All you need to make homemade creamy peanut butter for dogs is unsalted roasted peanuts and coconut oil! Super easy and your dog will love it!
Most dogs love peanut butter and mine are not an exception.
Odin, Finn and Lou love anything and everything to do with peanut butter!
They like peanut butter dog treats, peanut butter in their enrichment toys and they like peanut butter straight from the jar.
There are several types of peanut butter that you can use to make dog treats.
I used to use regular Jiff peanut butter (no xylitol) but I got to think that maybe I should try to make peanut butter from scratch because the store-bought stuff has a lot of extra fillers that aren’t harmful to my dogs but they could do without.
First, let me tell you that if I would have known how easy it was to make homemade peanut butter for my dogs I would have done it a long time ago!
This recipe was so easy to make and it came out so creamy!
It was a little bland for my taste because there wasn’t any salt in it but Odin, Finn and Lou didn’t seem to be missing it!
Second, I went the total “made from scratch” way meaning I shelled and roasted the raw peanuts myself but you can obviously skip these steps and buy unsalted roasted peanuts instead of unsalted raw peanuts as I did.
If you’re wondering what the difference is between homemade peanut butter and store-bought peanut butter, it’s the ingredients or lack of ingredients to be exact.
What’s eliminated in homemade dog peanut butter is sugar, salt and hydrogenated vegetable oils.
I added in coconut oil to make it a little creamier and healthier but you can omit this ingredient if you don’t have it.
You can also add raw honey to make it sweeter if you want.
Ingredients For Homemade Creamy Peanut Butter For Dogs
Put down that store-bought peanut butter and let’s make some from scratch!
These are the only 2 ingredients that you need to make your own homemade dog-safe peanut butter:
- 2 cups unsalted, roasted peanuts (this will give you 1 cup of peanut butter)
- 1 Tbsp of unrefined extra virgin coconut oil (optional)
Directions For Raw Peanuts
If you have roasted peanuts skip these next steps.
- Remove unsalted peanuts from the shell and skin (it’s easier to remove the skin after baking)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Place peanuts on a cooking sheet
- Roast for 10 minutes (give the cookie sheet a shake at 5 minutes)
- Allow to cool and remove the remaining skins. It’s ok if you don’t get all the skins removed, they’ll blend in!
Directions For Roasted Peanuts
- Place roasted peanuts into a food processor
- Turn the food processor on and process for 1-2 minutes
- Turn the food processer off and scrape the sides
- Repeat until you have a nice creamy peanut butter
- You can store the peanut butter in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 month. If you chose to not store it in the fridge it should stay good for about a week in an airtight container. If you add coconut oil it may separate, that’s ok, just give it a stir!
During the processing time, you’ll see the peanuts go through different stages from crumbs to a dry ball to smooth and creamy peanut butter.
Be patient!
It might not seem like it but it will get there and it’s magic when it does!
All food processors are different, if your food processor gets too warm during this, turn it off, and let it cool, and continue to process.
Add your coconut oil in the latter stage.
I melted my coconut oil and then added it when it just started to get creamy.
You can use this homemade peanut butter to make baked treats, frozen dog treats or use it as a filling in canine enrichment toys like the West Paw Toppl or Kong!
The possibilities are endless.
How Much Peanut Butter Can Dogs Have?
If you asked your dog how much peanut butter they can have I’m sure most of them would say that there is no limit.
HOWEVER, peanut butter does contain a lot of calories and natural fats and it can pack on the pounds if dogs eat a lot of it.
It can also be a problem for sensitive dogs which could lead to health problems such as pancreatitis.
Always talk with your veterinarian if you’re concerned about how peanut butter is safe for your dog.