Want to know how to make my homemade crunchy peanut butter recipe? Peanut butter is one of the easiest things you can make. Knowing how to make peanut butter at home will change your life! I mean, why bother buying peanut butter with all that extra sugar and preservatives when you can make your own? And trust me, your homemade peanut butter will taste just as good, if not better!
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How to Make Crunchy Peanut Butter?
From the basic ol' peanut butter recipe to the fancy one made to impress, here are my secrets for creating the perfect peanut butter, crunchy or smooth.
Peanut Butter Recipe Ingredients
- 2 cups peanuts - Use the best quality peanuts you can buy, as this will affect the taste of your homemade peanut butter recipe. The peanuts should also be dry-roasted to enhance the flavor of your peanut butter. But if you've only got raw peanuts for some reason, don't worry. Later in this article, I'll explain how to roast your nuts and efficiently remove the skin.
- 1-2 tablespoons honey - This part is optional. Some like their peanut butter sweet; some don't. However, I do love my peanut butter just a little sweet. So, I add 1-2 tablespoons of honey to enhance the natural sweetness of the nuts. You can use maple syrup, too, if you like a slight caramel flavor for your peanut butter.
- ½ teaspoon salt - You need salt for your peanut butter. Salt is a flavor enhancer and gives more punch to your peanut butter. Just remember, don't oversalt; just a tiny bit is enough.
Instructions - How do they Make Crunchy Peanut Butter Recipe?
Peanut butter might be one of the simplest and easiest things you'll ever make with your food processor. Here's how to make the world's best homemade peanut butter recipe:
- PULSE - Place the whole peanuts in the food processor, and pulse a few times until chopped. If you're making crunchy peanut butter, now is the time to reserve ½ cup of the chopped nuts; set aside.
- PROCESS - Run the food processor continuously for 5 minutes or more. Every food processor is different, though. The peanuts should first turn into crumbs, then into dry balls, and then into creamy peanut butter before you even realize it!
- ADD-INS- Add the honey and salt into the food processor. Then continue processing for another minute until completely smooth. Remember that this is homemade peanut butter, so it'll be grittier than a store-bought one.
- CRUNCHY - If you're making crunchy peanut butter, add your reserved chopped nuts, pulse 3-5 times, or until just combined. You don't want to smooth those nuts completely, so don't overdo them.
- JAR - Transfer to a dry, clean glass jar. And don't forget to lick what's left on your spoon! It's the cook's treat!
How do you Make Peanut Butter More Creamy?
- KEEP PROCESSING - Every food processor is different. You might think it's been forever, and your peanuts just won't "butter" enough. Don't give up. Keep the machine going. Once the peanuts release the oil, they will immediately turn into magic!
- ADD OIL - Still think your peanut butter is too dry? Add a splash of oil to help emulsify the peanut butter and make it silkier and creamier. You can use peanut oil or any neutral flavor oil available.
Crunchy Peanut Butter Recipes - Add Ins
Add extra ingredients if you want to amp up the flavor and nutrition of your easy peanut butter recipe. Cocoa powder, why not? Goji powder or camu powder, oh yes! Cinnamon or nutmeg, yum!
- Homemade chocolate peanut butter - Try this DIY version of Nutella - simply add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to your crunchy peanut butter recipe. You can also add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to enhance the flavor. To amp up the chocolatey texture, add ½ cup of chocolate chips! This chocolate peanut butter spread tastes like heaven!
- Vanilla bean + coconut peanut butter - Impress everyone with this fancy artisan peanut butter. Add the seeds of 1 vanilla bean pod and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to the roasted peanuts and blend. You can also use high-quality vanilla extract if you don't have a dried vanilla bean.
- Cinnamon peanut butter - This is pretty straightforward. Add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to your peanut butter. Warm and so comforting, cinnamon works really well with the peanut flavor.
