Peanut butter is one of those foods I have a love/hate relationship with. I think it’s the tastiest of all nut butters, but it has a few drawbacks.
Peanuts are very acidic, full of anti-nutrients and very high in unsaturated fats (PUFA). Eating a balanced diet of alkaline and acidic foods will help with the acidity of your body, but the anti-nutrients and PUFA content of peanut butter is hard to get past.
Avoiding peanut butter is the best, but I can’t do it. I simply love it too much and no matter how hard I try, macadamia nut butter just doesn’t hit the spot when I want a real PB&J.
So I decided to make the best peanut butter I could. I started with “properly preparing” the raw peanuts by soaking them overnight in warm salt water. Soaking is known to help reduce phytic acid in nuts, seed and grains and is a traditional preparation mentioned often in Nourishing Traditions. After I soaked the peanuts, I roasted them. Roasting also helps reduce phytic acid and also helps nut butters to be more creamier. I then added acerola powder to add ascorbic acid, which is also known to help counteract phytic acid.
As for reducing PUFAs, I decided to mix coconut butter and coconut oil with my homemade peanut butter. The coconut butter and oil reduce the amount of PUFAs per serving and aid in protection for the oxidizing effects of polyunsaturated fats.
I don’t recommend eating this peanut butter daily, but it is a lot healthier for the occasional PB&J and homemade butter cups!
Coconut Peanut Butter
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces organic raw peanuts
- 1/4 cup coconut butter
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon acerola powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- Raw Honey (optional)
Instructions:
- Soak the raw peanuts in warm salted water for 8 -12 hours (about 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt). Strain and rinse the peanuts. Pat the peanuts dry and spread over a cookie sheet. Add a teaspoon of coconut oil to the cookie sheet.
- Bake them at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, or until they are roasted. You can also roast the peanuts on the stove top. Make sure to keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. Let the peanuts cool completely.
- You will need to remove the skins from the roasted peanuts. I’m not sure how everyone else does this (I was too lazy to google it) but I just rubbed the peanuts between two towels for a few minutes. Most of the skin came off easily with this method.
- To make the nut butter you will need a food processor or a Vitamix. Pour roasted nuts unto your food processor and process it until peanuts are are finely ground up. Add coconut butter, coconut oil, salt and acerola powder. Continue to process until it’s a nut butter consistency.
- If you want a sweet peanut butter you can add raw honey (or preferred sweetener). How much is a question on how sweet you’d like it. Add the honey slowly while mixing and taste. There’s nothing wrong with test tasting anyways, right? 🙂
- After the whole process is finished just store in an air tight container.
- Due to the high saturated fat content, this peanut butter will be very hard when refrigerated. I personally feel fine leaving mine out, so I haven’t had a problem with it spreading.
Coconut Peanut Butter
- Yield: 1.5 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 8 ounces organic raw peanuts
- 1/4 cup coconut butter
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon acerola powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- Raw Honey (optional)
Instructions
- Soak the raw peanuts in warm salted water for 8 -12 hours (about 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt). Strain and rinse the peanuts. Pat the peanuts dry and spread over a cookie sheet. Add a teaspoon of coconut oil to the cookie sheet.
- Bake them at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, or until they are roasted. You can also roast the peanuts on the stove top. Make sure to keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. Let the peanuts cool completely.
- You will need to remove the skins from the roasted peanuts. I’m not sure how everyone else does this (I was too lazy to google it) but I just rubbed the peanuts between two towels for a few minutes. Most of the skin came off easily with this method.
- To make the nut butter you will need a food processor or a Vitamix. Pour roasted nuts unto your food processor and process it until peanuts are are finely ground up. Add coconut butter, coconut oil, salt and acerola powder. Continue to process until it’s a nut butter consistency.
- If you want a sweet peanut butter you can add raw honey (or preferred sweetener). How much is a question on how sweet you’d like it. Add the honey slowly while mixing and taste. There’s nothing wrong with test tasting anyways, right? 🙂
- After the whole process is finished just store in an air tight container.
- Due to the high saturated fat content, this peanut butter will be very hard when refrigerated. I personally feel fine leaving mine out, so I haven’t had a problem with it spreading.
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I have a recipe for Vitamin C Powder. Thought I might use it instead of Acerola.
Organic citrus fruit washed and dry first. Remove skin by peeling and dry via dehydrator or in oven on cookie sheet at 150 degrees for 1-1/2 hours. Put in a coffee or other kind of grinder. Store in air tight container for 3 months or in freezer for 6 months.
Okay, YUM! This looks delicious. Can’t wait to give it a try!
I stay away because peanuts invariably carry that carcinogenic mold called aflatoxin. You really can’t get away from it. However, I figure a little bit of whatever makes us happy can’t be all bad! Enjoy.
Aren’t Valencia peanuts free from this mold? Arrowhead Mills makes their PB from Valencia peanuts.
I share your struggle! I’ve always wanted to make my own peanut butter, thanks for the recipe!
I love peanut butter and I love coconut oil and coconut but for some reason I do not like them mixed. I need to find another medium besides coconut oil… Yours looks good. Does the acerola powder serve a purpose beyond adding nutrition? I have not tried adding that. Thanks for all your posts.
Hi Karen – The main reason for including acerola powder is to counterbalance the phytic acid present in peanuts; the nutritional benefits are just an extra benefit 🙂 Good question!
Much coconut love,
– Tiffany
could I suggest jungle peanuts from south america, they have a better omega 6
content and are a wilder and more nutritious choice overall.
Certainly Benjamin, jungle peanuts were actually what I had used in this recipe/post! Thanks for the suggestion!
Much coconut love,
– Tiffany