Peanut Butter Isn’t Just For Dessert

We all think of peanut butter as that perfect filling in a candy bar or part of the sandwich we’d eat every day for lunch in grade school, but the popular spread is actually much more versatile than you think. People in culinary arts programs will be excited to realize that peanut butter isn’t just a dessert or breakfast staple, but actually tastes great in dinner entrees as well. Not only is peanut butter delicious, but it also has plenty of health benefits. According to Care2, peanuts and peanut butter have the following benefits:

• Peanuts and peanut butter help suppress hunger, making it a good addition to meals, in moderation, when you’re dieting.
• Niacin found in peanuts may lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
• Peanuts are full of monounsaturated fat – the heart-healthy type of fat, protein, vitamin E, folate, fiber and potassium.

You probably already have a handy peanut butter cookie recipe, so here are some ideas to incorporate peanuts and peanut butter into your dinner tonight.

Chocolate Chicken Mole
This mole recipe may use chocolate and peanut butter, but it definitely doesn’t taste like a dessert! Complete with chili powder, cinnamon and black pepper, it has a little bit of a kick as well. Serve with tortillas, lime and avocado.

Thai Peanut Burgers
Combine your favorite Thai and American dishes in these Thai peanut burgers. Consisting of peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, ginger, cilantro and cayenne pepper, these burger patties are sweet and spicy. Make them with ground beef or turkey and serve them on your favorite burger buns.

South American Peanut Pork
We’ve covered Mexico and Thailand, and chicken and ground beef. Now for pork and South America. This pork only takes about 20 minutes to prepare and tastes best served over a bed of rice and garnished with additional peanuts. If you wanted to experiment, you could probably make it in a slow cooker as well.

Twisty Peanut Pasta Skillet
Pressed for time but not in the mood for takeout? This pasta skillet is perfect for days like that. With only 7 ingredients, all made in one skillet, you’ll have dinner ready quickly with very little mess to clean up. This recipe is something that kids will just love.

Asian Sesame Noodles with Chicken
This dish can be served fresh and hot but tastes just as good cold as leftovers the next day. It’s quick to make and combines all of your favorite Asian flavors.

Cabbage Salad with Peanut Butter Dressing
If you’re tired of your boring old salad of romaine lettuce and vinaigrette dressing, change it up a bit with this cabbage salad. Consisting of sugar snap peas, jicama, green onions and toasted almonds, it’s light and sweet, full of exciting flavors rarely found in a salad.

Coconut Sweet Potatoes
Who doesn’t like a good casserole recipe? With cooking and prepping, this recipe will only take about an hour, and leave you with plenty of food to eat for leftovers. Made up of sweet potatoes, coconut milk, edamame, peanut butter and brown sugar, it’s sweet, but still nutritious.