Homemade Nut Butter
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Place 4 to 6 ounces of your nut of choice in food processor:
Question: What type of food processor do you use?
Answer: I’m really not sure which brand I have as it was a gift from a friend who imports prototype appliances. However, when people ask, I always recommend Cuisinart or Hamilton Beach brand processors. If you have a membership to Costco, I would check out their selection as they often have great deals on the Cuisinarts, both at their stores and online.
If you prefer roasted nut butter, simply place your raw nuts on a parchment or foil lined cookie sheet and roast in a 350 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring once or twice to prevent burning.
Turn the food processor on, and let it do it’s job. At first, you’ll have nothing but nut dust, & you’ll have to scrape down the sides of your processor several times with a rubber spatula:
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
Allow the processor to continue running. Eventually, your nut butter will begin to clump:
Let the processor continue running until nut butter reaches desired consistency. I promise it will get creamy, but a little patience is involved.
Raw Almond Butter
Using my food processor, roasted nut butter takes about 13 minutes to make, and raw nut butter takes slightly longer, 15 minutes maybe?
You can add anything you want: salt, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, etc. I prefer mine plain, but I do like to experiment with different nuts. My favorites are roasted pecan nut butter and roasted cashew-almond butter.
Cashew Almond Butter
{ 301 comments… read them below or add one }
Homemade nut butter = happy belly
Looking creamy and oh so delicious
This worked out great!! I made mine with almonds and pecans and used a bit of walnut oil to make it creamier. I added just a pinch of kosher salt as well which really brought out the nutty roasted flavor. Thx for the recipe
Annie,
So glad it worked for ya! Your combo sounds delicious. I love any kind of pecan butter.
Ugh I tried this once with roasted almonds and it NEVER got creamy. I’m pretty sure I had that baby going to longer than 15 minutes…but I did have success with PB pretty easily so maybe I should just try again!
with the almond butter if it didn’t get very creamy you could add a tiny amount of oil too it?? x
Over roasting your almond can dry out the oils. The best way to roast is at 170 degrees for 40 minutes. Stir once half way thru. They will turn into butter nicely and much more healthier.
this took me almost an hour with my tiny food processor but I promise its gets creamy eventually. I also realized not to add honey in the processor. stir it in by hand after its creamy if you want to add it!
Yay, so glad it worked for you Mariah, and thanks for the honey tip!
I know Mariah may not see this but I wanted to comment that her post about it taking an hour inspired me to try a-new. I had started a recipe in my mini – chopper (it won’t work no matter what – it’s only 70Watts output). I saved that and bought a $20 ninja (450W) the same day online. I tried and tried but no matter what it just wouldn’t work. I wondered if it was the chopper, OR the fact that the recipe I’d seen said to add honey and coconut oil in at the beginning.
After reading Mariah’s I decided to try a new with fresh raw almonds. I kid you not I likely spent over an hour on the actually processing – I had to take the stuff out of the bowl and break up clumps when it got to the middle “balling” stage between crumbs and cream, maybe every 2-3 mins. I even had to leave it for an hour so that my chopper engine could cool down!
But the perseverance was so worth it. I now have a cup of thick, rich, creamy almond butter which is way better than the sorta thin, chunky style the almond butter shop at the farmer’s market sells.
Also, I keep almost all of my “non tinned/unopened jar” foods in my fridge. I think if the almonds were room temp it would have gone a lot faster. I saw someone below wrote to warm them to 110 and I can see his point.
Anyway, a long reply! I’m going to finish my apple and almond butter now
Hi Alexa,
I forwarded your comment to Mariah as I’m sure she’d be happy to read it. I’m happy to hear that you’re enjoying your homemade almond butter. Sounds like your patience paid off in the end.
I tried almond butter. It did my new 14 cup elite cuisinart in. now in the process of having a new one shipped. How long do you keep the cuisinart / food processor going before you give it a break to cool down?
Tracy,
Oh no, so sorry to hear that. My food processor is an 800 watt, and it usually takes about 10 to 12 minutes to get creamy nut butter. However, I’ve heard from others that it can take longer. If you smell burning rubber, definitely give it a break but regardless, I might give it a rest after 15 minutes.
I can’t wait to try this!
Heather, how long do your nut butters keep in the fridge?
Thanks!
No oil? Omg have I been making nut butter wrong this whole time???
Wow, I am going to have to try this! It seems so easy!! Thanks for the directions.
)
This is such an easy way to make nut butters! I had no idea it could be so quick! Thanks for the recipe
-Aaron
Beautiful. Homemade nut butters are the BEST!
