• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Sprinkles and Sprouts

Great food with grocery store ingredients

  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact Me
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • By Category
  • Chicken
  • Pasta
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • By Category
    • Chicken
    • Pasta
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
  • ×
    Home > Meal Type > Sides

    Buttered Vegetables

    Updated: May 23rd 2022 • Published: Mar 16th 2020 • 7 Comments

    Jump to Recipe SaveSaved! Pin Recipe

    A simple dish of Buttered Vegetables can add color, nutrients, and freshness to a dinner. It may be a simple side dish, but adding veggies to a meal doesn't have to be complicated, and let's face it, some nights, it just needs to be easy! 

    We all know vegetables are good for us, and by adding butter to them, we can create a simple, delicious dish that is perfect served with any meal! 

    With this recipe, you get a blueprint for an easy side dish that can be adapted for what is in season, what you have the refrigerator, or what your family will eat. Love carrots? Add more. Grocery store out of broccoli? Swap it for green beans. Asparagus on sale? Add it in. Pretty much any veg will work here! The possibilities are endless!

    overhead view of a bowl of buttered vegetables

    Jump Menu

    • Veg can you include
    • Do you just add butter?
    • Cooking the veg
    • Buttered Vegetables Recipe

    Veg can you include

    The beauty of this recipe is it is so adaptable! You can include whatever is on special in your local store, or what you have available in the deep freeze at home. If your family loves a particular vegetable, then add more of that and leave out the bits they hate. 

    In it's purest form, buttered vegetables usually consist of Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Carrots. But you can use anything you like. 

    I often add asparagus and peas, but all of the veggies below are delicious when slightly cooked with butter and a few seasonings. 

    • Asparagus
    • Broad Beans
    • Bell Pepper
    • Broccoli
    • Brussels Sprouts
    • Cabbage
    • Carrot
    • Cauliflower
    • Celery
    • Corn
    • Edamame
    • Green Beans
    • Leeks
    • Onion/Shallots
    • Peas (green peas, snow peas, sugar snap peas)
    close up on broccoli floret in a bowl of mixed veg

    Do you just add butter?

    The short answer is, "You can do." 

    We all know that butter makes things better! So a big square of butter on top of your vegetables will help their flavor. 

    But for these simple buttered vegetables, I like to add salt, cracked black pepper and a pinch of brown sugar into butter and broth to really boost the butter flavor.

    But extra butter on top is never a bad idea.
    If you want to mix it up and make these "Posh" veg, why not try using compound butter. 

    My favs are:

    • French Compound Butter
    • Smoked Chilli Butter
    • Horseradish Butter
    • Moroccan Spice Butter
    steamed vegetable in a shallow bowl

    Cooking the veg

    Ideally, you want the veg to be cooked tender-crisp. Which is a silly crazy culinary term that at first seems to make no sense! With tender and crisp being opposites! But tender-crisp means the vegetables are tender to the point of a fork, but still with a crispness when you bite into it. 

    If you like softer veg, then feel free to cook it for longer until it is at your desired 'doneness.' You may need to add a splash more stock/water if your pan starts to dry out.

    cauliflower, broccoli and carrots in a white bowl

    Enjoy x

    For other easy side dishes, why not try:

    • Fajita Veggies
    • Slow Roasted Greek Lemon Potatoes
    • Greek Orzo with Lemon and Herbs
    • Brabant Potatoes
    • Simple Pea Mash
    • Easy Skillet Garlic Green Beans
    • Braised Celery


    Pin this recipe for Buttered Vegetables. Pin it here.

    close up on a carrot and veg glistening with butter
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    5 from 2 votes

    Buttered Vegetables Recipe

    A simple dish of Buttered Vegetables can add color, nutrients, and freshness to a dinner. It may be an easy side dish, but adding veggies to a meal doesn't have to be complicated, and let's face it, some nights, with family meals it just needs to be easy! We all know vegetables are good for us, and by adding butter to them, we can create a simple, delicious dish that is perfect served with any meal!
    Prep Time5 mins
    Cook Time10 mins
    Course: Side
    Cuisine: Modern British
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 152kcal
    Author: Claire | Sprinkle and Sprouts
    For more great recipes follow me on PinterestFollow @sprinklessprout
    Need Metric Measurements?Use the options below to toggle between cups and grams (if relevant)
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    • ¼ cup butter - see note 1
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon black pepper
    • ¼ teaspoon brown sugar - see note 2
    • ½ cup vegetable broth - see note 3
    • 3 carrots, chopped into batons - see note 4
    • 2 cups chopped broccoli - see note 4
    • 2 cups chopped cauliflower - see note 4
    • 1 tablespoon fresh herbs, optional garnish - see note 5

