Soak cashews in water for at least an hour (4-6 hours or more is ideal). Remove soaked cashews and add them with the remaining ingredients to a Vita-Mix, high speed blender, or food processor. Blend until mixture is smooth.
Tips:
If you don’t have a Vita or similar type blender (i.e. you are using a Magic Bullet or mini food processor), your cashew butter may not get as smooth or creamy as it will in a Vita, but just keep blending. Scrape down the sides, blend. Repeat. Repeat. Even in the Vita, it took about 4-5 minutes on high to get the nut butterreally smooth. Find those ear plugs. No one ever said nut butter has to be perfectly smooth. Crunchy nut butter is still great.
If the nut butter seems too thick and your machine is having a hard time really blending the butter, add a bit more agave/honey/maple syrup, or coconut oil to make blending easier.
I store mine in refrigerator; will solidify a bit in the fridge from the coconut oil but softens again at room temp.
Everything in…
…Blend. And keep on blendin’
This was after about 2 minutes on high. It took another 3 or so to get it really smooth.
It all smooths out. It just takes awhile. And it doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth, anyway.
Enjoy!
If this recipe looks a bit familiar, it’s because it’s the same recipe that I used for the coating of the Chocolate Coconut Kale Chips I made earlier in the week.
The coating was too good not to make and eat as nut butter.
Eat this on fruit, on bread, on top of oatmeal, in smoothies, as a smoothie “topper”, on crackers, or however you like to eat nut butter.
Or just dip your spoon into the bowl and go to town.
If you like chocolate, infused with coconut flavoring, then this recipe is for you.
The other great thing is that cashew butter is much easier to make than almond butter or even peanut butter. Cashews just soften up and blend far easier than other kinds of nuts, in my experience.
So it was easy to make cashew butter for this recipe. And it was only natural, but of course, to add chocolate and coconut in, too.
From my last post about Locally Grown and whether or not you support locally grown foods or farmers, it was great to read how many of you do as much as you possibly can to support local agriculture. I think it’s wonderful to support small businesses, locally-owned, and family-0wned businesses from farms to restaurants to service providers when ever possible.
And yes, I can’t wait til my locally grown avocados ripen up! Thanks for sharing what you’d make with them.
Questions:
1. What’s your favorite kind of nut butter?
I have a serious love affair with peanut butter. I have an entire post dedicted to my peanut butter recipes. From tofu to desserts to peanut sauce, I use peanut butter all the time.
I also love sunflower seed butter. TJ’s sunflower seed butter, especially considering how inexpensive it is, is probably my favorite nut butter for just “eating” whereas PB is what I use in recipes. However, it’s like picking which blog is your favorite. Impossible to choose.
But it’s between PB and SFSButter for me.
All my recipes that I use PB or SFSB in, you could use Almond Butter in them, or another nut butter. I know some people have allergies or taste preferences and everything is interchangeable with my recipes.
2. Have you ever tried to make your own nut butter? What kind and how did it turn out?
I have tried to make almond butter before and it so-so. And I don’t really love almond butter anyway but this was a few years ago when I first got my Vita and wanted to make nut butter in it! Almonds don’t soften nearly as well as cashews, plus I didn’t flavor it well enough with agave/honey/maple, vanilla, and it was very boring tasting to me.
I have never tried to make my own peanut butter, or sunflower seed butter. For $3.99 a jar, max, at TJ’s, I’ll leave those to the pros.
However, chocolate coconut cashew butter, cost me less than $3.99 to make and took 5 minutes. Try it!
Homemade Honey Roasted Peanut Butter (gluten-free, use roasted peanuts to keep vegan)
Makes about 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
16 ounces honey roasted peanuts
Add peanuts to the canister of a food processor, process on high power until creamy and smooth, about 5 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the canister if necessary.
Notes
The peanuts will go through stages of: crushed, crushed into a fine powder, a paste, a thicker paste, a big “dough ball”, and then the ball will break down into runnier peanut butter. At the point the peanut butter is runny, continue processing for about 1 more minute, making sure the peanut butter is as smooth as desired.
If it wasn’t for taking pictures, in my food processor, it takes about 4 minutes and I did not need to scrape down the sides; there was very little splatter.
I store my peanut butter in an airtight container or jar in the refrigerator, where it keeps for many weeks. I prefer thicker peanut butter and the refrigerator helps it to stay thicker. You can store the peanut butter at room temperature where it will keep for at least a week. As with any food that has no preservatives, use common sense in terms of storage duration but in my experience, it will last for at least a month in the refrigerator, if not devoured much sooner.
Substitutions and Flavoring Suggestions
Substitute dry roasted, salted, or unsalted peanuts, mixed nuts, seasoned, or spicy nuts; I do not suggest raw nuts because they don’t have enough flavor depth for me but theoretically they will “work”, just a matter of taste preference.
