When I was a kid, my mom would occasionally try to trick me into eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I loathed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I used to sneak outside and feed them to Popcorn, one of our geriatric Shetland ponies. Lest you think of me as a picky eater, let me share that I much preferred alfalfa sprout, cheddar, and mustard sandwiches or pan-fried tofu and ketchup sandwiches. Yes, an odd child with adventurous tastes indeed. There was just something about a classic PBJ that turned me off. Especially if it had sat in a Snow White lunchbox getting warm and soggy until noon. Yuck. I guess I was a foodie before I even knew it.
Fast forward. I still don’t like PBJ. Probably never will. And I’m still not too into peanut butter. But other nut butters can definitely spark my interest. Cashew and almond butters can be amazing! They also tend to be expensive and take me a long time to eat a whole jar so I typically skip buying them. But I recently discovered how easy it is to make your own super-smooth and creamy nut butters at home. And the beauty is that you can make small batches and customize it to your preference by roasting, not roasting, or mixing some roasted nuts with raw nuts.
I’m pretty excited about this revelation. So this week I’d like to show everyone how to make almond butter two ways: roasted and raw. This is one of the easiest things I’ve ever made (though decidedly not the easiest to clean up…but well worth it). This week was the first time I have made almond butter and I just couldn’t wait to share the how-to! Almond butter is (in my opinion, for what it’s worth) much tastier than peanut butter and has the added benefit of providing a hefty dose of Vitamin E. Not only that, it is cheaper than store bought and you can make it to your liking, depending on if you prefer the taste of raw almonds or roasted. All you need are some almonds, some salt, a food processor, a spatula, and some patience. That’s it! Let’s begin:
First, add about 3 cups of almonds to a food processor with the “S” blade. The photos I have for this post are for a smaller batch (the larger batch was made under the cover of darkness…no good for photos) but the consistency is the same, whether you are making a batch with 1 cup or 3 cups.
Turn the food processor on and let it run for a minute. At first, you will see the almonds grind down into an almond meal. If you like using almond meal in your recipes (great for baking!), this is a great way to save money–grind your own! If you are making almond butter, continue processing the almonds.
The ground almonds will start to build up on the sides of the food processor. You’ll want to stop the processor every 2-3 minutes and push the almonds down before continuing.
After a while, the almonds will start to get a little clumpy:
And will continue to get clumpier and stickier:
- Phase 4: Almonds Get Clumpier and Stickier
At around the 10-12 minute mark, depending on how dry your almonds are, the almonds will finally start to release more oil and begin to resemble almond butter. But don’t stop there! It’s not quite done.
After another couple of minutes of processing, the almond butter will suddenly, magically, release more of its oils and become smooth and creamy. If you taste it, it will be warm from the processing. Now, add a pinch of high quality sea salt if you like and give it another whir.
I had some of mine with some sliced apples. Delicious! You can use the almond butter in a recipe (try almond butter cookies–just like peanut butter cookies but better) or store in a glass jar in the fridge. When you want to use the almond butter, take it out for a bit to warm it to room temperature for easier spreading.
Okay, so how about making roasted almond butter, you ask? It is *almost* as easy. There is only one added step: roasting your almonds. You will l want to roast your almonds in the oven on a dry sheet pan at 350° for 10 minutes.
When the almonds are roasted, they will turn a nice deep brown color:
Process the nuts in the same way that you would raw almonds. When you are done, the result will be deeper in color and flavor.
Roasted almond butter tastes amazing on toast with some honey! One thing to note: if you want to add honey or any other liquid to your almond butter, wait until you serve it. Adding liquid to your almond butter will reduce its shelf life.
Enjoy!