    Instructions

    • Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat.
    • Add in the salt, black pepper, brown sugar, and vegetable broth.
    • Once it comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, add in the vegetables and stir well to coat.
    • Cook for 7 minutes or until the vegetables are tender-crisp. If you prefer your veg softer, cooked for 10 minutes. (You may need to add extra broth)

    Notes

    1. I use salted butter but use what you have available.
    2. The brown sugar is optional, but it does add just a hint of sweetness.
    3. You can use chicken broth or beef broth instead. (If you are cooking your vegetables until they are much softer you may need extra broth)
    4. These are just suggested vegetables, feel free to swap them out for what you have on hand or what your family prefers - see the bulk of the post for lots of suggestions.
    5. The herbs are optional! I like to add chopped chives for a touch of onion flavor, but fresh parsley, thyme, cilantro, or basil would be great.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 152kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 571mg | Potassium: 440mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 8344IU | Vitamin C: 67mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @sprinklesandsprouts or tag #sprinklesandsprouts

    More Sides

    • Easy French Ratatouille
    • Indian Basmati Rice
    • Buttered Carrots and Corn
    • Cantonese Fried Rice

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Girl says

      March 22, 2022 at 11:03 pm

      5 stars
      if i wanted to use frozen veggies would that effect anything? Sorry new to cooking.
      Thank you

      Reply
      • Claire McEwen says

        March 23, 2022 at 9:33 am

        Hi,

        If you were using frozen veg, remove them from the freezer for 10-15 minutes or so before cooking and place them in a colander or sieve to soften slightly. Then follow the recipe as instructed.
        Hope that helps
        🙂
        Cx

        Reply
    2. Olga says

      December 06, 2021 at 2:43 am

      You say to to cook the veggies in broth and butter…then you say to put the butter on the top….which is it?

      Reply
      • Claire McEwen says

        December 13, 2021 at 12:33 pm

        Butter in the broth and butter on top.
        Extra butter I always a good idea 🙂
        Cx

        Reply
    3. Georgi says

      August 20, 2021 at 4:08 am

      Hello is this 152 kcal per serving or for the 4 servings. Because it doesn't add up - 1/4 cup of butter is about 58 grams which is around 370 kcal alone..

      Reply
      • Claire McEwen says

        August 21, 2021 at 8:55 am

        Yes it is per serving. So the calories add up.
        This is the breakdown:
        ¼ cup butter - Calories: 407kcal
        ½ tsp salt - Calories: 0kcal
        ½ tsp black pepper - Calories: 3kcal
        ¼ tsp brown sugar - Calories: 4kcal
        ½ cup vegetable broth - Calories: 6kcal
        3 carrots - Calories: 75kcal
        2 cups chopped broccoli - Calories: 62kcal
        2 cups chopped cauliflower - Calories: 50kcal
        1 tbsp fresh herbs - Calories: 1kcal

        That makes 608kcal for the dish which serves 4. So 152kcals each.
        Hope that helps
        Cx

        Reply
    4. Jeanette says

      March 18, 2020 at 2:57 pm

      I have one suggestion. Add the carrots first and cook 1 to 2 minutes. If using asparagus, separate the ends from the tender tips of the spear. Add the asparagus ends now with green beans if using. Cook for 2 minutes, Finally, add the tender tips of asparagus, as well as cauliflower and broccoli florets, and brussel sprouts (halved) and cook 2 minutes. If using snap or snow peas, add in the last 30 seconds of cooking.

      All veggies should now be the same level of tenderness. For crispier veggies, just cook for shorter intervals.

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    a lady stood in a white kitchen chopping a tomato

    I'm Claire and I love food!
    I dream about food and I am happiest when I am in the kitchen cooking. Whether that is dinner for my family, snacks for drinks with my girlfriends or testing new recipes for my site, the kitchen is my happy place. Sprinkles and Sprouts is where I share it all and I am so happy you are here.

    Read More →

    As featured in

    Popular

    • Easy Homemade Brown Gravy (no drippings)
    • Creamy Tomato Chicken and Chorizo Pasta
    • Homemade Peshwari Naan
    • Easy Garlic Bacon Pasta
    • Homemade Peri Peri Seasoning
    • Slow Roasted Greek Lemon Potatoes

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Sprinkles
    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    All content, recipes and photographs are copyrighted to Claire McEwen and are the property of Sprinkles and Sprouts.
    THEY MAY NOT BE REPUBLISHED IN PART OR WHOLE WITHOUT PERMISSION AND PROPER CREDIT.
    Contact me to see republishing and syndication rights.

    Copyright © 2020 Sprinkles and Sprouts

    Copyright © 2023 · Cravings Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

    4639 shares