How to Make Pecan Butter

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: May 6, 2021

Peanut butter is so last year! Why not explore the wide variety of other nut butters out there? Pecans are rich in nutrients, minerals, and vitamins that are essential for good health.^{[1]
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Research source} This tasty toasted pecan butter is great on toast or banana bread and lasts for weeks in the fridge. Here's how to make it and incorporate it into a variety of delicious meals.

Ingredients

2 cups of raw, unsalted pecans
Sea salt, to taste
A pinch of cinnamon
Sugar or honey, to taste
Vanilla extract, optional

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:
Gathering Ingredients and Tools

1
Buy pecans. It's best to purchase raw pecans that do not have any salt added to them. This will allow you to roast them yourself, which will taste better, and to control the amount of salt added to your pecan butter.
2
Gather your tools. You will need a small baking sheet or roasting pan, a food processor, a spatula, and a jar with a lid to store the pecan butter in.

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3
Gather other ingredients. While you could make your pecan butter without any ingredients other than pecans, it improves the flavor to add just a few. To bring out the flavor of the pecans you will need a bit of salt and cinnamon. You can also add some sugar if you choose.

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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:
Making Pecan Butter

1
Toast the pecans in the oven or in a pan on the stove. Toasting brings out the flavors and oils of the pecans is a very nice way. The pecan butter you make with toasted pecans will be much more flavorful than pecan butter made with raw pecans.
- If toasting in the oven, preheat your oven to 300 °F (149 °C). Put the pecans on a small baking sheet or in a small roasting pan and bake for 5 to 10 minutes. Be sure to keep a close eye on the pecans. They can go from toasted to burnt in a matter of seconds, so if you begin to smell them, take them out of the oven.
- If toasting in a pan on the stove, simply toast in a dry pan over medium heat until slightly toasted. Be sure to move the pecans around in the pan often.
- Let the pecans cool before moving on to the next step.
2
Pour the pecans in a food processor and blend. Pause every few seconds to scrape down the sides with a spatula. This will assure that your pecan butter is a uniform consistency.
- It will be crumbly at first but will eventually turn into a creamy paste.
- If you like a chunky nut butter, simply stop blending before the butter gets totally creamy.
3
Add a pinch of salt and a pinch of cinnamon to taste. You can also add a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract if you like.^{[2]
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Research source} Blend the butter again briefly to work the seasonings into it.
- Taste the butter after you have blended the seasonings in. Make any adjustments to the nut butter you feel it needs, whether it's more cinnamon or a touch more salt. If you added too much salt or cinnamon, you can simply add more roasted pecans to the food processor and blend again.
4
Add a touch of sugar, if desired. Pecan butter does not need sugar to be delicious but it is a matter of taste.
- If you are used to the major brands of peanut butter, which contain a large amount of sugar, then adding a touch of sugar to your pecan butter may make it more enjoyable to you.
- If you would like your pecan butter to be a little sweet but would like to avoid a lot of sugar, try adding a tablespoon of honey. It will sweeten up the butter but is better for your health.
- If you add sweetener, don't forget to briefly blend again to incorporate it into the pecan butter.
5
Scoop the pecan butter into a jar, cover it, and store it in the refrigerator. Your pecan butter should last like this for weeks, if you can resist eating it all before then.

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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:
Using Pecan Butter

1
Make a pecan butter and jelly sandwich. Spice up your usual PB&J by substituting pecan butter for the peanut butter. The taste will be a little bit different but delightfully tasty.
2
Add pecan butter to a smoothie. Make your usual smoothie but add a dollop of pecan butter to the blender. It will give your smoothie a kick of flavor and a kick of protein to boot.
3
Make pecan butter cookies. Use your traditional peanut butter cookie recipe, but substitute pecan butter for the peanut butter. You will get a cookie with a stronger, and more delicious, nut flavor.
- Because the pecan butter you made has little to no sugar in it, you may need to up the sugar in the recipe a bit to get the sweetness you expect from this cookie.
4
Eat pecan butter with a spoon. If you need a quick and delicious snack just pick up a spoon and grab a spoonful of pecan butter. It's rich, creamy, and delicious, as well as being packed with protein and other nutrients that will help you get through your day.^{[3]
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