Salt, to taste (I added none)
Peanut oil, canola oil, and I have also seen olive oil suggested, optional and only if necessary (I added none and although the paste is thick in the early to mid stages of blending causing one to ponder if oil is necessary, once you get past that stage, you’ll be glad to have not added oil because the finished peanut butter is already on the thinner side and the robust peanut flavor is not diluted by oil)
Seasonings or flavorings to try and add in the final moments of processing and process until incorporated: cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, cardamom, brown sugar, vanilla extract, coffee extract, specialty oils and extracts from LorAnn, a pinch of cayenne or chili powder or savory spices, cocoa powder, chocolate/white chocolate/butterscotch/peanut butter chips and just pulse to incorporate; a handful of peanuts just pulsed to incorporate at the very end of processing to create a chunky-textured peanut butter. Add egg-less cookie dough chunks, dried fruits like raisins or dates; a splash of Baileys Irish Cream, Kahlua, Frangelico, Chambord, Godiva Liqueur; have fun with it.
If you’re unsure how a flavoring will turn out, I suggest removing half the peanut butter or two-thirds of it, placing it in another container, and flavor a smaller portion, to taste, before flavoring the entire batch with one particular seasoning or flavor. Or get two or three flavors from one recipe based on how inspired you are.
Once you make peanut butter at home, it will be very difficult to get excited about storebought peanut butter ever again.
Not that eating peanut butter of any kind would ever be a chore because I love it so, but homemade peanut butter is a delicacy. And a nearly effortless delicacy at that.
It’s akin to savoring a piece of high-end dark chocolate that’s rich and pure, uncomplicated by fillers, additives, or ingredients that have no place being in chocolate; and then grabbing a milk chocolate bar in the checkout line at the grocery store, which is likely a combination of tasteless, grainy, and waxy.
Apples and oranges. Store-bought peanut butter versus homemade.
Once you have something amazing, it’s hard to get excited about any less than.
That’s this peanut butter.
Sure, all peanut butter is good, and some is better than others, but this is in its own league.
It’s similar in taste to store-bought varieties of “natural” peanut butter. It tastes like real peanuts and nothing else.
At room temperature, it’s similar in consistency to a stir-free natural peanut butter, thicker than almond butter, but thinner than conventional Jif or Skippy.
I store my homemade peanut butter in an airtight container in the refrigerator and although I could keep it at room temperature, I’m sure it will keep longer being refrigerated and I prefer my peanut butter on the thicker side. Storing it in the fridge helps it to stay thicker and less runny, especially since my house is warmer now during the summer.
Honestly, there’s not that much to store. Every time I open the fridge, I see the jar staring at me.
And it calls my name.
Interestingly, my peanut butter has turned out to be “stir-free”.
It has not separated into oil and a solid mass, which is something I detest about natural peanut butters; the oil slick on top and that stubborn dry blob on the bottom that never really wants to re-accept the oil.
There peanuts go through various stages in the approximately five minutes it takes to go from peanuts to peanut butter:
crushed peanuts
crushed into a fine powder
a paste
a thicker paste
and a big peanut butter “dough ball” will form
And then the big ball will magically break down
And turn into a gritty peanut butter
Keep processing and the peanut butter will get smoother, creamier, and thin out
No oil was ever added at any point during processing – just the natural oils from the peanuts are being released
Keep processing until you’re certain the peanut butter is smooth enough for your liking, another minute or so
I like my peanut butter very smooth, like buttah
The peanut butter is a little on the thinner and runnier side immediately post-processing because it’s warmed from the motor – similar in thickness to store-bought almond butter
After refrigeration, it thickens up a bit
As suggested in the recipe section, flavor your peanut butter with anything you want from vanilla or coffee extract
Homemade Honey Roasted Peanut Butter (gluten-free, use roasted peanuts to keep vegan)
Makes about 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
16 ounces honey roasted peanuts
Add peanuts to the canister of a food processor, process on high power until creamy and smooth, about 5 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the canister if necessary.
Notes
The peanuts will go through stages of: crushed, crushed into a fine powder, a paste, a thicker paste, a big “dough ball”, and then the ball will break down into runnier peanut butter. At the point the peanut butter is runny, continue processing for about 1 more minute, making sure the peanut butter is as smooth as desired.
If it wasn’t for taking pictures, in my food processor, it takes about 4 minutes and I did not need to scrape down the sides; there was very little splatter.
I store my peanut butter in an airtight container or jar in the refrigerator, where it keeps for many weeks. I prefer thicker peanut butter and the refrigerator helps it to stay thicker. You can store the peanut butter at room temperature where it will keep for at least a week. As with any food that has no preservatives, use common sense in terms of storage duration but in my experience, it will last for at least a month in the refrigerator, if not devoured much sooner.
Substitutions and Flavoring Suggestions
Substitute dry roasted, salted, or unsalted peanuts, mixed nuts, seasoned, or spicy nuts; I do not suggest raw nuts because they don’t have enough flavor depth for me but theoretically they will “work”, just a matter of taste preference.
Salt, to taste (I added none)
Peanut oil, canola oil, and I have also seen olive oil suggested, optional and only if necessary (I added none and although the paste is thick in the early to mid stages of blending causing one to ponder if oil is necessary, once you get past that stage, you’ll be glad to have not added oil because the finished peanut butter is already on the thinner side and the robust peanut flavor is not diluted by oil)
Seasonings or flavorings to try and add in the final moments of processing and process until incorporated: cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, cardamom, brown sugar, vanilla extract, coffee extract, specialty oils and extracts from LorAnn, a pinch of cayenne or chili powder or savory spices, cocoa powder, chocolate/white chocolate/butterscotch/peanut butter chips and just pulse to incorporate; a handful of peanuts just pulsed to incorporate at the very end of processing to create a chunky-textured peanut butter. Add egg-less cookie dough chunks, dried fruits like raisins or dates; a splash of Baileys Irish Cream, Kahlua, Frangelico, Chambord, Godiva Liqueur; have fun with it.
