One of the best beverages coming out of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is Butterbeer! Would you agree?
Butterbeer is a delicious wizard drink, served warm and foaming in tankards or chilled in bottles. You can find Butterbeer in dining locations at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando; including Three Broomsticks, Leaky Cauldron, or the Hog’s Head.
Did you know that Butterbeer has magical properties? Butterbeer can cause house elves to become intoxicated. For Muggles, we are safe! It is a sweet treat that you can enjoy cold, frozen, or hot. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter even has Butterbeer ice cream and fudge.
Our favorite is still the original cold and frozen Butterbeer recipes at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I remember visiting Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Orlando at the opening ceremony.
We were seeing the Wizarding World come alive, along with the actors. They were still filming the Harry Potter movies, so all of the actors attended the opening celebration of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. It is amazing! You can see some of the opening ceremony in the video below.
I remember tasting my first Butterbeer that night with the rush of butterscotch flavoring and then the frothy cold on my upper lip. When drinking a frozen Butterbeer, you cannot help it. You always get that Butterbeer mustache. 😉 It is that taste of Butterbeer that made me hunt for the perfect Butterbeer recipe to make a home.
What Makes a Great Butterbeer?
There are a ton of Butterbeer recipes online for you to enjoy.
However, only a few actually live up to the real thing at the Harry Potter theme park at Universal Orlando Resort or Universal Hollywood. We spent hours and hours testing all of the Butterbeer recipes online. Best job ever! LOL!
I found 5 Butterbeer recipes that are the best! These Butterbeer recipes are most like the beverages you will find at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando or Universal Hollywood.
There are a few key elements of a great Butterbeer.
- It must be served chilled
- Preferably frozen (like a slush drink)
- I must have a frothy head
- A buttery-scotchy flavor
- And non-alcoholic
For this “research project” I did focus on cold Butterbeer. One of my favorite Harry Potter beverages at Wizarding World of Harry Potter is the hot Butterbeer. This is perfect on a cold day in Florida! This is a tasty beverage. You can check out our favorite hot Butterbeer recipes, later in this article.
For now, we are focusing on the chilled and slushy version. You know, the original Butterbeer served at Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
These recipes also must have a frothy head. One of the fun parts of a Butterbeer is the mustache pictures. This is certainly a must do when visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. You do need to get a picture or selfie with a Butterbeer mustache. Our version at home should also have this frothy head to create that same Butterbeer stache!
We also want our Butterbeer to be non-alcoholic, so the whole family can enjoy it.
Top 5 Butterbeer Recipes
With our key requirements, we went on the hunt to find the best Butterbeer recipes online. We had some success and some epic fails! We did narrow it down to the Top 5 Best Butterbeer Recipes. You would be proud to surprise your Harry Potter fan with this beverage during dinner or to serve at your next Harry Potter party.
Warning! These recipes are not the easiest ones. They are the recipes that most closely match the version from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort. I know you are thinking…what?!?!
I feel your pain. I am a horrible cook! When I looked at these recipes, my eye did twitch a bit. I like my recipes to be super simple and easy. You could just mix butterscotch syrup with a cream soda.
However, it will not be as good as the version you will find at the theme parks. These are also the version approved by J.K. Rowling herself, so you know these are the most accurate Butterbeer beverages for the Wizarding World.
The Butterbeer Recipes
Harry Potter Butterbeer Recipe #5
Let’s start with the easiest recipe. This one only involves a few ingredients. I love that! This one is super sweet, but not exactly like the version you will find at Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Adding the whipped cream on the top adds that Butterbeer mustache effect.
Butterbeer Recipe #5
Ingredients
- 1 quart Vanilla Ice Cream
- 1/4 cup Butterscotch Syrup
- 32 oz Cream Soda
Instructions
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Place 4 (16-ounce) glasses in freezer and chill for at least 20 minutes
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Mix ice cream and cream soda in a blender until combine
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Divide between the frosted glasses
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Top each glass with whipped cream, if desired
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Serve with spoons and straws
Harry Potter Butterbeer Recipe #4
I liked how simple recipe #5 was to create a Butterbeer. However, it is not the closest to the original Butterbeer. Our recipe #4 is getting a little closer to the original.
This one’s from the Food Network. This one is served warm according to the recipe, but you could just as easily chill or freeze the drink before serving.
This recipe has only a few ingredients, but the directions are a little bit more complicated. We tried this recipe hot, but our favorite was still cold.
Butterbeer Recipe #4
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1/4 cup Butterscotch Topping
- 2 tablespoons Whipped Butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups Vanilla Cream Soda
Instructions
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Combine condensed milk, butterscotch topping, and butter in a glass heatproof measuring cup.
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Heat in microwave for 1 minute.
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Remove and stir until butter has melted and incorporated into mixture.
