Mmmm. Peanut Butter. So good, and so simple, yet most people buy it already made and full of salt and preservatives.
Hold on to your hats, ‘cause today we’re making peanut butter with just one ingredient: Peanuts.
Oh yeah.
In roughly 3 minutes, start to finish, you can have fresh peanut butter, and it is so simple you won’t believe it.
This would be a good project to have the kiddos help with, because it’s kind of fun to watch the transformation.
First, we need our ingredients: 16 ounces (that’d be a pound) of unsalted shelled peanuts. You can use salted peanuts too, but I prefer the no sodium aspect of unsalted. Safeway had a sale on peanuts recently for 2 for $4.00 on Planters, so that’s what I have. You can probably find them even cheaper in the bulk section or at Trader Joe’s. Note: if you want, you could add 1-2 tablespoons of a nuetral oil during the blending process to make the peanut butter super creamy. Depends on your tastes and if you’re concerned about calories.
Pour the peanuts into a high speed blender. If you only have a food processor, it will work too, it’ll just take a little longer.
Blend on “1,” for a Ninja, or “Low” for other brands, until you have a peanut butter consistency you like. Seriously, it’s that easy. It took me a total of three minutes. If you have a food processor, count on 6-10 minutes, and be sure to scrape the sides down every so often. (Ed Note: If you’re using a Ninja and find that “1” is just not cutting it for you, bump up to “2” and see if that helps. I would not recommend blending on “3” for nut butters – it’s just too fast and you won’t get anything but chopped nuts.)
This was after one minute, notice that the bottom half already looks like peanut butter:
This was after two minutes, mostly all combined:
After a couple of minutes, stop and push down any peanut dust that isn’t getting incorporated before you finish blending to make sure none goes to waste and then resume blending. Blend until you get a thickness you like. It will thicken up more the longer you blend it.
Voila. Peanut butter in three minutes.
Finish it off by scooping into a very fancy container and storing in the fridge or pantry. You can see I went with something super high end.
Let’s review the steps:
- Pour 16 ounces (or more) of peanuts into a high speed blender or food processor.
- Blend for about 2 minutes on a low setting, stopping to scrape down the sides if needed
- Blend for another minute or two until you get the consistency you like (longer for food processors)
- Enjoy, and try not to eat it all before you put it in your fancy storage container
And, that’s all there is to it. I admit to licking the spoon. A few times. Please don’t tell 2Chili I double-dipped!
View Comments (107)
i am so making peanut butter this week. or, actually, once i run out of the store bought variety we have in the pantry.
I love the recipe, and am definitely going to try it with the brand new Ninja 1100 I just bought yesterday,but I’m not gonna go showing off with a fancy schmancy storage dish like that
Ha! ?
Have you made almond butter or other nut butters in the Ninja blender yet??
Hi Marisa,
I haven’t tried any other nut butters yet. But, I would think the same principles apply. If you’re doing almond butter, I’d recommend definitely adding the oil, as almonds don’t seem as naturally oily as peanuts. If you do make it, please pop back by and let me know how you faired!
Hi,
I made walnut butter with just walnuts in my ninja 1500 last night. Took about 10 minutes for 2 cups to get the consistency I wanted.
Are you still on 1 with the 1500? That is listed as dough. I just got my 1500 and I am kinda confused. With the 1 setting. I haven’t been able to make peanut butter or hazelnut butter within 3 minutes. I just end up with a very finely chopped ice cream topping consistency.
Hi Laura,
I ordered the 1500 and it will be here on Thursday. I’ll give it a try when I get it and let you know. If you are not getting your nuts to blend, I would do two things: 1) add some oil and 2) try using a higher speed. Really it sounds like you need some oil more than anything – if your nuts aren’t roasted, this is likely the case!
Angela
I just bought my Ninja blender yesterday to replace my broken KitchenAid blender, on the recommendation from the salesperson at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Loving it so far, and it turned out to be a good deal (especially with their 20%-off coupon — I never go there without one, they send them a couple times a month it seems). Searching the internet, I found your blog and recipes and am eager to try them, especially this one for homemade peanut butter. This household goes through a lot of Skippy each month. The Ninja does include, among the meager seven recipes in their owner’s guide, a recipe for peanut butter. They say to add 3 tablespoons of oil per cup of peanuts. Sounds pretty oily! Yours sounds better. So… what’s “a neutral oil”?
