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Making your own homemade peanut butter lets you control the ingredients and texture. This easy, money-saving recipe comes together in minutes!
Peanut butter is a pantry staple for lots of people. There are lots of brands to choose from at the store, and the ingredients and texture can vary based on which one you buy.
Whether you're making peanut sauce for Vietnamese spring rolls, whipping up some peanut noodles, baking a batch of peanut butter cookies, or blending up a peanut butter banana milkshake, having peanut butter in your pantry is key!
But have you ever tried making your own peanut butter? It's super easy to do, and you have full control over the ingredients.
We've been making peanut butter for years now, and I've gotten quite a few questions about how to make it from friends and followers.
Read on to learn how to make it!
Jump To:
- 🧡 Why we love this recipe
- 📝 Ingredients
- 🥜 Ingredient spotlight: peanuts
- ✅ How to make this recipe
- 📌 Tips & FAQs
- 🍴 Variations
- 🔪 Equipment
- 📖 Recipe
🧡 Why we love this recipe
- It's less expensive than buying peanut butter from the store. I often buy large jars of peanuts from the wholesale club to cut down on the cost even further.
- You have full control over the ingredients. No additives, preservatives, etc. You can make it with just peanuts, or feel free to add a little salt, sugar, and/or spices like cinnamon if desired.
- Make as much or as little peanut butter as you'd like. Use whatever size of jar you want and store it in the pantry.
- Easily adjust the texture for a creamy or crunchy texture. I actually learned a fun fact about crunchy peanut butter back when I went to Georgia for their annual peanut harvest tour. Crunchy peanut butter isn't blended less than creamy - it's actually creamy peanut butter with chopped peanuts mixed in.
- It scales easily! Make as little or as much as you want.
📝 Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make your homemade peanut butter (see recipe card below for ingredient amounts and full directions):
- Peanuts - this is the only actual required ingredient here. You can make peanut butter with just peanuts alone. We're going to use roasted, unsalted peanuts here. If you use salted peanuts, your peanut butter will be super salty.
- Kosher salt (optional)
- Turbinado sugar - also known as raw sugar (optional)
🥜 Ingredient Spotlight: Peanuts
This recipe uses peanuts which can be found in your grocery store either in the baking aisle or snack aisle. They are also sometimes sold in an area with other nuts and dried fruit within the produce department.
I learned a ton about the peanut industry when I went on a peanut harvest tour with Georgia Peanuts a while back. Here are a few of my favorite fun facts:
- Only 12 states here in the U.S. can grow peanuts.
- Georgia is the biggest producer of peanuts in the country, growing 50-60% of the country’s peanuts.
- Most of the peanuts grown in Georgia are destined to become peanut butter.
- Peanuts are self-pollinators, which means they don't rely on pollen carriers like bees to transfer the pollen from plant to plant. This is why you don't often see bees in peanut fields - there's nothing to attract them.
- A one-ounce serving of peanuts has about as much fiber as half a cup of broccoli.
- Peanuts make their own nitrogen - this feeds the plant and usually leaves some behind in the soil for future crops.
- Peanuts have the most protein of any nut.
- Peanuts are botanically a legume but from the way that we eat them and our bodies consume them, they are a nut.
- In the US 3.2 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 ounce of shelled peanuts compared to 23-28 gallons for other snack nuts.
Check out the Instagram reel I made to see more!
🍴 Variations
Peanut butter is super customizable! We usually go for "plain" with just a little salt and turbinado sugar, but there are lots of fun ways you can jazz it up. Here are some ideas:
- Change up the sweetener! Try honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar.
- Add a little spice! Things like cinnamon, chipotle chile powder, cayenne pepper, five spice powder, cardamom, or nutmeg can make tasty additions to your peanut butter. Start with a small amount, taste, and add more as desired.
- Give it some texture! As I mentioned above, I learned that "chunky" peanut butter is made by mixing chopped peanuts into smooth peanut butter. Reserve some peanuts on the side and give 'em a good chop, then stir into your prepared PB.