If you’re unsure how a flavoring will turn out, I suggest removing half the peanut butter or two-thirds of it, placing it in another container, and flavor a smaller portion, to taste, before flavoring the entire batch with one particular seasoning or flavor. Or get two or three flavors from one recipe based on how inspired you are.
Dark Rum Caramel Sauce (GF) – This is a fast and easy sauce and you’ll never need store-bought caramel sauce; rum optional but encouraged
Have you ever made your own nut butter?
Recipe links welcome and I would love to hear your method and results.
I know I’m not the first, and in recent memory Amanda and Sally have made their own peanut butter. This is not rocket science but if you’re never seen it before or tried making your own, I hope you do now.
Do you have a favorite peanut butter?
I love peanut butter in all ways, shapes, and sizes. I especially like honey-roasted peanut butter because it’s naturally sweeter. For baking and cooking, I typically use Jif Creamy.
Here are 40 or so of the peanut butter recipes I’ve made and posted about over the years.
For baking, especially cookies, I plan to stick with store-bought peanut butter because cookies are temperamental. Given that homemade peanut butter is thinner than store-bought, and because I don’t like flat cookies, I’ll stick with the conventional.
For bars or other desserts that call for peanut butter with a recipe, sure, homemade would be lovely but honestly, the taste is going to be masked from a combination of butter, sugar, flour, eggs, and then it’s baked, which is the main reason I bake with whatever peanut butter is on sale. I save the fancy peanut butters for when I can really focus on every pure, unadulterated, peanut butter bite and not “waste” a high end peanut butter inside a recipe.
I don’t tend to buy natural peanut butter because of the separating and stirring issues.
There’s a reason I made this peanut butter. Consider this post a Part 1.
Consider Part 2 a giveaway of epic proportions. Stay tuned for the next post…
Oh Averie, this looks absolutely dreamy! And I LOVE the addition of the “adult flavorings”! I’ve never thought about trying that when making homemade nut butter…which is something I need to do more often! Stunning pictures, as always!
I have my own peanut butter before too! I did add a little honey and olive oil. Tasted so good! Plus, I amazed my friends telling them that I made it myself. LOL
Glad you like the steps and that they help…honestly I was taking ALL these pics along the way, turning a 5 min job into way more and wondering why am I doing this? … but knowing it helps = worth it!
Yummy! I’m a bit allergic to peanuts (well, it’s hit and miss – fresh from the shell ones are ok, but waaaay too time consuming), but I make almond butter like it was my job. There is just no comparison in taste there either, or price. However, you have to factor in blowing up your food processor now and then.
Sorry to hear about your allergy. Not easy as peanuts are in everything or touch so many things in the processing/manufacturing aspect. Glad that almond butter works for you, though!
I just recently starting making my own nut butters, starting with sunflower seed butter. Soooo easy, and so good! Almond butter is my favourite though.
I have added all sorts of extracts and spices already, but never thought of liquor! How fun would a raisin-rum one be??
Making SFSButter…I recently saw Heidi/101cookbooks just post about hers and that’s next on my list. I do love TJs SFSB but I know you don’t live here and have no TJs and I bet yours is even more amazing (and totally pure!). Thanks for stopping back and saying hi!
If you like the TJ´s one (I sure do!) then you will LOVE the homemade stuff. Freshly roasted sunflower seed are making such a difference
Oh, how I loved being in LA and having daily access to TJ´s!
Peanut butter… an effortless delicacy… you could not be more spot on with that statement! And what I LOVE abut making this peanut butter with honey roasted peanuts is that you don’t have to add ANYTHING, I most definitel do not add any salt or oil, the pb is perfect on its own. I keep mine in the fridge and dip baby carrots in it!
What I love MOST about the process of making this pb is that mine gets kind of warm and melty after I make it in the food processor – from the heat of the blades turning for 4 mins straight. I LOVE that you made this and shared detailed step by step instructions and pictures!! I actually made almond butter the other day and mixed it with this pb because I wanted to see how it’d taste. It’s thick and amazing!!
The warm & melty would be so perfect in the winter and in the summer, the coolness of it after being refrigerated is so good and unlike commercial PBs when stored in the fridge, this doesn’t get that artificially cold sort of rock-like quality…still smooth!
Glad you like the step by step. It took me just a smidge of time but worth it I thought And LMK if you like your PB plain or mixed with AB. I am definitely all about solely PB!
I actually really love the thick dry mound of peanut butter at the bottom of a jar of natural peanut butter. Kinda weird but it’s my favorite part of the jar!
I’ve been wanting to make my own nut butter and this post was really helpful, I’ll definitely have to make some soon!
