Make your own nut butter
Beyond peanut butter
By Erin Covey-Smith
Making your own nut butter is easier than you may think. All you need is a high-powered blender or food processor, your favorite nuts or seeds and optional seasonings, and 5-10 minutes. DIY butters offer not only a more economical route than buying jarred, they’re also a fun way to amp up your next “peanut butter” and jelly sandwich, add a twist to breakfast, or even to create a base for savory sauces (think peanut noodles gone wild!). And, if you have allergies to particular nuts or seeds, here’s a great way to know exactly what you’re getting with each smooth and creamy spoonful.
To make nut butter, start with 4 cups of your favorite nuts and/or seeds, raw (this will make 2 cups of butter). Hot tip: if you buy your nuts in bulk, you’ll save both money and packaging. Spread the nuts on a cookie sheet and toast them in a 300 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, just until they are smelling fragrant. If you prefer to use sprouted or raw nuts, you may need to add 1-2 tbsp of oil in order to get creamy results – toasting the nuts brings out their natural oils. (If going raw, try coconut oil for sweeter butters and olive oil for savory butters.)
Next, throw your nuts in your blender or food processor and blend on high. At first, the nuts will grind, and then they’ll start to stick together in clumps (or one big clump). At this point, you may need to stop blending and scrape down the sides with a spatula. Keep up the blending and periodic scraping until the nuts really start to purée. After a few minutes, the butter will become delightfully creamy. You may need to give your blender periodic breaks if it starts to feel hot.
Once the nut butter has achieved a creamy consistency, taste and decide if you want to add a pinch or two of salt. For crunchy nut butter: add a ½ cup more nuts and pulse until they’re chopped up and incorporated. Store in a well-sealed container for up to 3 weeks out of the fridge, or refrigerate for longer shelf life.
Slather on everything, or dig in with a spoon, and enjoy!
The sky’s the limit when it comes to creating your own combinations. Here are some of our favorite formulas and recipes to get you started. When adding spices (with the exception of salt), mix them in by hand afterwards – adding them to the blender stiffens your butter significantly.
Amazing almond butter
1 cup almond butter, blended with ½ cup shredded coconut (add it at the end of blending, as for the “crunchy” nut butter recommendation above)
½ tsp pink sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp cacao powder
Dash of cayenne pepper
Turmeric butter
1 cup nut butter of choice
1-2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1-2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
Savory nut butter
1 cup nut butter (try walnuts, cashews and almonds)
½ cup nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese*
2 tsp smoked paprika or paprika
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sea salt
¼ – ½ tsp ancho chili powder (depending on your spice tolerance)
Pinch of black pepper
*store nut butter in fridge from the start if you use parmesan
More nut and spice combinations
Get creative with your nut butter! Add spices to taste:
walnut + black pepper
pecan + rosemary
cashew (and/or macadamia) + curry powder + honey (optional)
