Easy Almond Butter

Here’s how to make almond butter at home! This easy recipe makes the dreamiest, creamiest spread for topping toast, oats, and more.

Welcome, nut butter lovers! Turns out, with a trusty food processor you can make any creamy nut butter you’d like. And what better to start with than everyone’s favorite: an Almond Butter recipe! We’ve been making our own homemade for years, and there’s nothing like it. This creamy puree makes anything better, from toast to oatmeal to acai bowls. Here’s how to make almond butter at home and some fun ideas for endless variations. Let’s go!

How to make almond butter

How to make almond butter a home? It’s very easy, but there are a few things to note about the process. Once you’ve mastered it, you can make it with any nut! Here’s the basic concept for this almond butter recipe:

• Roast the nuts: First, you’ll roast the almonds in the oven to bring out the flavor. Also, they blend better when they’re warm.
• Blend them…for quite a while! After you toast the almonds, throw them into a food processor and blend them for what seems like forever. You’ll see that they go through stages: they’ll be really crumbly at first, and then turn to gooey. Finally, they’ll turn to creamy: the perfect buttery texture. The exact timing depends on the age of the nuts: so it will be different every time.
• Add oil as necessary. Again, this depends on the almonds you’re using. Sometimes the texture will be very dry: so add just a bit of a neutral oil to get it to a creamier texture.

This is the basic recipe: but we’ve got lots of fun ideas for flavor variations if you keep reading. However, note this one thing before proceeding:

Pro tip: don’t add honey or maple syrup!

Here’s an important thing to note. Don’t add honey, maple syrup, or any liquid sweetener to your almond butter. Why?

• Adding liquid to the almond butter can cause it to become very thick. Trust us: we’ve learned the hard way! Adding liquid when you’re blending the butter can cause it to seize up and loose its creamy texture. Then you need add lots of oil to get it back to a creamy state.
• It doesn’t really need the sweetener, anyway! The subtle natural sweetness of the nuts is really all you need! We’ve found adding a little vanilla extract and spices tricks your brain into thinking it’s sweet. Speaking of…

Food processor vs blender

You’ll need a food processor for this almond butter recipe! Here’s the one we recommend. You’ll need a large sized food processor to accommodate this batch: but you could half it if you have a small food processor at home.

Alternative to food processor: you can also use a high speed blender to make almond butter! If you try it this way, we suggest making 1.5 or 2 times the recipe to make it easiest to blend. Also, use the tamper that comes with the blender to press down on the almonds while you blend.

Almond butter flavor variations!

There are so many delicious ways to vary this almond butter recipe! Here are a few of our favorite flavoring options:

• Cinnamon vanilla: We like it with a little vanilla extract and cinnamon as our base recipe. Or even better…
• Vanilla bean: Add the seeds from 1 vanilla bean: it’s the best taste treat.
• Chai spiced: Add ¼ to ½ teaspoon homemade Chai Spices.
• Pumpkin pie: Add ¼ to ½ teaspoon homemade Pumpkin Pie Spices.
• Cardamom: Add ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom.
• Ginger: Add ½ teaspoon ground ginger (with or without cinnamon).

More variations: add other nuts to create blends

Another way to vary almond butter is to add combinations of other nuts into the mix! It’s fun to vary this nut butter with whatever nuts you have on hand in the pantry. In fact, it’s a great idea for using up nuts that are hanging out in your pantry. Here are some ideas:

• Cashew almond butter: Cashews are a perfect pair for almonds: they’re a little sweeter, so they enhance the sweet creaminess
• Pecan almond butter: Another good match; this one tastes a little darker and nuttier
• Hazelnut almond butter: Want to give it a little Nutella vibe? Try hazelnut almond butter.

How to store almond butter

Most people say to store almond butter in the refrigerator. But this makes it thick and difficult to spread! The homemade version has no preservatives, so it’s a little different than shelf-stable store-bought butters. But we did a little research and found that you can store this almond butter in the following ways:

• Pantry for 1 month: Keep it in a cool, dry place. (Source)
• Refrigerated for 3 to 4 months: Extend the life by refrigerating it.

Ways to serve homemade almond butter

Learning how to make almond butter at home is the best skill! Once you’ve mastered it once, you won’t even need to reference the recipe. While you probably have a million ideas in mind for this creamy puree, here are some of our favorite ways to eat it:

• Toast: Make almond butter toast and top with berries and a drizzle of maple or honey.
• Muffins: It’s perfect on banana bread muffins.
• Smoothie: Add it to an almond butter smoothie.
• Waffles or Pancakes: Try it on fluffy gluten free waffles or applesauce pancakes. Or even in pancakes as a substitute for eggs!
• With Jam: Slather it on sourdough toast with strawberry jam.
• Yogurt: Swirled it into yogurt with fruit.
• Acai bowl: It’s the best part of an Acai bowl or Acai smoothie.
• Cookies: Try them as an alternative to peanut butter in 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies.

What other ways do you eat almond butter? Let us know in the comments below!

This almond butter recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

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