Last Updated: June 13, 2024, 9:20 a.m.

Butter dishes are a timeless addition to any table, serving both functional and aesthetic purposes. These charming containers offer a stylish way to present and store butter, whether it's for everyday use or special occasions. Available in a variety of materials, such as porcelain, ceramic, or glass, butter dishes come in an array of designs to suit every taste and décor. From classic to contemporary, there's a butter dish to complement any table setting. Beyond their decorative appeal, butter dishes also serve a practical role, keeping butter at the ideal temperature for spreading. With their simple yet elegant presence, butter dishes, like our favorite the Sweese Butter Dish, effortlessly enhance the dining experience, adding a touch of sophistication to every meal. 

  

Butter dishes are a hyper-specific kitchen item, which, as you can see, vary in terms of size, color, functionality, and design. While the above list of best butter dishes caters to a wide variety of requirements pertaining to all the important factors, it is ultimately important for you, as the consumer, to buy one that suits you best! To achieve this, you must look into the brands of butter that you often purchase along with your design motivations. This includes examining the kind of aesthetic you want to perfect in your household, be it simple enough to accommodate several butter dishes or specific enough to allow a select few.

Factors To Consider When Buying a Butter Dish

Numerical and qualitative descriptions can be confusing if you don’t know what characteristics you should be looking for in your perfect butter dish. However, fret not, for we have simplified what you should be looking at when buying a butter dish:

Material

The material your butter dish comes made from is very important as it will dictate the different kinds of properties your dish will come with. A crucial consideration to make is how sturdy you want your butter dish to be. Butter dishes are commonly crafted from plastic, ceramic, porcelain, glass, crystals, as well as some unorthodox materials such as stainless steel, stone, enamel, and even wood. While plastic is quite durable, shatterproof, and on top of that, very lightweight – it is also very common and easily affordable. Glass is another viable option which, while being prone to breaking and chipping, is the easiest to clean and very attractive to the external eye. Lastly, ceramic and porcelain are the most common materials used for crafting butter dishes as they support coloring and many kinds of design.

Capacity

The size/capacity of your butter dish should just be enough to fit in at least a butter brick of your favorite brand. It should not be too large so as to take up too much space, completely defeating its purpose of keeping your kitchen tidy and organized. Conversely, it should also not be too small such that a regular butter stick doesn’t fit in it, forcing you to cut it down to size, which is tedious to do every day. Having a butter dish with a slightly taller lid piece is a plus as it prevents your butter from coming in contact with its surface and potentially melting (albeit slightly).

Style

While some people view kitchenware for its pure functionality, many perceive them as a thing of beauty that, on top of doing what they do best, also adds to the kitchen’s décor. If you’re the type of person who is mainly concerned with keeping their butter fresh, creamy, and spreadable at all times, then a simple design will mostly suffice. You don’t need to go out of your way to examine the intricacies of its design and how it will impact the décor of your kitchen. However, if you’re the kind of person who wants to promote a certain standard of décor in their kitchen, then you’ll really need to explore your options. You may also easily get your hands on designs pertaining to special occasions such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years’ Eve, etc.

Top Picks

• Stylish And Elegant: Mud Pie Door Knob Butter Dish
• Best Functionality: Sweese Red Butter Dish
• Most Durable: Aisbugur Black Butter Dish
• Cute Aesthetic: Sweejar Ceramic Butter Dish
• Best Overall: Sweese Butter Dish

Reviews

What is the point of a butter dish?

The purpose of a Butter Dish is to keep your butter soft, creamy, and spreadable without the need for reserving crucial space in the fridge. It works by shielding your butter from light, air and bacteria which are primarily responsible for degrading the quality of your butter.

How long does butter last in a butter dish?

If you keep the butter dish tightly sealed, then the inside butter can stay fresh at room temperature for up to two to three weeks. However, we would still recommend checking in on it from time to time as someone may unintendedly fiddle with it. Consequently, if left unchecked, your butter can darken, exhibit a foul odor, and/or taste very sour.

How often should I wash my butter dish?

We would recommend washing your butter dish between sticks to guarantee that it stays clean throughout. As far as the cleaning process is concerned, if your butter dish is dishwasher safe, then simply putting it in the dishwasher along with your other dishes should do the trick. Otherwise, washing by hand is always an option.

Can we put a butter dish inside the fridge?

Butter tends to get hard in the refrigerator, making it difficult to cut and spread the butter. However, there exist butter dishes like the SWEEJAR Ceramic Butter Dish which keeps your butter at the perfect temperature, even in the refrigerator.