Homemade Maple Peanut Butter

Savory peanuts and floral maple syrup are a perfect pairing in this homemade peanut butter! Ready in just a few minutes, this Maple PB is both velvety and versatile. 

A sliced honeycrisp apple dipped in peanut butter is one of my all-time favorite snacks. The only thing that makes the dynamic duo even better? A drizzle of maple syrup! The only problem–that drizzle of maple syrup makes things just a wee bit messier to eat.

So, I thought, what if the maple syrup is in the peanut butter to start with? Bingo! Problem solved and delicious peanut butter recipe invented. This whole recipe uses just 3–count em, three!–ingredients, which might be things you have laying around the pantry anyhow.

My maple peanut butter has gone on to be the basis and/or inspiration for other Vegan in the Freezer recipes like Maple Peanut Butter Ice Cream and Maple Peanut Butter Cookies. While I dearly love each and every recipe iteration of this flavor combo, a slice of apple and a spoonful of this Maple PB is truly tough to beat.  

Maple Peanut Butter Ingredients

• Dry roasted peanuts – Using roasted peanuts as opposed to raw peanuts in this recipe is an important distinction. Not only does the roasting bring out the flavor, but roasted peanuts also blend up more smoothly than raw. I also strongly recommend using unsalted peanuts here as this allows you to be in full control of the salt level of your peanut butter. 
• Maple syrup – Opt for real maple syrup here as opposed to maple flavored syrup (also called “pancake syrup” by many brands). In addition to tasting more maple-y, the real deal made from pure maple sugar is always vegan, whereas flavored syrups may contain refined sugars that sometimes use animal products for processing. If you’re really in a pinch for an alternative, you could try agave nectar, coconut sugar, or date syrup. 
• Salt – Is key to bringing out the nutty, natural flavor of the peanuts and also provides a nice balance to the sweet maple syrup. 

How to Make Maple Peanut Butter

1. Setup. Place your roasted peanuts in the bowl of your food processor or high powered blender. 
2. Blend. Process the peanuts for 1-2 minutes or until they have a sandy, grainy texture. Stop the machine and use a rubber spatula or spoon to carefully scrape down the sides of the bowl, getting any larger pieces of peanut down towards the blades. 
3. Season. Continue blending for another minute, then stop the machine and add your maple syrup and salt. Again, if you used salted peanuts, skip the additional salt here. 
4. Finish. Continue blending until your maple peanut butter has a smooth and creamy texture. For me this took about 2-4 more minutes. If you want your PB to remain a bit chunky, blend it a little less–you have full control of the texture here!
5. Serve! Enjoy your homemade peanut butter by spreading it on sandwiches, dolloping on vegan yogurt, using it as a dip for fruit slices or celery sticks, or working into recipes.

Watch Us Make Maple Peanut Butter

Chef Tips 

Make sure to stir your PB well before each use, as this will help to to get the oils redistributed. Natural peanut butter like this tends to separate as it sits. The peanut solids fall to the bottom of the jar and the peanut oil rises to the top. To help keep this phenomenon at bay, you can store your maple peanut butter jar upside down–just make sure the lid fastens securely! 

To make your peanut butter even smoother, you could add a few drops of peanut oil or other neutral oil like grapeseed or sunflower. Mine usually comes out perfectly textured for my tastes, but it will all depend on the moisture content of your peanuts, the type of blender you are using, and your own preferences. 

How to Store 

Refrigerating. Unlike regular peanut butter, homemade and natural peanut butter is best kept in the refrigerator. Make sure it is packed in an airtight container (I always use a glass jar with a tight fitting lid) and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 months. 

I do not recommend freezing this maple peanut butter (unless with the intention of working into an ice cream recipe), as it will likely experience some unpleasant texture changes after being frozen and defrosted.