- Almond peanut butter - Peanut almond butter is one of the best kinds of nut butter in the world! Simply omit half of the peanuts and substitute with roasted almonds (or experiment with different types of nuts such as cashews). Blend them until smooth and buttery, and season with salt. You can add honey if you like.
Alternatives for Other Homemade Nut Butters
You might have a peanut allergy, or maybe one of your friends and family does. Whatever the reason, I've got two excellent DIY crunchy peanut butter recipe alternatives.
- Sunflower seed butter - To make sunflower seed butter, follow my original nut butter recipe. But instead of using peanuts, use roasted types of seeds such as sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds can make a slightly drier paste than peanuts, so you might want to add 2 tablespoons of neutral flavor oil while blending.
- Tahini - Ah, tahini! Nutty and sesame-y, it's a Middle Eastern staple that can change your life. To make tahini, use 2 cups of sesame seeds. You can use raw seeds or toast them ahead of time. Blend them in the food processor until completely smooth (it'll take longer than regular nut butter). To taste, add a pinch of salt and sugar or honey if you like it sweet.
What is Crunchy Peanut Butter Good For?
I mean, I never get tired of PB&J… But there are countless other ways to use peanut butter. Use it in your pancake or crepes batter, or add oomph to my chocolate ganache recipe. Add peanut butter when you bake oatmeal cookies, choc chip marshmallow cookies, or tahini cookies. Marble it through this chocolate brownies recipe or peanut butter s'mores. Smear your Oreo with peanut butter, The Parent Trap style!
Make a choc-peanut butter frosting for this chocolate cake recipe, or blend it into banana smoothies. Add to your granola or overnight oats, or even make peanut granola bars for a snack. Or make a salad with peanut dressing, perhaps? Blend a tablespoon of peanut butter with lime juice, salt, and olive oil - delicious! Make a peanut sauce for your chicken satays or noodles. The list goes on and on. I mean, peanut butter is highly versatile. So yummy, literally good on everything!
Storing Homemade Peanut Butter
The best way to store your DIY peanut butter is to transfer your fresh peanut butter into a clean and dry jar or airtight container. Make sure the lid is tightly attached. Depending on the humidity level, you can leave the jar in a cool and dark pantry shelf. Or, put the jar in the refrigerator: this will extend the life of the all-natural crunchy peanut butter recipe even longer.
Can I Freeze Peanut Butter?
Definitely! You can lengthen the shelf life of your fresh peanut butter by up to 6 months in the freezer. Freeze your peanut butter in a freezer-safe container or even a sealed plastic bag. To thaw, leave it at room temperature until it softens, or pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds. If you decide to microwave it, the oil might separate due to the heat. But you can always stir it to combine again - and your crunchy nut butter is good to go!
How to Make Crunchy Peanut Butter Recipe FAQs
Crunchy Peanut Butter Recipe - What Makes a Good Peanut Butter?
Making a crunchy peanut butter recipe, rather than buying it, is a good starting place for the best peanut butter. This way, the peanut butter crunchy recipe only includes the best quality ingredients with no nasties hidden. Just healthy peanuts, honey, oil, and salt. Pretty simple, right?
What is Crunchy in Crunchy Peanut Butter Recipe?
The crunchy bits are simply rough chunks of peanuts. The whole peanuts are initially blended in the food processor a few times, resulting in crunchy peanut chunks. These chunks are then added back into the creamed peanut butter to give you crunchy peanut butter!
Which Peanut Butter is Better Crunchy or Smooth?
Neither chunky nor smooth peanut butter is better; they are just different! I personally love crunchy style peanut butter as I enjoy the texture contrast of the chunks of peanuts through the smooth peanut spread.
Can you Use Crunchy Peanut Butter Instead of Smooth?
You can use crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth in many recipes but not all. For example, I love to make a delicious chocolate cake with peanut butter buttercream. As it's a light and mousse-y buttercream you must use smooth peanut butter.
