Easy Microwave Peanut Brittle

This Easy Microwave Peanut Brittle recipes is a completely fail proof recipe that everyone loves. The sweet crunchy brittle and salty peanuts are the perfect match.

This treat has been a holiday staple for my family for as long as I can remember. My mom made it for us every single year. She included it in holiday baskets for friends, we took it to holiday parties, and we devoured it by the plateful.

Now, I am making it for my kids, friends, and neighbors.

Why You’ll Love It

• If you’re looking for a great new addition to your Christmas cookies, or something easy to make that you can share in gift baskets, or even to take to a new neighbor as a welcome, I can tell you you’re going to love this peanut brittle.
• This recipe is a breeze—it’ll only take you around 10 minutes from start to finish, and the best part is, it delivers consistent results every time. It’s a straightforward and efficient option for when you’re short on time but still want a reliable outcome.
• There’s no need to deal with finicky candy thermometers because it’s designed for the microwave. It’s a hassle-free way to achieve the perfect result without the fuss.

Raquel says: So easy and delicious!

Audrey says: Super easy and so good!!

Ingredients in Peanut Brittle

• Sugar – White granulated sugar
• Corn syrup – Light corn syrup, we use Karo brand that you can get almost anywhere. If you can’t find Karo, it’s fine to use a different brand, just be sure not to use dark corn syrup.
• Peanuts – I like to use cocktail peanuts. You can also use salted peanuts for a more savory slant.
• Butter – Salted or unsalted butter work fine. I always use salted.
• Vanilla extract
• Baking soda

It’s important to have all of the ingredients at the ready for this recipe, because each step needs to be done quickly. It also needs to be bubbling hot when it’s poured onto the baking sheet.

Equipment Needed

• Baking sheet
• Casserole dish – Microwave safe casserole dish or bowl. The bowl needs to be many times larger than the amount of ingredients because of the bubbling. It will triple in volume as it bubbles up.
• Wooden spoon
• Tinfoil or silicon mat

Tips for Making Perfect Peanut Brittle

• Don’t over stir! The bubbles are very important to the success of this recipe. Once you’ve added the baking soda and it bubbles up, don’t stir it anymore.
• Once you start to dump the mixture out onto the baking sheet do it quickly. The mixture will start to harden making it hard to scrape it all out of the bowl.
• Don’t use a spatula or spoon to spread the candy on the tray. Just dump it out onto the tray and leave it.
• Every microwave is different, so you might find that you need to cook your sugar for less or more time. The candy needs to reach 300° F(149° C) on a candy thermometer and be a dark golden color before you add the baking soda and pour it out.
• If you’ve cooked it for too long, the candy will begin to turn dark brown and smell burned.
• If you don’t cook it long enough, it won’t be a golden color yet.
• You can pour the candy onto a silicon mat to avoid the tin foil.
• There’s no need to put the candy into the refrigerator or cool it off. It will become brittle at room temperature.
• It’s important to have all of the ingredients at the ready for this recipe, because each step needs to be done quickly.
• Beware!! While cooking peanut brittle become like molten lava. Make sure to have oven mitts handy.

How to Make Microwave Peanut Brittle

The joy of this recipe happens when you mix the baking soda into the mixture and it bubbles up into a light and airy mixture.

The bubbles are what make the brittle so crunchy and light. It’s easy to eat because the bubbles make it crisp and not hard or too sticky. So it’s of the utmost importance to preserve the bubbles.

Important Note: It’s important to have all of the ingredients at the ready for this recipe, because each step needs to be done quickly.

Step One: Prepare a Baking Sheet

Start by preparing the baking sheet. I use a regular medium-sized cookie sheet (not a flat one with no walls). Cover the base of it with tin foil. Then butter or grease the whole top of the foil. This will prevent the candy from sticking. Set the baking sheet aside.

Step Two: Heat the Sugars

The first stage of the recipe is to heat the sugar to boiling and get the temperature up to candy stage.

Combine the white sugar and corn syrup in a bowl and stir them well. Microwave those together for 4 minutes on high. This works for most 800 to 1000 watt microwaves. Your microwave might differ.

Step Three: Add the Peanuts

After 4 minutes, add the cocktail peanuts and stir. Microwave for another 3 minutes.

It looks like a lot of peanuts when you add them, but don’t worry, the mixture triples in size when you add the baking soda, which makes the peanuts more sparse.

You could change it up and add cashews, almonds, or mixed nuts instead of the peanuts if you like.

Step Four: Add Butter and Vanilla

Stir in the butter and vanilla. Microwave for another minute.

The mixture should have reached 300° F (149° C) on a candy thermometer. This is the point at which the candy is perfect temperature. It will have turned a light golden brown.

Don’t exceed this temperature or the candy will begin to burn. Trust me, you will know if you have reached this point. You will be able to smell it when the peanut brittle begins to burn.

Step Five: Add the Baking Soda

Once you take it out for the last time, you need to get the next steps done as quickly as possible, with the candy is still super hot. So get ready to stir and pour.

Add the baking soda and stir until light and foamy. Be sure not to over stir it and lose all those wonderful little bubbles. This is what makes the brittle so crunchy and easy to eat.

Step Six: Pour Onto Baking Sheet

Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. I pour it in a zig zag pattern down the center of the tray so it’s easy to pick up the tray and tilt it side to side to get the candy to spread out evenly.

Don’t pour it all in the middle and then try to spread it out from there. You can’t use a spatula or spoon to spread it – that will break all the bubbles. You need to tilt the tray to spread it.

Step Seven: Cool & Break Into Pieces

Now you just have to leave it to cool completely so it can get brittle. It doesn’t take long, 15 minutes or so. Once it’s completely cooled. It can be broken up into pieces.

The size of the pieces depend on how much you want to eat at a time. I like to break them into 1-2″ pieces. That’s perfect for grabbing a piece and walking away to eat it. If you stand next to the tray to eat it, you might find it’s gone before you realize it.

Questions About the Recipe

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