How to Make Peanut Butter
ByI just learned last week how to make peanut butter.
Here is what I must now ask myself…
WHY HAVE I NEVER MADE PEANUT BUTTER BEFORE?
I make almost everything else from scratch. But somehow making peanut butter sounded hard to me. I guess I thought I’d have to crush each individual peanut for three hours with my fingernails until it turned soft and creamy. I’d just never looked into it before. Finally I watched a tutorial here.
Um, hello Laura! It takes about a minute and a half! And you don’t even break a sweat (or a fingernail).
Now, I’m totally addicted to making peanut butter. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever made.
After I made it, we ate it on pancakes and it was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. I loved it!!! All of us loved it! (Except Malachi who doesn’t love peanut butter at all.)
Here’s how to make it:
Pour about 2 cups of dry roasted peanuts into your food processor and begin to chop.
After about thirty seconds the nuts will all be crumbled up like this.
Keep going with the food processor…
Here’s what it looks like after about one minute.
And after about a minute and a half, it starts to become butter-like and rolls itself into a ball. We left ours like this, but you can process it a bit more if you want it smoother.
Tada…peanut butter!
Stir some honey into your peanut butter if you think your family would like it better that way.
NOW, I’m going to experiment making other nut butters and sunbutter (which is butter made from sunflower seeds if you aren’t familiar with that one). I’ll let you know when I get those perfected!!
The math: The way I figured it, making my own peanut butter did save me money, but not oodles of it like I was hoping for. However, because of the fresh taste of this peanut butter…and the fact that making it was as easy as using my thumb to push a button….I’m hooked!
Grab the family and try this! Then pour yourself a glass of milk and enjoy your hard work! (I love hard work that isn’t hard!)
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did mine with macadamia nuts added to the peanuts and a little bit of fresh coconut, with a drop of honey, very good got me hooked on making my own, one note though is that I seemed to get a better mix when I used my blender than when I used the food processor, thanks again, yumminess starts at home
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Thanks for your recipt for making peanut butter i had always wanted to do something for my self knowing that it is a home made staff please keep it up
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Laura,
What size food processor do you have? I tried this in my 5 cup food processor, and it seemed a little too much for it. I think next time I may try it one cup at a time.
Also, I self roasted my peanuts. My peanut butter tasted a little ‘overdone’. Do you self roast peanuts and if so, how long do you roast them for?
Thanks in advance!
Karen
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Laura Reply:
October 17th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
I have a seven cup processor, maybe try one cup of peanuts at a time in yours to see if it makes a difference!
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Laura Reply:
October 17th, 2011 at 2:41 pm
Sorry, forgot to answer the other question: I usually buy roasted peanuts – I need to get in the habit of roasting my own, but that’s one thing I compromise on to save time.
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glenda Reply:
October 6th, 2012 at 8:42 am
I use a fail-safe method for roasting my shelled peanuts i learned from my great-aunt years ago. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Layer your peanuts in a single layer on cookie sheet. Put the peanuts in the oven and turn off the oven. let them stay in the oven overnight, without opening the oven door. They come out roasted perfectly and you don’t have to worry about burnt peanuts.
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Mark Cox Reply:
March 14th, 2013 at 6:30 pm
Thank you so much for your “hard work” posting this recipe and taking time to answer questions. It is really a special treat for me. I love cooking from scratch, I always get good results, but I HAVE to follow a recipe or face food poisoning myself. LOL
Really, THANK YOU!!
Mark Cox
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Dear Laura
am so happy that am making pea nut butter almost every weekend. Am also trying to teach the community at the village level as they have these nuts at their home. I was wondering if you can give me a hint of what can be used if I dont have a processor as we are in the rural areas with no power. Please advice.
Thanks for helping us to earn an income because I believe that women should not just stay idle they should do something for a living.
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Laura Reply:
October 19th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
I wish I had a suggestion for you on this, but I’ve never done this without a food processor so I’m not sure! :)
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Sarah Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 11:35 am
I wonder if a mortar and pestle would work. It would certainly take a lot longer than electric appliances. I have never tried it, so no idea if it works, but that came to mind. I just ran out of peanut butter yesterday, and think I will give this a try! Thanks so much for the ‘kick in the pants’. This is great!
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Suzanne Matthews Reply:
October 21st, 2011 at 9:11 pm
Do these women make their own flour?
