Peanut butter is a store cupboard essential, not just for spreading on toast. It's so versatile – you can use it in both sweet and savoury dishes. From easy smoothies to cookies and cakes, it's also great with noodles, spicy satay sauces and salads. Here are our favourite peanut butter recipes to inspire you.

If you've never tried a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, now's the time! The peanut butter should go on the bread first, then jelly. You could enjoy on an open-faced piece of bread or in a sandwich. The jelly (or jam if you're in the UK) should be strawberry or raspberry, but try your own combinations. It works so well because the sweetness of the jam contrasts with the salty, savoury peanut butter. Crunchy or smooth peanut butter, it's up to you. It can be seriously addictive.

Because of its high protein content, peanut butter is pretty filling, so makes a great start to the day to keep you fuller for longer. For one serving of a fab breakfast smoothie, whizz 300ml (0.5 pint) milk with two bananas, a handful of oats and 4tbsp peanut butter. Add extra chopped peanuts, if you like. Add peanut butter to any smoothie in place of other nuts. It goes really well with blueberries too. 

Love smoothies? Find more inspiration here

Peanut butter and chocolate are a match made in heaven, demonstrated perfectly in this fudge recipe. It's the combination of salt and sweet, with the added crunch of the peanut butter and smooth dark chocolate which makes it so good. As a bonus, it's very easy to make and ready in just 30 minutes.

Get the recipe for salted peanut chocolate fudge here

This fragrant Thai curry is served with jasmine rice to mop up the rich, coconut and peanut sauce. Substitute 5tbsp crunchy unsweetened peanut butter for the chopped peanuts to make the sauce even silkier and richer.

Get the recipe for Thai beef curry with peanut sauce here

Peanut butter pudding, topped with a warm, peanut caramel sauce and served with a dark chocolate sorbet, could be your new special occasion dessert. Most of it can be made in advance and as a bonus, it's also vegan. The recipe makes more sorbet than you need for four people, which can only be a good thing.

Get the recipe for peanut butter pudding here

Here's a simple recipe for oat bars which are perfect as a snack or breakfast on the go. Made with jumbo oats, mashed banana and peanut butter, they're really filling. They'll keep for three days in an airtight box, or you can freeze once cooked. 

Get the recipe for peanut butter and banana oat bars here

Punchy southern Indian ingredients, such as peanuts, tamarind, coconut and curry leaves, are used in this vegan dish. Replace the chopped peanuts in the recipe with 5tbsp peanut butter for an even more intense nutty and creamy flavour.

Get the recipe for aubergines with peanut masala here

If you love a squidgy, white chocolate blondie, this is the recipe for you. Peanut butter gives a savoury contrast to the sweetness of the white chocolate and banana. Remember to put your kitchen timer on for this one – if you overcook them, they become too solid.

Get the recipe for white chocolate, peanut butter and banana blondies here

For the ultimate in comfort food, you can't beat this twist on a fruit crumble. Caramelised bananas are steeped in coconut milk then topped with a spiced peanut butter and oat crumble. It's served with a warming, cardamom-infused custard.

Get the recipe for banana and peanut butter crumble here

These easy vegan fridge bars, prepped in 20 minutes, contain chickpeas rather than butter. They're puréed with medjool dates, peanut butter, cacao, coconut oil and vanilla extract, and mixed with chopped nuts and cacao nibs. The bars have no added sugar as the sweetness is provided by the dates.

Get the recipe for chocolate and peanut butter fridge bars here

Pimp up your hummus by adding peanut butter instead of tahini. Tahini is a sesame paste so you're simply enhancing the nutty flavour with peanuts, and it works a treat. Follow our hummus recipe but replace the tahini with 3tbsp unsweetened crunchy peanut butter. You won't need to add any water to loosen it, as the peanut butter does just that.

Get the recipe for hummus here

If you love a cake with wow factor, this is the one. The cake is a twist on banana bread, and it's topped with peanut butter icing and homemade peanut honeycomb. It takes a little effort but the end result is worth it.

Get the recipe for peanut honeycomb banana cake here

Gado gado is a warm Indonesian potato salad served with green beans, coriander and bean sprouts, and drizzled with a coconut and peanut dressing spiked with soy sauce, lime, chilli and ginger. It's such a perfect combination and the dressing would work on any favourite potato salad recipe. 

Get the recipe for gado gado here

With a base made from cacao nibs, cocoa powder, icing sugar and olive oil, this no-bake cheesecake is easy and just needs chilling overnight to set. For the topping, you can replace the vegan cream cheese with any thick cream cheese if you don't need it to be vegan, and crunchy peanut butter adds a hint of saltiness. It's very good served with warm chocolate sauce.

Get the recipe for vegan peanut butter cheesecake here

This super-tasty, fiery peanut sauce has its roots in West Africa. It's served with grilled lamb cutlets but you could also try it with pork tenderloin, chicken or beef. It has a tomato and peanut base with plenty of chillies, though the peanut butter offsets the heat a little.

