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I can’t believe how EASY it is to make peanut butter at home. Homemade peanut butter takes less than 5 minutes to make in your food processor, and you don’t have to do any extra prep work to get started!
How To Make it
How do you make peanut butter? All you need is peanuts and a food processor. Do not add any extra oil, as the peanuts will release their natural oils as you go.
If you’ve ever made homemade almond butter, making peanut butter is even faster.
Unlike almonds, which need to be heated to help them break down faster, peanuts break down surprisingly fast in the food processor.
How Long Does it Take?
I actually timed myself while making this homemade peanut butter, and it takes only 1 minute and 30 seconds for the peanuts to break down into a thick paste, as pictured above. It almost reminds me of play-doh.
Just 30 seconds later, it looks like the thick peanut butter consistency below.
Within 4 minutes of your food processor running, your peanut butter should look something like the photo below.
I don’t even stop to scrape down the machine! The peanuts easily break down on their own, so the process is hands-off.
Getting a Runny or Drippy Consistency
Within 4 minutes, you should have a creamy peanut butter. For a runny and silky-smooth peanut butter, let the food processor run for 1 more minute.
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You’ll hear a “sloshy” sound as the peanuts release their natural oils, becoming very runny.
This is when I usually add any extra seasoning to my peanut butter, like salt or honey.
How Much Salt Do You Add?
For a 16 ounce jar of peanut butter, I like to add 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt for a “salted” peanut butter flavor. However, you can start with just 1/4 teaspoon of salt and see if that’s enough for you.
The nice thing about making your own is that YOU get to control the flavor.
Is it Cheaper to Make Your Own Peanut Butter?
Oddly enough, it’s NOT always cheaper to make your own peanut butter. When comparing prices at the grocery store, a pound of unsalted peanuts is $3.49 (not organic), while a jar of non-organic peanut butter (with nothing else added) is just $2.49. So you actually save a dollar by buying it instead of making it.
A jar of organic peanut butter here in the Midwest is $3.99, and I can’t find organic peanuts cheaper than $6.99 per pound on their own. (Crazy, but maybe this fluctuates in other areas?)
So, in this case the only advantage to making your own peanut butter at home is that you get to control the flavor and texture.
My homemade peanut butter is smoother than any option I’ve found at the store, and the flavor is unbelievably good! The fact that it’s hands-off and ready in 5 minutes is even more reason that I love it.
More Homemade Nut & Seed Butters
Ingredients
- 16 ounces dry roasted peanuts (about 3 cups)
- fine sea salt , to taste
Instructions
- Pour the peanuts into a large food processor fitted with an "S" blade. Secure the lid and process until broken down.
- Within about 2 minutes of processing, the peanuts should become a relatively smooth paste.
- When you process it for 2 more minutes, the peanut butter will become even more smooth, and you'll start to hear a "sloshing" sound as the peanuts release their natural oils, making the peanut butter have a runny texture.
- Within 5 minutes, the peanut butter should be very smooth and runny. Add up to 1/2 teaspoon of fine seal salt, and process again until evenly incorporated. Pour the peanut butter into an airtight jar and store it in the fridge until ready to use.
- Homemade peanut butter should last up to a month in the fridge as long as you don't introduce moisture to the jar. Always use clean utensils and return it to the fridge for best shelf life.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this homemade peanut butter, please leave a comment below letting us know how it goes. And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too!
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Reader Feedback: Have you ever made your own nut butters before?
Thanks for your information. What sort of equipment would you reccomend if I want to make the cream commercially? Thanks.
Homemade peanut butter is the best! Where I live we are near a peanut farm so this year I bought them in season straight from the farm and only paid 90 cents per pound! So that’s a great option to save money and still make delicious homemade peanut butter if you live nearby one.
Great recipe. Though in my country a jar of peanut butter is way more costly than the home made one, so for us organic home made peanut butter is the way to go. But I have one question as to if I make the peanut butter runny according to my country climate the butter and natural oil gets separated and the taste gets compromised, so any suggestions?
I’m not sure if you know this, but heating let along boiling honey is an absolute no no!
It is more expensive than buying the ready made, but I am buying my family health coz it’s free from harmful additives.
Just great taste& my kids refuse to taste the shop’s version afterward.
Haven’t made this yet, but I know it will be amazing! I make your almond butter and my daughter and I can eat that like there’s no tomorrow…It’s “nut-butter crack”!!! I just need to get a new food processor…mine broke and I’m itching for the nut butters!
We started giving our little boy homemade peanut butter when he was tee-tiny (we gave it to him early to build up a resistance to peanut allergies). We buy roasted, unsalted peanuts from TJ’s, and blend a whole bag for two cycles in our Blendtec twist jar. Comes out perfect every time, and our little dude loves it! People always ask me about oil separation, but we’ve never experienced it with our homemade stuff. I don’t know if it’s cheaper than other peanut-only butters, but… we love it and it’s totally worth it to us to have confidence in something we eat every single day!
I use your recipe for almond butter all the time, and I was wondering if peanuts would be the same. Thanks for doing the testing for us! I made this last night and it was insanely easy, and possibly the BEST peanut butter I’ve ever tasted.
I love how much smoother this version is than store-bought! I used 1/2 teaspoon of salt as you suggested, and I think that’s the perfect amount. I’m using it in smoothies this week!
I made this peanut butter this morning and you’re right, it’s so easy! I love that I didn’t even have to stop and scrape it down. Peanut butter is more expensive where I live, so this is a win win!