I am going to make walnut/hazlenut with cardamom and cinamon! Thanks!
I am so going to try this out – it has to be cheaper than paying 15$ per jar at my grocery store. Ill let you know how this goes : )
$15?? Seriously? What kind of nut butter have you been buying?
A jar of Almond butter up here is $6 tops.
It’s high where I am too – just saw almond butter for $11 a jar at my neighborhood supermarket (and they only stock the one brand – everything else in peanut butter). I’m so looking forward to trying these to get good tasting, salt-free nut butters!
$16 – $18 for raw almond butter here in SoCal! My cheapy food processor can’t handle making nut butter, but I go through a jar every couple weeks, so I guess it’s worth me investing in a good one that can, since it’s so easy. Raw cashews are pricey here, too…good thing I prefer almond butter. When I make some, think I’ll throw in some pecans…sounds tasty!
Ann Marie,
Almond Butter has a stronger flavor compared to cashew, and pecan butter is amazing. Definitely two of my favorites! Hope you’re able to get yourself a good food processor soon. Definitely worth it in my opinion.
For raw almond butter I buy a 3 pound bag of raw almonds from Sam’s Club (about $9), and warm them slightly before processing. Warming just a little makes a huge difference (I’m guessing they were about 110F). I only use a small food processor and made the last batch in 14 minutes — nice smooth spreadable almond butter with NO added oil.
Dave,
Awesome. Thanks for the warming tip. Good to know, and I hope you’re enjoying an almond butter filled breakfast right about now.
I seriously could NOT get my FP to make raw almond butter! Roasted works like a charm but raw won’t happen. Maybe I didn’t try long enough…I swear it was like 15 minutes
I thought the same thing. I had come up with a really thick, dry raw butter after about 30 minutes of futzing and adding liquid coconut oil. before I came to this post. I was inspired to try again and it silkened up in about 5 minutes of additional processing. I have a Cuisinart Pro 7 Cup Processor.
Carly,
So glad you tried again, and I hope you’re enjoying some raw almond butter this very minute!
This is seriously like my favorite thing to do now, hahaha. I’ve experimented with walnuts, almonds, peanuts, and pistachios so far.
Do you blanch your walnuts first because they can be bitter sometimes?
Paulette,
I’m not sure if Emmy will ever see your comment, but when I’ve made walnut butter in the past, I always roast the walnuts first. Never tried blanching, but the roasting makes a big difference. Much better that way.
Made it last night with freshly roasted almonds, honey, and cinnamon.
AMAZING. Thanks so much Heather.
I will try making the almond butter, I know that you can make your own at Whole Food…
Rita
Your method worked great for me using raw almonds. Took 15-20 minutes. Yum!
That’s so cool! I may have to do this in the future….
O M G! I just whipped out the food pro to make up a batch of homemade larabars for the work week… but now its going to get a little more breathing time and im going to take a stab at the homemade nut butter thing.
She is so smart… like oxford smart.
I just made raw almond butter and it looks like the real thing! Actually I just went to health food store today and a little raw almond butter is $14! I just couldn’t afford it. Thanks!
Kim,So glad you tried making your own almond butter. So easy, no? Definitely saves me a ton of money!
I just made this Heaber! It was so easy and so good!
Also, I may or may not have giggled throughout the entire process at “nut dust.” I am a 14 year old boy. Seriously.
Erin, Glad it worked for you. CD makes jokes about the “nut dust” as well. You’re not alone.
I just want to thank you. Yours is the best and clearest description of how to make nut butter. Your pictures were a huge help. But most of all, it’s the toasting. I’d tried with plain almonds and couldn’t get them to any kind of butter consistency (even after a very long time and a good food processor). But toasting made all the difference. Now I can turn toasted almonds into silky almond butter within about 5 minutes of processing.
So thank you!
You’re welcome. Glad it worked for ya!
couldn’t agree more with your comment NBA – very descriptive and the pictures helped big time!
Thanks for the link to this page Heather. I have a blender, not a processor. I am guessing it will be too difficult in a blender?
Very keen to try some nut butter… I have 3lbs of almonds at home waiting to be part of my experiment!
Live, Love, Laugh
Lome, Homemade nut butter will work in a blender, but only if you have something like a Vita-Mix or Blendtec. I don’t think anything less powerful will really work. Happy Thanksgiving!
ive recently been using a blender for this and while it does take a while and lots of smooshing down of nut dust, it works. i have an oster that all metal drive.
Love this idea! Especially after seeing all these pumpkin, maple, and chocolate nut butters!!
Love this idea! Especially after seeing all these pumpkin, maple, and chocolate nut butters online!!