If so then that method should work to make peanut butter.
Be advised however, that the process releases the oil in the peanuts
so some cleanup will be required before the next batch of flour.
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Cindy McGee Reply:
February 27th, 2012 at 9:05 am
Florence,
You can do this with a hand crank meat grinder, use the finest screen. Hoept
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Susan Reply:
March 25th, 2012 at 7:57 pm
You can purchase hand cranked/powered blenders through a good camping supply store which should work well for making nut butters when there is no power available.
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Ricky Reply:
January 3rd, 2013 at 5:23 am
Check the “Practical Action” website. There you will find many solutions for rural and developing communities, including peanut butter processing.
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do you need to refrigerate the peanut butter?
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Laura Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 6:18 am
Yes, I do keep mine in the fridge.
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chaddy kathy Reply:
December 18th, 2012 at 9:58 am
U can leave it in the pantry or cabbinet..
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I want to make your peanut butter,, How much do,es 2 cups of nuts make and how long can it stay in the frid. thanks
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Laura Reply:
January 29th, 2012 at 9:40 pm
I’d say two cups of peanuts makes about one cup of peanut butter, but that’s just a guess. :) It stays good in the fridge for quite a while – probably a month or two.
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Can you tell me how much peanut butter you get from 2 cups of peanuts? Trying to decide if it would save money with prices what they are in my area. I’m going through a LOT of peanut butter with this third pregnancy, for the protein. :)
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
March 6th, 2012 at 12:00 pm
It should make about a cup…maybe a little bit more.
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I hope Forence has found a way to make peanut butter, I just found this website and I immediately thought of the grinders people used to grind meat for sausage. I think that would work and it may be crunchy peanut butter, She can possibly find these grinders at garage sales, antique shops, they may be sold at Sears, I have no idea where I got mine, given to me probably. Now I’m off to try my first batch of peanut butter. I don’t know the proper name for this grinder.
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What do you mean by moderation. Do you want me to shorten it.
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I add a tbs of oil (almond)after I process the nuts and mix for 30 seconds makes it creamy
If you like chunky then leave out a 1/3 of the peanuts, process everything else add the 1/3 of peanuts and process for a few seconds. Love the peanut butter this way and I use it to make gluten free cookies too.
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Natural peanut butter is a staple in our house and over the last several months the price has risen to almost twice what it was before. Interestingly, the price of a jar of peanuts remains the same – about 20% less. I bought a jar of peanuts today so I could try making peanut butter at home. Thanks for all the tips I found here!
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Ok, I think I’m finally ready to try making my own peanut butter…. Two questions:
Where do you buy your peanuts?
Since we are used to store-bought (not natural), we’ll want some sugar, at least at first – do you think I could use maple syrup instead of honey, since I’m allergic to honey? I do find it generally subs well…
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Laura Reply:
March 11th, 2012 at 12:21 pm
I buy my peanuts in bulk from Azure Standard, my health food co-op. I’d think adding maple syrup should be great in this!
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Amanda Reply:
January 14th, 2013 at 11:44 am
I add honey to ours and we love it!
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Amanda Reply:
January 14th, 2013 at 11:46 am
oops sorry didn’t finish my comment…(sorry, that would sound rotten!, I clicked a wrong button!) I am curious to know how the maple syrup turned out. Has anyone tried it? I have found that my family eats it best with the honey…without it I get “it tastes too…nutty”. Funny kids!
I buy my peanuts in bulk, at Winco Grocery Store, some Natural Food places have bulk peanuts. I am able to get the roasted peanuts. I do not need to add oil, when I am finished making peanut butter it is rather thin. I put it in the refrigerator to thicken. No sugar, no salt, just peanuts. Great. Thanks for sharing
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I would say, and hopefully a lot of you that make things fresh, natural, from scratch, or organic, would agree. I find that when I make things at home instead of buying them in the store my family stays healthier. We get sick less often, which for me is substantial argument for cost efficiency.
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I don’t like peanuts.We pick walnuts and they make great walnut butter so do pecans, we picked them when we lived in Tx.
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Donna Parris Reply:
March 25th, 2013 at 10:00 am
Could I have your recipes for your walnut and pecan butters? Thank you.
