Quick Guide: Should You Put Peanut Butter In A Blender when Making a Smoothie or Milkshake?

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Can you put peanut butter in a blender for a smoothie or milkshake? And if yes, what role will the paste play in my drink?

Well, peanut butter is no doubt an American staple. Most of the community usually use it as a spread on toast or buns. But it also works great as a dip for celery and even chips on a movie night or the binding glue when making bakeries like cakes/ cookies.

So, when you ask whether you can or should add peanut butter into your smoothies and shakes, ask yourself: what role does it play in the other recipes?

In any case, this post covers various subtopics on peanut butter, including whether you should or not add it to your refreshment drinks. But before we come to all that…

Here are the Top 6 Fun Facts about Peanut Butter

Almost everything we use has a fun fact about it. I’m not referring to the so-called memes, but rather a true story that some of us might use as a guide to doing something.

For instance, in our case here:

  1. You Need Like 750 Peanuts for an 18-oz can of Peanut Butter!

According to the National Peanut Board, it takes roughly 540 peanuts to produce a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter. And using this rule, you can estimate your desired 18-oz can of homemade peanut butter to need 750 peanuts.

  • Brands Can Add 10% “Other” Ingredients in their peanut Butter

The FDA legally requires manufacturers to have at least 90% peanuts in their brands of peanut butter. So, chances are that can of “Natural peanut butter” from the supermarket has up to 10% of “safe” stabilizing agents.

The stabilizing agent in most cases is hydrogenated oils, which you should know have higher LDL cholesterol (the bad kind).

  • Americans spend $800 Million per Year on Peanut Butter

In a year, Americans use up to $800 million or more to buy peanut butter alone. And that’s equally possible considering a three-quarter of total households are said to have at least one jar of the spread in a year.

  • Most Men Prefer Nutty Peanut Butter over Creamy One

Yeah, there’s no denying that- my brother’s living proof. So, most of the time our house would have two jars of peanut butter: one creamy and another with a nutty, chunky texture.

Can you put peanut butter in a blender
  • We Have two National Peanut Months in a Year

How often do you make your own peanut butter? Well, even if not all the time, you should at least partake in the March and November National Peanut Month. And what will be better than celebrating the sixty special days with your own 100% peanut butter recipe!

  • You Can Turn your Peanut Butter into Diamonds!

Don’t ask, but that’s exactly what a team of geologists in Germany, led by one Dan Frost has said. But we both know you don’t have the kind of tools to make that happen. So, just enjoy the glitter of the soft peanut butter by making sure it’s 100% natural peanuts.

A Homemade Peanut Butter’s So Easy to Make!

Indeed, it takes less than thirty to make the creamy or nutty peanut butter from the scratch with raw nuts. And if you already have the roasted peanuts, thirteen minutes are more than enough to prep, process, and package your paste.

Then again, you need to have a food processor or the right blender for making nut butter isn’t an easy task. The process, yes, calls for either raw or roasted peanuts- I’ll recommend the roasted option for a sweeter outcome. But they all must be dried.

Can you put peanut butter in a blender

So, a high-power Blendtec or Vitamix is the best to work on the tough peanut shells from their pummel-blending style.

You Could also use a regular machine like Nutribullet 900 or 1200  and Ninja BL770 or BN801 for the task. But these models usually operate by chopping the ingredients at high speed. Thus, you’ll notice degraded results over time as the blades dull on processing the nuts.

Long story short, you can make your own fresh peanut butter inexpensively if you have the right blender beside you. And to do that:

You’ll Need to Have:

  • Roasted peanuts, unsalted (salted if desired)
  • The tamper (if using Vitamix or Nutribullet blender)
  • The Spectacula Spatula (if using Blendtec blender)

How to make the Homemade Peanut Butter

  1. Put your peanuts into the blender jar and secure the lid
  2. Power on the machine at the lowest speed and quickly increase to the highest level, #10. You’ll witness the blender blades crush the nuts to coarser through fine powder. Then, the puree will start forming from the bottom going upward as the ingredients drop to the blades. But the blender will now need a hand to reach the top ingredients to the blades.
  3. Use the tamper to help push the top ingredients into the blades (spatula for Blendtec)
  4. After about a minute, you’ll notice a chugging sound as the peanut puree starts to flow into the vortex.
  5. Continue using the tamper for the content on the sides until you only have creamy peanut butter flowing through the blades. You’ll now hear the motor starts to labor (change to a low sound) as the blend thickens.
  6. Now stop the machine and transfer your creamy butter to an airtight container for storage.