I make my own almond butter all the time to save money now and really prefer the taste/ ingredients to the ones in the store. Next up I want to try making macadamia nut butter. And these pictures are simple, bright, and just gorgeous, they make me want to dig right in.
Ooooh, this is the most beautiful peanut butter EVER! I absolutely love making it homemade. So fresh and easy, and you can have total peace about the ingredients. Fun!
Love it. I make peanut butter all the time and it tastes sooo much better than any Jiff version! As soon as I read the title, I thought, “Oh, I hope she used honey roasted nuts…” Girl after my own heart! I’ll also sometimes buy a small box of the mixed nuts with no peanuts and grind ‘em down to a mixed nut butter. Add chocolate, vanilla bean, coconut, anything! Such a great, easy recipe – thanks for sharing!
If I had a high-powered blender, I’d be all over making my own nut butters. My poor blender can barely handle cashews for a cashew cream. My cuisinart food processor is great, but it’s big and really note meant for blending.
Ok wait, you have a Cuisinart but it’s not meant for blending? That’s a great brand of machine and if you can’t use it for blending..well…ya know.
This food proc I used is a 12 cup, so a pretty big machine. It’s not a “mini” by any means! I feel like the words “12 cup” or “14 cup” really are like coffee pots. That sounds “huge” but once you get to really using it, it’s not “that” big. Same with my stand mixer, it’s a 7 quart and that sounds huge but I am grateful for it over a 5 quart b/c I feel like I need the space! Point being, I think you should try your Cuisinart again!
I use a ninja that I bought at Big Lots for 29.00 makes everything great! I bought it to make protein shakes with ice so they would be more like a milkshake, but works great for grinding anything and has a small and large bowl.
I have not made homemade peanut butter in a few years, now it looks like I will have to do that very soon. You are right. It is so much better than store-bought.
This weekend I made a how to make peanut butter video that I am going to share on my blog soon. It is so much better than store bought; I kind of couldn’t believe it. I think I’ll be making rather thsn buying now. Mine was thick and creamy, almost whipped, and it didn’t separate either. Such a treat
Of all the nut butters, I’ve never made plain pb! I literally just ran out this morning too, maybe I should actually make it instead of buying it this time around. I love how smooth yours looks!
I seriously need to get my little paws on a food processor asap!! I keep putting it off, and then I see amazing recipes like this, and I kick myself. One day!!
Good question & I thought I had addressed it within the post and sort of did in places but updated the post in the recipe section, under notes, about storage. Your mileage will vary and your comfort levels, but for me, many, many weeks – at least a month (but it will be devoured FAR before that!)
I’ve thought about making homemade peanut butter several times, but I’ve never actually done it. I’m glad to see that someone has! I might just do it this summer with my kids!
I didn’t know it will just take you 5 mins to make your homemade peanut butter. I love peanut butter and I would really love to try and make this one at home. This is gonna be amazing especially adding your own flavor to it. This is great. Thanks for sharing this Averie.
So funny that you made homemade peanut butter. That is on my to do list. My girlfriend just whipped up a batch the other day and inspired me to do so. Now you have inspired me as well. She made hers in the vitamix. The reason I abstain from most natural peanut butters’ is due to the oil and the separation. I hate trying to combine the two together. It’s a messy process that doesn’t really taste that great. I am trying to like the healthier peanut butters, but I find I have to glop on jelly in order to enjoy them. I am still a fan of Jiff and I know it’s terrible because its full of “who knows what” and tons of sugar. Anyway, this looks so easy and it could even be a job for Eli (which he would love). Maybe it would help my kids to like peanut butter and jelly a bit more.
“It’s a messy process that doesn’t really taste that great” — exactly. That is what I was trying to say in the post. An oil slick and a dry blob that doesn’t want to ever really re-accept the oil or if it does, it’s a lot of stirring and elbow grease.
People freak out about so many things and try to say they are so “unhealthy” and sure it’s healthier to make your own, but even Jif…dare I say with “all” the chemicals and “all” the sugar, is still far healthier than eating just about anything most of mainstream America will be eating at their 4th of July bbq’s
Yum. I’ve recently only “rediscovered” a love for peanut butter. Can you believe I used to dislike it? Maybe because I didn’t have spoonful after tempting spoonful of this AMAZING homemade version? Honey roasted peanut butter–I die.
Honey Roasted Peanut Butter, are you kidding?!?!? How do you keep from eating the whole jar?Sounds heavenly! Now I want to make your 3-ingredient pb cookies with honey roasted pb! Yum!
I agree with you Jiff creamy is the best peanut butter for baking! I use Trader Joes natural pb for eating and Jiff for baking.
We polished off that jar along with (a little) help from Scott and Skylar in like 2 days. I justified it that it was “only” a 16 oz bag of nuts split 3 ways
I have made my 3 ingred PB cookies with storebought honey roasted PB; so good. I just worry that this natural/homemade PB is going to create too much runniness in them since there is no flour to bind them and even in other cookies with flour, I still feel it will yield a really flat/thin cookie.
I don’t make my own pb, because I don’t have a food processor. I don’t care to either, because I can get the freshly ground stuff at the store for the same amount of time. Yeah, its more $$, but my time is money. And I’m lazy.