I just tried making my own almond butter (raw) today, and added CCK’s banana brulee … SOOOOO GOOOD!!! I have been missing out all these years!! THANKS for your inspiration!!
Michelle, You’re welcome. So glad it worked for ya!
what is best vitamix blender or cuisenart food processor??? what speed?
does anyone know about soaking the nuts first??
luv the butter!!
ads, I prefer my food processor for making nut butters. Not sure what brand mine is as it was a prototype sample from a friend. It only has one speed. I never soak my nuts first. I either use them raw or roast them. It’s easier to make homemade nut butter with roasted nuts. Let me know if you have any other questions. -Heatheer
Do you do the pecan nut butter the same way? I have been dying to find a recipe to make that beautifully creamy pecan butter you can get at Smokey Bones restaurant (a rarity for us w/ a family of 7 and w/ hubby’s heart problems) But I love, love, love that pecan butter. It tastes sinful but I would like to think I can get the tasty results in a healthier way to make it. Have you had it from the restaurant? How do you make yours if it varies from the almond butter? Do you also like it plain or w/ a little spice added? Thx! I appreciate the photos showing the different stages it takes to get to the creaminess. That actually helps a lot!!
Hey Luv2CUSmile, I have made pecan butter, and I use the exact same method as I did for the almonds. I roasted the pecans in a 350 degree oven about 10 to 12 minutes and then process in the food processor until creamy. No spices needed. It’s amazing all on its own.
Never been to Smokey Bones, but my sister-in-law used to work at one up in Indiana. Next time I talk to her, I’ll have to ask her how they make their version. Enjoy your next batch…I think you’ll love it!
I have a small cuisanart processor so I am going to attempt it in there. The last time I attempted the pecan butter I was finely chopping the pecans (thank goodness they are a softer nut) and then taking a fork and “smashing” them until pulverized the best I could. It was good w/ a tad cinnamon and brown sugar. (What isn’t good w/ cinnamon and brown sugar) LOL But not creamy. I will be adding this to my list of do’s before the holiday cooking rush gets here. I would love to have some pecan butter on the table as an option for everyone!
One more comment real quick- I see your pics at the top and from the creaminess in the processor to the creaminess in the jar… is it the same? The jarred butter has a glassy, wet appearance. Did you add anything or is that after it sits and some of the natural oil rises? It looks beautiful!
LUV2CUSmile, That picture was taken immediately after pouring the nut butter from processor to jar. However, that was not the same nut butter I took the progression pictures for. That was a jar of homemade roasted cashew almond butter. The recipe page shows me making plain almond butter.
Aaaah, Thank-you- was just wondering- I now know the difference and will have to do like you and experiment with all types Thx
Wow! I just made this recipe and it is amazing. I was worried it wouldn’t turn out because I have a Magic Bullet, but it turned out great. It actually only took about 5 minutes, which is surprising because the appliance is so small. The almonds I used were still warm from roasting, could that have helped?
Thanks for the recipe. I’m off to eat my homemade almond butter with organic apples!
Samantha, Good to know it worked in the Magic Bullet. So many people think it won’t work unless they have a Vita-Mix. Not sure if the warm almonds helped or not, but as long as it turned out great, I’d stay stick with that method.
Excellent pics and info, but I have not been able to make almond butter yet! it simply stays granular. I think it may be my food processor, (that I bought it for since everyone seemed to think they are all alike). I have a Braun combimax 650. I have tried three different batches of nuts, steamed and raw, and nada. Had to add about a 1/4 cup of oil. I may have to buy another food processor?
Eve, Have you tried roasting the nuts? Helps bring out the natural oils and makes grinding into nut butters much easier.
only raw, since that is how I prefer it, more nutritious also! Most sites say the results are supposed to be the same…?
Eve, When I use raw almonds, it takes much longer for the food processor to grind it into nut butter, and it’s usually not as creamy. It does work, just take some patience. Other nuts that are higher in fat work better for raw nut butters. Try raw Brazil or raw macadamia nuts.
Almonds are among the healthiest nuts you can consume, as it is a good source of key nutrients including antioxidants, calcium, fiber, folic acid, iron, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin E.
you can also visit my blog to know more about the benefits of this wonderful food: http://www.cocoacassava.com/go-nuts-in-a-good-way-with-organic-raw-almond-butter/
All nuts have great nutritional value, and yes, some have more added benefits than others. Brazil nuts are yet another that is extremely beneficial since they contain high amounts of Magnesium (an over-looked mineral that is essential for many reasons) and Selenium, a trace element, which is also essential for many reasons.