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Rocky Reply:
March 25th, 2013 at 10:16 am
I just put nuts in my ninja pulse till creamy may need a little oil & sugar to taste.
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I’ll be making cashew butter for Passover! Thank you so much for this post! I hope it really is as easy as you say…
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that looks easy enough
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Wonder if I could make tahini this way…
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I love to make my own peanut butter using honey roasted peanuts…yummmy!!
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Salted or unsalted roasted peanuts? :) I’m sure unsalted, but just wanted to make sure.
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
June 2nd, 2012 at 6:49 pm
Unsalted. :)
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We’ve made our own peanut butter before using this method. SO much better tasting! I have a bunch of sunflower seeds right now, so maybe I’ll try the sunbutter…never had that before. Will I need to add any oil or anything? We have made the almond butter before too, which is also very good, especially for cookies. Thanks for all your great tips!
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How can you figure out calories for homemade peanut butter?
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Jamie Garcia Reply:
June 18th, 2012 at 8:38 pm
Copy the info from a jar of “natural” or “organic” peanut butter.
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Thanks Laura for this peanut butter recipe….definitely want to try this…..some one asked if you could make Tahini this way !!!! No one answered her, do you know ?
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Julie Reply:
July 28th, 2012 at 12:16 am
I have this recipe but haven’t tried it yet…
Tahini Recipe
For about 2 cups of tahini, you’ll need:
2 C sesame seeds
1/3 C olive oil
First, you’ll need to toast the sesame seeds.
Heat a heavy, wide-bottomed sauté pan over medium-high heat.
Add the sesame seeds and toast lightly – about 2 minutes, stir rather than toss.
Keep a careful eye on the sesame seeds as they go from toasted to burnt really quickly. As soon as they start to brown, they are done.
Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely.
Next, you’ll process the toasted seeds with the olive oil.
Put the toasted sesame seeds in a food processor and drizzle in the olive oil. As you can see, I poured rather than drizzled.Pulse for 3-5 minutes, or until it’s as smooth as you can get it.
Add a little more olive oil if necessary.
Remove from food processor and store in the refrigerator.
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Since packaged PB has gone up significantly since your original post (maybe not so much on natural?), I’m wondering if it is a better price difference now?
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J in VA Reply:
June 5th, 2012 at 7:58 pm
About the price of PB: I was told last year’s peanut crop was way down and hence hte increase in cost. Perhaps when this year’s crop is harvested, if it is more normal, the price will decrease. Or maybe not since nothing else much as gone down. :(
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I found a bulk nut site that sells organic peanuts: http://www.nutsinbulk.com. I think you get yours from your food co-op right?
I’m echoing your thoughts in the beginning of your post, “why on earth haven’t I made peanut butter yet?” “:D
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Laura Reply:
June 20th, 2012 at 9:40 am
I’ll head over and check out this site. Yes, I get peanuts from Azure Standard.
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What a wonderful idea! Thanks for giving us ideas on how to be healthy.
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Do you think it’s important to soak the nuts first to lessen phytic acid? Would dehydrating them then taste roasted you think or would I need to roast in oven?
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Laura Reply:
August 7th, 2012 at 5:17 am
Thats not something I’ve ever done or focused on, although I hope I’m not leading anyone astray by saying “I don’t feel like soaking is necessary”. :( I think roasting them in the oven would give them more the flavor you would want for peanut butter. :)
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I was wondering if you might give some advice. I attempted to make your peanut butter. The peanuts never blended past a very coarse, wet-sand texture. Any ideas? ( I had to add some coconut oil, ended up adding too much and now no one will eat it! Better make peanut butter cookies! ) Thanks!
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Laura Reply:
August 12th, 2012 at 5:29 am
Shucks, I’m not sure what happened. Dry roasted peanuts work best for this, so it may have been the peanuts you used? Just a guess. :)
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I made the peanut butter today and it was fantastic!! The dry roasted nuts worked perfectly. Thank you Laura :)
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I make peanut or other nut butters at home in Bangladesh in my blender but make a powder only as the blender is inefficient like its owner
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hi.i realy like the recipi of peanut butter. my son is 5 years old and he is under weight want to make him healthy.
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Heres a link to a site I buy my cashews from in Virginia. They also sell all kinds of nuts and shipping is reasonable. Hope that helps.
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Have you ever made almond butter?
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