When I started to really get into cooking, and especially after I got pregnant, one of my favourite things became learning how to make pantry staples at home. Things like pasta, bread, mayonnaise, and peanut butter. I started to think more about what I was putting in my body.
Reading labels on the back of staples I bought consistently, I was shocked to learn how many additives and fillers are in a lot of products! As I got more conscious and started to buy healthier products, my grocery bill shot up. Truly, as you subtract ingredients, you add to the price.
Why make peanut butter?
I discovered that a lot of staples are very easy to make, and not only that. They’re cheaper, taste exponentially better, and have way fewer, higher quality ingredients. For example homemade sourdough bread consists of flour, water, and salt. And its the best bread I’ve ever had. Storebought bread costs four times as much and has preservatives and a bunch of added vitamins that wreak havoc with your digestive system.
The more things you can make it home, the better for your health and your wallet. Peanut butter, in particular, is full of all kinds of unnecessary additives when store bought: palm oil, sugar, corn syrup. Its usually stored in a plastic jar, which leaches into your food. There are more and more studies coming out every day about the harms of plastics in food. I try to avoid it wherever possible. Peanut butter is an easy place! Yes, you can buy fancy schmancy peanut butter from Whole Foods in a glass jar. Personally, I’d rather make it at home than take out a second mortgage to finance my peanut butter addiction.
Peanut butter is one of the things that I learned to make that is so simple if you have a food processor. (You do have to have a food processor to make peanut butter at home). I have the Breville Sous Chef 16 Cup Food Processor, and I love it. All you need to make peanut butter are roasted peanuts and a food processor. From there you can run with it. You can experiment with adding honey to sweeten it, or cocoa powder for a chocolate nut butter. But the base recipe is peanuts. You can’t really go wrong.
To make peanut butter:
To make peanut butter, simply put the chopping blade in your food processor and then dump in peanuts. I added about 2 cups. You don’t want to do too much at a time because it’s hard on your machine’s motor. Then simply pulse until your nuts have turned into butter (nut butter, that is). It takes about 5 minutes. I usually pulse in 30-second intervals, letting the motor rest for at least 30 seconds between each pulse. It’s hard work, and you don’t want to burn your motor out.
You will see the peanuts turn into a fine powder and from here they will start clumping together and getting creamier the more you pulse. At this point, you can add any fun mixins you like. I always add in a pinch of salt. Sometimes I add in a drizzle of honey for sweetness, or a dollop of coconut oil for creaminess. Continue to pulse until you reach the consistency you like.
Store in an airtight container (preferably glass) in the fridge.
If you give these a try, please let me know what you think! Leave a review below. And as always, tag me on Instagram if you give them a try. I’d love to see your food photos!
Homemade Peanut Butter
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor
Ingredients
- 1-4 cups roasted peanuts salted or unsalted (I use unsalted)
- 1 pinch sea salt omit if using salted peanuts
- 1 tbsp honey optional, adds sweetness (but changes texture!)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil optional, adds creaminess
Instructions
- To make peanut butter, simply put the chopping blade in your food processor and then dump in peanuts. I added about 2 cups. You don’t want to do too much at a time because its hard on your machines motor. Pulse in 30 second intervals, letting the motor rest for at least 30 seconds between each interval.Once you've reached a pasty/clumped together consistency, you can add in a pinch of salt and any other optional mixin you'd like.Continue pulsing until your desired level of creaminess is reached.Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge.
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