Dana,
I love Brazil Nuts. People always seem to leave them behind when eating from the mixed nut bowls at parties. Makes me happy. More Brazil nuts for me!
Hey Heather ~ I know, so many people seem to either neglect them or they simply don’t care for them. Well, not me. I’ve always loved. I remember eating them when I was a little girl when my dad would get a ton of mixed nuts (with shell on) around the holidays. We’d always have a big bowl. I thought it was so cool to have so many dif. nuts to choose from AND to have the nutcracker there to crack them open. I always thought the Brazil nuts were extra special.
Dr. Oz eats them every day (yah, I watch his show and actually take notes on what I believe to be good-to-know info). From him I learned that Brazil nuts (along with almonds, walnuts, and cashews) are excellent brain food since they are high in Magnesium, a mineral that’s essential to the transmission of signals between the brain and the rest of the body. Yippee! So yah, it’s good to have a handful of these or a mix of these and the others, everyday. Again, just a handful.
Glad to have found your blog. I actually found you while searching “how long does homemade nut butters last in refrigerator”. I never did find the answer but definitely found interesting advice/comments/ideas on your blog regarding nut butters. I haven’t read all the comments so perhaps my question was answered and i never got to it. What are your thoughts/experiences?
And this might seem lame but what all does one do with nut butters? The only thing I can think to do with them is to, of course, put on toast or mix in ice cream (lol). I know, not very creative.
Happy Tuesday to you.
Hi Dana,
Woo-hoo, bring on the magnesium!
I see you found the answer to how long nut butters last in the fridge, and in regards to your question about what do with nut butters, I wrote a post all about that very topic here: http://heathereatsalmondbutter.com/2010/08/21/nutty-solutions/. Enjoy!
Hi:
I also love Brazil nuts. They are delicious and are similar to macadamia in their creaminess.
I am going to order a bunch of different nuts today from my nut supplier.
YUM!
Hi Linda ~ Where do you order your nuts from – and do you always buy organic? I’m just now desiring to order organic nuts on line (rather than buying from the local stores. It seems the online stores offer better deals). Nuts.com and bluemountainorganics are the two that I know of.
Great blog and great comments. Would like to add some things I have learned working at an alternative cancer clinic. Your immune system has to kick in and work hard to digest anything that is heated above around 115 degrees. Cooked food is pretty much dead and void of its enzymes and vitamins by the time you process it. On the other hand whenever you eat anything raw it strengthens your immune system. Our immune systems work all of our lives killing cancer cells. We only “get cancer” when our immune systems get depleted and cancer cells get the upper hand.
So if wondering whether to make it raw or roasted, I promise you that raw is sufficiently yummy and worth the extra minutes waiting for it to cream up. Also you can hurry it along by adding a bit of flax seed oil. Already a nutty taste, tons of omega three’s and it helps to lengthen the shelf life in the fridge. Just a few dashes does it.
Thanks for the input Kathleen. I do love my raw nut butters, but roasting seems to bring out a little more flavor. However, I definitely get on my raw kicks and do want to make more homemade raw nut and seed butters in the future. LOVE raw pumpkin seed butter.
Kathleen Mary, I urge you to look up some information on a body’s biochemistry and physiology in a science text book – that is not how cancers develop! Believe me, I study these things. Cancer is an unhappy consequence that sometimes occurs because things go wrong with the machinery in your body that makes new cells. Every time cells divide, there is a lot of potential for this machinery to go wrong, usually these are very minor glitches that get fixed or are minor enough to not cause illness. However, sometimes the glitches can be major and potentially spiral out of control resulting in cancer. It is more likely the older you get because if you think about it, the older you are, the more times your cells have divided and if a lot of the minor glitches build up, they can result in a major problem. Our bodies are so exquisite in not allowing it to happen most of the time. Of course there are some horrible cancers that can effect young people but those are too complicated to go into here.
Our immune systems do not normally recognise cancer cells (which is why they are so difficult to treat). This is because the cancer cells, being part of one’s own body fool the immune system into thinking that they are normal and safe.
Any enzymes in food do not assist the immune system in any direct way, only indirectly by being completely digested by the gut and providing energy and sustenance. Some vitamins are destroyed by the cooking process but others are enhanced by it, lycopene for example – it is in tomatoes and the more you cook the tomatoes, the more available it becomes and it is seriously good stuff.
I can’t comment on the benefits of raw food as I have not studied that but I do know that cooking is completely compatible with having a healthy life – look at how long the human race has been going strong!
PS SO SORRY Heather, forgot to mention awesome recipe – so excited about trying it!! Maybe I’ll add some cocoa nibs to it…. Thanks a lot!
