The 2-ingredient Recipe I Use to Upgrade My Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Sometimes you stumble upon a product, recipe, or technique that transforms how you cook. Maybe it’s a thick balsamic glaze you drizzle on top of veggies and meats, or spread on sandwiches. Maybe it’s a trick you learned that transformed your morning plate of scrambled eggs. Or something like a DIY Everything Bagel” seasoning you sprinkle on anything savory. 

I’ve always believed that simple recipes, products, or techniques can be some of the most impactful—the ones that take less than a minute, but deliver the kind of flavor that makes you pause mid-bite. That’s what this two-ingredient recipe is to me—a simple but absolutely transformative dish I use every day. 

The 2-ingredient Recipe I Use to Upgrade Every Meal

What’s one ingredient you use almost every day? For me, it’s butter. I use butter in most meals, and at least once a day. I upgrade it by making this two-ingredient Honey Butter that makes butter even better—however hard that is to imagine. I tried this recipe on a whim after I bought a big jar of local honey from my farmers’ market. After one bite, I knew I would always keep this dish handy. 

Honey butter is one of those recipes that is greater than the sum of its parts. You get the milky, salty, richness of butter with the subtle floral sweetness of honey. It adds so much complexity to your meals. Plus, you can use it in place of butter in most situations. The only thing to avoid would be sautéing with honey butter because the sugars in the honey can burn quickly, adding a bitter taste to whatever you’re making. 

I use honey butter during every meal. I spread it on waffles, french toast, or cinnamon toast in the A.M. For lunch, I’ve used it as a spread on a ham and Brie sandwich, or made honey butter croutons to top my Caesar salad. It’s unbeatable on a slice of cornbread with a bowl of chili. Melt a little honey butter and drizzle it on pepperoni pizza (don’t knock it til you try it) or drizzle on fried chicken wings. 

I’ve roasted whole chickens with honey butter, aromatics, and fresh herbs for a delicious, hearty dinner. But if you want to enjoy honey butter to its fullest potential, you must bake a fresh loaf (or warm a store-bought loaf in the oven) of sourdough bread, and slather a thick slice in honey butter. 

How to Make Honey Butter

This is a no-cook, one-minute creation that is hard to even call a recipe—that’s how simple it is. All you have to do is take room temperature butter, and fold in honey to taste. I add about 1/4 cup of honey to every 1/3 of butter (one stick). I always use salted butter, and I also stir a big pinch of flaky salt. I find the extra salt goes a long way in making the honey “pop” in every bite. Stick it in the fridge, and use however your heart desires!