I have been trying to make my own nut butters lately, and let me tell you, store bought nut butters do not even compare anymore. I have already made Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter with Chia and Flax Seeds and now I tried my hand at plain peanut butter and sunflower nut butter. If you haven’t tried making homemade nut butters, stop what you are doing right now, and go make some!
You will need a pretty sturdy food processor to make any nut butter. My peanut butter ended up in an almost mousse like consistency, which was different than my almond and sunflower butters. I don’t add any additional oils to my nut butters since I really don’t think this is necessary. Without the oil, my nut butters have not separated like many store-bought varieties.
For the peanut butter, I used pre roasted and salted (50% less salt) peanuts, but for I had to toast and salt the sunflower seeds. I did this in a pan because I was too lazy to turn on the oven.
Homemade Peanut Butter
Makes 1 jar.
2 1/2 cups roasted and salted peanuts
Place nuts in your food processor and process for about 8-10 minutes, scraping down the sides periodically, until smooth. My nuts first turn into a powder, then ball up and I need to keep separating the ball, and then they finally turn into a smooth and creamy consistency- this is when I know they are done.
Homemade Sunflower Seed Butter
Makes 1 jar.
2 1/2 cups sunflower seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
Since my sunflower seeds were not roasted, I toasted them in a skillet on medium heat until they were golden brown. Place sunflower seeds in food processor and process for 8-10 minutes until smooth, periodically scraping down the sides. Add salt and process until well combined.
[…] When you’re trying to live on a budget, or at least not spend your entire paycheck on food, you have to start making some of your favorite prepared foods at home. I’m constantly thinking of ways I can make homemade items for a fraction of the price of the store-bought versions (hello nut butters and granola). […]