This is one situation where a food proc definitely trumps the Vita. In a food proc, it’s effortless. In a Vita, you could blow a motor if you’re not careful and really watch it (I’ve watched youtube videos of it and although theoretically possible, not entirely comforting to watch)
I am so with you about the chocolate. so disappointing when it’s waxy and not flavorful…
I can’t remember the last time I bought it, because I make my own nut butter all the time (Basil still has his own jar, too). I don’t have links, never shared, but yes, I have added all kinds of flavorings (the one we made last week was chai sunflower seed).
No, I don’t make peanut butter, or anything with peanuts, we just don’t get it’s taste, even teenager doesn’t like it. I don’t even make the recipe if it calls for peanuts ot peanut butter. Weird, ha? I know. But I do make cashew, walnut and sunflower seed butter, mmmm, heavenly good, but dangerous: I can eat a whole jar at once!
And even though I don’t like peanut anything, I love your photos, those cute little (Italian?) jars, presentation, and crisp images (can I say it about photos? I guess I can if I like it, right…) Have a good day Averie!
Last summer I made about 60 jars of homemade white chocolate peanut butter to sell at Vida Vegan Con. They were a HUGE hit, but I was so burned out by the process that I haven’t made PB at home since. Time to get back to it!
60 jars?!! I also seem to recall you telling me when I was going thru my pepper jelly canning phase that you canned like 50 jars of it (or of some jelly) and were literally pulling out jars from 2005 or similar. But regardless, that white choc PB sounds great and if you have a link to it, LMK!
I have made my own nut butter, but it never seemed to get as smooth as I like it. I kept processing it and processing it some more and there always seemed to be a bit of grit. My favorite store-bought pb is the dark chocolate dreams from PB&Co. Sooo good!
Oh my gosh, I’ve made this peanut butter before. It.is.AMAZING. Hands down the best peanut butter you will ever eat, when made with honey roasted peanuts. So, so good.
I think there is something about freshly-pressed natural peanut butter that makes it not separate. Because my all-natural smuckers separates like crazy while the freshly-pressed does not. It must mean that the natural smucker’s sits around a while before it is in my tummy!!!
I’ve noticed that even the “Natural” Skippy separates a tiny bit. Nothing like Marantha or some of the higher end natural varieties but interesting that your fresh-pressed homemade doesn’t separate either.
This is how we have been making peanut butter for years, it works in the Vita also but it tends to over heat it so you have to be careful. Its the best!
Yes, I’ve tried in my Vita and you have to be super careful…that hot, almost overheating the machine, really intense sound it makes right before it goes into emergency shutoff…scares me! So I don’t make them in the Vita. Love that machine, but not for this.
I’ve been reading you for quite a while and I love the way your photography gets better and better. The pictures were beautiful to start, but now they’re just too gorgeous!!! It must be a combination of other lenses/camera and more and more technique and experience I assume, but I just wanted to let you know I really admire it:)
Thanks, Denise, that’s the nicest comment! The camera body was upgraded a year ago (so for the last 14 mos or so, no change on that). I did buy a new 50mm lens about 2 mos ago and alternate between my 24-70mm & the new 50. However, many in this post were taken with the 24-70. I got a new table and it’s closer to my light source and that’s really helping, too. And new Lightroom 4 upgraded from 3. And PRACTICE!! That’s the most important thing
I’ve made my own nut butters for years. I used to do it in the vita but the food processor is so much easier! My staples are PB, almond-cashew, or macadamia-cashew. I have also just thrown in other random mixes and they all turn out good. I’ve never had to add oil either when using the food processor. Love your ideas for add-ins–liqueur sounds very interesting. Have a relaxing 4th of July!
Wow I wish I would have known it was this easy, I would have been making peanut butter from scratch a long time ago! I love controlling ingredients in every day food items such as peanut butter, I can’t wait to try this!
Fantastic idea, and so easy! When I was little I used to only eat Skippy (being the very picky eater I was), but a few years ago switched to Crazy Richard’s Peanut Butter along with the rest of my family. The only ingredient is peanuts and it is heavenly!
I love homemade peanut butter! Now I want to make some and throw in some melted chocolate. Mmmmm chocolate peanut butter. That would be slammin’ on some apple slices!
I hate to rain on the parade but I checked the nutrition information of the TJ Honey Roasted Peanuts against the that of Jif Peanut butter and while I wasn’t able to see the ingredients in the peanuts, the sugar and salt content (gram for gram) is actually higher than Jif when you use these peanuts. However, you could do the exact same thing with naked peanuts for a better nutrition value.
Thanks for the info…I am judging this purely by taste…but it blows any other PB I’ve ever had out of the water! There’s no way anyone could rain on the parade.
And as you said, one can always use plain peanuts but honestly, if I am going to eat PB by the spoonful or savor it on something, I want what I want and would rather cut back on something else than cut corners on the taste of my peanut butter. I am passionate about it
Ha! As I was reading this post, your comment popped up on mine.
Anyway, this is a fantastic tutorial. I had a steep learning curve with homemade nut butters myself, and I wish I’d known sooner that patience is truly the key. Thanks for making it all so incredibly clear for your readers! And happy 4th back to you, Averie.
