Can You Freeze Peanut Butter?

Peanut butter is consumed all over the world. It is either made at home or bought from the store. It is packed with healthy fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins B6, C, D, E, and iron, which makes one wonder if can you freeze peanut butter.

This sweet goodness can be stored properly in containers for up to 6 months. This article is a guide for you on how to freeze peanut butter, the types of peanut butter, and how you can defrost it.

What Is Peanut Butter?

Peanut butter is a brown and creamy spread that is made from dry, ground-roasted peanuts. It is also made with other ingredients like oils, salt, sugar, flavors, spices, and preservatives.

Peanut butter dates back to South America, 3500 years ago, when the Inca Indian people ground dry peanuts to a smooth texture to make a paste. In today’s world, you will most likely find peanut butter in households.

They are used as spread on bread and ice cream, paired with slices of bacon, parfaits, and pancakes, and also baked into cookies, scones, biscuits, truffles, brownies, cakes, and cheesecakes. What’s not to love about this gold paste?

What Are the Types of Peanut Butter?

This sweet goodness comes in four different types and has sub-types. There is definitely a peanut butter out there for you as your preference is not left out.

1. Natural Peanut Butter

As the name implies, this peanut butter is naturally made from dry and grounded roasted peanuts and sweetened with oils and salt. This is most likely the one you see every day in stores, where the oils are on top of the solid peanut butter like it is swimming. You always have to stir to mix the oils and solid peanut butter before using.

2. Smooth Peanut Butter

Smooth peanut butter, as it’s called, is smooth; this butter has no chunks or particles of nuts in it. The peanuts are finely and smoothly processed and sweetened with sugars, molasses, oils, and salt. The oil also stays afloat on the solid peanut butter and is stirred to mix into the peanut butter.

3. Crunchy Peanut Butter

While smooth peanut butter is finely and smoothly processed, this crunchy peanut butter is not. It is processed with chunks or particles of nuts that have been finely crushed and then mixed with sweeteners like sugar, salt, and oil. These finely crushed chunks of nuts are to be munched on and will make a cracking and crunchy sound. The good side of this is that you don’t always have to mix to stir oil, as the oil in crunchy peanut butter does not stay afloat and there is no solid butter below.

4. Peanut Butter Spread

By Food and Drugs Federal Regulation, this peanut butter is made from 90% peanuts or less and is mixed with oils, sugar, and salt to give it a sweet and savory taste.

Peanut butter is a nutritious protein and is packed with many other health benefits. They come in different types and brands to cater to your needs, some healthier and creamier than others. My favorite peanut butters are Nutzy and Skippy, they are smooth and creamy.

How to Freeze Peanut Butter

The peanut butter will freeze very well in the freezer. To answer the question of whether can you freeze peanut butter, below are steps on how to preserve it in the freezer.

1. Pick a Plastic Container

When you open a jar of peanut butter, it is safe to preserve it in its original container. When you make it at home, you should transfer the peanut butter into an air-tight plastic container and not fill it to the rim of the container for proper expansion when freezing. If you choose to store it in a jar or glass container, don’t forget to leave space to prevent freezer burn and cracking or breaking of the container.

2. Check

Properly check and ensure your container is tightly and firmly sealed and is left with enough space for proper expansion when freezing. You do not want to end up with a broken or cracked container.

3. Record and Freeze

Lastly, record the storage and use-by dates of peanut butter using a marker pen and properly lay it down in the freezer for 6 months.

How Long Can You Freeze Peanut Butter?

You can freeze peanut butter for about 6 months in the freezer.

We recommend you do your best in removing moisture and air from air-tight containers before transferring the peanut butter and freezing them.

3 Tips for Freezing Peanut Butter

Now, the question can you freeze peanut butter has been answered, below are tips and tricks to make freezing them easy for you.

TIP 1: Use a plastic wrap or cling film to cover the rim of the container before sealing the lid tightly to protect it from going bad.

TIP 2: You can make use of ice cube trays to freeze peanut butter. Once frozen, pop them out and put them in a freezer bag. Seal and freeze immediately.

TIP 3: Never forget to leave room for expansion while freezing.

TIP 4: Spoon peanut butter on parchment paper to freeze to different shapes.

TIP 5: Consider freezing in tubs and not glass.

How Do You Defrost Peanut Butter?

If you want to defrost peanut butter, simply transfer it from the freezer to the fridge or place it on the counter overnight to allow it to thaw efficiently.

Alternatively, you can place only traditional peanut butter in a safe bowl and microwave for no more than 30 seconds till softened and thawed. Lastly, you can place a bowl of frozen peanut butter in a cold water bath till it has properly defrosted.

How to Tell If Frozen Peanut Butter Is Bad

A badly frozen peanut butter will have the following indicators:

Dry texture
Change in appearance from light brown to a darker shade of brown
Change in smell to a sharp, sour, and soapy odor
The appearance of molds

If you observe any of these indicators, immediately throw out badly frozen peanut butter.

Can You Refreeze Peanut Butter?

You can refreeze peanut butter but we wouldn’t recommend refreezing. You should know the portion of peanut butter you want to use before taking it out of the freezer.

Does Peanut Butter Freeze Well?

The peanut butter will freeze so very well in the condition it is stored properly. So stock up on this sweet goodness and place it in the freezer.

Conclusion

Peanut butter freezes well but takes hours based on the temperature of your freezer and container sizes. We recommend storing peanut butter in air-tight containers to keep away from smell and odors.

I hope you found this article on, “Can you freeze peanut butter?” helpful.

You could also check out how to freeze Meatloaf or Salami.

FAQs

Does peanut butter taste good frozen?

Yes, frozen peanut butter tastes good. It tastes just like peanut butter but cold. So long as it was stored properly in air-tight containers, you can eat it.

What’s the best way to freeze peanut butter?

The best and most effective way to freeze peanut butter is in air-tight containers. The containers should be tightly sealed and kept away from odors in the freezer.

Can you freeze unopened jars of peanut butter?

Of course, you can simply freeze an unopened jar of peanut butter. It freezes well and you got nothing to worry about.

Does frozen peanut butter melt?

Yes, once taken out of the freezer, frozen peanut butter melts and reverts to its original texture.

Why peanut butter should not be refrigerated?

The stabilized contents of peanut butter such as hydrogenated and palm oil make it safe even if you don’t refrigerate it. Peanut butter has a long life shelf on its own.