It turned out perfectly! I roasted the almonds, and because I’m lazy, I didn’t stir them or line the pan. They were fine. Anyway, by adding a little bit of oil and just scraping down the sides every so often, I had beautiful, delicious almond butter in about 10 minutes!
I am so excited. I love almond butter (and cashew, and macademia, and wow the possibilities go on) but it’s so expensive in stores. Also, I have a mini Black and Decker food processor, not a nice big one, but it handled the almonds fine. I just had to make it in smaller batches.
Rebekah,
So glad it worked for you. Enjoy all your homemade nut butters!
Hello Heather,
I just made some homemade raw almond butter but I had to add oil.. I own a Vita- Mix and the recipe called for oil but I was trying to avoid it but I failed at the attempt… Here are the directions from the recipe…
Almond Butter
Substitute raw or dry roasted whole almonds. Add 1/2 cup (120 ml) of light-flavored oil during the blending process. Refrigerate and pour off excess oil the next day.
. Pour nuts into the Vitamix container and secure lid.
2. Select Variable 1.
3. Turn machine on and quickly increase speed to Variable 10, then to High, using the tamper to push the ingredients into the blades.
4. In 1 minute you will hear a high pitched chugging sound. Once the butter begins to flow freely through the blades the motor sound will change from a high pitch to a low laboring sound. Stop machine.
5. Store in an airtight container. It can also be frozen for longer storage.
Maybe I was too scared that my machine would over heat so I didn’t allow enough time for the mix to get buttery without oil?? I do not know what went wrong?? Do you know if other people have been able to make creamy raw almond butter with no added oil on their Vita -Mix??
Mari,
No, everyone I’ve known that has tried to make raw nut butter in their Vita-Mix has had to add oil. I usually add coconut oil, and it’s really yummy. Do you own a food processor? Mine makes raw almond butter without oil. It takes some time and patience, but it works. Hope this helps and good luck with your next batch!
I make almond butter in my vitamix and have never needed oil, so it is definitely possible, you may just need to let it go longer. Also be sure to pound it a lot with the tamper while it’s grinding. It will sound terrible, but don’t worry — the vitamix will actually shut itself down if it starts to overheat to prevent damage. I thought I had broken mine once when making a very icy smoothie, but then I learned this from the manual and sure enough it came back to life 15 min later!
Sarah,
Don’t you love your Vita-Mix? Such a brilliant machine.
I absolutely love p nut butter. but all the rage are the nut butters…i don’t want to spend the tons of money…Im trying this this weekend. Can I use it like reg p nut butter?
MsK2u,
Yep, just use your homemade nut butter just as you would peanut butter – on sandwiches, in baked goods, on oatmeal or toast, in savory dishes – like peanut sauce, etc.. The possibilities are endless. Enjoy!
i don’t have a food processor can you use a blender?
Ozn,
You might be able to pull off really small batches of homemade nut butter in a blender, and I know you can do it if you have something powerful like a Vita-Mix or Blendtec. Otherwise, again, just try a small batch, make sure to roast the nuts and perhaps add a little oil (I like coconut). Good luck!
thanks a lot….
Thank you for sharing this! I definitely have to try! I love almond butter and tahini, and it would be great to be able to make it myself. (I already make almond milk all the time, so now it’s time for the next step.
)
I am going to try this, but first i have a question
How long does the nut butter keep for and should it be stored in the fridge?
Thanks
Jo,
I would probably store in fridge if it takes you more than a couple of weeks to eat it.
The nut buter should last a good while – like the store bought stuff, and I only store my raw nut butters in the fridge. If they’re roasted, then I just keep them in the cabinet as the jars never last very long in our house.
Almond butter should be kept in the fridge. It will keep for about 3 weeks. You can also freeze it up to 3 months. The oils will prevent it from freezing solid.
Thanks for a prompt response, greatly appreciated.
Mattie and I just made our first batch of Almond Butter….very creamy!
We decided to try one recipe a week and since both the girls looove pancakes i have a feeling i know what the next one will be:)
Sharon,
So glad your almond butter turned out, and I hope the whole family enjoys some pancakes soon.
I just got a food processor for christmas and made this last night. It turned out so great and I can’t wait to experiment with different types of nuts! But how do you store your nut butters? I put it in a jar and it is just in the pantry…would you recommend refrigerating it instead? Also, how long does it keep? Thank you!
Taylor – what a great Christmas gift, and I’m happy to hear you’re already putting your processor to good use. I usually store roasted nut butters in our cabinet and raw nut butters in the fridge. Since they never last long in our house, I never worry about the roasted nut butters going bad, and I also don’t like how hard they get in the fridge. I prefer them a bit runny. I’d say the shelf life is at least a month if not longer. I know store bought ones last forever. Enjoy your nut butter experimenting!