Patience and not being scared of that dough blob ball thing that forms…just get past that, and you’re golden. And I know you have a Vita, too, but this is one situation where a food proc is just unbeatable!
I love any kind of nut butter! I never knew how easy it was to make. I think my food processor will be put to good use when it’s time to replenish my current nut butter stock.
I adore nut butter. Any kind. In any form – in a dessert, or straight outta the jar, on dates or banana, or apple, or celery! I like to make my own nut butter too and actually I have a bag of plain peanuts waiting for me to make nut butter. Thanks for the reminder! Will hopefully get to it soon. Delicious as always Averie!
Posts like this remind my how incredible food really is, especially when you prepare them properly. It’s crazy that a food processor turns peanuts into peanut butter with no other ingredient! Literally amazes me lol.
A very impressive blog, the step by step photos are not only helpfull but photographically they are excellent. I bet the peanut butter tatses very special too!
This is so funny! I just picked through and ate all the cashews, pistachios, almonds out of the Planter’s mixed nuts can and left the peanuts. Said to myself “I’m goinna try making peanut butter from this!’ And now your post appeared. Now I can do it with confidence!
I just tried it. Wow – it was so neat watching it morph through the stages! I’m so happy. It’s rich and flavorful.. mm. Thank you for sharing!! I’m going to try your peanut sauce & wrap recipe with this. Woohoo! And for the ladies/gents who had concerns about their food processor – I used the Smart Duet Cuisinart…it did warm up a bit, but I gave it small rests
Glad you had success — both with the recipe, the stages, and your own food processor. Thanks for writing to tell me you made it! LMK how the peanut sauce & wraps pan out if you make those!
Totally makes me regret having bought a jar of natural pb at the store yesterday.
Last week I made hazelnut, cinnamon, flax seed butter. It was amazing! Just added it all to the food processor and Voila!
Gorgeous! I love the addition of cinnamon and Bailey’s I made peanut butter before and roasted the peanuts on a sheet to get them more fragrant and to release their natural oils. Pure perfection! I’ve heared that Spanish peanuts make for even better peanut butter!
WOW. That’s the first word that cross my mind when I see this homemade peanut butter. It looks amazing! I like the thick paste more than the thin paste, I don’t know why, maybe because the first peanut butter I try was a thick paste. I MUST TRY THIS!!!! Thanks for sharing (; By the way, I like your name.
I’ve been making nut butter at home for a while now but I LOVE the idea of making an Adults Only nut butter!
I don’t mean to sound critical but if you’re trying to make salt & oil free butter, honey roasted is NOT the way to go. (It’s totally delicious I’m sure – but those packaged nuts can have all kinds of nasty stuff you don’t want. Check the label!) Unless your nuts are “Dry Roast” there’s been extra oil added to them.
If you have the option I strongly suggest buying your nuts at a bulk store. My local “Scoop n Weigh” lets me refill my own containers so there’s almost no garbage/plastic involved at all.
Yes I realize that about the nuts…what I meant to say was there is no *added oil* to the machine while processing the peanuts and no *added salt*. You dump them in and press start.
Yes they have oil and salt added in the manufacturing process; but I didn’t add any more. That’s all I was trying to say. I am by no means trying to create and oil-free or salt-free or sugar-free nut butter; I just didn’t dump in more of them as I had seen in many other posts on the internet where they streamed in 1/4 cup oil to 1 cup peanut butter type thing.
HI.. just wondering if you need a food processor? Or if a blender that can do several different things like chop, grate, grind, blend, mix, etc.. work? Or could I use my kitchenaid stand mixer? Do you know if any of these would work? I don’t have a food processor, but would really love to try this recipe out and the 2 other products I have seem like they might be able to do it. At least the blender, if not the kitchenaid too.
you won’t know til you try but my guess is that you’ll have better success with a multi-featured blender like the one you mention rather than your KithchenAid unless you have an attachment you think would work well.
I love peanut butter it’s my mid mornin protein pick me up, and since I am cutting out as much sugar as possible from my diet this is perfect can’t get anymore organic or natural then this. Can’t wait to try it.
Tried this today – how amazing! I don’t have a food processor, only a magic bullet. It didn’t work as well & was a real pain in the butt, but it DID work & that’s all that matters. This is really, really cool. Thanks!
That’s really awesome; I had no idea peanutbutter was so easy! Thanks for sharing. I’m definitely going to try. My husband’s always buying natural peanutbutter.
Our family fav has been Almond Butter. We LOVE peanut butter on just about everything, even just a spoon!!! I love your sight–followed others here from Pinterest. I’m def going to be trying some of the other P-butter recipes. I was trying to keep the butters pure & worried if we used nuts with additives we might lose some of the health benefits due to sacrificing the purity of the butter…so glad to see you’ve tried some of the other nuts & had great success. I’m going to be processing some Honey Roasted Nuts as soon as possible!!
This looks delicious! I am definitely going to try. I read what you said about shelf-life, but I’m wondering if this would stand up to canning (with the boiling/high heat)? Would be great to give as gifts.
Averie, thank you for sharing this recipe. We have started using Teddie in the last year or two but I would much prefer to make my own and never even considered doing so for some reason. Yours looks delicious and I will definitely give it a try!