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Meanwhile heat cream soda in another heatproof measuring cup for 1 minute 30 seconds.
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Divide butterscotch mixture between 2 (10 to 12-ounce) mugs.
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Fill mugs with heated cream soda and stir thoroughly.
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Serve garnished with an old-fashioned butterscotch candy stick.
Harry Potter Butterbeer Recipe #3
Our next recipe uses butterscotch chips, which I thought added a nice flavor of butterscotch. I found this one on e-How. This recipe is served hot. However, you can modify this recipe. You can freeze or cool, before serving.
This recipe is a little bit different than the other two above. As I mentioned, this one used butterscotch chips. They also added coffee creamer to make a richer beverage. I really liked this recipe. It adds a real different dimension that still stays on track with the Harry Potter theme park version of Butterbeer.
Butterbeer Recipe #3
Ingredients
- 10 OZ Cream Soda 1 & 1/4 cups
- 1 Tbsp Salted REAL Butter
- 1/2 Cup Butterscotch Chips
- 1/4 Cup Original Coffee Mate Liquid Creamer
Instructions
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Put the Butterscotch Chips and Butter in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 30 seconds. Stir and Heat for another 30 seconds. Now add your Creamer to the bowl.
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Microwave in 30 Second increments again. Stirring each time. It usually takes about 4 times (2 minutes) to get the right consistency. Set your mixture aside. The chips and butter should be a thick stir-able paste.
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Heat Cream soda in the microwave for 90 seconds. BE VERY CAREFUL! Microwaves times vary. Make sure not to over heat the Cream Soda or all of the fizz will be gone.
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Pour Butterscotch mixture into heated Cream Soda.
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Stir & Serve!
Harry Potter Butterbeer Recipe #2
For this recipe, I made several changes. A few modifications helped fit the Butterbeer requirements of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter park version. Once I made the changes, this one was delicious!
This one is definitely more complicated than the others, but the taste was worth it. This Butterbeer recipe was delish!
Butterbeer Recipe #2
Ingredients
- 1 pint Vanilla Ice Cream softened
- 1/2 stick Butter at Room Temperature
- 1/3 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 24 oz. Vanilla Cream Soda Very Cold
Instructions
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Allow ice cream to soften, about 30 minutes, and bring butter to room temperature, about 2 hours
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Blend butter, sugar, and spices in large bowl
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Add to ice cream and freeze
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Heat cream soda in a pot until warm but still carbonated (at least 3 minutes). You could also just go with the very cold cream soda (my preference) and have a more frozen/slushy drink.
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Fill each glass with a scoop of ice cream mixture and pour warmed or chilled cream soda over ice cream
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Serve!
Harry Potter Butterbeer Recipe #1
If you are a true Harry Potter fan, you probably tried each of these Top 5 Butterbeer Recipes! If you are just looking for the best one, you have found it.
This was the recipe put out by AP, FoxNews, and just about every other site after the Wizarding World of Harry Potter park opened (years and years ago).
This recipe does have a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps. This recipe is also served hot. This is the best recipe we found, but you will want to freeze it. That way it is most like the official Butterbeer you will find at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Out of all of the versions we tried, this one was the best! Two thumbs up!
Butterbeer Recipe #1
Ingredients
- 1 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 6 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup heavy cream divided
- 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
- 4 bottles (12 oz. bottles) cream soda
Instructions
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In a small saucepan over medium, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 F on a candy thermometer.
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Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
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Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the rum extract.
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In a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 minutes.
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To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about 1/4 cup for each glass). Add 1/4 cup of cream soda to each glass, then stir to combine. Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional cream soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each.
Hot Butterbeer Recipes
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter did start with the original cold and frozen Butterbeers. Once Diagon Alley was added to Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, they introduced hot Butterbeer.
As I mentioned earlier, the hot Butterbeer is my absolute favorite. It is perfect on a cold day in Florida. After they introduced hot Butterbeer, we went on a hunt to find the best hot Butterbeer recipes.
You can watch this video as we share our favorite recipes to make hot Butterbeer recipes at home.
We hope you enjoyed all of these Butterbeer recipes to make cold, frozen, or hot Butterbeer at home. As a Harry Potter fan, we love how the Wizarding World of Harry Potter transforms you into the Wizarding World. Creating these recipes at home helps you bring a little bit of the magic home.
Did you have a favorite version? Share with us below.
Since you loved these Butterbeer recipes, check out these other sweet treats inspired by Butterbeer.
Butterbeer Fudge
Butterbeer Cake
Butterbeer Ice Cream
Butterbeer Hot Chocolate
If you love Wizarding World of Harry Potter, check out our playlist of videos from WWoHP at Universal Orlando Resort. You can find the Must Do’s at Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Harry Potter Celebration, and just vlogs from Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley.