This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you purchase through those links (at no extra cost to you).
It only takes 6 ingredients to make this easy Microwave Peanut Brittle. It’s sweet, salty, crunchy, and a great holiday treat or homemade gift. The secret is in the baking soda: it foams up the corn syrup and butter making the candy light, airy, and brittle.
Meggan’s notes
Candy-making can be intimidating, but I’m here to show you fun and easy it can be. As a classically-trained chef with plenty of candy-making experience under my belt, I’ll show you this easy peanut brittle recipe made right in your microwave.
A mixture of corn syrup and granulated sugar gives the perfect amount of sweetness to balance the salty peanuts, while butter adds richness and warmth. The trick to that light, airy, crispy texture? Baking soda. It foams up and infuses the brittle with pockets of air so every bite is crunchy and very brittle.
A touch of vanilla adds extra sweetness, and the whole batch comes together in about 15 minutes (plus cooling time) in your microwave. It’s perfect for homemade gifts, your holiday treats plate, or anytime you’re craving something salty, sweet, and crunchy.
Table of Contents
Easy Peanut Brittle Ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Peanuts: For best results, start with raw peanuts. Otherwise, they might overcook and scorch in the microwave.
- Baking soda: Adding baking soda to the hot sugar syrup makes lots of tiny air bubbles that give the candy the porous, honeycomb texture it’s famous for.
How to Make Easy Peanut Brittle
- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. In a deep microwave-safe bowl, combine sugar and corn syrup.
- Mix thoroughly and microwave on HIGH for 4 minutes.
- Stir in peanuts and microwave on HIGH until the mixture is light brown, about 3 to 5 minutes longer.
- Stir in butter and vanilla until combined. Microwave on HIGH until peanuts are lightly browned, about 1 to 2 minutes longer.
- Stir in baking soda until mixture is light and foamy.
- Pour onto prepared pan and cool 30 minutes.
- Break into pieces to serve and store in an airtight container.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 1 pound of peanut brittle.
- Storage: Store covered at room temperature for up to 2 months.
- Grease the pan: Butter a baking sheet or line it with parchment so the brittle doesn’t stick.
- Let it flow: Don’t try to spread it with a spatula; just let it flow like lava.
- Clean-up: Spray the bowl and the spoon or spatula with a non-stick cooking spray before you use them. It will make the hot brittle less sticky and make clean-up a little easier.
- Microwaves: Each appliance is a little different, and your results may vary.
- Chocolate peanut brittle: Sprinkle a layer of semi-sweet chips as soon as you pour the hot brittle onto the pan. Then wait a minute for the chips to melt and gently spread the chocolate over the surface. Amazing!
- Without corn syrup: Unfortunately, there isn’t a good method for microwaving peanut brittle without corn syrup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Adding baking soda when making peanut brittle makes the hot sugar syrup foam, creating lots of tiny air bubbles that give the candy the porous, crispy honeycomb texture it’s known for.
I suggest raw peanuts for peanut brittle since you’re cooking them in the microwave. It’s the same idea as using toasted nuts in homemade granola – you’d be double-toasting the nuts, so you use raw nuts in granola.
If your peanut brittle is light in color and chewy, it was not cooked long enough. If it is too dark and brittle, it was microwaved too long.
More holiday treats
Candy Recipes
Christmas Crack
Candy Recipes
Peanut Butter Balls Recipe
Candy Recipes
Peppermint Bark
Candy Recipes
OREO Cookie Balls
Join Us
Peanut Brittle (Microwave)
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup raw peanuts (see note 1)
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (see note 2)
Instructions
- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. In a deep microwave-safe bowl, combine sugar and corn syrup. Mix thoroughly and microwave on HIGH for 4 minutes.
- Stir in peanuts and microwave on HIGH until the mixture is light brown, about 3 to 5 minutes longer.
- Stir in butter and vanilla until combined. Microwave on HIGH until peanuts are lightly browned, about 1 to 2 minutes longer.
- Stir in baking soda until mixture is light and foamy. Pour onto prepared pan and cool 30 minutes. Break into pieces to serve and store in an airtight container.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Peanuts: For best results, start with raw peanuts. Otherwise, they might overcook and scorch in the microwave.
- Baking soda: Adding baking soda to the hot sugar syrup makes lots of tiny air bubbles that give the candy the porous, honeycomb texture it’s famous for.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 1 pound of peanut brittle.
- Storage: Store covered at room temperature for up to 2 months.
I have tried this twice but the peanut brittle is chewy any ideas of what I might be doing wrong would be appreciated
I make peanut brittle with the same recipe but once i used spanish peanuts. It was absolutely delicious. A little messy removing the skins but worth it.
Thanks Meggan, for your reply. I hunted thru stores frustrated not finding Raw peanuts until a baker happened to be in my local grocer. He said always go to the baking ingredient aisle and there are bags just for recipes there. Love peanut Brittle but not with any burnt taste.
I learned thru trial and error, you must use RAW PEANUTS, or the time specified will burn your recipes. No need for all the adjusting, just hunt for Raw . there is a big difference in the taste .
Thank you Gloria! This is super helpful! I appreciate you.
Hi! I’m a newlywed so we have one of those 30 dollar microwaves lol so I don’t think I have the option to adjust the power it cooks it in. I was just happy it had a potato button!
Any suggestions for cooking it in a standard microwave? Or just eyeball it and maybe use the raw peanuts I saw suggested earlier.
Thank you!!
Ps: YOUR RECEIPIES ARE AMAZING. We made those cheese and pepperoni pizza bites for our one year anniversary and we couldn’t eat enough!!! And then that blueberry and lemon yogurt cake was to die for. You’ve helped me feel like a successful wife in the kitchen! 😀
Fiorella, I’m so happy to hear you are having fun with cooking! 🙂 I guess I would *try* to microwave it in 2 or 3 minute increments and just keep an eye on it! Just do that until it’s light brown in color (and definitely start with raw peanuts, just in case!). I would also say, give yourself a break if it doesn’t work out the first time! For me, cooking is so much about practice, and the first time I make something, I accept that it might just fail. 🙂 But it sounds like you’ve had a lot of success, so you obviously have some natural talent! Congrats on one year of wedded bliss, here’s to many more! XOXO
This is brilliant! I love peanut brittle and make it every season, but it’s a bit of a pain because of the temperature regulations and down-right messiness of the whole thing. Your method is genius! I’ll definitely be using your recipe next time I make brittle.
Thanks for the e-cookbook Meggan.
Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.
Peanut Brittle is my dad’s favorite. Thanks, because he is gonna be real happy!
I have a very similar recipe, main difference if the peanuts are raw peanuts. Can you advise if yours are regular or raw peanuts. Thank You.
Hi Sharon, I just used regular salted cocktails peanuts, I assume they were cooked in some manner. I’m sure they must have been. I wonder if this is why I always had so much trouble with burnt peanuts?! Perhaps if I had used RAW peanuts all along I wouldn’t need to cook on 50% power. Hmmmm.
I’m glad you hubs set you straight, because peanut brittle is the jam! LOVE that you made this in the microwave! Gimme convenience and delicious all day! This is genius! Thanks for sharing the YUM! Cheers!
Thank you Cheyanne, sometimes a girl just needs her husband to square things away. 😉 Calling things “the jam” is totally my jam, BTW. 😉