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Just searching around for healthier snacks. I’ve always enjoyed apples and peanut butter, but because of my finicky taste buds could never get past the conflict of sugars between the sweetness of the apple and the sweetness of the peanut butter. I came across your site and thought I’d give it a whirl. I didn’t have all of the ingredients, and I’m not much on measuring, so I dumped in some sunflower seeds, peanuts, and the last handful of almonds into my processor. I didn’t have any problems getting to that butter stage – how awesome is that!? I added a bit of honey and cinnamon (I’m big on cinnamon) and the combination with the apples is absolutely divine! The sweetness of the sp&a (sunflower, peanut & almond) butter doesn’t over power the sweetness of the apple. It’s a match made in heaven! Thanks for sharing such great, easy tips for those of us who aren’t kitchen savvy, but like to eat healthy.
Thanks for such a great comment, Shelly! I keep hearing about these combo nut butters and it sounds delicious to me. I served apple slices with a peanut butter-yogurt dip to my sweetie and he didn’t like it at all. I grew up with that as a main snack in our household so do love it myself! Glad you tried and glad you had great success.
I just made raw almond butter this morning before work…… All I can say is yum!!! I also added a little bit of sea salt!!!! It was so easy ! Thank u for your help. 🙂
So glad you liked! It makes for a great snack at work!
This is great! The pictures helped a lot. I would have given up early on if I hadn’t seen what it was supposed to look like in each stage. Mine took a long time to release the oils. I’d say about 20 to 25 minutes start to finish. I added about a tsp of sea salt. Holy cow is it delicious! Thanks for the post!
Wonderful–glad it worked! Thanks for the comment!
Awesome post! I stumbled across your blog and I’m intrigued. I love almond butter, and use it instead of peanut butter (allergy). Thank you for the step by step guide. You’ve inspired me to make my own. 🙂
Thanks, Melissa! I think it is even tastier than peanut butter–for once those with allergies don’t have to “settle”!
Perfect! And soooo yummy. Thanks!
Perfect! sooooo yummy. Thanks!
Thanks, Melissa!
Hi from Venezuela, this post has been a huge help for me!
Hi! I tried with 2 cups of almond. After almost half an hour it was like the phase 5… I got impacience and use like that! The taste is good but is not a butter…
What do you think?
Hi Georgiana, I am sorry for the issues with the almond butter. It does take some time to get to the final stage. Some are experiencing longer than 30 minutes when the oils finally release and the almonds turn into the consistency of almond butter. Perhaps try a different brand of almonds next time–maybe the brand you were using were dry?
i wanted to make this recipe because it sounded so darn good,i got my almonds out but found i didnt have enough so i add a cup of walnuts and a cup of pecans to my cup of almonds i didnt know how it would turn out but i figured they were all nuts how can i go wrong…wow it was so good. i did add a splash of honey and gave it a stir. this was so good,thank you for the recipe for almond butter. i dont plan on buying store nut butters anymore
That sounds delicious, Gloria! Thank you for sharing!
I just tried this using Almond meal from Trader Joe and a cuisinart mini prep processor that is only 250 watts and it did not take any time at all, maybe five minutes, less than ten, to turn into butter. I added a tad bit of honey and am eating it now on my ezekiel bread. Works great. I love it and have a freezer full of the almond meal.
Joanne, that is a great idea! I have a bag of almond meal from Trader Joe’s also and I’ll try it that way next time. I have had the thought cross my mind several times–thanks for the reminder.
Thank you for this! The first recipe I found called for soaking the almonds over night, then baking them low & slow in the oven for 12 hours before the cooling & grinding part, and I thought “really?? there’s nothing faster or easier??” Then I found your recipe. Hooray! Short, sweet, and simple. 😀
Hello!!
I am having some major issues with the recipe! I have a 1500watt, 2horse power food processor and my 3 cups of almonds spent about 3 HOURS in there and I only have almond meal!! I did soak and roast them to get rid of phytic acid though… Maybe that is what’s causing the problem?!
Hi Eduardo–I have never tried soaking and roasting them…is there a chance they were not fully dry? I know that if there is moisture in the nuts the oils are more difficult to release.
Actually, I think the issue might have been that I over roasted them and the oils were released during roasting…
Ahhhh…that could explain it! I have done very little experimenting with making almond butter so appreciate the info–hopefully it helps others who have experienced the same.
