The title is a mouthful, but I’m sharing is a recipe for exactly what the title says––peanut brittle that’s easy, vegan-friendly, and is made in the microwave. This peanut brittle doesn’t need a fancy name to get the point across. But I’ve got a long, looooong story about peanut brittle, so get ready for it.
How I fell in love with peanut brittle
My love-love relationship with peanut brittle began when I was around 6 or 7 years old. We were new to the neighborhood and my mom and our next-door neighbor had this brilliant (no sarcasm here) idea to exchange recipes. They both wrote out recipes for each other, by hand, on sheets of lined binder paper, notebook, paper, etc. and both tested out each other’s recipes.
I remember coming home from school one day and my mom saying she wanted to try out a recipe for peanut brittle. My mom wasn’t big on having me help out in the kitchen, even at that age, since her philosophy was that she could get it done on her own with less of a mess and she did NOT have the time or energy to clean up more than necessary. And to be totally fair, I had essentially zero interest in being in the kitchen at that age. Why would I when after-school cartoons were on TV anyway?
But I remember watching my mom make peanut brittle, because this time I didn’t sneak away to watch TV.
“Mom, what’s peanut brittle?”
“Mom, what’s corn syrup?”
“Mom?” (no actual question to follow, because that’s how I rolled when I was 7)
I remember watching the brittle bubble up in the microwave.
I remember my mom telling me to “stand back” when she was moving the bubbling Corelle baking dish from the microwave to the counter because it was seriously scalding hot.
I remember watching the brittle solidify from a syrupy, bubbly mound of sugar into a caramel-colored solid mound.
I remember watching my mom break it apart.
I remember looking at the clock, thinking “Wow, that was pretty fast!” As a whole treat was made start to finish in less than 30 minutes. And my frame of reference was less than the duration of 1 TV show.
But most of all, I remember that first taste. I was completely intrigued with the nutty flavor and the texture of the peanut brittle––I looked at the piece of brittle in my hand, observing the small miracle of how I could see teeny tiny bubbles in the sugar yet there was a glossy, smooth coat over them.
And then, no more than a year or two later, my mom realizes just how bad corn syrup is for you. In fact, I think she might even feel a bit guilty to this day that she used corn syrup in a recipe and had her entire family eat it! Which meant, no more peanut brittle for me. At least, no more homemade peanut brittle.
Peanut brittle became a faint memory of my childhood until somewhat recently.
How peanut brittle came back into my life
One day, I was in a local strip mall with my boyfriend picking up lunch or dinner or something like that. I think we were stopping by a sushi restaurant for an early dinner if my memory serves me. I saw a See’s candies pretty close to the restaurant. And this wasn’t the first time that I’d seen it either.
But I remember saying, “Hey, after dinner, can we go to See’s Candies?”
And I remember my boyfriend saying, “Uhh yeah, okay weirdo,” except he didn’t actually say weirdo, only kind of implied it. Which is fair because how many people do you know who are excited to go to a See’s Candies in this day and age?
We walked right into the shop with the signature black and white look. I was marching straight to the glass cases that have truffles and other chocolates (#1 Milk Chocolate Bordeaux fan right here) while my boyfriend went to the gift box area close to where the line started, which was pretty curious. Everyone knows you’re supposed to stand in line and look at the stuff in the case!
He pointed at peanut brittle and said, “My grandpa loved peanut brittle, and my grandma would make it for him.” Right then and there we shared our love for peanut brittle, exchanging stories. He bought a small box to take home.
Needless to say, we both loved the nutty, sugary goodness of the peanut brittle. And it was a treat for us from time to time when we’d be in that shopping center.
As our eating habits shifted to a more plant-based diet, we had to say goodbye to the See’s Candies peanut brittle, since for some reason it contains milk.
I told my boyfriend, “Don’t worry, we can make peanut brittle at home, and I have a recipe for it.”
Except, my mom misplaced the paper recipe from twenty years prior long ago, so I actually did not have a recipe for it and I was 100% on my own.
I tried out a couple different recipes and ingredients to get a vegan-friendly recipe that I could make in the microwave without a candy thermometer and that was overall, pretty simple to make.
So here’s what I came up with, including brands if it helps!
Easy, Vegan-Friendly, Microwave Peanut Brittle
Notes
It’s best to use a large, microwave-safe bowl for this recipe. The bowl will get very hot being in the microwave, so make sure you take care to use oven mitts when handling.
Additionally, you’ll also need a baking sheet and heat-safe spatula. Oh, and having a buddy to help you hold the bowl while you spread the peanuts across the baking sheet is very helpful.
I prefer the Planters brand of lightly salted peanuts for this recipe. Also, for the vegan butter, I’ve used both Earth Balance and Country Crock Plant Butter, and I think I have a slight preference for Earth Balance for this particular recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups lightly salted peanuts
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vegan butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (a generous teaspoon)
- 1 tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Using some vegan butter or a non-stick cooking spray, lightly coat a baking sheet in preparation for the sticky brittle.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, add the peanuts, corn syrup, and granulated sugar. Use a spatula to help mix it all together. It’s okay if it isn’t mixed well as the microwave will take care of that.
- Microwave for 6 minutes on high.
- Carefully remove the bowl from the microwave. The mixture should be hot and bubbling at this point.
- Add in the vegan butter and the vanilla extract. Use the spatula to gently fold in the butter and the vanilla so as to help it spread throughout the mixture evenly.
- Microwave for 2 min 30 seconds on high.
- Carefully remove the bowl from the microwave and add in the baking soda. You’ll need to work quickly from this point. The mixture should bubble up a bit and the translucent sugar you were seeing before should look much more opaque after adding in the baking soda.
- Gently but swiftly mix in the baking soda. Then, spread the mixture out onto the buttered baking sheet. Ask for help if you need it!!
- Use the spatula to get the brittle into an even layer, but work fast and don’t be too hard on yourself if it’s a little wonky. It’ll all taste the same.
- Let the brittle cool for 15-20 minutes. Then, use a knife to crack the brittle into a bunch of pieces. I prefer to crack them into 1 inch pieces or so.
- Store in an airtight container, and try not to eat them all in one sitting.