A Homemade Kitchen: Peanut Butter - Handle the Heat
Filed Under: Homemade

A Homemade Kitchen: Peanut Butter

By Tessa Arias
  |  
April 30th, 2011
Happy Saturday! I've decided that I want to start a new series around here that details recipes and techniques for making food items at home that you might normally purchase...
Happy Saturday! I’ve decided that I want to start a new series around here that details recipes and techniques for making food items at home that you might normally purchase at the store. This series is similar to another, Take-out at Home, except it will feature pantry staples and treats and will be called A Homemade Kitchen. Both series highlight how simple and easy it is to create great meals and staples from home. Homemade is better for your budget, body, and taste buds.
Today I’m featuring a tutorial for making one of my all-time favorite food items – peanut butter! I eat peanut butter almost everyday, not exaggerating. I love the taste, texture, smell, and the fact that it gives me a source of protein without coming from an animal. It’s cheap, too. Stay tuned next Saturday for a post on how to use homemade peanut butter in a extraordinarily delicious way!

This recipe is the easy version as it uses pre-roasted peanuts. To save money, you could purchase shelled, raw Spanish peanuts and roast them yourself by baking them in a 350 degree oven in a single layer on a sheet pan, sprinkled with salt, for 30-35 minutes. Once roasted and cooled, remove shells. Rub peanuts between your hands to remove skins, then throw them in a salad spinner to further remove skins.

Honey roasted peanuts in food processor, about to be pulverized!

Pulverization! Ignore my reflection on the shiny stainless steel.
Dreamy.

Homemade Peanut Butter
Makes about 1 cup

  • 1 1/2 cups roasted peanuts (can use honey roasted, salted, or unsalted; see above for roasting at home)
  • salt (amount based on what peanuts you used, taste and adjust seasonings as necessary)
  • honey (amount based on what peanuts you used, taste and adjust as necessary)
  • 1 tablespoon peanut oil (optional)

Place nuts in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. With lid on, pulse the peanuts until they become a smooth and shiny butter, about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. If it seems your peanuts aren’t turning into a paste, slowly add the oil until incorporated and smooth. If peanuts turn into a paste easily, omit the oil. Taste, and adjust seasonings to your preference.

Store peanut butter in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month. Peanut butter may require stirring to redistribute oils.

Tessa Arias
Author: Tessa Arias

I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)

Tessa Arias

About Tessa...

I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)

Find Tessa on  

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  1. #
    Himanshu Aggarwal — July 30, 2020 at 10:57 pm

    Yummy recipe.

  2. #
    September — May 28, 2020 at 12:48 am

    is there any alternative of honey? please let me know.

  3. #
    Martha — May 22, 2020 at 6:17 am

    These recipes have been a huge hit with my daughter. She gulped every ultimate bit, Thank you!

  4. #
    Blank April 2020 Calendar — February 11, 2020 at 3:02 am

    Thank you for this important information, it’s very useful in my work, I have value for you and respect your opinion. Really I like it. Once again I wanted to take the time to thank you.

  5. #
    Daily Calendar — August 11, 2019 at 4:31 am

    It’s looking so fresh. I’ve been using peanut butter with brown bread for a long time now. Surely gonna try this at home. Please tell, Since there are no added things, so should I keep it in fridge or at room temperature?

  6. #
    Dream Calendars — March 11, 2019 at 6:18 am

    I’m new to reading your blog…and I’m obsessed!
    You’re a great writer and post such interesting recipes.
    I make almond butter at least once a week, but for some reason I’ve never even considered making homemade peanut butter!

  7. #
    Franklin — February 7, 2019 at 4:06 am

    Great post. I have not purchased peanut butter for several years. I was one of the unlucky people to get food poisoning from Trader Joe’s peanut butter. Now I make my own with a trip through the oven for more flavor and no bacteria. Why was I not doing this sooner?

  8. #
    february — January 17, 2019 at 7:40 am

    I love drizzly homemade peanut butter! It’s seriously the bomb dot com – the packaged stuff just doesn’t even compare. I have been trying to talk myself out of buying a food processor for myself, but I think this post really tips the scales… I could have homemade PB all the time! Magical.

  9. #
    Foxy — January 28, 2015 at 9:51 pm

    Try adding cinnamon to your PB! We have a current brand here that currently does that and I am thoroughly addicted. They also have a maple syrup flavour which is a bit too sweet for me. Tempted to try this with the added cinnamon though!

  10. #
    Simone — April 26, 2012 at 7:10 pm

    How long will this pb last in the fridge?

