The Best Homemade Peanut Butter Recipe (5 Minutes!)

You will never buy peanut butter in a store again after you see how easy and cheap it is to make your own! Add it to peanut butter cookies, cinnamon rolls, smoothies, and other peanut butter desserts.

What is Peanut Butter and How is It Made?

Peanut butter is simply a spread made out of blended peanuts! All you need is a food processor that can tackle grinding 2-3 cups of peanuts into a creamy and delicious flavor bomb that peanut butter is.

What Blender or Food Processor Should I Use?

If you are planning on buying one, then go with a rather stronger blender, but if you already have one, then just give it a try. Unless your blender is really weak, you should be able to make great homemade peanut butter in a matter of minutes!

What Kind of Peanuts are Best for Homemade Peanut Butter?

Roasted peanuts are your best bet! They can be salted or unsalted. If you roast your own unsalted peanuts, then you will just need to add some salt to taste at the end of the process!

Homemade Peanut Butter Ingredients

• 2-3 cups of peanuts (depending on the size of your food processor)

• salt and honey to taste (if your peanuts are already salted then you might not need to add extra salt)

Watch How to Make Homemade Peanut Butter

Homemade Peanut Butter Step by Step

STEP 1 – prep your peanuts

If you peanuts are not roasted, then you will need to roast them first. How to roast peanuts? Just spread them onto a sheet pan in 1 layer and place them into a preheated oven at 350F / 170C. Bake for about 15 minutes. Place the peanuts into the food processor. It is important to make sure that your peanuts cover the blades because if there are not enough peanuts in the container, then the paste won’t be even and smooth. I fill mine up a little more than half way up.

STEP 2 – grind the peanuts

Turn your food processor to the highest speed and grind until you see smooth and spreadable paste. How to make peanut butter extra creamy? Just keep blending for a couple extra minutes! If you keep going long enough, you will see that you absolutely don’t need any oil at all. Don’t give up half way through to add oil to the mix- trust me, your peanut butter will come together!

* if you feel that your food processor is getting too hot, turn it off and let it cool for a few minutes before continuing.

* if your mixture sticks to the walls too much, scrape it with a rubber spatula from time to time and keep going.

STEP 3 – store and enjoy

Try your peanut butter and add salt and honey to taste. I like adding 1 tbsp of honey to 3 cups of salted roasted peanuts for my favorite homemade peanut butter, but feel free to experiment! Store in room temperature or in the refrigerator. In the fridge it will last for 3-6 months while in room temperature it will need to be eaten sooner!

Homemade Peanut Butter: Tips and Tricks

• Make sure to fill up your food processor at least halfway up to ensure the best results! If there are not enough nuts in the bowl, then the butter won’t come together.

• Store your peanut butter in the fridge to prolong freshness. If you leave it out on the counter, it will go bad sooner.

• Experiment with add-ins! You can add almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, or even chocolate to your peanut butter for a better flavor.

• Grind some peanuts for a few seconds and add to the jar to make crunchy peanut butter!

• It seems that 3 cups of peanuts is a lot, but in fact, it will make less than one store-bought jar of peanut butter as it smooths out. So, don’t be afraid to add those peanuts to the mix!

Homemade Peanut butter: Frequently Asked Questions

How to Make Peanut Butter Without a Food Processor?

Can you make peanut butter by hand? Absolutely! You will need a mortar and a pestle, but keep in mind that it will take a bit more time and muscle work. However, the process is pretty much the same – you need to crush those peanuts until they are creamy! Check out this recipe for more detailed instructions.

Is Homemade Peanut Butter Cheaper?

Oh, yes! On this side of the world salted roasted peanuts cost about 1.7$ per ½ kg while a jar of peanut butter is at least twice as much and often less in weight. However, it doesn’t really matter where in the world you are buying your peanut butter – making it at home is way cheaper and healthier as you are in control of what exactly goes into it!

Is Eating Peanut Butter Good for You?

According to medical professionals, peanut butter helps your heart stay healthy, can promote weight loss, is helpful when managing blood sugar levels, provides protein for bodybuilding, and even prevents breast disease. Homemade peanut butter has lots of protein, magnesium, zinc, and Vitamin B-6. However, everything is good in moderation. You will need to learn to fight the temptation to eat your delicious peanut butter by the spoon (been there, done that!).

Is peanut butter OK every day? Yes! About 2 tbsp a day is safe for your health. Check out this article for more info!

Why is My Homemade Peanut Butter Gritty?

If your peanut butter turned out gritty or crumbly, then you did not blend it long enough, or you did not put enough peanuts to the bowl.

The other reason could be your blender’s or food processor’s ability to make nut butters. If you followed all instructions precisely and still can’t get smooth and creamy peanut butter, the chances are your food processor is just not powerful enough for this kind of job!

But you don’t need to run to the store and get another expensive machine. You can make peanut butter by hand with mortar and pestle and get some work out in by grinding those peanuts!

How to Make Crunchy Peanut Butter?

Just grind some peanuts separately for a few seconds and mix into the creamy peanut butter at the end!

Can You Freeze Peanut Butter?

Yes, you can. It will store for more than 6 months, however, the taste and flavor will be best before the 6 months mark!

What’s Next?

If you have made your own homemade peanut butter, please, share your results with us! You can upload your pictures to Instagram and tag them #natashashome. If there are any questions you have that I did not address, let me know in the comments below and I would love to help you become a better home cook!

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