Homemade Peanut Butter and Almond Butter
Learn how to make scrumptious homemade peanut butter and almond butter. This one ingredient pantry staple is surprisingly easy to make. All you need to are 4 cups of nuts and a blender!
Few kitchen endeavors are as satisfying as making your own homemade nut butter. This one ingredient pantry staple is perfect slathered on toast with a thick spread of strawberry chia jam, blended in a smoothie bowl or simply eaten right out of the jar. And, best of all, it’s surprisingly easy to make. All you need to make nut butter are 4 cups of nuts and a blender or food processor.
Equipment:
I use a Vitamix to make homemade nut butter. But, you can make wonderful nut butter in a standard blender or food processor, you will just need to be patient and let the nuts process for a longer time.
What nuts to use:
For creamy or crunchy peanut butter (my favorite is creamunchy which is the perfect mix of creamy and crunchy) use roasted, unsalted peanuts. These can be found in the bulk section of your natural grocer. If you like creamy peanut butter that you can drizzle from a spoon, use blanched roasted, unsalted peanuts.
For almond butter, use dry roasted, unsalted almonds. (method for dry roasting below)
Storage and shelf life:
I keep my peanut butter in the pantry and my almond butter in the refrigerator, in glass jars. Homemade peanut butter will keep for a few months in the pantry. And since I make a fresh batch every week, it’s safe to store it there. Homemade almond butter can go rancid in warmer temperatures though, so I keep it in the fridge just to be safe.
Why you’ll LOVE making your own nut butter at home:
Always fresh and totally delicious
Full of healthy fats
Economical
Low waste
Customizable
Naturally vegan
No oil added and gluten-free
Ingredients for homemade nut butter
Ingredients:
Peanut butter:
4 cups of dry roasted, unsalted peanuts (use blanched peanuts for drizzle able peanut butter)
Almond butter:
4 cups of dry roasted, unsalted almonds
Makes 2½ cups
How to make homemade peanut butter
Step One:
1. Add 4 cups of peanuts to a blender container. Start blending at low speed and work your way up to medium speed, as your blender allows. At first, it will look like wet sand, and then it will become increasingly creamy. Use the tamper to push the nuts down and around toward the blade. You may want to stop and scrape the sides of the container if needed, or just keep blending until you have a nice creamy or creamunchy texture. This process takes a couple of minutes in a Vitamix but may take longer in other blenders. Just have patience, your perfect peanut butter awaits. (I have to stop occasionally and let the motor cool down on my blender, so it doesn’t overheat)
Step Two:
2. Scrape your homemade nut butter into clean glass jars. I find that peanut butter keeps just fine in the pantry as a batch in my house never lasts longer than a week!
How to make homemade almond butter
Step One:
For almond butter, the process is the same, but you will need to roast your nuts first.
1. Spread 4 cups of unsalted almonds, in a single layer, on a baking tray and roast at 425 F (218 C) for 12 minutes. You’ll know they are done when the middle of the almond is a lovely light brown color and you can smell that wonderful roasted aroma. Allow the almonds to cool slightly. I find they are easier to blend when warm. They will also make a cheerful crackling sound as they cool down.
Step Two:
2. Blend the almonds just like you would for peanut butter. Almonds take a little longer to turn creamy than peanuts because the nut is harder but don’t worry, with a little patience, it will turn into perfect almond butter. This process takes a few minutes or more, depending on your blender.
Step Three:
3. Scrape your homemade nut butter into clean glass jars and store in the refrigerator.
The sky’s the limit for choosing how to enjoy homemade nut butter. Since it’s one of the main ways I incorporate healthy fats into my diet, I use it in everything from smoothie bowls to baking, to sauces or just plain right out of the jar with apple slices. Once you get in the habit of making your own, you’ll never go back to store bought!
Homemade Peanut Butter and Almond Butter
Ingredients
Instructions
- You can customize how creamy or crunchy your peanut butter will become depending on how long you blend the nuts. For extra crunch, add a handful of peanuts toward the end of the blending process.
- Add 4 cups of peanuts to a blender container. Start blending at low speed and work your way up to medium speed, as your blender allows. At first, it will look like wet sand, and then it will become increasingly creamy. Use the tamper to push the nuts down and around toward the blade. You may want to stop and scrape the sides of the container if needed, or just keep blending until you have a nice creamy or creamunchy texture. This process takes a couple of minutes in a Vitamix but may take longer in other blenders. Just have patience, your perfect peanut butter awaits. (I have to stop occasionally and let the motor cool down on my blender, so it doesn’t overheat)
- Scrape your homemade nut butter into clean glass jars. I find that peanut butter keeps just fine in the pantry as a batch in my house never lasts longer than a week!
- For almond butter, the process is the same, but you will need to roast your nuts first.
- Spread 4 cups of unsalted almonds in a single layer, on a baking tray and roast at 425 F (218 C) for 12 minutes. You’ll know they are done when the middle of the almond is a lovely light brown color and you can smell that wonderful roasted aroma. Allow the almonds to cool slightly, as they are easier to blend when warm. They will make a cheerful crackling sound as they cool down.
- Blend the almonds just like you would for peanut butter. Almonds take a little longer to turn creamy than peanuts because the nut is harder but don’t worry, with a little patience, it will turn into perfect almond butter. This process takes a few minutes or more, depending on your blender.
- Scrape your homemade nut butter into clean glass jars and store in the refrigerator.
Notes
For creamunchy peanut butter: use 4 cups of roasted unsalted peanuts. You can customize how creamy or crunchy you like it by how long you blend the nuts. For extra crunch, add a handful of peanuts toward the end of the blending process.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
82.52Fat (grams)
7.25Sat. Fat (grams)
0.56Carbs (grams)
2.90Fiber (grams)
1.50Net carbs
1.40Sugar (grams)
0.67Protein (grams)
2.89Sodium (milligrams)
0.41Cholesterol (grams)
0.00Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators.
These calculations are for peanut butter
