Got a food processor? Then you’re only a few ingredients away from homemade peanut butter!
Making your own peanut butter is ridiculously simple. You control exactly what goes into it, there are no unnecessary ingredients, and a basic jar of dry-roasted peanuts can be turned into creamy peanut butter right in your food processor.
We started with a 16-ounce jar of unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, added just a little salt and honey, and ended up with about 2 cups of homemade peanut butter.
Homemade Peanut Butter Ingredients
- 16 oz dry-roasted unsalted peanuts
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- About 1 teaspoon honey
How to Make Homemade Peanut Butter
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spread the dry-roasted peanuts in a single layer on a sheet pan.
- Warm them in the oven for 5–8 minutes, stirring once about halfway through.
- While they’re still warm, transfer the peanuts to a food processor.
- Process for 8–15 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides as needed.
- Keep processing until the peanut butter reaches the consistency you like.
- Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and about 1 teaspoon honey, then process again until everything is combined.
- Transfer to a clean jar or airtight container and refrigerate.
Yield: About 2 cups.
Wait — Why Are We Roasting Peanuts That Are Already Roasted?
Yep, it sounds a little redundant!
We’re not really trying to roast them all over again. We’re warming them up. Warming the peanuts helps them break down in the food processor and release their natural oils. It also wakes up that roasted-peanut flavor and makes the finished peanut butter taste even better.
Five to eight minutes at 350°F is plenty. You want the peanuts warm and fragrant, not dark or burned.
Don’t Panic When It Doesn’t Look Like Peanut Butter
This is the part where patience pays off.
The peanuts won’t immediately turn into smooth peanut butter. They’ll go through several stages — chopped peanuts, crumbs, a thick clumpy mixture and eventually creamy peanut butter.
Just keep that food processor going. Depending on your machine and the peanuts, it can take anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes.
You shouldn’t need to add oil. The peanuts will release their own oils as they’re processed.
Make It Your Own
We like ours with just a touch of salt and honey, but that’s completely adjustable.
Want it less sweet? Skip the honey. Want a little more salt? Add another pinch. Prefer crunchy peanut butter? Set aside some chopped peanuts before processing and stir them back in at the end.
How to Store Homemade Peanut Butter
Store your homemade peanut butter in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Keeping it cold also helps reduce the natural oil separation you can get with homemade peanut butter.
We store ours refrigerated for up to 3 months.
Is Making Your Own Peanut Butter Worth It?
If you already own a food processor, absolutely give it a try. You’re starting with peanuts and deciding exactly what else goes into the jar — in our case, just a little salt and honey.
Plus, there’s something strangely satisfying about watching a pile of peanuts turn into actual peanut butter.
And once you’ve made it yourself, you can start playing around with it. Honey peanut butter, crunchy peanut butter, cinnamon peanut butter…you get the idea.
