recipes

39 Peanut Butter Recipes Even Better Than a Spoonful From the Jar

Tofu in peanut sauce, weeknight peanut butter noodles, coconut peanut mochi balls, and much more.
Peanut butter rice crispy treats as seen from overhead.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie

Sure, you could put that jar of peanut butter toward a PB&J. But peanut butter’s talents branch beyond soft bread and shiny jelly. You could turn peanut butter into weeknight noodles, adorned with cucumber wheels and glossed with chili oil. You could turn peanut butter into braised chicken and greens, waiting to be spooned over fluffy rice. You could turn peanut butter into the most popular cereal treats at the bake sale.

These 39 recipes show the range of this pantry staple. And if you’re wondering what the best brand is, we’ve got you covered. Check out our peanut butter taste test, then U-turn back here to find a great way to use your jar. Just keep in mind that some dishes (like these blondies) call for smooth or sweetened peanut butter, while others (like these granola bars) call for natural unsweetened; they act differently in recipes, so avoid swapping if you can.

  • Baked Tofu Satay over Rice in a black bowl on a white fabric
    Photograph by Elizabeth Coetzee, Prop Styling by Emma Ringness, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht
    1/39

    Crispy Tofu With Peanut Sauce

    Crisp tofu gleefully splashes around in peanut sauce, like a toddler at the water park. To make it vegan, you could replace the honey with maple syrup.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Gerri K. Williams
    2/39

    Peanut Butter and Jelly Oatmeal

    Peanut butter and jelly, but make it breakfast. This nourishing oatmeal takes 10 minutes flat—a gift from the universe on busy workdays.

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  • Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Kat Boytsova
    7/39

    Curried Peanut Dip

    Two cans—coconut milk and curry paste—turn peanut butter into a knockout dip. We love it with rotisserie chicken, jammy eggs, and cucumber spears.

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  • Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Sue Li
    8/39

    Nut Butter Granola Bars

    A chewy granola bar that is not too sweet. Peanut butter acts as a powerful binder for the oats, nuts, and seeds.

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  • Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    9/39

    Power Butter

    Yes, the recipe calls for almond butter. But can you swap in thriftier peanut butter? Of course you can. You have the power.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Sean Dooley, Food Styling by Kendra Vaculin
    10/39

    Chocolate Magic Shell

    The chocolate–peanut butter variation of this magic shell would be great on ice cream. Especially peanut butter ice cream because more is more.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Emilie Fosnocht, prop styling by Gerri Williams
    11/39

    Summer Roll Rice Noodles

    A nutty, savory sauce made from pantry staples anchors this cold rice noodle and steak dish inspired by Vietnamese summer rolls.

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  • Photograph by Joe Lingeman, food styling by Shilpa Uskokovic, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua
    12/39

    PB&J Dome Cake

    Calling all project bakers: Here’s a recipe for building a beautiful dome cake, just like the ones you’ve seen all over the internet. 

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  • Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Judy Kim.
    13/39

    Big Queer Cold Noodles

    Temper summer’s heat with a big bowl of these irresistible colorful, crunchy, cold noodles inspired by Taiwanese liang mian. 

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  • Photograph by Emma Fishman. Food styling by Pearl Jones.
    14/39

    Coconut-Peanut Mochi Balls

    Mochi that’s this soft and chewy (the key is coconut milk!) is practically begging to be paired with a delightfully crunchy peanut filling.

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  • Alex Lau
    23/39

    BA’s Best Peanut Butter Cookies

    What makes this peanut butter cookie recipe The Best? Well, there’s a few reasons actually. We call for natural peanut butter so that you can dial the sugar and salt amounts exactly. Instead of just adding roasted peanuts from the can, we roast them a second time for even more peanutty flavor. And the pan of water in the oven creates a burst of steam that gives the finished cookies the perfect crunchy-chewy texture. Now you know! This is part of BA’s Best, a collection of our essential recipes.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi
    24/39

    Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

    What’s better than cookies? Chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookies, of course. That’s why they are the greatest recipe of all time.

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Emma is the senior cooking editor at Bon Appétit, leading the brand's digital cooking coverage. Before this, she was the food editor at Food52, where she oversaw the site's recipe program and created an award-winning column called Big Little Recipes. In 2021, Emma turned Big Little Recipes into her [debut... Read more
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