✅ How to make this recipe
This recipe is really simple to prepare. It may take a little more or less time, depending on the strength of your blender or food processor. However you do it, you'll be rewarded with deliciously fresh peanut butter in a matter of minutes!
- Pour your roasted, unsalted peanuts into the jar of your blender (or the bowl of a food processor).
- Add salt, sweetener, and any spices you desire.
- Blend on high speed until it reaches your desired consistency, tamping as necessary (see tips below).
See recipe card below for full instructions.
📌 Tips & FAQs
Using a high-speed blender is the fastest way to get a nice, smooth batch of homemade creamy peanut butter.
Using a tamper through the top of your blender will help make sure everything blends evenly. If you're making a big batch, you'll likely need to tamp almost the entire time.
If you don't have one (or you're using a food processor), stop the machine periodically and scrape down the sides of the container as needed.
When using a food processor to make your peanut butter, the process will take a little longer. You'll need to give your machine a few breaks to keep the motor from overheating.
It will take a few minutes to get the peanuts to blend to your desired consistency. A high-speed blender will make the fastest work of it, and a food processor will take longer. Expect the process to take at least 3-5 minutes total.
Store your homemade peanut butter in an airtight container. We like using glass jars used for canning. Depending on how quickly you go through your peanut butter, storing it in the pantry is just fine. Otherwise, you can put it in the refrigerator. We typically vacuum seal ours right in the jar and store it in a cabinet.
Just give it a good stir with a spoon. Alternately, if you have an immersion blender that fits inside of the jar, you can place that in the peanut butter, hold the jar, and pulse a few times to blend it back together and help the oil re-incorporate.
Reserve some peanuts on the side and chop them as finely as you'd like. Process the rest of the peanuts into creamy peanut butter, then stir in the chopped peanuts to combine.
🔪 Equipment
The equipment needed to make peanut butter at home is really minimal. A high-speed blender is preferable, but any blender or food processor will do.
You'll also need either a tamper or a flexible spatula or spoon to scrape down the sides of your blender or food processor as it's working.
You can use measuring spoons and cups to get precise amounts of the ingredients, or just eyeball it.
Mason jars or ball jars (or any other airtight container) are great for storage. You could also reuse a container from a store-bought jar of peanut butter.
I hope this post has convinced you to try making this pantry staple for yourself. It's such an easy, budget-friendly thing to make at home.
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Easy Homemade Peanut Butter
- Prep Time: 3 Minutes
- Total Time: 3-5 Minutes
- Yield: About 2 cups 1x
- Category: Condiment
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
Description
Making your own homemade peanut butter lets you control the ingredients & texture. This easy, money-saving recipe comes together in minutes!
Ingredients
- 16 ounces roasted unsalted peanuts
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon raw sugar
Instructions
- Pour the peanuts into the jar of your blender (or the bowl of a food processor) along with salt and sugar.
- Blend on high speed until it reaches your desired consistency, tamping as necessary. If you don't have a tamper (or you're using a food processor), stop the machine periodically and scrape down the sides of the container as needed.
- Transfer to a container and let fully cool before sealing and storing.
Notes
It will take a few minutes to get the peanuts to blend to your desired consistency. A high-speed blender will make the fastest work of it, and a food processor will take longer. Expect the process to take at least 3-5 minutes total.
Feel free to scale this recipe up or down, and adjust the sweetener and salt to your personal preferences.
If you're using a food processor to make your peanut butter, the process will take a little longer. You'll need to give your machine a few breaks to keep the motor from overheating.
See the notes in my post above for info on how to make chunky peanut butter, add spices/flavorings to your peanut butter, helpful storage tips, and more!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 167
- Sugar: 1.5 g
- Sodium: 40.5 mg
- Fat: 14.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 6.2 g
- Fiber: 2.4 g
- Protein: 6.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: homemade condiments, peanut recipes, pantry recipes
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