One Of Best And Cheapest Kerrygold Butter Alternatives Is From A Beloved Classic Brand Known For Its Ice Cream

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If you're a butter snob, you're no doubt aware of Kerrygold — the Irish import that's earned a loyal following for its rich, creamy butter. But Kerrygold isn't cheap, so it's always good to have a backup, especially if you're an avid baker or butter enthusiast (or both). Tillamook, the beloved Oregon-based dairy brand perhaps best known to shoppers for its cheese and ice cream, makes a worthy contender. Its Sea Salted Extra Creamy Butter has a higher-than-standard butterfat content, a smooth texture, and a price that can be considerably lower than Kerrygold's Salted Irish Butter. 

The extra creamy butter comes in a 16-ounce package of four sticks and contains just two ingredients: cream and salt. That extra creaminess comes from the 81% butterfat, which is slightly above the 80% minimum for butter in the United States. That extra fat helps give it a richer mouthfeel and texture, making it feel way more indulgent than your standard supermarket stick. Butter fiends know that European-style butter typically ranges from 82% to 90% butterfat, and every little percentage counts.

The price is another selling point. Recent comparisons put Tillamook's 16-ounce package at around $5.30, whereas the same amount of Kerrygold goes for about $10.30. Though prices vary by retailer and location, it's not an insignificant amount of money. In our roundup of cheaper alternatives to Kerrygold butter, Tillamook was one of the most affordable.

Both butters deliver an authentically creamy richness that's especially good for spreading on warm bread or swirling into mashed potatoes. And Tillamook has plenty of fans who swear by its performance. In a baking forum on Reddit, one baker noted: "This is my favorite butter. Kerrygold is too much for me. Its flavor overpowers." Boasting around 88% of five-star reviews on Walmart, Tillamook's butter also earned plenty of praise there, with one reviewer describing it as "VERY close" to more expensive European-style butters. 

Of course, butter preferences are personal, and not every Kerrygold evangelist can be converted. In the same Reddit post, one baker admitted: "It's not bad, but then I started using Kerrygold and haven't been back to it," while another firmly stated: "Nope. I'm [a] huge butter snob. Kerrygold or no butter."

It's important to note both brands work directly with dairy farmers. Tillamook has been around for more than a century and is a farmer-owned cooperative, meaning the dairy farmers who supply its milk are also its owners. Kerrygold's structure is more layered, as its parent company, Ornua, is owned by Irish dairy cooperatives that represent farmers. But neither is simply a conventional, investor-owned corporation that reports to shareholders. If you're looking for a less expensive butter with its own rich texture, Tillamook is certainly worth a try.