This looks so yummy! Thank you for the detailed descriptions and the wonderful photographs!
Made this in my small food processor – it was great but I killed the food processor. I read you don’t know what type you have, but it sounds like everyone else is having good luck. Are there any suggestions on what to look for when purchasing a replacement? I want to purchase as inexpensively as possible. And thanks for these pictures, I had great success and would not have attempted it if I had not run across your site. I have passed it on to friends.
Hey Chris,
Glad you found me and thanks for spreading the word. However, I’m sorry that your food processor died. I’ve heard that both Cuisinart and KitchenAid make good food processors, and if you get a smaller one, they’re not too pricey. Do you have a Costco membership? If so, I would look there first as our Costco often has one of these brands (Cuisinart I think) for sale.
I’m definitely going to try this. Thank you!
Roasted Almond works well in a bullet type mixer, that can click on to a food Mixer Ours is a Kenwood Major Titanium.
I would have thought the heat generated when making the butter would negate the raw positives. also I read somewhere a while ago that the skin have a toxin in them and is the reason you rinse them so thoroughly. therefore i came to the conclusion that you may as well roast them. not scientific so much as sensible.
thanks for this recipe ~ worked out great! I didn’t toast and I used the sliced almonds (Fisher brand), creamy and good.. took your advice and added a bit of cinnamon – YUM!
Just curious do you mean 4-6 ounces by weight or by volume?
Wendy,
Weight.
What is the shelf life on homemade nut butter? And also, do you think a food processor can handle the job? We prefer raw.
Nicole,
My food processor will make raw nut butter – it just takes longer. Not sure about the shelf life as a jar never lasts that long around here. I do keep raw nut butters in the fridge, but I store my roasted in the cabinet for up to a couple of months with no problems. Hope this helps.
Yes, thank you! What kind of processor do you have if you don’t mind me asking? And how is it holding up? I’ve heard some things about the motors giving out etc, in which case it would be better to purchase a higher quality processor vs. replacing every year or two.
Nicole,
I don’t mind you asking at all, but I have no idea what type of food processor I have as it was a gift from a friend who imports prototype appliances. That being said, I hear that both Cuisnart and KitchenAid make really good models. Costco sells one of them for a really good price, but I can’t remember which one, and definitely worth investing in a higher quality one – I use mine all the time!
Hello, Thank you for the amazing Almond butter recipe. I started out with a recipie that called for drizzling olive oil till it became the consistancy you wanted…..YUCK too, too much oil so i was so happy to find your ricipe with out adding any oil at all, so much better. I have a Kitchen Aid Food Processor it has a lot of features and attatchments and even two bowls, one 12 cup and one 4 cup. I am not sure if this is true for others but i could not get the almond butter going with the 4 cup it just kept spining everything to the walls so i tried the larger 12 cup bowl and voila…beautiful almond butter. I ended up doing 1st a batch of raw almonds and then a batch of roasted and then mixed them together, i tasted both seperately they were both good but found the blend together perfect, also just for kicks i added a couple teaspoons of honey. yummmm~
Roxanne,
So glad it worked for you. I do not understand the recipes that call for added oil. It is so not necessary. I mean when you buy almond butter, do you ever see “olive oil” on the label under list of ingredients. Nope. If you let the processor run long enough, the natural oils from the nuts will be released, and that’s all you need…although a little added honey sounds divine.
I tried making the Pecan Nut Butter. I used 16oz of Pecans, 1/2 t of cinnamon, 1/2 t vanilla mixed in my Cuisenart and had no luck! It turned out runny and hasn’t thickened up in the fridge. It tastes good but what did I do wrong? I thought I got the recipe here but maybe not. Thanks
Jen,
Doesn’t sound like you did anything wrong to me. Some nuts release more natural oils than others, and I’ve found pecan butter to get slightly runny as well, but that’s how I prefer it. Great “drizzle” effect.
Next time, try stopping your food processor before it gets too runny for you.
Thanks for the quick response! I can’t wait to try the other butters!
I wonder if anyone has had success with raw nut butters by using nuts that have been soaked? The enzymes are more available that way, and I’d think they’d break down more easily in the food processor.
Anna, not sure. I’ve made raw almond butter but never soaked the nuts first. I’d love to try sprouted nut or seed butter.
I made roasted almond butter and once it was the right consistency I added a teaspoon of honey and a little less than 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. It immediately lost its creaminess. What happened? Did I add my honey and cinnamon at the wrong time?? Help! I loved the process and want to make more, but I want to do it right next time. The almond butter had a very dry, crumbly consistency. It melted well in a shrimp dish, but not so great for toast.
