How To Make Peanut Butter
Oct 03, 2018, Updated Jul 02, 2019
Peanut butter is a tasty, cheap, and easy source of protein for both kids and adults alike. But for a food that’s essentially just pureed peanuts, there can be any number of food products at the supermarket that all call themselves “peanut butter.” The spectrum ranges from the most raw peanut butter (made from peanuts alone) that can be extremely coarse and chunky, to highly processed peanut butter (made with hydrogenated oils and sugar) that spreads like margarine.
Of course, given that this is October Unprocessed, you probably know where this is going. Pure ingredients = Good. Hydrogenated oils = Bad. But even if your palate has been trained to love margarine-smooth processed peanut butter, there’s still hope. It is unbelievably easy to make your own peanut butter at home – even the smooth stuff.
Sure, you might say, but if you’re set on making your own, you can just pour the peanuts into that big machine at the supermarket and grind it there. However, when you use those machines you don’t have any say in the texture or the flavor. If you make it yourself, you can adjust it precisely to your own specifications – smooth, chunky, salty, sweet, or even spicy.
Added bonus: If you make your own, you reduce the risk of salmonella that can come with commercially processed peanut butter. (Here’s how it can get contaminated.)
The ingredient list for a batch of peanut butter is pretty straightforward:
- 2 cups roasted unsalted peanuts
That’s it! Really! You’ll also want to have on hand:
- 2 to 4 tsp. peanut oil (if needed)
- ¼ tsp. salt (if desired)
- 1 tsp. honey or molasses (if desired)
You’ll also need a reasonably powerful food processor. (Don’t burn out your blender on peanuts unless you’re sure the motor can take it.)
Put the peanuts in the food processor. Process for several minutes. At first it will look like very crumbly.
Within about two minutes the magic will start to happen: As the oil is released, the crumbly pieces will start to stick together, and then the peanut butter will clump together in a large ball as it takes on a paste-like consistency. Depending on how fresh the peanuts are, you may need to add oil to keep it smooth. Remember that a little oil goes a long way, so add just 1 teaspoon at a time.Continue scraping down the sides to make sure that all of the paste gets processed.
Add sweetener and/or salt to taste and continue processing until the peanut butter reaches the desired consistency. All told, the processing should take about 5 minutes.
Yields about 1 ½ cups peanut butter.
Place the peanut butter in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to one month. Keep in mind that the oil tends to separate, so you may need to stir it up before you serve and eat it.
Want to customize it? Easy! Here are some add-ins to consider: Cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, or even red pepper. Stir in extras like raisins or dried cherries, or try it with other nuts like cashews or almonds. The only limit is your imagination – after all; it’s your peanut butter.
Homemade Creamy Peanut Butter
Ingredients
- 2 cups roasted, unsalted peanuts
Optional
- 2-4 teaspoons peanut oil, if needed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, if desired
- 1 teaspoon honey or molasses, if desired
Instructions
- Put the peanuts in the food processor. Process for several minutes. At first it will look like very crumbly.
- Continue processing. As the oil is released, the crumbly pieces will start to stick together, and then the peanut butter will clump together in a large ball as it takes on a paste-like consistency. Add oil if needed to keep it smooth, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Add sweetener and/or salt to taste and continue processing until the peanut butter reaches the desired consistency.
Nutrition
Jeanne Fratello writes The Jolly Tomato, a blog with news, information, and recipes geared toward healthy kids’ eating. She also has a “Real Food” series, where she toured farms and factories to learn more about how commonly used foods are made and processed. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest, and Instagram.
I tried to make this at home. The taste was wonderful but I could not get it to reach the creamy stage..did I not process long enough? I added a little butter and honey before it was creamy thinking that would help it become creamy..was that the wrong thing to do? Help! I want to make more but I want it spreadable.
Dear Jeanne,
I made my own peanut butter in Sudan,one of the US
pilot tasted my butter and he was choked by the taste,even though
he has Diabetes he kept eating until he was fed up,he told me
Mr. Captan you have a million dollars in your pocket so go to the
US and introduce it,.
It is creamy stickless and delicios,so I keep the ingridience to
myself should you be inerested to try it on the condition you be
my partner,I will let you know the formola I also have a solution
to the LOG CABIN Syrup to be also delicous.
Awaiting your reply. KIND REGARDS
Raouf Captan
Hi!
Can I use a blender instead of a food processer?
Can I use canola oil instead of peanut oil?
Thanks!
Hi Grace! A blender should work, at least in theory. It may depend on your blender and if it’s really powerful enough. Canola oil should work fine, as would pretty much any oil (at least in terms of consistency/texture… some oils might taste a bit funky with the peanuts…). Let us know how it goes!
Oh okay! Is it okay to grind the peanuts by hand using a wooden spoon? If yes, will it work? Thanks!
Awesome post thank you so much!
@ Bethany. I make almond butter at home and LOVE IT! The process *ha.ha..* is the same, lightly roast your almonds, grind until done. I add a bit of coconut oil to mine to help the smoothness, but you can certainly leave it out.
I’ve not tried sunflower seeds myself, but I have read and heard it can be done.
Ms Bethany I did not try with almonds or sunflower seeds but I did try cashews bc the health food store I go to didn’t have any peanuts. WOW!!!!! I cannot tell you how good it is! Thanks Andrew and Jeanne! I am convinced!
Has anyone tried this with sunflower seeds or almonds? If any one has has success I would love to know
Made sunflower butter with Honey Roasted seeds in cuisnart with metal blades as pictured add 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil, and 1-2 teaspoons of honey. Blended about 10 minutes over all, If you have a Win Co near you this is a great place to purchase seeds.
Thanks for this timely recipe. Sadly, my favorite store bought peanut butter is recalled. Now that you’ve shared how easy it is to make homemade peanut butter, I’m going to give it a try.
Hi Andrew, and Friends, Firstly, thanks! With the recent recall, we’re all concerned … I mean, c’mon Trader Joe’s? How do we know what salmonella-free peanut butter looks like? It doesn’t go around with a t-shirt and neon lights, right? We depend on the store, the brand, um … darts? The TakeAPart link you gave us says “Read the Label” but of course, no one lists salmonella-extract. This isn’t the first recall on peanut butter … a 2009 Scientific American article lists several other outbreaks (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=salmonella-poisoning-peanut-butter), and it goes on to say that the contamination is occurring after roasting the peanuts. The contamination seems to be coming in to the water system, either during processing or during cleaning the equipment. OK, so how do I make sure MY peanut-butter, that I’m going to blend myself, is salmonella-free? I’m guessing that if I blend it at the store, I have no… Read more »
Hey Grace,
I buy raw peanuts and roast them myself. I like a little “lighter” roast, so it works out well.
So easy. Why wouldn’t you just make it? GREG
We have been buying organic peanut butter and I can’t go back to the “other” kind. I bet when I make this I will never buy peanut butter again!!! I am so EXCITED!!