Peanut butter is a snack and sandwich staple around our house, whether for toast, sandwiches, crackers, celery, or just on a spoon the old-fashioned way. Our boys are particularly fond of peanut butter and banana sandwiches on whole wheat bread. Peanut butter is very easy to make at home, and there is a tremendous difference between the flavor of store-bought and homemade peanut butter. Plus, your own homemade peanut butter won’t have a bunch of preservatives and you can control the amount of salt and honey in it, a win-win all around. You just need peanuts, peanut oil, sea salt, honey, and a food processor.
Here’s how we make homemade peanut butter, demonstrated by Builder Guy (age 8).
Add the peanuts.
Add the peanut oil.
Add the honey and salt, and process until nice and smooth.
Enjoy with your favorite snack or sandwich.
How Adults Can Help the Kids
- Demonstrate and assist with any tasks that might be new, such as measuring ingredients or shelling the nuts.
Safety Tips
- Make sure an adult is present at all times.
- An adult or older child should plug in the food processor and handle the blade.
For more information on how to start cooking with your whole family, visit The Kids Cook Monday website.
- 2 cups roasted unsalted peanuts, shelled
- 3 to 4 tablespoons peanut oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- In the bowl of the food processor, ad the shelled peanuts, peanut oil, honey, and sea salt. Process until the mixture is smooth and creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes. If the mixture is slightly dry, add another tablespoon of peanut oil. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
food processor
Recipe Notes
If using unroasted peanuts, you may roast them on a baking sheet in a 350° F/175° C oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Stir two times while roasting and allow to cool completely before making the peanut butter.
For chunky peanut butter, chop 1/4 cup of the nuts and set aside. Process the rest until smooth and creamy, then add the chopped nuts and process until mixed in, about 15 seconds.
More Kids Cook Monday Recipes
For the complete list of The Kids Cook Monday recipes, visit my Cooking with Kids page.
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This peanut butter would taste really good and offset all the spicy chicken shawarmas we had tonight in Bahrain.
The peanut butter sold here in Kuching contains so much hydrogenated vegetable (palm?) oil that I’m seriously alarmed about all the trans fats in it. And we’re talking name brands like Skippy and Peter Pan!
We’re going to make our own peanut butter. We have everything except the peanut oil. Can we just use vegetable oil?
Hi Nate. Yes, you can use regular vegetable oil. The flavor will be a little different, but not a problem.
can you make this with just a normal blender on a low setting or does it have to be a food processor?
Hi Mike. Good question, I haven’t tried it in a blender, though my past experience with blending heavy legumes (garbanzo beans for hummus) showed that the blender isn’t ideal because of the shape. As the legumes blend they pack down into the jar, sometimes jamming the blades. You can certainly try it and let us know how it works for you.