
Video
Notes
- If using salted butter, omit the additional salt.
- Stored in the fridge, ube butter should last up to 2 weeks.
- See post for more tips and FAQs.
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
Joy J.
When refrigerated, how long will this last while still staying fresh?
Jolina
Hi Joy, it should keep for up to 2 weeks.
Connie
This sounds good. Can I use this as cinnamon roll filling too?
Jolina
Hi Connie, I don’t see why not 🙂 Check out my recipe for ube bread rolls.
Mila De La Paz
What brand of Ube jam would you recommend? I’m far from an Asian grocery store so I will have to order from Amazon. Much appreciated!
Jolina
Hi Mila, unfortunately I haven’t yet tasted ube jam available here in North America that I like 🙁 So I make my own. But I’ve heard other readers have success with brands like Philippines or Buenas.
Patty
We love ube butter! Very easy to make and my kids practically inhaled them. Thanks for the super idea.
Jolina
You’re most welcome Patty! We now always have ube butter in the fridge 🙂