Peanut Butter~Make Your Own!
Do you love natural peanut butter? I do too. What I don’t love is how much more costly it is than the regular kind I used to buy.
That is obviously because the natural variety is pretty much nothing but pure peanuts, so of course it’s more expensive. But if you have a decent food processor or grinder, you can easily make your own natural peanut butter for a fraction of the cost.
What Kind of Peanuts Do I Use for Peanut Butter?
The first (and practically only) ingredient you start with is…PEANUTS! Aren’t you glad? Almost any kind will do, but Spanish peanuts with their red skins still intact are the best.
Want to save yourself a couple of steps? Use roasted, salted peanuts. You have to roast raw ones anyway, and you have to add a little salt too.
Worried that the salted variety is too salty? I can’t speak for you, but for me it’s just the right amount.
Grinding The Peanuts
Add your peanuts to a food processor or grinder. Hopefully it’s a fairly powerful one, but it doesn’t have to be a top of the line one either. Whatever the quality, prepare to pulse and grind for a minute, then stop to give it a rest for a few minutes. You have to grind and pulse in intervals because most home food processors are not designed to run continuously for very long. If the motor starts to feel warm, stop and give it a rest. After a few minutes, continue grinding. For some machines, you may need to do this a few times, so be patient!
What It Will Look Like
Pulse the peanuts first. In no time they will be finely chopped. Want your peanut butter to be crunchy? Remove 2-3 tablespoons to add into your finished smooth peanut butter later.
Now run the food processor on high speed until the peanuts break down more and begin to clump. I go back to pulsing until they clump up so much that they form a ball. After a short rest for the motor, keep pulsing and this ball will become less and less grainy and more oily. It almost looks like fudge!
I recommend adding a little sweetener at this point. Leave it out if you must, but a spoonful or two of honey, agave or molasses improves the flavor greatly. Keep pulsing, grinding, resting (in no particular order!) and in minutes your peanut butter ball will break down and you will see what you’ve been hoping for–smooth, creamy peanut butter!
How Long Does Homemade Peanut Butter Last?
Store your peanut butter in a jar with a tight fitting lid in the refrigerator for 3-6 months. You can keep it in the cupboard too, though it’s not recommended. I have kept it for about 1-2 weeks at room temperature and it tasted great. If you make your own peanut butter, let me know how it worked for you!
- Add peanuts to a food processor or grinder. Pulse several times until the peanuts are finely chopped. If you would like crunchy peanut butter, remove 2-3 tablespoons to add later.
- Pulse several times for about one minute. Run processor or grinder on high speed at intervals to begin breaking down the peanuts to release their oils.
- After a minute or two, give your machine a rest to avoid over heating. Continue pulsing and grinding, stopping for a rest every minute or so to relieve the motor. The mixture will form a ball.
- Add honey or other desired sweetener. Grind a final time until the peanut butter ball breaks down and becomes smoother. Once it reaches desired smoothness (don't over pulse or it will become runny), transfer into a jar. Though not recommended, keep at room temperature for 1-2 weeks or refrigerate up to 3-6 months.
I used 300 grams of Spanish red skin peanuts. This worked out to about 2 cups, which yielded about 1 cup peanut butter.