Francesca,
My advice would be to let your food processor run a bit longer. If you grind the nuts longer, more of their natural oils will be released, resulting in a creamier almond butter (up to 15 mins) and allow it to keep running when you add the honey and cinnamon. Hope this helps!
Thanks for responding! I did let it keep running but it seemed to keep getting more and more dry, so I stopped. It was almost back to the “clumping stage” – where the nut dust balls up. Hehe! So, even if that’s what it looks like, keep going?
Yep, keep going. Eventually it will start to smooth out and get runnier & less clumpy.
How long will it last?
Kim,
Never lasts long in our house, but I assume it will keep as long as store bought nut butter and longer if you store in the fridge. Personally, I keep roasted nut butters in a cabinet (again, we finish them off fairy quickly), and I store raw nut butters and tahini in the fridge.
What about coconut butter? Fridge? I find it’s already pretty solid and wouldn’t want it more so! I was wondering about oils too like EVOO – do they stay in fridge once opened or in dark place in pantry?
Thanks.
So do you prefer making nut butter in the food processor or the vitamix?
Andrea,
Definitely the food processor – it’s just easier. Takes longer, but you can make bigger batches at once, and clean up is easier. It’s difficult to dig all the nut butter out from the depths of the Vita-Mix.
Yes, I was struggling with getting it out of my Vitamix! I am excited to try it in the processor tonight. I was also scared to ruin the motor in the Vita, as they have a warning about nut butters in the recipe book!
Thanks so much for the tips!
After you make nut butter in a Vitamix make a smoothie. I made mine of a carrot, a celery stick, spinach, about 10 grapes and a little cold water and about 6 ice cubes. Put this or another kind of smoothie in the blender after you make the butter. Don’t try to clean it before you make the smoothie. Make the smoothie and then do the soap and water thing and it’s completely clean again. Easy.
Tried it out last night in the processor, and it turned out perfect!! Talk about satisfying watching those whole raw almonds turn into creamy almond butter. Thanks again for sharing!
I just ordered a 7 cup Cuisinart FP from amazon. Do you think it will be big enough for making your almond butter recipe?
Laurie,
Yes!
Thanks, Heather! You are the reason I originally bought my Vitamix and I have totally loved it for making many things but now that I want to get into nut butters, I’m thinking the food processor is the way to go. I’m excited to try your recipe!!
I tried this last night, but i read to soak them in water first….BAD Mistake!
They fermented on me during the night what a waste. will try this way next time.
I also think i need a new processer:( mine is pretty wempy
SO DON’T SOAK THEM IN WATER FIRST!
Will try this way on the next batch.
wasted a whole pound of nuts by soaking them first.
lesson learned.
Do you have to refrigerate the almond nut butter?
Never mind, had I read more I would have seen the answer to the fridge question
I’m a little nervous to try this, as I don’t want to burn out my food processor. It is a Cuisinart, but not very large. Maybe I’ll roast the almonds first, then chop them before putting into the processor. Wish me luck!
Jan,
Good luck – it will turn out yummy. Roasted almonds definitely make it easier on your food processor. Just be patient – it can take up to 15 minutes, and if things do get too hot, add a little oil. Coconut oil works great! Just don’t add water or nut milk.
I wish I had found your blog before I made my first attempt. My recipe called for canola oil. Since I didn’t realize you don’t need oil at all, I kept adding more oil hoping the almond dust would turn creamy. I ended up with a clump of oily grainy yuck. I will try again using my FP and no oil.
Heather, I found your site on Monday when I googled how to make my own nut butter. I’m a peanut butter addict, but I’m so disturbed by all the added sugars and preservatives added to most nut butters! Your directions worked great & I was able to turn a pound of raw peanuts into yummy, creamy peanut butter in just 3 minutes in my KitchenAid! I’ll never buy nut butters from the store again.
I’ve absolutely fallen in love with your site & can’t wait to read it each day. As a yoga teacher, it’s awesome to see you promoting a healthy but very accessible lifestyle with recipes & suggestions that are so easy to use (and promoting yoga!) Keep up the amazing work!
Laura,
What a wonderful comment to read first thing in the morning. Thank you and thanks so much for reading my blog. Happy to hear your homemade peanut butter turned out so well. With a good food processor, the possibilities are endless. Enjoy, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend filled with some amazing yoga!
Ni Hao Heather!
