How do I make homemade peanut butter?
So you might ask!
And my simple answer is this easy, step-by-step recipe that I made for you.
All you need are just peanuts, a blender, some salt, and 5 minutes prep-time.
In the end, you get tastier, healthier peanut butter that’s so creamy and very delicious!
So, let’s jump right into the recipe.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups (16 ounces) roasted, unsalted peanuts
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt or fine sea salt (plus more, to taste)
Optional Add-Ins (for a Sweeter or Creamy Homemade Peanut Butter)
- 1 or 2 tablespoons peanut oil or canola oil (for creamy peanut butter)
- 1 or 2 tablespoons honey or your favorite sweetener (for sweeter peanut butter)
Equipment:
- A blender (I recommend using a powerful blender like a Vitamix or Ninja)
- An airtight storage container (with a lid)
Fun Tip: You can also make your homemade peanut butter with raw, shelled peanuts. See the easy, step-by-step preparation instructions in the FAQ section below.
Yield: About 1 to 1 ½ Cups Peanut Butter
Instructions:
- Put the roasted peanuts and salt in the blender.
- Blend until they become peanut butter, for about 3 to 5 minutes.
- At first, the blender chops the peanuts, then it clumps them together into a ball, before breaking it apart into smooth nut butter.
- TIP: While blending, I recommend using a tamper tool to push down the ingredients to the blades for a consistent blend.
- For creamy peanut butter, add the optional peanut/canola oil and whirl to combine them into a smooth cream.
- For sweeter peanut butter, add the optional honey (or your favorite sweetener like sugar) and whirl to combine them into a smooth cream.
- Taste and add more salt to your liking!
- Transfer the peanut butter to the storage container and cover it airtight.
Homemade Peanut Butter Storage Tips:
TIP: I always recommend keeping your homemade peanut butter in an airtight glass jar. Click here for the best 16 Ounces glass jars that come with sure-tight lids for improved storage.
- After a few days of storage, you might discover that the peanut butter separates, with the oil rising to the top. All you need to do is to use a spatula and stir that oil back in.
- The peanut butter separating is totally okay, and it doesn’t mean it’s “going bad”. When it goes bad, you will notice it since they take on a rancid scent that you can easily smell.
- NOTE: The peanut butter separates due to a lack of artificial stabilizers. But since we are into a healthier lifestyle, we don’t want anything artificial in our homemade peanut butter.
Shelf Life: Peanut butter will keep up for several weeks when kept at room temperature, or about six months in the fridge.
Homemade Peanut Butter FAQs
Do you want to make different variations of the homemade peanut butter? Maybe with raw, shelled peanuts? Or with your favorite sweetener?
Or do you have a troubling question about making, storing, or preserving homemade peanut butter?
Well, the answer to your question might be hidden in one of the FAQs below:
1. How Do You Make Peanut Butter with Raw, Shelled Peanuts?
Making your homemade peanut butter with raw, shelled peanuts brings more fun and experience in the process. Use the following easy steps to roast the peanuts before preparing your peanut butter with the above process.
- Preheat your oven to 350 F.
- Place the raw, shelled peanuts in a single layer on a shallow baking pan.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes while stirring the peanuts every 5 minutes during the cooking time.
- TIP: Cook until they are slightly underdone since peanuts continue cooking even after they are removed from the oven.
- Let the peanuts cool for about 10 minutes before tossing them in your blender.
- While cooling, the peanuts will become crunchy which makes it easy to remove the skin.
- TIP: Once they are cool enough to handle, remove the skin by rubbing the peanuts together in your hands.
NOTE: Using raw, shelled peanuts will increase the total prep-time to about 30 minutes.
2. Why is My Homemade Peanut Butter Dry?
In most cases, peanut butter will dry when you’re down to the bottom of a jar and you weren’t stirring it well before use.
NOTE: During storage, the peanut butter normally separates with the oil rising to the top.
To ensure that you are enjoying consistent, creamy peanut butter, I always recommend stirring with a spatula before use.
TIP: If your homemade peanut butter is dry, just add in a few drops of a neutral oil like peanut oil or canola and stir it well to combine.