Can you Make Peanut Butter Cookies With Crunchy Peanut Butter?
For other recipes, such as bars and cookies, you can use crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth. In fact, crunchy peanut butter is even better than smooth in some recipes, such as peanut butter cookies or as an add-in to my simple oatmeal cookies.
Is Peanut Butter Made From Raw or Roasted Peanuts?
What are the best peanuts for peanut butter? Peanut butter is made from roasted peanuts. If raw peanuts are the only thing you have in your pantry, don't worry. You can still make delicious peanut butter.
How long to roast peanuts for peanut butter? To roast your peanuts, spread them on a baking tray in a single layer, don't overlap, so they roast evenly. Pop them into the preheated oven for 10 minutes at 392°F | 200°C. The peanuts will pop in the oven during the roasting process; that's completely normal!
How to Remove the Skin from Peanuts?
You've roasted your peanuts, but there's still prep work to do before you can turn the peanuts into this deliciously crunchy peanut butter recipe. Firstly, to remove the skins, ensure they're not crazy hot out of the oven. Let them cool slightly. Then transfer the peanuts to a thin cloth and cover them with another cloth. Simply roll your hand backward and forwards quite vigorously over the cloth, which will strip off the skins. Open the cloth, then pick out the peanuts from the discarded skins. You're ready to start making this crunchy peanut butter recipe!
Best Food Processor For Peanut Butter?
- Best food processor for peanut butter? - I like to use my small Cuisinart food processor to make homemade peanut butter. When choosing a food processor to make this crunchy peanut butter recipe, you want a high-powered food processor that is strong enough to blend the peanuts into a creamy paste.
- Can you make peanut butter in a blender? - You can use a blender to make peanut butter. Again, ensure you have a high-speed blender with enough power to make a smooth peanut butter paste.
- How to make peanut butter without food processor? - The best way to chop nuts without a food processor or blender is to use a heavy solid mortar and pestle to crush the peanuts into a smooth paste. The process will take a lot longer, and you won't get as smooth a paste as you would with a processor or blender.
Can you Turn Crunchy Peanut Butter into Smooth?
How to make crunchy peanut butter smooth? Simply put the peanut butter mix back into the food processor and continue blending until completely smooth. Easy!
How Many Peanuts are Needed to Make Peanut Butter?
For this crunchy peanut butter recipe, I recommend using two cups of peanuts. The amount can vary slightly due to the peanuts' natural variation and the seasonality of when the peanuts were picked and then dried.
- How Many Peanuts Does it Take to Make 1 Cup of Peanut Butter? - You'll need approximately 2 cups of peanuts for 1 cup of peanut butter. As the peanut butter goes from chunky nuts to a fine crumb and then into a creamy ball, it will become reduced from approximately 2 cups to 1 cup.
How do you Make Crunchy Peanut Butter Creamy?
Homemade peanut butter is not always as smooth and creamy as a heavily processed version. But that's the beauty of homemade, right? You know exactly what's in your crunchy peanut butter recipe. But there is a trick to recreating that silky smooth store-bought peanut butter mixture.
To make creamier peanut butter, just after the peanuts have become a smooth consistency, slowly drizzle in 2 tablespoons of oil while continuing to process the peanuts. The additional oil will emulsify your peanut butter, making it richer, creamier, and silkier.
Crunchy Peanut Butter Recipe - What Makes Peanut Butter Thick?
How to Thicken Peanut Butter?
- ADD PEANUTS - If you are still at the initial stage of making your crunchy peanut butter recipe and it is too thin, add more peanuts to the food processor. This will help achieve a thicker homemade natural peanut butter paste.
- STIR - If your peanut butter is already in a jar, and you think it needs thickening, stir it again to help re-emulsify the ingredients. This action will combine the peanuts and any separated oil and thicken the paste.
- COOL - You can also pop the peanut butter into the refrigerator to help thicken it.
