By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Mark your calendar – January 24 is National Peanut Butter Day in the United States! In my opinion, every day should be peanut butter day, unless, of course, you’re allergic to peanut butter. Peanut butter shines both for its versatility and for its nutritional quality.

Here’s what you can expect from 2 Tablespoons of peanut butter (note – this is for peanut butter made only with peanuts and salt and without added oil or sweetener):

• 190 calories
• 8 grams of protein
• 16 grams of fat
• 5 grams of saturated fat (13% of the Daily Value)
• 3 grams of fiber (11% of the Daily Value)
• 2 grams of sugars (0 grams of added sugar)
• 18 milligrams of calcium (2% of the Daily Value)
• 1 milligram of iron (6% of the Daily Value)
• 51 milligrams of magnesium (12% of the Daily Value)
• 9 milligrams of zinc (8% of the Daily Value)
• 4 milligrams of niacin (28% of the Daily Value)
• 6 milligrams of choline (4% of the Daily Value)

In 2018, the most recent year for which amounts are available, according to USDA’s Food Availability Data System, 4.12 pounds of peanut butter were available each year per person in the United States. That’s a lot of peanut butter!

What can you do with peanut butter? Of course, there are PB & J sandwiches but don’t stop there.

• Stir a couple of spoonfuls into oatmeal or other hot cereal
• Blend with plant milk and fresh or frozen fruit to make a smoothie
• Use to add flavor to a tofu/vegetable stir-fry
• Spread on bananas or apples or carrots or any other fruit
• Make my dad’s favorite peanut butter and tomato sandwich
• Create a signature peanut sauce, perhaps with lime juice or rice vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and chili flakes and use to top pasta or rice paper rolls
• Combine with a vinaigrette dressing, thinning with water or balsamic vinegar as needed
• Use to replace tahini in hummus
• Replace some of the oil or plant butter in a banana muffin or banana bread recipe with peanut butter
• Make peanut butter cookies (chocolate chips optional)

To read more about peanut butter see:

Vegetarian Journal’s Guide to Nuts and Nut Butters

Vegan Peanut Butter Noodles from the National Peanut Butter Board