Peanut butter in coffee?! Well, don’t knock it until you try it! This peanut butter latte is everyone’s nutty dream, with extra creaminess and flavor. It’s so easy to mix peanut butter into a latte and enjoy it with a little sweetener. Plus, you get double the energy from the high-protein peanut butter and caffeine!

Here’s how to make a peanut butter latte at home!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s so easy to make at home with just 4 ingredients.
• Make a satisfying coffee that can give you more energy throughout the day!
• It’s sweet, slightly savory, and creamy all in a coffee beverage.
• You’ll try a new coffee combination that might be your new favorite!

What is a Peanut Butter Latte?

Does anyone remember the butter in coffee trend from the early 2010s, also known as bulletproof coffee? I’m not sure if that’s the inspiration behind adding a different type of butter to coffee, but they share the same principle of adding fats to coffee for a sustained energy boost. Which, in fact, is a historically popular drink, first introduced in Ethiopia in the 6th century, where coffee was roasted with ghee.

A peanut butter latte is an iced (or hot) latte with peanut butter mixed into either the hot espresso or milk. It adds a really nice toasted peanut flavor and a really silky texture from the oil. Now, whether you think it gives you more energy is subjective, but it is really delicious!

Do Peanut Butter and Coffee Work Together?

It’s a common trick in the culinary world to add a little fat to something bitter to make it taste less bitter. As Australian author and chef Jennifer McLagen says, “Something salty — salt will often cut the bitterness — but also something fatty. I should have known this straight away; fat and bitter are perfect partners. If you have something rich and you match it with something bitter, they play off each other and make each other taste even better.”

Peanut butter has a lot of natural oil and has an amazing aroma and flavor. You get intense roasted, nutty, and earthy flavors that help make your coffee taste much smoother. Even though there’s not a huge amount of sugar added, it makes your drink taste slightly sweeter, too! Taste buds are so wild.

What Peanut Butter to Use

I like using all-natural peanut butter that’s made with simple ingredients like just peanuts, sugar, and salt. Many of the well-known brands, like Jif or Skippy, use hydrogenated oils, emulsifiers, and other ingredients to make it shelf stable. Many people also think that they taste insanely sweet and less peanutty after having natural peanut butter.

So, for the best flavor and texture, use a minimally processed peanut butter, which you can buy or make yourself with a food processor or blender! But if you only have a more processed peanut butter, that’s totally fine too!

How to Melt Peanut Butter for a Latte

Peanut butter is notoriously hard to add to liquid because of its consistency and high fat content. But, all is not lost, and it’s easy to melt it for easy combining.

Since peanut butter has a lot of fat, it mixes best with a liquid that also has some fat in it, like milk or half and half. Fat and water don’t mix, so over time, the oils in the butter will eventually separate in your drink. However, you can get it to a point where it works for a little bit.

You can melt the peanut butter in the microwave to get it semi-liquid before adding it to hot espresso or a small amount of hot milk. Then, using a spoon or whisk, mix until completely smooth. You could also put regular peanut butter into hot liquid and mix, but it will take much longer and might leave some grains.

Peanut Butter Latte: What You’ll Need

Equipment:

• Espresso machine

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1-2 shots of espresso
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup ice
• 1-2 tsp sweetener (sugar, maple syrup, agave, etc.)
• 1 dash cinnamon, optional

Peanut Butter Latte Recipe

1. Brew Espresso. Brew 1-2 shots of your favorite coffee in an espresso machine or stovetop espresso maker. You can also use instant espresso powder as a replacement.
2. Melt Peanut Butter. Heat the peanut butter in a microwave for 10 – 15 seconds at a time, mixing in between pulses until liquid. Add it to your hot espresso and stir until smooth. You can also add the peanut butter directly into the hot espresso, just make sure to stir well enough.
3. Assemble Drink. Add ice, sweetener, and milk to a separate glass, then top with your peanut butter espresso. Add a dash of cinnamon as garnish if desired.
4. Mix and Enjoy!

Tips for the Best Peanut Butter Latte

• Make Variations: Peanut butter goes so well with so many things. You can easily experiment by adding chocolate syrup, honey, or banana to a peanut butter latte for something delicious. You could even try a peanut butter and jelly version!
• Use Peanut Powder: Peanut butter will naturally separate in your coffee since oil and water don’t mix. If you want a super smooth drink, I recommend using peanut powder instead. You can turn it into a paste or syrup for easy use.
• Melt Peanut Butter Separately: I added peanut butter to my espresso and was stirring for so long that the espresso cooled faster than the butter could melt. It’s best to melt the peanut butter separately, then add it to your coffee.
• Use Simple Peanut Butter: Peanut butter made with just peanuts and salt (and sugar) tastes the best! It’s way more peanutty and less thick, so it’s easier to mix into hot liquid.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can peanut butter and coffee mix?

Yes, they can mix, but over time, the fat separates from the latte. If you have this iced, it might congeal at the top where it’s coldest, but it’s still perfectly good to drink! Melting the peanut butter in the microwave makes it super easy to combine for drinks.

Can I make this hot?

For sure, you can make this peanut butter latte hot. Instead of ice and cold milk, steam or heat some milk and pour it over your combined peanut butter, espresso, and sweetener.

Other Lattes to Try

The best thing about making drinks at home is that you can experiment and customize the flavor to your taste! If you like this nutty and creamy drink, then you need to try these other latte recipes next:

• Black Sesame Cream Latte
• Salted Tahini Honeycomb Latte
• Caramel Hojicha Latte
• Maple Walnut Latte