Whether you slather it on bread like its own topping, have it melted over a jacket potato, or use it for a delicious homemade baked treat, the best butter is a sure-fire way to make even the simplest of foods taste absolutely delicious. It’s as versatile as it is tasty, too, belonging everywhere from lunchbox sandwiches to the more sophisticated butter boards.
Fortunately, butter is no longer as criticised as it once was. Margarine used to be seen as the healthier choice because of butter’s saturated fat and its association with higher cholesterol, but today, butter is recognised as something that can be enjoyed in moderation within a balanced, healthy diet.
In fact, butter is reprising its role as kitchen stalwart, with Waitroses’ sales of its Essentials salted butter up 16 per cent compared with last year, while flavoured butter have also grown in popularity, with Worldpanel trend data showing a 24 per cent increase in UK sales over the past 12 months.
And, as the queen of cooking Nigella Lawson shows, it’s at its best on toast. I usually go for salted butter, but Nigella prefers unsalted, spreading it in two layers so the second leaves little un-melted blobs, and finishing it with a sprinkle of sea salt flakes. If her slightly more elaborate method works, plain salted butter works perfectly too (for simplicity, this guide focuses on salted butter).
Like many essential ingredients, the cost of butter has risen around 19 per cent in the past year alone, so as it’s something that you’re always going to be buying, it’s worth knowing which brands are worth their salt. These days, it’s rare to find a block of butter (not counting the spreadable tub varieties) for under £2, with most hovering just a few pence shy of £3.
If all this butter talk has piqued your appetite, read on for the top supermarket picks right now. After plenty of tasting and countless slices of toast, I’ve rounded up the most delicious options to add to your basket.
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The best supermarket butters for 2026 are: Best overall – Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference West Country farmhouse butter: Sainsburys.co.ukBest cheap supermarket butter – M&S British salted butter: Ocado.comBest creamy supermarket butter – Kerrygold pure Irish salted butter: Tesco.comBest butter with chunky salt – Tesco finest butter with sea salt crystals: Tesco.comHow I tested
I got busy slathering the dairy spread on multiseed bread (Emma Henderson/The Independent)
I tested 16 salted butters, first by slathering a decent amount on toast, and then tasting them on their own over a couple of days. I used the same bread (my favourite non-sourdough loaf, the Sainsbury’s multiseeded loaf) throughout the test.
I tested supermarket’s basic own-brand butter, where it was available (as not all supermarkets do it), the more luxurious own-brand butters and well-known brands available at supermarkets. I considered taste and creaminess, texture, and value – but I’ve detailed my full testing methodology at the end of the review. You can trust that these butters are worth adding to your weekly shop.
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Dining and Cooking