    • #
      handleheat — April 26, 2012 at 10:14 pm

      At least a month, probably two! The oil will separate so you will have to stir it to reincorporate.

  11. #
    Betsy — March 3, 2012 at 3:06 am

    Where do you recommend the best bargains on peanuts?

  12. #
    handleheat — August 31, 2011 at 5:38 am

    Hi there, thanks for your comment! My first thought is perhaps your food processor or blender has dull blades or simply isn't powerful enough. It's hard to tell what could be going wrong without being right there in the kitchen. Homemade peanut butter will also never be quite as smooth as commercial peanut butter, we just don't have the same heavy-duty equipment at home! But it should still be pretty smooth.

  13. #
    Mônica Gemin — August 30, 2011 at 11:32 pm

    Hi! Thanks for post. Unfortunately, my peanuts insist on not turning into a smooth paste! I've tried your recipe twice, but it didn't work, even though I added some oil… What do you think I'm doing wrong..?

  14. #
    Rachel @ Bakerita — May 15, 2011 at 7:46 am

    I'm new to reading your blog…and I'm obsessed!
    You're a great writer and post such interesting recipes.
    I make almond butter at least once a week, but for some reason I've never even considered making homemade peanut butter!
    Thanks for the idea!

  15. #
    Heather — May 10, 2011 at 9:09 pm

    Can you make this without a food processor? Like maybe a blender? I yearn for a food processor–but until that day… 🙂
    -Heather

    • #
      handleheat — May 11, 2011 at 12:41 am

      You could use a blender (I don't have one so I haven't tried it), just make sure you're stirring/scraping sides with a spatula every minute or so to ensure it is being evenly pureed. 🙂

  16. #
    Monica — May 7, 2011 at 6:35 pm

    I eat peanut butter from the jar all the time…it is my weakness! I have to admit that while I would love to try homemade peanut butter, I am sketical that the texture would be what I like. Is this peanut butter smooth or somewhat on the grainy side?

    • #
      handleheat — May 11, 2011 at 12:39 am

      Monica – I'd have to say the texture of homemade peanut butter is slightly less smooth than commercial peanut butter.

  17. #
    Jen Schall — May 5, 2011 at 2:12 am

    Yum 🙂 I love making as many things myself as I can. I need to add peanut butter to my list… This does look dreamy!

  18. #
    Sanjeeta kk — May 2, 2011 at 4:41 am

    I love honey in this peanut butter! Looks scrumptious.

  19. #
    skylar — May 2, 2011 at 3:24 am

    I love making my own peanut butter! So easy and delicious and its fun to try out different peanuts and flavor combinations! Im really excited for this new series! Replacing store-bought staples with homemade is always something I try to do more and more!

  20. #
    Karin van D. — May 1, 2011 at 6:09 am

    I love that first picture! The children here eat a lot of peanut butter. Not sure if I am going to make it myself, since we already buy organic peanutbutter with just peanuts in it, but it sure looks like an easy enough little project. Maybe the little ones will like to make some sometime, that would be fun!

  21. #
    Wes — May 1, 2011 at 3:00 am

    What do you do if you like crunchy peanut butter?

    • #
      Dana — May 1, 2011 at 3:39 am

      I haven't made it, but I would fathom a guess that it would work if you separated the peanuts into two groups – one slightly more than half of the peanuts, the other slightly less. Blend the first group until it's smooth, like above, and then blend the second group until they are just in little pieces. Combine the two for crunchy peanut butter 🙂

      • #
        handleheat — May 2, 2011 at 4:43 am

        Good idea!

    • #
      handleheat — May 1, 2011 at 3:41 am

      Wes, you could process for less time so that the peanuts are chunkier and/or mix in a handful of chopped peanuts 🙂

  22. #
    Shirleen — April 30, 2011 at 11:03 pm

    Didn't realise homemade peanut butter was that easy to make! I'd like to try and make some once my store-bought one is finished…which won't take too long 'cos like you, I have peanut butter almost daily! Thanks for posting this. 🙂

  23. #
    Liz — April 30, 2011 at 4:53 pm

    Thanks for the post – it is hard to buy peanut butter without palm oil or partially hydrogenated oils. I will try this!

  24. #
    Maris — April 30, 2011 at 4:29 pm

    Oooh I bet this is so delicious! You always have the best pictures!

  25. #
    Caroline — April 30, 2011 at 4:21 pm

    Delicious! Who knew it was that east 🙂

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