How to Make Peanut Butter

5 from 18 votes

Mix your own homemade peanut butter with just three ingredients and a blender/food processor. This is an easy step-by-step tutorial with ideas to customize!

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Have you ever wanted to make homemade peanut butter? Making your own peanut butter is easy. All you need is peanuts and a food processor, or a powerful blender. Salt and some honey are nice, too. DIY peanut butter avoids excessive amounts of salt, sugar, and unhealthy fats.

jar of homemade peanut butter
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Eating nuts is a heart-healthy practice. Peanut butter is loaded with protein and has small amounts of potassium, calcium, iron, and fiber. It has lots of fat but most of it is the unsaturated type which lowers bad cholesterol.

How to make peanut butter

First, use shelled peanuts that are dry roasted and unsalted. Yes, you’ll be adding salt later, but if you use salted peanuts, you will lose the ability to control the amount and the resulting peanut butter could be too salty.

Measure out two cups of peanuts.

overhead shot of peanuts in a pyrex jug

Next, place the roasted peanuts in a food processor. Turn the food processor on and let it run for about five minutes, stopping the food processor to scrape down the sides with a spatula as necessary.

The peanuts go through three phases: first, they will crumble, then they form a dry ball, and eventually, they start to look like spreadable peanut butter. Be patient, the creamy stage can take five minutes or longer.

side by side shot of peanuts in a blender being chopped

Finally, once the consistency is creamy and there are no more crumbs, you can add the honey and salt. Turn the food processor on again and blend for 20-30 seconds to incorporate.

This homemade peanut butter recipe yields about 1 ½ cups of peanut butter. Transfer to a glass jar and store in the fridge or in the pantry.

overhead shot of peanut butter in blender

Homemade peanut butter recipe variations

  • Add Honey, Maple Syrup or Agave: Customize your sweetness level.
  • Add Spices: Cinnamon or a wintery pumpkin pie spice mix would be nice. If your palate runs savory, try chili powder. The result would be fantastic in peanut noodles.
  • Add Cocoa Powder: Popular Nutella is essentially hazelnuts and cocoa powder so think about that!
  • Add Other Nuts: Almond and cashews work well.
honey being poured into a blender

Recipes with peanut butter

homemade peanut butter in a bowl

Tips for homemade peanut butter

  1. Roast the nuts. Even if you buy dry roasted nuts, you can still roast them for an additional 5 minutes. A little extra roasting helps release the oils for a creamier blend.
  2. Do not rush the blending time in the food processor. When the mixture looks blended enough, it may seem like your job is done. But keep going until it looks spreadable. This is when the mix goes from dry to creamy.
  3. Taste the peanut butter to guide the process. Depending on your blender or food processor, your peanut butter may take shorter or longer to reach the creamy stage. Your eyes and taste buds are a better guide than the timer.
  4. Add neutral oil if it looks too dry. A few teaspoons of neutral oil ( peanut (!) canola, or sunflower oil) can be added if your homemade peanut butter is looking too dry.

Frequently asked questions

Will homemade peanut butter be as creamy as the supermarket brands?

This will depend on your food processor. However, i’s likely that it will still have a little more texture to it, closer to the “natural” supermarket brands.

How can I make chunky peanut butter at home?

To make chunky peanut butter, take out and set aside ¼ cup or so of the peanuts at the crumbly stage. Continue to process the rest of the nuts to the creamy stage. Add the crumbles in after the honey and salt and process briefly to distribute evenly.

How long does homemade peanut butter last?

Stilltasty.com tells us that unrefrigerated homemade peanut butter will last a month. Refrigerated it will be good for six months.

peanut butter in a jar with a lid on

DIY peanut butter is a super-fun project for kids. Especially since it almost seems like magic. Try making your own version of this pantry staple.

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How to Make Peanut Butter

Mix your own homemade peanut butter with just three ingredients and a blender/food processor. This is an easy step-by-step tutorial with ideas to customize!
5 from 18 votes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 216
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
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Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups dry roasted shelled peanuts
  • 1 tablespoon honey optional
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Place roasted peanuts in a food processor. Turn the food processor on and let it run on high for about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides with a spatula as necessary. The peanuts will start to crumble, then form into a dry ball and eventually start to look like spreadable peanut butter.
  • Once the consistency is creamy and there are no more crumbs, you can add the honey and salt. Turn the food processor on again and blend for 20-30 seconds to incorporate. Yields about 1 ½ cups peanut butter.
  • Transfer to a glass jar, and store in the fridge or in the pantry.

Notes

Storage: Store the homemade peanut butter in the pantry for up to on month. Or store it in the refrigerator for up to six months. We prefer warm peanut butter and store it in the pantry, but we go through it quickly.
Photo Credit: Erin Jensen

Nutrition

Calories: 216kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 153mg, Potassium: 272mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 2g, Calcium: 39mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

Cuisine American

5 from 18 votes (18 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. George Scheuttig says:

    When making homemade peanut butter do you leave the shell on the peanuts or deshell before processing.

    1. Yumna Jawad says:

      No, you don’t. In this recipe, use shelled peanuts that are dry roasted and unsalted. Hope that helps!