How To Make Almond Butter (1 Ingredient!)
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Find out how to make almond butter at home in just a few minutes with just one ingredient. I promise this will be the creamiest and smoothest you’ll have ever tasted!
Love this? Try this Homemade Hazelnut Butter or my dreamy vegan Nutella!
Table of contents
If you love almond butter, it might come as a surprise that you can make it at home in just a few minutes. And with 1 ingredient!
In this post, I will guide you through all the simple steps (with photos) to make sure your almond butter turns out just perfect.
You see, I am a bit of an addict to any kind of nut butter.
I love almond butter, hazelnut butter, pecan butter, peanut butter, you name it! I used to buy store-bought nut butter until I discovered how easy it is to make it at home.
All you need are some nuts and a food processor. Yes, it’s that simple. Oh! And there is another thing you need: a bit of patience.
Depending on the food processor you use, it can take anything from 1 minute to 15 minutes to make your own nut butter. And if I can make it with my cheap food processor, I am pretty sure no matter what your food processor looks like, you can make the creamiest almond butter you’ve ever tasted.
How to make almond butter
Making your own almond butter is so simple, you’ll wonder why you never tried it before.
- Roast your almonds. I normally buy raw almonds and then roast them.
Why are we roasting the almonds?
For 2 main reasons:
- Roasting gives the almonds more depth of flavor.
- It helps to release the oil in the almonds. Which makes blending them in the food processor much easier.
Can you make it raw?
I know some people might prefer not to roast the almonds to make what’s known as raw almond butter. If you want to try to make the raw version at home, it might be difficult to achieve without adding a bit of oil. It’s really down to how powerful your blender or food processor is.
If you have something like a Vitamix, you will be able to do it. But with cheaper food processors, you could struggle. It will take longer for the almonds to release the oil they contain. Which means you’ll need to process for longer.
Give it a go, and if after 10-15 minutes your almonds still look like almond meal (step 3), simply add a bit of oil one tablespoon at the time (you need to use an oil that will blend well with almonds like avocado oil or a nut oil – I used walnut oil in the past).
- Place the almonds in the food processor (or blender). Let the almond cool for a few minutes. Ideally, they need to be at room temperature, but they can also be slightly warm if you are impatient like me!
I found that a food processor works best. But if you have a high-speed blender, that would work too!
- Begin blending. Blend the almonds at high speed until they resemble almond meal. At this point, the almonds will still look dry, like in the picture below.
- Oil starts to be released. Keep processing. If the almonds stick to the sides, run a spatula alongside the bowl. You will feel like nothing is really happening but be patient, and if your food processor is overheating, turn it off for a few minutes and let it cool down. After a while, the magic will start happening – the oil contained in the almonds will break down.
- Almonds create a paste. After a few more minutes, a paste will begin to form. Keep going!
- It’s ready! That’s done! After a few more minutes, it’s ready. You have made the creamiest and healthiest almond butter you’ve ever tasted.
- Store it. Now all that is left to do is to transfer your almond butter to a glass container. I love these pretty mason jars, but any airtight container will be fine.
Peanut butter or almond butter: which one is better for you?
As long as you make your own nut butter or buy nut butter made with 100% nuts, both peanut butter, and almond butter are great for you.
But there are some differences:
Almond butter and peanut butter contain a similar amount of calories and sugar.
But from a purely nutritional point of view, almond butter contains more vitamins, minerals, and fiber than peanut butter. Almonds are rich in nutrients, including magnesium, vitamin E, iron, calcium, and they have more fiber than any other nut.
Plus, almond butter contains more monounsaturated fat than the same amount of peanut butter. Monounsaturated fat is linked to a reduction in heart disease and better blood sugar control. Which makes it slightly healthier than peanut butter.
The only point where peanut butter wins is on protein content, as it contains around 18% more protein than almond butter.
So from a nutritional point of view, almond butter is a winner by a tiny amount. The choice is yours. I happily eat both!