Thank you so much for this! My little sister is allergic to peanuts and dairy so now you’ve helped us discover how to make another creative food item she can have for breakfast! 🙂 woot woot!
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Thanks for your pictures on making almond butter. I would have given up and thrown out but you were absolutely right at the 10-12 min mark it was butter. Thank You so much.
Awesome! Thanks!
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Awesome article! Just wondering though, what’s the shelf life on this batch?
Thank you! I would say it could last in the fridge for about a month or so. I usually take it out of the fridge and let it sit for a bit to soften nicely.
Thanks sooo much. Read your article an hour ago and tried making almond butter immediately. It came out great!! I just had a bit with cucumber and it was delicious. Definitely going to spread the word. Thanks again and God bless.
That’s wonderful! Thanks, Becky!
Love it! Every other recipe I saw was “Add Canola Oil” or “Add Vegetable Oil to make it creamy.” I tried it, and when eating with green apples, it is amazing!!!
I’m glad you tried this one! No need to add other oils 🙂 Glad you liked!
I don’t see info on taking RAW almonds, soaking them to make them more digestible, then do the ROASTING?
How long would you soak? Besides rinsing, does anything else change?
I’ve heard about soaking overnight to make almond milk and that is what I would do. I have never made almond butter with soaked almonds so I can’t vouch for whether it would work or not but I do know that you must dry them after soaking. The water would spoil the almond butter otherwise, I believe. Let me know how your experiment works!
thank you so much for this post. i made it tonight for the first time and i cant wait to make sandwiches for my hubbys lunch tomorrow with it
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Beautiful!!!!!
Hi there! Thanks for this wonderful recipe. I will go and try to make a batch immediately. Fingers crossed because I only have a very small blender. I live in New Zealand and a 250ml jar of Almond Butter costs $15.00 in the supermarket!
Hey,
That was a great post! i dont own a food processor and i want to know which is the best to make nut butters, there are so many mixed reviews out there. which one do you use?
Hi Sayarah, I use an 11 cup Cuisinart Food processor for mine!
Thank you SO much! This is such a beautiful article and an awesome recipe! My butter turned out AMAZING!! Love all the pix you included and the way you shared the information. 🙂 Cheers to health and happiness! thank you!
Thank you so much, Hope! So glad you liked!!!
Hi Aura,
Was looking for a recipe for almond butter and came across your blog. I can’t wait to try this! One question: is it a 1:1 ratio of almonds to butter? That is, did your 3 cups of almonds yield 3 cups of butter?
Thanks,
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
Yes, it is a 1 to 1 ratio! Let me know how it turns out! Oh, BTW, I have a hunch that the larger the amount, the more time it will take to blend to a nut butter. I haven’t tested that out though–just something to keep in mind if it is taking longer than you think it will!
Aura
Thank you for the recipe I will have to try. Hoping a blender will work as it did for some others I don’t have food processor. I just bought almond butter yesterday at Trader Joes $5.99 for a jar, before I saw how simple it can be to make.
Wow! Thank you for posting this recipe. I made our almond butter today and it got high praise from all members of the household!! Any tips for sunflower butter? 🙂 happy Monday!
I’m in Saudi Arabia and am unable to find Almond Butter for a diet I’m starting. Thanks for your tutorial. I can’t believe how easy it looks. And it’s just one ingredient!
Glad you liked, Lisa! It cracks me up–this is a one ingredient recipe and it happens to be my most popular recipe. I never would have imagined this would be the most popular one 🙂
I gave this whirl with a sealed bag of almonds I had on hand. Mine looked like something between phase 4 and 5, and there was definitely oil present. I think that is as good as it’s going to get for me. It’s probably my tiny processor. It has an S bade, but there is more space between the bottom bade and the bottom of the container…. I have to constantly uncram everything from under the blades with this nut butter. I think it’s preventing it from forming a smooth texture in a more timely manner… I was at it for quite a while. There hasn’t been an issue with the sides too much.
Hi Samantha, I’m sorry to hear that! It sounds like it is an issue with the food processor. Do you have a blender?