3. How to Thicken Homemade Peanut Butter
At times you might realize that your peanut butter is very “thin” or runny. There are a few tricks that you can use to thicken it.
Stirring: Yes! Try stirring it with a spatula. Most likely it was so runny because the oil had risen to the top.
Refrigerating: If it is still less viscous even after stirring, try putting it in the fridge for a few hours. This should thicken it to the viscosity you’re looking for!
And before you put it in the fridge, don’t forget to give it a thorough stirring to ensure that the oil and peanut butter are all mixed to consistency.
4. How Long Does Homemade Peanut Butter Last?
The homemade peanut butter will last for about six months when properly stored in the fridge after every use.
The funny thing is that a 2-Cup jar of homemade peanut butter will most likely run out within the first month, say if you choose to enjoy a serving of 2-tablespoons every other day.
5. Does Homemade Peanut Butter Need to be Refrigerated?
The short answer is NO! You don’t NEED to refrigerate it. That especially if you use it regularly such that a jar runs empty within several weeks to a month.
That said, if you choose to refrigerate your homemade peanut butter, always stir it thoroughly before doing so. Since it’s hard to stir it when it is cold.
6. Can Peanut Butter Be Stored at Room Temperature?
Absolutely YES! And it will remain fresh, creamy, and delicious for several weeks to a few months.
7. Does Fresh Peanut Butter Go Bad When Kept at Room Temperature?
The homemade peanut butter will remain fresh and tasty at room temperature for several weeks to a few months.
It will only go rancid and lose its flavor after months of staying at room temperature, sometimes even a year in cold environments.
The great thing about peanut butter is its high oil content and low moisture levels which helps in keeping it from going bad.
8. Where Do You Store Homemade Peanut Butter?
I always recommend storing it in glass jars that come with airtight lids rather than plastic containers.
But if you can get BPA-Free food-grade plastic containers with tight lids, then these will work just as fine!
The trick is to get 2-Cups jars and prepare a large batch of your homemade peanut butter and store it in two to four such containers.
TIP: Keep them in the fridge, and this should last you for several weeks to months depending on how frequently you enjoy your peanut butter!
9. Can You Can Homemade Peanut Butter?
NO! You cannot can homemade peanut butter since it has a low acid content to safely can with home equipment.
10. How Can I Make Peanut Butter Taste Better?
Depending on what you perceive as better taste, you can add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt or a tablespoon of your favorite sweetener (like honey or sugar).
11. Can You Make Peanut Butter With an Immersion Blender?
The answer is NO! An immersion blender is not going to work. It might probably break or you might end up hurting your wrist in the process.
You need a powerful blender (like a Vitamix or Blendtec) or a food processor to make creamy homemade peanut butter.
12. What is the Best Blender to Make Peanut Butter?
The short answer is any good quality kitchen blender. Any blender by Vitamix and Blendtec will do a fine job when making nut butter.
Plus other affordable blender brands like Ninja have the “Nut Butter Cycle” that does a marvelous job when making homemade peanut butter.
TIP: You can also make your peanut butter in a NutriBullet blender but the process will take a little longer than when using a powerful blender!
Health Benefits of Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is a top favorite among children and adults not only for being very tasty but also for its great health benefits.
Peanuts contain nutrients that may boost heart health and help in managing blood sugar levels.
Such nutrients include essential vitamins, minerals like zinc, potassium, and magnesium, and a good amount of protein.
Fun Fact: Bodybuilders include peanut butter in their diet since it’s a great source of healthy protein that’s essential for repairing and building muscles.
Nutritional Value (Per a Serving of 2 Tablespoons): CALORIES: 230, SATURATED FAT: 2g, SODIUM: 254mg, CARBOHYDRATES: 11g, FIBER: 3g, SUGAR: 4g, PROTEIN: 8g.
And that’s it! You can now enjoy your tastier, healthier homemade peanut butter in delicious desserts. Or why not try the fresh peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Once you have tried making your peanut butter, you’ll never go back to the store!
I’d heartily appreciate it if you left a comment in the comment section below. Or why not share that one extra homemade peanut butter trick that you enjoy using when making your peanut butter?
Xx, cheers!