(1 tablespoon - 16g) | (1 tablespoon - 16g) | |
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| Calories | ||
| Fat | ||
| Carbohydrates | ||
| Fiber | ||
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| Protein |
How to eat it
I love almond butter on toasted wholegrain or rye bread for breakfast or afternoon snack (with some sliced banana, blueberries, and a sprinkle of chia seeds on top!), stirred in porridge, or straight out of the jar with a spoon!
It’s also one of my favorite toppings on overnight oats, and it’s delicious to add to smoothies or yogurt parfaits for extra protein.
F.A.Q. and troubleshooting
What I love about almond butter is that it lasts for a long time. This means you can make a big batch and simply store it away. You can keep it in a glass jar for at least 3 months at room temperature, as long as it’s sealed well and kept in a cool dark place (I normally keep it in one of my kitchen drawers). But to be honest, it will last about 2 days near me!
You actually don’t have to refrigerate almond butter. If anything, the humidity you have in your fridge could spoil it sooner. Plus, it will become much harder and lose its creamy texture as the oil it contains could separate from the almonds. It’s much better to keep it at room temperature.
Strictly speaking, if you buy good quality almond butter in a shop, yes! Homemade almond butter can be much cheaper.
For example, if you look at this almond butter from Wholefoods, it costs $0.69-ounce. You can get raw almonds for as little as $0.48-ounce, which is almost a 30% savings!
Now, if you don’t eat a lot of almond butter, it might not be worth the hustle. But if, like me, you love it and eat it almost every day, you can save a significant amount of money in a year!
Every time I made almond butter, the oil has never separated, but it doesn’t normally last long enough in our house for that to happen. If you let it sit in a cupboard for too long, separation might happen. It’s a natural process, as the lighter oil tends to reach the surface of the jar. If this happens to you, simply give it a good stir with a spoon, and you are good to go.
1. Let your food processor run for longer. Sometimes an extra 5 or 10 minutes can make all the difference.
2. If more processing time doesn’t work, it could be that your food processor isn’t powerful enough. But I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Your almond butter will still be delicious. It will just be more like a crunchy version. Yummy!
3. Adding a tablespoon or two of avocado oil or coconut oil can help to make it more creamy.
If it’s lighter:
– You might not have roasted your almonds for long enough. Try roasting them for an extra 2-3 minutes next time.
If it’s darker:
– You probably roasted the almonds for too long in the oven. Almonds continue to cook, even when taken out of the oven: cook them a bit less next time.
– The variety of almonds you purchased might just have darker skin. The taste will be the same.
How To Make Almond Butter
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Roast the almonds for 6-8 minutes and allow them to cool before processing.
- Place the almonds in a food processor and begin to blend. Depending on your food processor, it will take 10 to 15 minutes to reach the perfect smooth liquid consistency. If the almonds stick to the sides, run a spatula alongside the bowl and keep processing. You will feel like nothing is really happening but be patient, and if your food processor is overheating, turn it off for a few minutes and let it cool down. After a while, the magic will start happening – the oil contained in the almonds will break down, and after a few more minutes, you will have smooth and creamy almond butter (please see step-by-step photos to check how your almond butter should look at different stages).
- Let the almond butter cool at room temperature, then transfer into a jar or airtight container.
- You can store almond butter at room temperature for up to 3 months, as long as it's sealed and kept in a cool dark place.
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe? Tag @gatheringdreams on Instagram. I want to see it!
Hello,
Doesn’t roasting the almonds destroy some of the nutrients?
Hey Kristine,
Sorry for the late reply! I thought I replied already! Yes, you are right. If you roast almond too much you can lose out on nutrients.
But you need to roast almonds for around 20 minutes to do that. Have a look at this article.
If you roast almonds for only 8-10 you will keep most of the same nutrients. But as I said in the post, you could also use raw almonds, although it will be a bit more difficult to get a smooth almond butter with a standard food processor.
I hope this helps.