This did not work for me! My peanuts never came out of the”ball stage” & I almost overheated my cuisinart! I now have a peanut butter ball, not spreadable at all. Wasn’t that fond of the other ingredients in the trader joe’s honey roasted…so I just used plain, unsalted roasted peanuts & a little honey. It’s almost dry, like I added powdered sugar or something. Bummed out!
Maybe try adding a little oil. It sounds like there is not enough oil if it’s dry and not coming out of the ball stage. I have no issues with that stage and it comes out within maybe 30 seconds and have had other people tell me they don’t have any issues either. It could also be your machine, hate to say.
I’m having the same stinkin problem. I have a Ninja Processor. I seriously think it depends on the processor you have. All I did was waste 20 oz of peanuts at this point, and now have a very unhappy food processor… Don’t think I’m gonna even try more and take a chance of burning that motor out!
Elizabeth Whitney, I think your mistake was adding the honey up front. I see your thinking, but you probably need to process the nuts to a cream first, and *then* add it.
If raw nuts are used they need to be roasted on a tray, skins and all, in the oven until they go a little darker and the nuts go a sort of pale orangey buff colour (for want of a better description).
It’s hard to give timings as it can vary. But temp wise about 175 degrees (UK).
Once roasted leave them to cool before processing as above. I made some this way yesterday, only adding a small amount of coconut oil for health benefits and flavour. I would far rather do that than use coated ones, but I have to watch what I eat as I have food sensitivities, which not everyone has to worry about.
This tutorial was so helpful with my latest recipe! Now…if only I could get my hands on a food processor that I didn’t have to hold the button down for the entire 10 minutes!
Oh my goodness!! I wasbjust introduced to your recipe/site from a friend of mine on Pinetrest. And yum!! Is all that comes to mind. I love PB, by the spoonfull, in my quina and my oatmeal , not to mention PB cookies .
Will be giving this a try , asap.
thanks
How much does the homemade compare to the store bought in price? Is it cheaper to make your own? Also would using honey roasted peanuts make it sweet lik jify, or do u need to add sugar?
honey roasted peanuts sweeten it slightly, it’s not as sweet as storebought honey roasted peanuts
I buy my nuts at Tjs and ounce for ounce, it comes out about the same as buying storebought Jif, cheaper than buying storebought “higher end” and/or natural PBs.
I’ve just received my first ever food processor as an early birthday present, and I will definitely have to break it in with homemade peanut butter. I’ll let you know if anything goes wrong for a first-time user, i.e. I end up eating the entire jar-ful of PB in one sitting and my pants no longer fit and I have to wear my curtains to work because I can’t afford new jeans. Cookie butter next (you’ve really got me on that bandwagon)–thanks so much for this simple (and divine) recipe!
You do realize that the ingredients for Trader Joe’s Honey Roasted Peanuts are – Peanuts, Sugar, Honey, Vegetable Oil (peanut and/or sunflower seed), Salt, Modified Food Starch (potato), Maltodextrin (corn), Xanthan Gum. So, there is oil, sugar and other products, right? I personally would rather add my own and know how much is being added.
Right – I happened to use honey roasted peanuts from the store (rather than making my own) but one could use any sort of peanut she wishes, plain, dry roasted, unsalted, homemade honey roasted peanuts, peanuts covered in Cajun seasoning, or whatever floats her boat to make PB with. I just happen to like honey roasted peanuts and honey roasted peanut butter and don’t feel the need to roast and make my own peanuts AND then make my own peanut butter. There are limits
I can’t believe that’s all there is to it! I cannot wait to do this! I don’t have a food processor (I will have to borrow one). I am sure my regular mixer won’t do it. Thank you so much for sharing this. Now, I don’t have to worry about all of the extra yucky stuff!
Thank you for sharing this simple recipe. Your photos were great and my peanut butter looked just like you said during each stage. I separated my batch and added a little chambord liqueur and WOW! I’m now spoiled and no more grinding my own at the store anymore.
I’m thinking about making a jar of peanut butter and jelly like the Goobers brand. That just sounds like too much fun and makes quick picnics or trips on the road fast and easy. Spoon and a jar.
Glad you liked it, tried it, that all your stages looked like mine and that you added chambord – oh I am a huge fan of it in champagne – and why not in PB! Great idea!
I just made this tonight and I will make it again and again! I never realized how easy it was to make peanut butter and I wonder why I ever had store bought!!! No added chemicals, cheap, easy….wow! Thank you so much for posting this!!! I’ll never buy peanut butter again!!!
I’ve been loving making this!! I’ve made it several times and it’s a hit with my family! One question, though, (I’ve tried to sort through the comments to see if my question has already been asked and I don’t see it) how do you/would you incorporate honey? I don’t want to use honey roasted peanuts, but every time I add honey at any point in the process, it completely changes the consistency. Thoughts?
I would add it at the very end after you’re done processing it. Take a half-cup out or smaller amount out of the machine and put it in a bowl and add honey, to taste, and stir. See how that works and what kind of consistency you end up with and that way you’ve only trialed a small amount, not a huge one. LMK what you end up doing & how things pan out!
