Homemade Peanut Butter

We love peanut butter’s versatility. The creamy spread tastes delicious in a classic PB&J (and in an upgraded PB&J!), paired with chocolate for the ultimate peanut butter and chocolate desserts, or even in a weeknight dinner. That’s right, believe it or not, savory peanut butter recipes exist—and they’re absolutely incredible.

While it’s easy to pick up a jar of the good stuff at the store, it’s even easier to learn how to make homemade peanut butter right in your kitchen! All you need are three simple ingredients and a food processor.

Ingredients for Homemade Peanut Butter

• Peanuts: Be sure to choose unsalted peanuts. You’ll want to be able to control the exact amount of salt in your homemade peanut butter recipe, so look for unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts for grinding.
• Salt: We recommend using kosher salt instead of table salt. Table salt has much finer granules, and smaller granules make it easier to oversalt food.
• Honey: Did you know there are bottles of fake honey lurking at the grocery store? Blended with corn syrup, rice syrup, malt sweeteners or unrefined sugar, these products hide behind labels like “blend,” “ultrafiltered” and even “pure” but are still labeled as “honey.” To avoid accidentally buying fake honey, look for the label “True Source Certified.”

Directions

Step 1: Process the peanuts

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Start by placing the peanuts and salt in your food processor. Process the peanuts until your desired consistency is reached. For us, it was about five minutes.

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Stop the food processor and scrape down the sides with a spatula as needed.

Editor’s Tip: If you prefer a super-smooth creamy peanut butter, you’ll want to process it for a little longer. And how do you make homemade peanut butter chunky? Process it a little less.

Step 2: Add the honey

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Add the honey and process just until blended.

Editor’s Tip: You don’t have to add the honey, but we strongly recommend it. Honey gives the peanut butter a creamier consistency and a slightly sweet flavor. Plus, you’ll reap amazing honey health benefits.

Step 3: Store and serve

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Once your peanut butter is well-blended, transfer it from the food processor to an airtight container. Store the peanut butter in the fridge to maximize its shelf life.

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Recipe Variations

• Make it vegan: If you’re wondering how to make homemade peanut butter completely plant-based, swap the honey for maple syrup or agave nectar.
• Try a different nut: Want to switch things up? Make other kinds of nut butters by swapping in almonds, cashews, hazelnuts or—my favorite—pistachios for the peanuts.

How to Store Homemade Peanut Butter

You can store your homemade peanut butter recipe in the pantry or the refrigerator. The peanut butter will separate as it sits, so just give it a good stir (or try this peanut butter trick) before enjoying it. This doesn’t happen to most store-bought jars of peanut butter because a lot of them contain fillers and cheap oils that keep the peanut butter homogenous. But our homemade peanut butter recipe is made with natural ingredients, so a little separation is bound to occur. Don’t worry, it’s completely normal and a sign that you have natural, wholesome peanut butter!

How long does homemade peanut butter last?

Fortunately, this homemade peanut butter recipe rarely expires because it simply won’t last that long. Just have one spoonful and you’ll see why! If you don’t end up devouring your entire jar immediately, homemade peanut butter can be kept in a cool, dark place (like the pantry) for about a month. Keep it in the refrigerator to help it last a bit longer.

Homemade Peanut Butter Tips

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How should I use homemade peanut butter?

Homemade peanut butter can be slathered on toast, drizzled on oatmeal, added to smoothies, eaten with bananas for a protein-fueled snack or simply eaten by the spoonful. For the peanut butter lovers out there, you probably already know the deliciousness of dessert recipes using peanut butter, especially nut butter cups, Ohio-famed buckeyes and the super-indulgent peanut butter cream pie.

Is it cheaper to make your own peanut butter?

Usually, yes! It depends on the kind of peanut butter you buy, but even the best peanut butter isn’t always the most expensive. Our homemade peanut butter recipe relies on just a few natural, better-for-you ingredients and that same quality costs a lot at the store, so you’ll come out ahead if you make your own. However, if you buy a generic brand when it’s on sale, that’s going to be cheaper.

Why isn’t my peanut butter super creamy?

The strength of each food processor varies, even among the best food processors. You may just have to run yours a little longer than the recipe indicates. Be patient—it’ll get there!