I love my homemade peanut butter and eat it almost every day. I spread it on a toast, add it to savory sauces, and of course, make desserts with it. It’s so simple to make and I’ve never bought a better-tasting peanut butter than I make myself at home. Honestly.
Less is more
All you need to make good peanut butter is peanuts and a proper process. Yes, you get it right, there is no need to add any oils. There is plenty of oil inside peanuts, that is released when blending nuts. Actually, extra oil would compromise taste, texture, and it would more likely separate.
Roast nuts yourself
Choose blanched peanuts and roast them yourself. I don’t recommend using storebought roasted and salted peanuts, because: 1) you cannot control the amount of salt; 2) there might be low-quality oils added, that would spoil the taste, texture (see above), and even shorten the shelf life.
Also, do not skip roasting. Raw peanuts will make not as tasty butter with an unpleasantly sticky texture.
Flavoring
I like my peanut butter salty, but salt is totally optional, so skip it or adjust the amount according to your taste. Also, this butter can be easily flavored or sweetened. For example, adding some cinnamon and ginger would create a Christmasy version. Just remember, that peanut butter is a fat emulsion and it does not like water. So if you would like to add any extra flavor, use dry ingredients only.
Use a powerful blender or a food processor
To blend nuts into butter takes some power so make sure that the tool you use is capable of that. I’ve been doing this with a stick blender for quite a long time, but I had to blend a very small amount at a time and let the blender rest in between the batches. The motor would have burned otherwise. And it still did not save the blender from breaking. Two of them! So I finally switched to a proper food processor that made the peanut butter-making process a breeze.
Will this peanut butter separate?
I use my freshly made peanut butter in buttercream for layer cakes and it works perfectly. If you let it sit untouched for a few weeks or more, the oil can start separating. If it happens, don’t worry, just mix it well and eat it.
Homemade Peanut Butter
The super simple and very tasty peanut butter you can make at home in 20 minutes. Just use blanched peanuts and don’t mess them up with any unnecessary oils.
- Prep Time5 min
- Bake / Cook Time15 min
- Total Time20 min
- Yield200 ml
Ingredients
- 300 g / 10.6 oz blanched peanuts
- ⅛ tsp salt (optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.
Spread blanched peanuts on a baking sheet and roast them in the oven for ~15 mins till they get golden yellow. If your oven is heating unevenly, rotate the sheet after half of the baking time. Take the nuts out of the oven and let them cool completely.
Put roasted peanuts and salt into the blender or food processor and start blending them at a slow speed.
Nuts will turn into crumbs:
Then to a sticky mixture:
And to the liquidy butter:
You might need to stop the blender in the process to scrape the sides and move the mixture closer to the blades. The longer you blend, the more oil will separate and the butter will get more liquidy. Stop when you get the texture you prefer.
Transfer the peanut butter to the glass jar or any closed container.
Keep at room temperature for up to a month or in the fridge for up to half a year.
Notes
- With my Kitchenaid Artisan blender, the full process of blending takes about 3 mins, but with a different blender or food processor, it might take longer. Blend till you get a smooth buttery consistency.
- Blend at slow speed all the time. High speed will not speed up the process, sticky nut crumbs will be quickly moved up and away from the blades, and you will get tired of stopping and pushing them back again and again.
- If you are using extra flavorings or spices, add them in the beginning. Remember not to use any liquids, or your butter will separate.
- This way you will make smooth peanut butter. If you would like a crunchy one, blend some peanuts into crumbs and mix them into the finished butter.
- 300 g / 10.6 oz peanuts make ~200 ml of butter.