Thank you so much for sharing this ! I really wanted to try it and I finally did today but I don’t know what went wrong 🙁 the recipe seems so easy, but my almonds are still at the “almond meal” phase after more than 30 minutes (with pauses) in the food processor ! is it possible that my food processor isn’t very powerful (700w) ? or that it’s too big for the quantity of almonds i’ve put ? or maybe my almonds are already oxidized ?
The food processor should have enough juice–I think mine has about 1000W (I use a 12 cup Cuisinart). I’m wondering if the almonds you used were more dry than normal. I would try adding a little bit of neutral tasting oil to the processor to see if that helps move things along. Or maybe warming the nuts up a little bit in the oven before processing because it’s when the processing warms the nut oils that they really begin to break down in the processor I’m a little stumped though….did you roast the nuts before hand or use raw? Let’s figure this out 🙂
The same has happened to me, Still almond meal after a VERY long time, I have soaked them for a few days, could this be the problem?
Hi Karen, I think the soaking definitely would affect the outcome of this. I know when you make almond milk you soak the almonds first but I haven’t heard about soaking to make almond butter. From my experience, starting with dry, raw almonds is the best way to go!
I used raw almonds, not roasted. I’ll try with oil next time and let you know 🙂
I had the same problem. I made the mistake of trying to add just a wee bit of water, and whoops! Now we have almond paste. It’s actually pretty tasty, but my almonds stayed at the meal stage for about half an hour, and I was starting to worry that I was burning up my food processor! Everyone once in awhile, it had just a bit of that burned plastic smell, so I called it off. I’ll have to try warming them up.
I’ve made peanut butter this way for quite some time, and I’ve never had a problem, but almond butter was not in the cards. I use a 10 cup, Kitchenaid food processor that has been absolutely fantastic (it’s only a few months old – the hubby and I got it for our wedding), so I don’t think it’s a question of the processor. We bought the nuts bulk at our local grocery store, and I wonder if they’re just a little dryer than normal.
I may buy a cheaper food processor for the sake of giving it a go again – I just hate to burn up the fantastic one that we have!
Hi Allison, I’m sorry to hear of the issues! I’m still a little stumped because most have had success but enough folks have had issues that I’m scratching my head. I’ll need to try it again to see if I have the same results as before. I posted this on another blog–the Grand Rapids Cooking School blog I help run–and someone who had difficulty making it originally posted on her second try:
“Ok, I tried again and did not stop the food processor like I’d been doing before. I let it get pretty darn hot. As I was hold the processor I could feel the heat. It even started to produce some steam but I just kept going. I realized it’s extremely important to allow the processor to get HOT. Once the processor was hot the rest just happened like magic! I’m so excited! I did allow the processor to run for probably 15 minutes straight. Thank you!!!!!!!”
Maybe that will help….let me know if you have better luck!
Also had the same problem as Sarah above has had with almonds stuck at meal phase for more than 25mins!! Have a fairly cheap (but brand new) 400w food processor, nut butter is the first thing I’m attempting to make with it and concerned I should have gone for the more expensive/powerful one! Noticed a couple of people had this problem, did anyone find a resolution?!
Quite a few people have had a similar experience. It takes longer than you might think and I’m not sure why it takes longer for some than others (quality of nut, etc.). One thing that does seem to work to speed the process along is heating up the almonds briefly in the oven (or roasting them). The key is that the oils need to release in order for the almonds to break down into almond butter. The warming helps that process. Good luck and let me know if that works!
What type of food processor do you use for making nut-butter? Thanks
Hi Nicole! I use a 12-cup Cuisinart. I got it about 3 years ago and it’s been great for me!
Wow, I was skeptical but this recipe really worked for me, and boy was the almond butter delicious. Just a btw: I used a blender and it was so no problem, so if you don’t have a food processor don’t worry!
Great to hear, John! And thanks for the tip about the blender–what kind of blender did you use and how many almonds did you put into the blender? Just curious for the folks out there that don’t have a food processor.