Get the recipe for lamb cutlets with peanut sauce here

A 'brookie' is a cross between a cookie and a brownie. It's crisp on the outside and soft and squidgy in the centre, hence the hybrid name. They're very straightforward to make but keep an eye on them during baking so they don't overcook – you don't want to lose the soft peanut and chocolate centre.

Get the recipe for dark chocolate peanut butter 'brookies' here

The great thing about this beef satay recipe is that all the components can be prepared in advance. You can marinate the beef – the longer the better – then it just takes a few minutes to cook, either on a griddle or on the barbecue. You also make the creamy coconut and peanut ahead of time, and you can serve it warm or cold. There's a cucumber salad to serve on the side too.

Get the recipe for beef satay with peanut sauce here

This creamy peanut and coconut dressing with a hint of chilli works with most salads and noodles. It's great with chicken too. In this recipe, it's served with juicy prawns, onion, carrot, cabbage and cucumber, tossed in a light citrus mixture with oyster sauce. All you have to do is cook the prawns and do some chopping and mixing – simple.

Get the recipe for griddled prawn Thai salad here

A delicious truffle containing just five ingredients and ready in four minutes sounds too good to be true. But trust us, it works! The finished truffles are drizzled with melted dark chocolate – perfect as a sweet treat with coffee.

Get the recipe for peanut butter truffles here

This is such a simple salad, taken to the next level with a peanut butter, lime and fish sauce dressing. The Burmese dish is just boiled eggs, lettuce and crisp onions, but you could add cooked noodles or rice to make it more substantial.

Get the recipe for egg and lettuce salad here

Prunes and dark chocolate are a classic combination, but try this idea with white chocolate instead. Use peanut butter instead of the hazelnut praline paste in this recipe, which can be difficult to track down in any case. Instead of scattering pecans on top, peanut lovers could add some chopped, unsalted peanuts instead. 

Get the recipe for prune and pecan praline blondies here

If you're looking for an easy, healthy dish which is full of flavour, this is the one. For the dressing, peanut butter is mixed with soy sauce, sesame oil and seeds, Sichuan peppercorns and a pinch of chilli. The chicken is lightly poached and mixed with thinly sliced cucumber, carrot and spring onions, and the peanut dressing. Add noodles for a more filling meal.

Get the recipe for bang bang chicken here

It's hard to beat a great peanut butter cookie, so here's a really quick and easy recipe. Mix 8tbsp self-raising flour with 2tbsp each of light brown sugar and crunchy peanut butter, a beaten egg and 50g (2oz) very soft butter. Form into small balls and put on a baking sheet. Press the top down with a fork, then bake at 180°C/360°F/gas mark 4 for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool a little on a wire rack before eating. 

Get more tips for perfect cookies here

Chicken satay is always popular. The marinade is easy to prepare but the key is to allow the chicken to marinate overnight to get the most flavour. The peanut sauce is made with garlic, soy sauce, tamarind, ginger, chilli, coconut and crunchy peanut butter, so it really packs a punch.

Get the recipe for chicken satay with peanut sauce here

Here's an easy way to get your chocolate and peanut fix. Chunks of white and milk chocolate with plenty of crunchy peanut butter make this blondie a winner. The recipe just takes 10 minutes to prepare, so you can rustle them up at any time.

Get the recipe for peanut butter and chocolate blondies here

It may be a retro dessert but a baked Alaska – sponge topped with ice cream then coated in meringue – is always a winner. In this recipe, the base sponge contains peanut butter, so why not use chocolate and peanut butter ice cream or peanut butter and cookies ice cream too? Our recipe says to pipe the meringue but you can simply cover the sponge and ice cream all over using a spatula.

Get the recipe for mini peanut butter baked Alaska here

The 'noodles' in this recipe are spiralised sweet potatoes, cooked with celery, garlic, ginger and mushrooms. The easy peanut sauce, which is mixed into the vegetables, is simply crunchy peanut butter, almond milk, chilli flakes, lime, honey, and tamari or soy sauce. If you're short on time, buy the sweet potatoes noodles ready-prepared.

Get the recipe for sweet potato noodles with satay sauce here

Pad Thai is a rice noodle stir-fry full of fragrant herbs, crunchy vegetables, chicken and prawns, with an intense tamarind and soy stir-fry sauce. At the end of cooking, a beaten egg is stirred in until it's cooked. It's traditionally topped with chopped unsalted peanuts, but it's even better if you add a few tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter to the stir-fry sauce too.

Get the recipe for pad Thai here

Rustled up in under 20 minutes, this easy stir-fry recipe includes a moreish sauce of peanut butter, soy, rice vinegar and sesame oil. If you're not vegan, this would be great with some cooked chicken or prawns added too.

Get the recipe for satay noodle stir-fry here

This is a rich, chocolatey brownie – dense and fudgy, just how we like them. Peanut butter is mixed with caramel (from a jar, no cooking required), then swirled through the mixture with chocolate chips. It's the savoury and sweet combination which really hits the spot, and there's only 20 minutes of hands-on time.

Get the recipe for peanut butter caramel brownies here