Hi Steve,
Wow, you got one of the “famous” recipe books! I get a lot of comments from folks on my blender review page that they didn’t get the cookbook, so you must be lucky. ?
I agree with you, 3 tablespoons of oil per cup of peanuts sounds pretty oily!
I have made this with the oil and without, and you definitely get a creamier result with the oil. If I’m making it for sandwiches, I add oil, but if I’m making it for a recipe, I don’t add oil – just my own oddity, I guess. As far as nuetral, you could go with canola oil, vegetable oil, or even peanut oil. Personally, I use olive oil because that is pretty much all I keep on hand (which is really not “neutral” but you cannot taste it in the peanut butter).
Happy blending!
Have you tried coconut oil? It is healthy and fools your body into thinking it is protein. This helps your body not gain the weight and digests better. Thank you!
Hi Korki,
In fact I have – it makes a great PB! Here is the post:
https://testkitchentuesday.com/2012/03/12/homemade-coconut-peanut-butter/
Enjoy!
I am excited to try to make peanut butter…I ordered some coconut pb from Halo-Hati…delicious and I plan on making my own and put them in small jars for next year’s christmas gifts….I appreciate this site with all of the helpful advice.
Hi Ron,
Thanks for your note! Did you see my recipe for coconut PB – it may help you out. https://testkitchentuesday.com/2012/03/12/homemade-coconut-peanut-butter/
Have fun!
Angela
Hi, I really don’t like coconut and have never tried coconut oil or milk or anything. If I add the coconut oil to the peanuts will the peanut butter taste like coconut? If so, I would have to go with vegetable oil. Thanks in advance.
Hi Belinda,
I would go with a neutral oil in your case. Try to stay away from vegetable oil as it has a lot of issues for health purposes, but sunflower oil, walnut oil, or even light olive oil will work!
Angela
Did you use the ninja 1000 or the ninja 1100? I am trying to figure out which to buy for making peanut butter.
Hi William,
I have the Ninja 1100. However, either would work for this. If I had to do it over again, I would buy the Ninja Kitchen system because of all the accessories and additional smaller jar that you get.
Hope that helps,
angela
I just have the 34$ ninja one from Walmart with one 48oz Blender and one smaller food processing container and it works great for peanut butter. I just add honey for tast and it helps in the creamy side of it.. My personal fav nut butter is Cashew, MMMMM!!!
Hi Logan, I didn’t know there was a $34 model at Walmart – going to have to check that one out. Thanks for dropping by!
I have the Nija Kitchen System 1200 and I found that the number 1 setting (dough) didn’t work well. I used setting 2 (blend) did the job perfectly. You have to, however, use a spatula after a couple of minutes to push the unblended peanuts into the mix. I used the Trader Joe’s Roasted unsalted peanuts, but I’m sure the raw ones would be good since they have no added oil. Great fresh and healthy peanut butter.
Hi all, I agree with Zach I had to use the 2 button to achieve peanut butter. I added 2 tbsp of canola oil it was still pretty grainy but delish!
Just got my Ninja, was so excited to try it out. Found your recipes online and peanut butter was the first thing I tried making. However, it did not work for me :(. Instead of a smooth peanut butter consistency, it came out grainy like gravel. What did I do wrong?
Hi Giselle,
Oh no! Grainy gravel peanut butter is no good!
I have found that if you’re using peanuts that haven’t been roasted you definitely need to add a bit of oil to help everything blend together. Did you add any oil? 1-2 tablespoons of some neutral oil (melted coconut oil will make it delish) should help it all come together better.
Also, turn up the speed and keep blending longer than you think you need to if it is not coming together – it will eventually become PB, but, I think the main issue here is that you probably do need to add a bit of oil.
Hi, turns out it was roasted peanuts. I did add some oil (and a bit of water to get it moving) and blended on 2, which worked! Next time I will buy regular, unsalted peanuts. Do you know how long it will last since there are no preservatives in it? And BTW, thanks for posting your recipes, they look great, and I can’t wait to try them!
Oh, great! I am surprised it didn’t work since you were using roasted peanuts — those seem to work best because there is some oil residue on them. But, I am glad it worked out for you. ?
In terms of how long it will last, it’s just like peanuts hanging out in your pantry in their original jar – the shelf life should be good if you can get it to last past a week or two. When I make it, it honestly lasts a week because we eat it so fast… But if you are concerned, you could store it in the fridge for a longer shelf life!