How to make peanut butter?

Making homemade peanut butter is so easy and you can add mix-ins to create a variety of delicious gourmet peanut butter flavors. I'm going to show you how to make plain peanut butter along with chocolate cherry peanut butter, Butterfinger peanut butter, OREO peanut butter, cashew butter, and more.

I'll never forget the first time I had freshly ground peanut butter made by one of those big grinders at a health food store. The flavor was superior to any store-bought peanut butter. It was just so fresh-tasting.

For many years, I drove to that store to grind my own homemade nut butter. It never occurred to me to make it at home. I assumed I needed a big grinder like the one in the store. I was wrong.

You can freshly grind homemade peanut butter using a food processor. It's so easy.

You simply grind the nuts in the food processor until they become thick and chunky or smooth and creamy. You can add mix-ins to enhance the flavor or you can swap out the peanuts for other nuts like cashews or almonds.

This recipe is easy to make but I know not all food processors are created equal. I use a 14-cup Cuisinart that has a lot of power. If you use a smaller food processor, you will need to fill it with fewer nuts and you may need to let it rest as you grind the nuts so you don't burn out the motor.

In my Cuisinart, I can make peanut butter in less than 5 minutes but it may take 10 minutes or more if you use a less powerful processor.

Are you ready to learn how to make peanut butter? Let's begin.

Ingredients

• peanuts - I prefer to use honey-roasted peanuts but salted and roasted peanuts or dry roasted peanuts will work too. You can use other nuts like cashews or almonds too.
• optional flavorings - If you use unsalted nuts, you may want to add salt. You can also add honey or sugar if you want to sweeten your peanut butter.
• optional mix-ins - Turn plain peanut butter into gourmet peanut butter by adding chocolate chips, dried fruits, trail mixes, cookies, candy bars, and more.

Supplies

• food processor - I used a 14-cup Cuisinart to make my peanut butter but you can use smaller food processors. I recommend adjusting the amount of peanuts you add to your food processor based on the bowl size. Use 4 cups of nuts if using an 11-14 cup processor, 3 cups in a 7-10 cup processor, or 2 cups in a 2-6 cup processor.
• plastic blender spatula or butter knife - You will need to scrape down the bowl of the food processor often as you puree the peanuts.
• glass jars or air-tight plastic containers - Use to store your peanut butter. Mason jars work great but you can also use well-washed glass jars that came with other products in them. I love using jelly jars. Just be sure the jar and lid do not have any odor before you pour in your peanut butter.

Instructions

Start by placing the peanuts in the bowl of your food processor. If you are using unsalted peanuts, you may want to add some salt too.

Tips

If you don't add enough peanuts into the bowl of the food processor, it can take longer for a paste to form.

Be sure to scrape down the bowl as you pulse the nuts.

If your food processor begins to make a funny noise, stop, and let it rest for a while.

The motor in my Cuisinart 14-cup Food Processor is amazing. I can make peanut butter in 3-4 minutes without even stopping to scrape down the bowl. It's so powerful and the blade is really close to the bottom of the bowl to so I never end up with any chunks of peanuts stuck to the blade.

Variations

Honey Peanut Butter

If you enjoy sweet peanut butter, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of honey or sugar to your homemade peanut butter. If you use sugar, add it to the nuts when you place them in the bowl. Add honey after you grind the nuts into a paste.

If you add too much honey, the peanut butter will get quite thick, so just add enough to sweeten the peanut butter.

You might also like a little Agave nectar, maple syrup, or brown sugar mixed into your peanut butter.

Chocolate Cherry Peanut Butter

This is my absolute favorite peanut butter flavor. Everyone I have shared it with has raved about the flavor. I hope you love it too.

Start by grinding 4 cups of honey-roasted peanuts in a food processor until the nuts break down into small pieces. Then add ½ cup of your favorite chocolate chips.

Pulse until the chocolate chips melt and the peanut butter is still a little chunky. Then, add ¼ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, ½ cup of white chocolate chips, and ¾ cup of dried cherries. If using a smaller food processor, cut the recipe in half.

Pulse just to break down the chocolate and cherries. I like this peanut butter to be thick and chunky. You can pulse longer if you want creamy peanut butter.

Trail Mix Peanut Butter

Start by making chunky peanut butter using honey-roasted or roasted and salted peanuts. Then add 8 ounces of trail mix. I used 2 small 4-ounce bags of Fisher's Summit Trail Mix.

Then, pulse just enough to break up the trail mix or until the peanut butter is creamy. It's your choice.

I tossed in a handful of Mini M&M's at this point and then pulsed for 2 seconds just to incorporate them into the trail mix peanut butter.

More Mix-In Ideas

The beauty of making your own peanut butter at home is that you can add any variety of ingredients. These recipes below all start with 4 cups of honey-roasted peanuts. You can cut the recipes in half if you use a small food processor.

OREO Cookies - Make a batch of peanut butter. Break up 8-12 OREOs and add them to the peanut butter. Pulse 2-3 times just to mix the cookies into the peanut butter. If you mix this too much, the peanut butter will turn grey. If you want smoother peanut butter, you can crush the cookies into fine pieces before adding them to the peanut butter.

Tropical Trail Mix - Add 8 ounces of tropical trail mix when the peanut butter is still very chunky and blend until the banana chips are broken into tiny pieces. Blend until smooth, if desired.

Butterfinger Candy Bars - This candy bar crunch peanut butter is so peanut buttery. Chop 12 Fun-Size Butterfingers into small pieces, and then blend them into your peanut butter until chunky or smooth.

Butterscotch - Oh, my goodness this butterscotch peanut butter is amazing. Just add 1 cup of butterscotch chips to your peanut butter and pulse until the chips have melted and the peanut butter is smooth and creamy.

Other Mix-In Ideas - You can use any variety of dried fruits, candies, chocolate chips, and more. Try adding in pretzels, potato chips, or crackers. Swirl in jelly (just be sure to store it in the refrigerator). Mix in some Nutella or Dulce de Leche. There are so many options.

Variations

Now that you know how to make peanut butter, you can use the same technique to make other nut butter flavors.

Cashew Butter

Cashew butter is wonderful all on its own but it can be flavored too. I love adding a few tablespoons of Dulce de leche, or a sprinkling of toffee bits, or mixing in honey.

Use the same technique to make almond butter, macadamia nut butter, and more.

Storage

Store your peanut butter at room temperature for up to a month.

To enhance the shelf life of homemade peanut butter you can store it in the refrigerator. Just be sure to set it out for a while before trying to spread it on toast, a bagel, or an English Muffin. It will be quite firm when it's cold.

You can also store your homemade peanut butter in the freezer for up to 6 months. I make big batches of peanut butter and freeze all but one jar.

Once, I have one serving of peanut butter left in that jar, I grab another one from the freezer and set it on the counter. In a few hours, it will thaw and be ready to eat.

If you go through the peanut butter more slowly, just package it in smaller containers and keep the extra in the freezer.

Related Recipes

If you love peanut butter, be sure to check out these fun peanut butter recipes.

Homemade peanut butter makes a wonderful gift. Just be sure to label it so the gift recipient knows what flavor they will be enjoying.

Recipe