Glass, Steel or Ceramic? The Best Butter Dish with Lid

Butter for a split bolillo, a warm concha or a stack of hotcakes needs to be soft, and soft butter needs a lid. A lid keeps the kitchen’s smells out of it, keeps dust and crumbs off it, and in the refrigerator stops it from picking up the taste of cut onion and leftover salsa. The question on this page is not whether to buy a butter dish, but which kind of lid suits the way you keep butter.

Our main butter dish guide covers the best-known dishes and French butter crocks. This one looks at the lid itself: glass and steel covers, ceramic lids from makers who state their glaze is lead free, sealed and latching lids, a lid that slices cold butter, and a lid that is attached to the dish. There are nine picks, from Fox Run, MORA, Prepworks, Chef’n, Bico, Better Dish, KITCHENDAO and Tupperware, and none of them repeat the main guide.

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Quick verdict: which covered butter dish to buy

Five covered butter dishes compared

Our five standout covered dishes, one for each way of keeping butter. All nine are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Capacity, materials and safety statements are as given by each maker or listing.

Our picks for the best butter dish with lid

These nine dishes are sorted by what their lids do. Glass, steel and ceramic covers rest on the tray; sealed and latching lids close tight for the refrigerator; one lid slices cold butter; and one is attached to the base so it never touches the counter. Each pick gives the maker’s own specifications, who it suits, and one honest reason to skip it.

Resting, sealed, latching or attached: four kinds of butter dish lid

Resting lids. Glass, steel and ceramic covers that lift off the tray, like both Fox Run dishes, the MORA and the Bico. They keep butter covered, look the best on a table and are the easiest to clean, but you have to put the lid down somewhere when you open them.

Sealed lids. The ProKeeper has a silicone seal and the Tupperware an odor-lock lid. These are the best choice in the refrigerator, where butter otherwise picks up other smells.

Latching lids. The KITCHENDAO locks its lid to the base. It will not fall off a fridge door shelf and opens with one hand.

Attached and working lids. The Better Dish lid is hinged to the base, so it never ends up butter-side-down on the counter. The Chef’n lid has a blade that slices cold butter into pats.

How long butter keeps under a lid

A lid keeps butter clean and keeps odors out; it does not make butter last indefinitely. Oregon State University Extension says unopened butter keeps up to four months in a refrigerator at 32 to 38°F, but once the package is opened, stored in the refrigerator door or left out for a period of time, the storage time is only a couple of weeks. It adds that salted butter generally lasts longer, and that butter you will not use within a couple of weeks belongs in the freezer.

Several makers advertise how long butter stays fresh in their dishes. Those are their claims, and we have not repeated them. In a warm kitchen, the practical approach is to keep only a few days’ worth in the dish and the rest in the fridge or freezer.

How to choose a butter dish with a lid

Counter or fridge. On the counter, a glass, steel or ceramic dish with a resting lid, or an attached-lid dish, is easiest to use. In the fridge, a sealed or latching lid keeps other smells out; the Tupperware is slim enough for the door.

The butter you buy. American sticks come in two shapes, the long East Coast (Elgin) stick and the short, wide West Coast stick, and European butter comes in wider blocks. Read what each maker says fits. Bico and Better Dish are the most specific here.

One stick or two. The ProKeeper, KITCHENDAO and Chef’n hold one stick. The Fox Run dishes, MORA, Bico and Better Dish hold two.

Material and glaze. Glass and stainless do not hold odors. Plastic is light and will not shatter. For glazed ceramic, buy from a maker that states its glaze or ceramic is lead free, as MORA and Bico do on their listings.

Cleaning. Butter leaves a film. Every dish here except the stainless Fox Run (hand wash) and the Chef’n (not stated) is listed as dishwasher safe.

How we picked these nine covered butter dishes

We looked at covered butter dishes and keepers from Fox Run, MORA, Bico, Prepworks, Chef’n, Better Dish, KITCHENDAO, Tupperware, Le Creuset, Sweese, Kook, Martha Stewart, Pfaltzgraff, Lenox, Norpro, Luminarc, Tablecraft and others, and kept only those showing as in stock on Amazon when we checked. We left out every dish already recommended in our main butter dish guide. Specifications come from the Amazon listings; storage advice comes from Oregon State University Extension.

For glazed ceramic, we included only makers whose listing states the glaze or ceramic is lead free. We did not find that statement in the Le Creuset, Sweese, Kook, Martha Stewart, Pfaltzgraff or Lenox listings we read, so their dishes are not here; that is a gap in what they state, not a finding about their products. We have not used these dishes ourselves and did not find independent reviews of them that we could read, so we have not cited any.

Covered butter dish questions, answered

Is a glass or ceramic butter dish with a lid better?

Both work. Glass lets you see the butter and does not hold odors. Ceramic looks better on the table; choose one whose maker states a lead-free glaze, such as MORA or Bico.

Which butter dish with a lid fits Kerrygold?

The Fox Run glass and stainless dishes, the Bico (a 250-gram European block) and the Better Dish are all stated to fit Kerrygold or European butter.

Should a butter dish with a lid go in the fridge?

It can. Oregon State Extension says opened butter, or butter kept in the fridge door or left out, keeps only a couple of weeks. Keep a small amount in a counter dish and the rest cold, or use a sealed fridge dish such as the ProKeeper or Tupperware.

Does an airtight lid keep butter fresh longer?

Makers of sealed dishes say so, and a seal does keep out other smells. We have not found an independent source that measures it, so we treat longer freshness as the makers’ claim.

The covered butter dish to start with

Buy the Fox Run glass dish if you want one dish for any butter, the MORA if it sits on the table, or the ProKeeper if your butter lives in the fridge. For butter crocks and our wider list, see the main butter dish guide. Keep the bolillos fresh in a bread box and slice them with a good bread knife. For a weekend breakfast someone else cooks, our guide to Mexican brunch explains the dishes, or see the menu and call to order.