Learn how to make your own homemade peanut butter with plenty of tips, flavor ideas and step-by-step photos of what your nut butter should look throughout the process of making it.
Homemade Peanut Butter at A Glance
If you love peanut butter then you should absolutely try making your own homemade butter at least once! It’s flavor is way more fresh & intense than what you’ll get from store bought versions and the creamy texture is unbeatable.
- What You Need:
- Peanuts, salt (optional), a good blender or food processor and a baking sheet if you want to roast your nuts first (highly recommend).
- Patience is Key:
- Turning whole nuts into a silky, smooth butter is a simple process, but one that needs a bit of time to complete the transformation. Your peanuts may look like they’re stalling at certain stages, but it’s all apart of the process. Take breaks & scrape down the bowl every so often and it will get there.
- Storage/Shelf Life:
- Unlike store bought peanut butter, this doesn’t come with added preservatives so it won’t keep as long. Store it in an airtight container, keep refrigerated and use within a month.
How to Make Homemade Peanut Butter
In summary: Just blend a bunch of peanuts in a high-powered blender or food processor until you end up with a smooth and creamy consistency.
Though it really is as simple as that, there is a bit more to it if you want to confidently get the job done.
Ingredients & Tools
- peanuts – You can use raw, roasted, salted or unsalted peanuts – it’s totally up to you and your preferences.
- salt – Optional, but even a small pinch of salt can make a big difference in bringing out the nutty flavor.
- powerful blender or food processer – Vitamix and Blendtec blenders should work and some Ninja models will too. Food processors don’t need to be as powerful because they aren’t as likely to overheat, but you still want a strong one. Ideally you want to work with a blender or food processor with a motor powder of 1000+ watts or more.
- baking sheet (if you want to roast unroasted nuts) – I recommend a large, rimmed sheet pan. Something big enough to spread out your nuts and edges to keep them from sliding off.
The Stages of Blending Whole Peanuts to Peanut Butter
Blending time will vary depending on how strong your motor is. A Vitamix can get the job done in a couple of minutes while a food processor might need 15-20 minutes.
In general, the peanuts will go through a few different stages of processing before you end up with a smooth nut butter: whole peanuts >> oily crumbs >> thick, dry paste >> thick, slightly less dry paste >> grainy nut butter >> smooth peanut butter
↳FYI: You’ll probably spend the most time in the dry paste stage. Don’t worry, this is totally normal. Make sure to stop your blender or processor every few minutes or so to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Customize Your Peanut butter
- Simple & Classic: Just stick the peanuts and salt. If you’re using salted peanuts, no need to add extra salt.
- Roasted Peanut Butter: Use pre-roasted peanuts or roast them yourself. For a stronger, roasted flavor I recommend you roast the nuts yourself.
- Sweet & Salty (or just sweet): Add 1-3 tsp honey or maple syrup. Add 1 tsp for a hint of sweet and 3 tsp if you really want a sweet peanut butter. You can also add a splash of vanilla extract.
- Chunky Peanut Butter: Set aside ½ cup – ¾ cup peanuts. Roughly chop, then stir into the peanut butter after blending. Alternatively, you can blend the full amount and stir in an additional ½ cup peanuts at the end.
What to do with Homemade Peanut Butter?
- Bake:
- You can go wrong with making peanut butter cookies! These Healthier Homemade Tagalongs are also a great way to show off the fresh, homemade flavor.
- No Bake:
- Peanut butter is great in no bake recipes like these Toasted Quinoa Peanut Butter Scotcharoos and these Peanut Butter No Bake Granola Bars
- Breakfast:
- Add to waffles, french toast or pancakes instead of or in addition to maple syrup. Make a Chocolate Peanut Butter Chia Pudding for healthy breakfast that feels like a dessert.
- Smoothies:
- Add a couple of tablespoons for extra protein and creaminess like in this apple & banana smoothie.
- Savory:
- Mix into a creamy salad dressing like in this Crispy Peanut Rice Salad or this Satay Sweet Potato Curry.
More Homemade Nut Butter Recipes
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this Homemade Peanut Butter recipe! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!
Homemade Peanut Butter Recipe
All you need is a little patience, a pound of peanuts and a good blender/processor to make your very own homemade peanut butter!
Ingredients
- 3 cups whole peanuts, dry roasted - salted or unsalted (450g | 1 lb)
- ¼ tsp salt - if using unsalted peanuts
Optional
- 2-3 tsp honey, maple syrup or agave
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Dry Roast Peanuts (*optional if starting with raw/unroasted nuts)
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Spread peanuts across a large, rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 20 minutes, After 10 minutes, stir the nuts and rotate the pan to roast evenly. Peanuts should be lightly golden brown and smell toasty.
- Let cool about 5-10 minutes until cool enough to handle with out burning.
Peanut Butter - start here if you're nuts are already roasted
- Add peanuts to a high-speed blender or food processor with an S-blade attachment and blend on high until smooth and creamy. Make sure to stop the and scrape down the bottom and sides of the blender every so often to help things fully break down. Times may vary depending on the strength of your blender or food processor, but it will likely take about 10-15 minutes. The peanuts will go through a few stages (gritty, flour-like, dry-paste, dry nut butter, creamy butter) before it turns into a smooth and creamy peanut butter butter.
- Add additional flavourings if using (salt, cinnamon, sweetener, etc) and blend once more, about 10-20 seconds, until well mixed.
- Transfer the peanut butter to a mason jar or airtight container. Keep stored in the fridge and use within 1 month. Take out of the fridge and leave at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes so it's easy to spread.
Notes
- Roasted or Unroasted: You can make your peanut butter with roasted or unroasted nuts. It's up to you. If you. I include steps for roasting the nuts yourself, but feel free to skip to the blending.
- Make crunchy peanut butter: Set aside ½ cup - ¾ cup peanuts. Roughly chop then stir into the chopped peanuts into the mixture after blending. Alternatively, you can blend the full amount and stir in an additional ½ cup peanuts at the end.
- Take Breaks: Stop the blender or processor every few minutes or so and take a break. Let the motor rest so it doesn't over heat.
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