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All it takes is a few minutes, some peanuts, and a food processor to make all-natural Homemade Peanut Butter that’s better than any you’ve ever had, anywhere. No sugar, no salt, no additives…zip, nada, zilch.
What do you need to make your own peanut butter?
Peanuts.
Also, a high-powered blender or food processor makes all the difference with this recipe.
What kind of peanuts are best for Homemade Peanut Butter?
Good quality, unsalted shelled peanuts work best. If they’re not already roasted, you can roast them in the oven.
Here’s how to roast peanuts in the oven:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add the nuts to a rimmed baking sheet.
- Roast nuts for 3 minutes, give the pan a shake then roast another 3 to 5 minutes or until the nuts are lightly browned and smell…nutty. Be careful that they don’t burn.
- Allow them to cool until you can handle them.
- Then continue on with the recipe!
How to make Homemade Peanut Butter:
- Add the peanuts to the bowl of your food processor.
- Turn it on and start watching.
- The peanuts will go through several stages over the next few minutes of processing, so don’t worry, you’re doing it right. Just be sure to stop the machine every minute or so and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- You’ll see the peanuts go from crumbs to a dry ball to a smooth and creamy soft peanut butter. Depending on the processor, it may take a few minutes longer than others. It will happen!
How to make crunchy peanut butter:
- If you are making crunchy peanut butter, add ⅓ cup of the roasted peanuts to the bowl of a food processor.
- Pulse 6 to 8 times, or until the peanuts are chopped into very small pieces.
- Transfer chopped peanuts to a bowl and save for later.
- Stir in the chopped peanuts once the peanut butter has reached the desired consistency.
Peanut Butter Variations:
Half the fun of making your own stuff is making it exactly the way you want it.
- Homemade Almond Peanut Butter: Blend up equal parts almonds and peanuts and make a peanut almond butter.
- Chocolate Peanut Butter: Add a little powdered sugar and a scoop of cocoa powder (not cocoa mix) to the peanuts as they are blending. Talk about heaven!
- Homemade Peanut Butter with honey: A spoonful of honey adds natural sweetness to your pb masterpiece.
- Homemade Peanut Butter with coconut oil: If you’ll be drizzling peanut butter over bananas, brownies, or your morning muesli, whir in a tablespoon or two of coconut oil to make the butter pourable and creamy.
- Homemade Butter with Cinnamon: A spice no brainer, cinnamon goes with everything and adds a little something special to the peanuts.
How to store homemade peanut butter:
Store it in the fridge or at room temperature if you think you’ll go through it fast enough. If you’re a slow peanut butter consumer, maybe store it in the refrigerator so it stays really fresh, especially if it will be several weeks before you finish a jar.
What can you make with Homemade Peanut Butter?
First of all, you can make your own dog treats. Store-bought peanut butter, especially the sugar-free labeled stuff, can contain an artificial sweetener called xylitol. Xylitol is safe for humans, but is deadly toxic for dogs. If you make your own, you can safely share with your furry friends.
For human friends, I recommend: Peanut Butter Buckeyes, No Bake Peanut Butter Balls, Thai Peanut Dressing, Puppy Chow when you need something savory. Peanut butter needs little more than a spoon and an appetite for a perfect snack.
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Homemade Peanut Butter
Ingredients
- 4 cups roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Add peanuts to a high-powered blender or food processor. Pulse the peanuts until they are finely chopped.
- Process or blend on a low speed for 1 minute continuously, then stop the machine and scrape down the sides. The peanut butter will be dry and gritty.
- Process or blend on a low speed a second time for 1 minute continuously, then stop the machine and scrape down sides. The peanut butter will start to form a clumpy paste.
- Process or blend on a low speed a third time for 1 minute continuously, then stop the machine and scrape down sides. The peanut butter ill be thick and grainy at this point.
- Process or blend on a medium speed fourth time for 1 to 2 minutes longer. The peanut butter should be creamy and smooth at this point. It will also be warm and fragrant and delicious.
- The peanut butter will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for several weeks.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
This came out great! Roasted 1 1/2 cups of peanuts at 190C for 10 minutes and gave it a mix halfway. It took around 10-15 minutes for the peanut butter to become liquidy because my blender wasn’t super powerful- but it worked. Thanks for the recipe, Meggan.
Delicious idea! Homemade anything is always best :)
Thanks Alex! :D