What Can I Add to Peanut Butter to Make it Thinner?
- ADD OIL - If the peanut butter is too thick, drizzle more oil into the food processor. You can use peanut oil, canola oil, or light olive oil.
- WATER - Can you thin out peanut butter with water? You can drizzle a little water into your crunchy peanut butter recipe mixture to add some more moisture. Be careful not to overdo it and add too much.
- HEAT - Heat the peanut butter to help make it thinner. Put the peanut butter into a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Check the consistency and stir the peanut butter. Put the peanut butter back into the microwave for another 30 seconds if needed. Be careful not to microwave the peanut butter for too long otherwise it can become too runny.
- WARM - If you use peanut butter in a sauce, such as a satay sauce, warm the peanut butter in a small saucepan on low heat. This will help make it thinner and easier to combine with the other sauce ingredients.
Crunchy Peanut Butter Recipe - Why Peanut Butter Separates?
Oil separation in natural chunky peanut butter is a very normal thing. You don't need to worry at all. Just stir it again to emulsify and combine all the ingredients. Natural peanut butter separates simply because it lacks a stabilizer. The oil will separate and rise to the top when exposed to heat. To help prevent this from happening, store your peanut butter in a cool place, such as inside a cupboard or the fridge.
Crunchy Peanut Butter Recipe - Is Making Peanut Butter Cheaper Than Buying?
It can be more cost-effective to make your crunchy peanut butter recipe than buy the ready-made store-bought version. The main ingredient to buy are the dry roasted peanuts; most of us already have the staples of honey, oil, and salt in our kitchen pantry.
How Much Does it Cost to Make Peanut Butter Recipe?
In my area, buying approximately ½ pound (250 grams) of dry roasted peanuts costs just a couple of dollars. Even with the honey, oil, and a pinch of salt, it works out cheaper to make this crunchy peanut butter recipe than to buy ready-made peanut butter.
Is Crunchy Peanut Butter a Healthy Snack?
- Is crunchy peanut butter a healthy snack? Making a healthy peanut butter recipe from scratch is a good start for creating a healthy snack. If possible, I always prefer making a homemade product rather than buying a store-bought version. This way, you can control what you put into it; you can reduce or even remove the honey and oil so that the peanut butter paste is 100% peanuts!
- Is crunchy peanut butter more healthy? Both smooth and crunchy peanut butter can add to a healthy and well-balanced diet. Add the peanut butter to your oatmeal, into energy bites, smoothies, to veggie sticks...the options are endless! With so many homemade and healthy peanut butter recipes, try making a batch today!
- What is the healthiest peanut butter option? Like most things, the healthy homemade peanut butter option is the homemade version. This way, you get to control what you put into it. You're the chef!
Crunchy Peanut Butter Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry roasted peanuts
- 1-2 tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Pulse the peanuts a few times in a food processor until chopped.
- If you’re making crunchy peanut butter, reserve ½ cup of the chopped nuts; set aside.
- Run the food processor continuously for approximately 5 minutes; every food processor is different. The peanuts will turn into crumbs, dry lumps, then into smooth peanut butter.
- Add honey and salt, and other flavoring or add-ins if you choose. Pulse for another minute until smooth.
- If you’re making crunchy peanut butter, add your reserved chopped nuts, and pulse for 3-5 times until just combined.
- Transfer to a clean and dry jar.
Notes
- Every food processor is a little bit different. It might feel like you have been processing the peanut butter mixture forever, but the consistency is just not "butter" enough. Just keep the machine going. Once the peanuts release their oil, they will turn into peanut butter!
- If you still think that your peanut butter is a little bit too dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil such as peanut oil or neutral-flavor oil.
Nutrition
Crunchy Peanut Butter Recipe - In Conclusion
From the basic ingredients for the classic version to add-in suggestions for artisan variations, you've just learned all you need to know to make my easy homemade crunchy peanut butter recipe. Enjoy!
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