RE: ALMONDS – VS. PEANUTS – DID YOU KNOW THAT DIABETICS SHOULD AVOID PEANUTS AND PEANUT BUTTER – BUT CAN HAVE ALMONDS AND CASHEWS – – AND YOUR RECIPE WORKS FOR BOTH. THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS
Thanks for the info, Carrole! I didn’t know that! And you’re right–this recipe can be used for all nut butters.
Thanks for this easy recipe! My husband and I are trying to reduce store bought and processed foods in our diet. Just a quick question — would a 7 speed Cuisinart blender do the trick, rather than a food processor? It doesn’t have an “S” blade, however.
Peace!
Ellen
Hi Ellen,
Thanks for the comment! I have not tried making this with a blender although another reader, John, just mentioned successfully using a blender to make his! Give it a shot and let me know if it works out!
Aura
Hi Aura! Here’s for you a comment from Saudi Arabia!
Hi Nathalie! Thanks for the comment 🙂
Thanks for this tutorial. I am not even sure we have almond butter on sale where I live (Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean) since I have not yet found it in any of the groceries here). This really helps me. I bake and I am also trying to generally live healthier so . . . . . .thank you! Will surely try this.
Wonderful! Let me know how you like it. Maybe you can starte selling it there 🙂
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Will this work in a small coffee bean grinder? I don’t have a food processor and although I searched online, could not find one that was well-reviewed for making almond butter, especially if using raw nuts. BTW, did you know that peanuts are not actually a nut, they are a legume. And, although many people prefer roasted nuts, once nuts are cooked they become highly acidic and hard to digest; they should be eaten raw, always.
A coffee bean grinder won’t work for this. It won’t be able to make more than a few TBSP and would probably burn it out. I haven’t tried using one for this, but that’s my thought on it!
Thank you so much for sharing this almond butter recipe!
I was going to buy some but after reading how easy it is, I will be making my own 🙂
I was learning to make almond milk today…by first soaking the almonds for 8 hours. But I forgot to buy the material to squeegy out the skins. So, I tried instead, almond butter with the wet almonds in my vitamix. It took a while to make a smooth consistency and I added a just a bit of sea salt, vanilla and a small spoon of blue agave….all I can say is ‘wow’ and ‘yum’. I left it a bit gritty because I like the crunchy side but it is still smooth and would work, I think with any recipe.
Great way to salvage those almonds! That sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing…I will have to try that!
Do you add any sweetner to taste? I just make my own peanut butter and I love it! Been wanting to try almond butter, but not willing to spend a ton of money. Thanks for the receipe.
I didn’t add any to the recipe. But afterward, when I am getting ready to use it, I will stir some honey in (to put on toast, etc.). Yum!
Thank you so much for this super easy tutorial… I LOVE almond butter but it’s super expensive where I live (Dubai) and you can never guarantee it will be absolutely pure and organic. I can’t wait to try making my own!!
Wow! A comment from Dubai-very cool! This recipe is so easy if you have a food processor. I hope you find some good almonds. Let me know if you give it a whirl!
Good recipe!
I didn’t try it, but I will make it soon as possible 🙂
Thanx for sharing recipes 🙂
Regards
V
Thanks, Virginia! Let me know if you give it a shot and if you like it!
Thanks for the recipe, can’t wait to try it–one question though, do you soak the almonds in advance?
Hi Sydney! I don’t soak them before. But if you make almond milk, soaking is crucial. For almond butter, dry works best! Enjoy!
I think you’ve convinced me to make my own! Yum! I like sunflower butter the best, over PB- mainly since I do a lot of running, it’s a great snack before a race (with some apple slices). Now I’ll have to make some almond butter!!!
Oooh…I’ve never tried sunflower butter–will need to make it! I just bought a pound of sunflower seeds so the timing is right 🙂 Thanks for your comments, Evi! I appreciate it!
Of course! Got to support fellow FMP friends! Fell in love with sunflower butter I get from Trader Joe’s…but you’re right, if I make it on my own- it’ll be even better!