Total blending Time: Approximately 1:50 minutes (110 seconds) on Vitamix and 3:30 minutes (210 seconds) on Blendtec

Quick Notes:

If you want some crunchy peanut butter (for the men in the house), add some whole peanuts to the creamy butter you’ve just made. Then blend for a few seconds into a coarser texture.

Secondly, you can use a single-serve blender like Nutribullet Pro or Nutri Ninja Auto iQ to make your peanut butter. But you might need to add a bit of liquid, preferably oil to enhance the process.

Also, with the nature of the blending cups in a personal blender, you’ll need to blend your content in like short pulses here. Then, use a spoon to scrape the sticky dough from the walls.

Another thing, peanut butter tends to dry out when it separates with the little oil it has. Hence, the reason you should store it in an airtight container.

Can You Put Peanut Butter In A Blender For Smoothies?

Quick answer: Yes, indeed, you can put peanut butter in a blender when making a smoothie or even a milkshake. The various benefits you can get from having the food paste in your beverage include:

  • Nutritional benefits:

Nuts are some of the best sources of natural nutrition boosters. As little as two tablespoons (32 grams) of the peanut butter will add your smoothie with a nice amount of healthy fats, protein, dietary fiber, Vitamin B6, Magnesium, potassium, et cetera.

  • Thicken the drink:

Apart from gluing the toast together, the high viscosity in peanut butter’s also a nice thickening agent. Thus, giving your smoothie or shake that perfect creamier consistency for sipping, instead of the watery juice kind.

  • Improve the flavor:

 Peanut butter can also add to your smoothies with that extra touch of its natural peanut flavor. You could even add it as a PB&J (peanut butter & jelly) combo to make it more indulging and nourishing at the same time.

  • Going Non-Dairy Dieting

At this point, a touch of peanut butter can add your recipes with extra creaminess, nutrients, and a strong nutty vibe. So, it’s a perfect alternative to dairy products when making a vegan smoothie or milkshake.

Can You Put Peanut Butter in a Blender Bottle for Drink Shake?

Again, YES, you can include peanut butter in the mix when you use a blender bottle to make your drink shakes. Its whisk mixer ball, which acts as the blades, can break down the viscosity of the paste and the protein powders.

Can you put peanut butter in a blender

So, you’ll not only get to enjoy a super-smooth drink shake with no chunks. But also nourish your body with all the other peanut butter health benefits, such as cholesterol-free fat, B-complex Vitamins, manganese, magnesium, and iron.

Regardless, do remember the whisk wire of the blender bottle isn’t capable to pulverize nuts. And for that, you might feel your drink shake still has some gritty bits if you use the crunchy peanut butter.

Can You Put Peanut Butter in a Nutribullet Blender?

As I’ve just said, you can make peanut butter in a personal blender. So, it poses no issue to put the paste in your Nutribullet 600 or 900 when making smoothies and shakes.

But unlike a blender bottle, the Nutribullet has a motorized blending blade system. Thus, either creamy or crunchy nut butter will give you a smooth drink- only not as silky as Vitamix machines.

Make your Favorite Butter Combos

Initially, the purpose of this article was to discuss whether you can put butter in a blender when making smoothies or shakes. And the best answer will be a YES if you’d want your drink to have a thicker consistency, natural nutty flavor, and the extra health benefits.

On the health boost, though, your self-made peanut butter will be more nourishing than the commercial products. in the 10% “Other ingredients” slot that the FDA leaves open during manufacturing, you can expect ingredients like hydrogenated fats.

If well-versed with the good and bad fat, you should know the hydrogenation process tends to raise (bad) cholesterol levels. And a  heavy consumption of that could risk you developing health issues like heart disease, stroke, or diabetes.

So, use your blender to make your own 100% natural peanut butter. And if desired, use other natural ingredients to create different flavor combos that even the little ones will enjoy using.