So I just made my first batch of homemade peanut butter. I love peanuts, peanut butter, and anything remotely related to them. I had a bit of a flop this time. I used about 1/2 a jar of honey roasted nuts – I didn’t wan’t to ruin the whole jar if I didn’t like it! I loved the pictures to help me see each step through the way. I got to the yummy, creamy, dreamy part and decided it was time to add my seasonings. There’s nothing I love more than honey and peanut butter so why not combine them BEFORE I eat it? It’d be a lot less messy for sure! Anyway, apparently the honey did something ugly to the lovely mess in my food processor. As I mixed in the honey, it seemed to dry out and end up much more like the “sticky ball” stage. No matter how much more I mixed it, it just would not “cream” again. It tasted good and was smooth but just not creamy. It’s a crumbly lump. I tossed it in a jar and will use it up but I’m not sure what happened. Any ideas?
Honey is hard to work with for this exact reason – it’s sticky, tacky, and gloms everything up, to be blunt. I find that honey is best stirred in by hand, at the very, very end. Fill a jar with PB half way up, add a little bit of honey, stir. See how far you can take that before it gloms up on you. Otherwise, just make a layer of PB and a layer of honey on whatever you’re eating, old school. Or just use honey roasted peanuts to start with, which is what I do and why I don’t bother with real honey due to exactly what you describe. Keep me posted on future trials…
I thought I’d let you know the peanut butter doesn’t hear up from the engine in the processor it’s actuall cause by the molecules in the peanuts rubbing against each other while spinning so it causes a friction heat.
Process it fully and once it’s smooth, take about 1 cup peanuts, give or take, and just pulse to incorporate. Use more or less depending on how many chunks you want and how thick you want it…just play around with that AFTER you get to the smooth consistency is my advice.
I tried this, and I do not recommend it with a smaller food processor. For the past several days I have been attempting to turn a small batch of peanuts into anything resembling the beautiful pictures on this blog, 5 minutes at a time, because anything longer makes me fear the thing will just burn out. For all the wear and tear I’m putting on the blades and the motor, the peanut butter does not seem willing to go past a crumbly “dough ball” stage. This resembles the crushed peanuts one would find on pad thai.
I guess I will have to purchase my peanut butter already made, for the time being.
There’s the Ninja brand of food proc that I’ve been told is available at Walmart for in the $50 range or any $99 food proc will do the job. I know it sounds like a lot $$ but you will get your money’s worth with other things, too! Or check ebay, craigslist or your local thrift store…you may find one for $5 bucks! I see them all the time in San Diego for dirt cheap on CL!
The problem with mine is it’s getting so impacted on the bottom, and going up on the sides. And the blades are too far away from the shreds of peanuts. and all it’s doing is heating the bottom and flinging the blades around going no where.. I keep pushing it all down, and even took it out and put in a bowl and broke it up… added Olive Oil… got no where. Now the question is, WHAT do i do with 20 oz of mashed peanuts???!!!
Like many other comments, I also cannot believe I haven’t done this before. So easy to do. My tiny food processor smelled like it was about to burn out. I only needed to do it for 2 minutes anyway and it was good. I like a little crunch to mine anyway. I immediately made a PB&J sandwich. Thanks
I’ve made my own pb and almond butter often and LOVE it! so much better than what I buy, but it’s more expensive! the honey peanuts sound really yummy!
That looks so nice and creamy! I’ve always used plain unsalted peanuts for my homemade pb, but I like your idea way better. Next time I am going to use honey roasted peanuts.
Your pictures blew my mind, and it seems so good-to-be-true easy! Is it really?? I bought a 4oz pack just to try it out… if it works I’ll make me a big jar!! Question, this peanuts I bought are plain, no shells and no salt added. Will that work by itself or should I add just a bit of salt?
Thanks in advance!
I am really not familiar with vacuum sealers so I really don’t know what to say. It’s so easy to make fresh, as in 5 minutes, I never worry about making more than 1-2 weeks worth at one time.
I have not returned due to the strict payment required.I would only be able to pay monthly oe bi-weekly not weekly as I need a lot of work done. However I do like the staff and Dr. Bella.
I have added all sorts of extracts and spices already, but never thought of liquor! How fun would a raisin-rum one be??
Oh, how I loved being in LA and having daily access to TJ´s!
http://spabettie.com/2012/05/25/sweet-chai-pecan-butter-sauce/
And even though I don’t like peanut anything, I love your photos, those cute little (Italian?) jars, presentation, and crisp images (can I say it about photos? I guess I can if I like it, right…)
xo
http://allykayler.blogspot.ca/
http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2011/04/chocolate-coconut-cashew-butter.html (and I also made kale chips with that choc nut butter too…very versatile…LOL)
This mint chocolate almond butter was incredible…
http://luvwhatyoudo.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/mondays-recipes/
http://luvwhatyoudo.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/does-this-belt-make-my-butt-look-big/
Happy 4th! Enjoy a relaxing day!
Last week I made hazelnut, cinnamon, flax seed butter. It was amazing! Just added it all to the food processor and Voila!
Will be giving this a try , asap.
thanks
http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/09/35-national-peanut-day-recipes.html
Thanks in advance!