17 Hacks That Are Only For True Peanut Butter Lovers

It pairs with the sweet as well as the savory. It's kind of a condiment but it can also anchor a snack or meal. It can be crunchy or creamy. It makes raw vegetables and fruit taste better. But peanut butter's most magical trait of all? It's really freaking good for you. It's full of healthy fats (mostly unsaturated, some saturated), contains protein and potassium, and even provides some fiber.

But there are a few caveats to peanut butter's transcendent healthiness:

1. Many big-brand peanut butters contain added sugar and hydrogenated oils (which aren't good for you).

2. Peanut butter is often paired with sugary treats like ice cream and chocolate. Don't get me wrong: That is AMAZING. But sugary stuff isn't something you want to base your diet off of (probably). BTW, if you are devoted to peanut butter with added sugar, aim for 3 grams of sugar or less per two tablespoons.

To prove that peanut butter can be amazing without added sugar and oils (and beyond being inside a peanut butter cup), BuzzFeed Health put together a list of tips and recipes for creating delicious peanut butter memories. And btw, the recipes here aren't sugar- and salt-free (though they can be!). They're just more ~temperate~ added-sweetness-wise.

Just heat up 1/2 cup of peanut butter, drizzle it on your popcorn with some sea salt and go to town. Check out more detailed step-by-step instructions here.

You can either invest time and labor into getting every last bit of peanut butter out of the jar (which, btw, respect) or you can live your best life by using it as as a vessel for overnight oats. Basically you just take rolled oats, milk, and any add-ins (fruit, chia seeds, nuts, coconut, you name it), throw it in the jar, and refrigerate overnight.

Here's a recipe for peanut butter overnight oats to get you started.

Peanut butter, milk, cocoa powder, and a bit of sugar. NO-BRAINER. Get the recipe here.

Yes, of course you can buy peanut butter that has honey or cinnamon or maple syrup added. But those might also have sugars and oils added that you don't want to deal with. Or maybe they're too sweet or not salty enough. Why not mix them yourself and DIY cinnamon or honey or maple peanut butter?

Mix peanut butter in a bowl with your ingredients of choice, stir well, seal in a mason jar, and take over the world. Here are some winning flavor combos and how to make them.

Why wait for someone to invent graham cracker peanut butter when you can crush up graham crackers and mix them into your peanut butter? Or pretzels. Or banana chips. Shit, you can put Cinnamon Toast Crunch in there. Honestly, get creative.

Empty a jar of peanut butter into a bowl, add your crushed-up crunchy stuff, along with any wet ingredients, and stir. Throw in it a mason jar and shout "YOLO" from the rooftops.

Look, you can literally just mix peanut butter straight from the jar into your stir-fry as it's almost done cooking.

But you can also make a delicious carrot noodle stir-fry with homemade peanut sauce (like the one above). Get the recipe here.

All you need is frozen bananas, peanut butter, a blender, and a dream.

Get the recipe here.

It's just chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, peanut butter, and olive oil in a blender. You're basically just swapping out tahini for peanut butter. Get the recipe here.

All you do is make the ramen as you normally would and add a tablespoon or two (OR MORE) to the mug/pot and stir. Maybe add a couple drops of Sriracha. Enjoy your peanut-y noodles.

The thing about fruit and Greek yogurt is that they're both better with peanut butter. Get the recipe for the dip here.

If you buy the kind of peanut butter that isn't made with hydrogenated oils to prevent separation, the peanut oil will naturally separate from the nut butter. But if you store your jar upside down, the oil will seep back into the peanut butter. You will still have to stir it to mix the oil back in fully, but the job is so much easier when the oil has mixed in somewhat.

Your peanut butter will get dry AF.

You can breathe new life into your PB by adding the oil back in. You can use peanut oil, but if you like coconut flavor, coconut oil is a no-brainer.

Don't let separated peanut butter get you down. For $12 you can get a mess-free mixer on Amazon. Just screw on the included lid and crank that mixing rod till your peanut butter is blended smooth.

Or you can really lean into mixing your peanut butter with this jar lid from Amazon that you can use with an electric hand mixer ($6).

All you do is heat up whatever milk you like with peanut butter, vanilla extract, and honey, whisk it, and add it to black coffee. Voilà: homemade peanut butter cafe au lait. Get the recipe here.

Heat up peanut butter, honey, cream, cinnamon, and cocoa powder (adjusting amounts to desired sweetness), and then dip fruit, vegetables, and pretzels into hot peanut butter love. Get the recipe here.

If you've ever ground up raw peanuts in a grocery store you might've tasted it and been reminded of peanut-flavored cardboard. But it is possible to MYO delicious PB. Just make sure you use roasted peanuts which have a way richer flavor. Blend them up with some peanut oil, sea salt, and whatever add-ins you want. Get step-by-step instructions here.