Equipment
Ingredients
Base
- 450 g raw peanuts, shelled and skinless
Seasoning and Consistency
- 3 g fine sea salt, to taste
- 15 ml peanut oil
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 89 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbohydrates
- 2 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 42 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 1 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 0 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 0 g
- Potassium
- 106 mg
- Calcium
- 14 mg
- Iron
- 0.7 mg
- Magnesium
- 25 mg
- Phosphorus
- 56 mg
- Zinc
- 0.5 mg
- Vitamin E
- 0.1 mg
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
Spread the raw peanuts in an even, single layer on a baking sheet. Roast in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring the peanuts thoroughly at the halfway point to ensure even browning.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the peanuts cool on the pan for exactly 10 minutes. They should remain quite warm to the touch, which is crucial for oil extraction.
Transfer the warm peanuts to the bowl of a food processor. Process continuously for 3 to 5 minutes. The mixture will transition through several stages: coarse crumbs, a dry stiff ball, a thick paste, and finally a smooth flowing liquid. Stop the machine to scrape down the sides with a silicone spatula every minute.
Once the desired smoothness is reached, add the fine sea salt. If the mixture is still too thick for your preference, drizzle in the optional peanut oil. Process for 1 additional minute to fully incorporate.
Pour the freshly milled peanut butter into an airtight glass jar. Allow it to cool completely to room temperature before securing the lid.
Chef's Notes
- Temperature is the absolute secret to efficient emulsification. Blending the peanuts while they are still quite warm from the oven significantly reduces processing time, limits wear on your food processor motor, and yields a far creamier final texture.
- For a crunchy variation, pulse 50 grams of the roasted peanuts in the food processor until roughly chopped, remove them, and fold them back in manually with a spatula only after blending the remainder of the batch into a perfectly smooth paste.
- If you prefer to roast peanuts with their skins on, doing so will provide an earthier, slightly more bitter flavor profile and a darker, more rustic appearance. Ensure your processor is powerful enough to mill the skins fully to avoid an unpleasantly gritty finish.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 months — Natural oil separation will occur; stir vigorously from the bottom before each use.
Freezer: 6 months — Freeze in an airtight, freezer-safe container leaving adequate headspace for expansion.
Troubleshooting
Mixture stalls at the crumbly ball stage and refuses to turn into a paste.
Cause: The peanuts cooled down too much before processing, trapping their natural oils, or the peanut variety used has an exceptionally low fat content.
Fix: Drizzle in 1 to 2 tablespoons of neutral oil or peanut oil while the processor is running to kickstart the emulsification process.
Prevention: Ensure you blend the peanuts while they are still radiating warmth from the oven.
Peanut butter suddenly becomes stiff and seizes into an unblendable block.
Cause: Introduction of water or water-based liquids like honey, maple syrup, or vanilla extract into the fat-heavy mixture.
Fix: Cannot be returned to a liquid state, but can be salvaged by rolling into protein energy bites.
Prevention: Never add water-based ingredients to a nut butter during the milling phase; only use oil-based flavorings or dry powders.
Cultural Context
While ground peanut and legume pastes have ancestral roots reaching back to the Incan and Aztec civilizations, the modern process of creating creamy, shelf-stable peanut butter was refined and patented in North America during the late 19th century as a digestible protein source. Today, it serves as a foundational ingredient globally, anchoring American sandwiches, thickening West African stews, and emulsifying Southeast Asian dipping sauces.
