Easy, delicious Microwave Peanut Brittle recipe ready in 10 minutes! Old fashioned peanut brittle recipe made with simple ingredients in the microwave or on the stove top.
I love old fashioned candy recipes. Try my salted nut roll or almond bars for a delicious treat. Learn how to make fudge with my tips and tricks!
Easy Recipe for Peanut Brittle
Making homemade candy doesn’t need to be hard. The only thing better than homemade candy, is EASY homemade candy.
Peanut brittle is a similar to English toffee with peanuts.
- Made with simple ingredients.
- Stays crunchy for weeks.
- Perfect to give as Christmas gifts for the holiday season.
- You can make it in the microwave in minutes or on the stovetop!
Broken pieces of peanut brittle are delicious on my homemade vanilla ice cream too!
For more homemade Christmas candy, try my Christmas crack or homemade kit kat recipe next!
Ingredient Notes
To make the best peanut brittle, you’ll need just 6 simple ingredients from your pantry and fridge. Be sure to scroll down all the way to the recipe card to see measurements.
- Butter- salted butter or unsalted butter works great in this sweet and salty treat.
- Dry roasted peanuts– I prefer the lightly salted variety. But you can swap them out for raw peanuts and cashews and make cashew brittle too!
- Light Corn Syrup– adds sweetness and ensures that the texture of the candy does not turn grainy.
- Vanilla Extract- choose pure vanilla extract or make a batch of my homemade vanilla extract for best flavor!
- Baking soda– adds air bubbles to the brittle, creating the perfect texture!
How to Make Peanut Brittle
Be sure to scroll to the recipe card below to see step by step tutorial.
To make peanut brittle in the microwave, you’ll combine sugar and corn syrup in a glass bowl. From there, you’ll heat and stir, heat and stir, then add remaining ingredients.
Making this easy homemade peanut brittle recipe involves a couple of tips for success:
- The bowl gets very hot. You’ll see I recommend using hot pads. Learn from my mistake and always use them.
- Finally, clean up. The brittle hardens in the glass bowl very quickly. Fill with HOT water and allow to soak until you can scrub it off.
- Store peanut brittle in a ziploc bag or airtight container at room temperature for up to three weeks. I prefer not to freeze brittle as it changes the texture and makes it chewy not crunchy.
Make Peanut Brittle on the Stove Top
Yes, you can also make this on the stove top if you prefer.
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper like above.
- Using a heavy 2 quart saucepan over medium-high heat, bring to a boil the sugar, corn syrup, and add 1/4 cup water.
- Stir until sugar mixture is dissolved and boiling. Reduce to medium heat.
- Stir in peanuts. Place a candy thermometer in the mixture. Keep cooking until the temperature reaches 300 degrees F.
- You can also check by dropping a small amount into cold water. If it separates into hard and brittle threads, it is ready.
- Remove from heat and immediately stir in butter, vanilla, and baking soda. Pour onto baking sheet pan and spread into a thin layer or to desired thickness. Break into pieces when completely cooled.
Recipe FAQs
Peanut brittle may not reach the crunchy state if you do not cook it long enough or if you do not add the baking soda. Also be sure when storing there is no moisture in the container.
If your brittle gets stuck in the bowl, add water to the bowl and microwave it for 1 to 2 minutes. This will help soften the brittle so you can scrub it off.
Adding baking powder to the peanut brittle is key to releasing tiny air bubbles into the candy. This helps create the perfect texture.
More Sweet Treat Recipes
- If you love Caramel deLites or Samoa Girl Scout Cookies, you will love these easy Samoa Truffles! They will make your taste buds go wild!
- Rich, decadent, copycat Fannie May Fudge. The perfect chocolate fudge recipe for any time of year, no candy thermometer needed!
- If you’ve never tried Saltine Toffee, now is the time! Crispy, buttery toffee with crackers, pecans and chocolate. So easy to make, too!
- Looking for the easiest fudge recipe? Today’s Easy Rocky Road Fudge is your answer.
- Nobody will guess that this sweet toffee starts with graham crackers. Brickle Bars are the next best thing to homemade candy!
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Microwave Peanut Brittle Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup peanuts dry roasted, salted
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Lay a piece of parchment paper over a large cookie sheet. Set aside.
- Combine sugar and corn syrup in a 2qt. glass bowl. Microwave (on power level 7) for 4 minutes. {I use a 1500watt microwave}
- Remove and stir in peanuts quickly using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Return to microwave and heat for 3 ½ minutes (on power level 7).
- Remove and stir in butter and vanilla extract. Return to microwave for an additional 1 ½ minutes (on power level 7).
- Remove and stir in baking soda, mixing until light and foamy. Pour over parchment paper and spread to desired thickness, working quickly.
- Allow peanut brittle to set and harden at room temperature (about 2 hours). Break into desired sized pieces and store in an airtight container for up to one week.
Notes
- The bowl gets very hot. You’ll see I recommend using hot pads. Learn from my mistake and always use them.
- Finally, clean up. The brittle hardens in the glass bowl very quickly. Fill with HOT water and allow to soak until you can scrub it off.
- Store peanut brittle in an airtight container (or ziploc bag) at room temperature for up to three weeks. I prefer not to freeze brittle as it changes the texture and makes it chewy not crunchy.
Just a quick note, when you are talking about the ingredients and what they do for the brittle, you say Baking Powder, (but the picture says soda) when I saw that I thought “I always thought is was baking soda”, then in the recipe you have it as soda, not powder.
Anyway, this is perfect, easy and oh so tasty!
Thanks,
Gah thank you for catching that. Late night editing gone wrong, ha!
Is power level 7 the same as high or 100% power?
Aimee I was just wondering, you say power level 7 on your 1500 watt microwave. Would that be the same for a 1200 watt?
I live in the South, humidity makes a huge difference with any brittles. Ideally this peanut brittle works best on the lowest day of humidity. Don’t try if it is raining or recently rained, it will be “sticky” and chewy not “crisp”. I was raised in the West, never had this problem, even experienced cooks have to learn about weather and how it effects everything.
I have an older microwave and I am not sure of the wattage. It also doesn’t have the option of setting a power level. What would you suggest for timing?
I was making peanut brittle and dropped my eyeglasses in the boiler. How can I get the sticky hardened candy off my glasses?
Just soak the glasses. Sugar is super water soluble so it’ll melt off within minutes of you soaking or rinsing them in water water.
Can’t wait to make this! It looks so easy and delicious! Thanks!!
That is awesome! I’ll have to try this out. 🙂
Oh this is so great! I love peanut brittle 🙂
Great idea! Peanut Brittle is something I’ve never bothered to try making, assuming that it would be too much effort. But now I have no excuse!
This sounds so easy and yummy! Definitely going on my to-do list! Thanks Aimee : )
Liz