I just made my very first (ever) batch of roasted almond butter – in China! & it turned out fantastic, thanks to your great instructions & pictures! Patience is definitely a key ingredient in making this & getting it really creamy. I don’t have a big food processor, but it worked out just fine. I had brought some Redmond’s Natural Sea Salt with me and after tasting, put a few shakes in; it brought out the flavour a little more.
I love the taste of Nutella, but hate that it has so much oil and sugar (crap) in it. I’m definitely a chocolate lover, I think I will try to make my own versions; one with almond butter & one with hazelnut, probably sweeten with a little honey.
Thanks so much for sharing all of your recipes on the web! Living in a place where it’s difficult to find natural & healthy things to eat without extra junk added in – makes finding &using the recipes on your website more meaningful – I am grateful.
)
Blessings to you & your family.
Jane, and I am grateful to you for reading my blog. Many thanks and blessings to you as well. Now, go make yourself some homemade crap-free Nutella!
Much Love,
Heather
I know this is going to sound stupid but what are the calories per tablespoon do you think?
Andrea,
I’m assuming the homemade version is the same as any commercial nut butter. Probably about 90 to 110 calories per TBSP.
What great ideas and help from REAL people!!! Anyone have luck with the BlendTec and nut butters? My husband doesn’t like to clean blades with sticky nut butter! Also I have to economize and make sure I am getting a machine that does a great job with making smoothies out of whole foods. I know a lot of people use Vita-Mix but any takers on the BlendTec which would fit in my tiny kitchen?
Patty,
I’ve never tried a BlendTec, but I know a couple of people who prefer it over the Vita-Mix. I’ve used my Vita for small batches of nut butter, and so I’m sure the BlendTec will work just as well.
I understand that if using raw almonds you need to presoak overnight, then dry them (dehydrator speeds this up) to release some enzyme that makes them hard to digest otherwise.
So baking the almonds must also break down this enzyme – making the nutrients easier to assimilate into your digestive process, to fuel your body.
I loved your enthusiasm & photo’s. Thanks
That seems v easy, thanks, however my raw almonds never became creamy. Had the machine on for what seems like a decade however..
I’ll try roasting them first. And will try walnuts.
One thing I’m terrified of is letting the machine, ie my food processor run too long and that it burns out/breaks down/ just generally dies?
Do you keep yours going for 10 mins straight/ does it not become over heated/ have you not had such problems?
Susie,
Yes, roasting definitely helps. If you want to make raw nut butter, try nuts with a higher fat content like macadamia nuts or Brazil nuts. In my experience, they get creamier much faster. I’ve let my food processor run longer than 10 minutes plenty of times, and no it’s never over-heated, but I know other’s have had that problem. If you start to smell burning rubber, shut it off and let it rest a while and then try again. If it’s still smells like it’s burning, then I would quit using it.
Thank you! I shall next try peanuts and walnuts though, but both roasted probably. The problem with my chopper is that it’s quite small and it’s not that powerful,
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0000C6WPC/ref=asc_df_B0000C6WPC3396584?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B0000C6WPC
so I think even the instructions warn you not to run it continuously for more than 2 mins. I guess I can just stop and wait a little, maybe even stir the powdered nuts?
And last night I used my mum’s food processor, which is more powerful but quite big, didn’t want to grind a lot of almonds, as feared that they may go off in the fridge and I have real trouble (IBS-woes) with eating too much fat at once so I didn’t want to make a massive portion as I can’t have too much nut butter at once. But this meant that I was never quite sure whether the food processor was not merely stirring/chopping air, esp when the nuts started to become less powdery/ tiny bit more creamy.
Think it’s an art
Haha, yep, definitely art in the making.
I say grind for 2 minutes and then give your little processor a break. It will let you know when it has had enough. Don’t give up. 
What do you store almond butter in?
Marisa,
I store it in recycled glass nut butter jars. If I make raw nut butter, it goes in the fridge, but I keep my roasted nut butters in the cabinet as I prefer them runny rather than hard and cold. I never worry about them going rancid as it never takes me long to eat them.
Thank you so much for sharing this (even if it was awhile ago – bless the internet!). I live in Hungary and PB isn’t a stocked commodity here, which is something my 4 year old doesn’t understand. I tried making my own almond/cashew/pecan butter this morning and my daughter did nothing but say “mmmm” over and over when she was eating her sandwich. I doubt I’ll ever buy any kind of nut butter again!
Heather – the info you share is priceless, thank you. I am a juicer and after all this time I finally used my Champion to make raw almond butter. It was wonderful! And so easy (and with the juicer, no scraping or anything)! Ah well, never too late!
I’ve been using almond butter (and almond flour for almost all my baking) for about 18 months and love it. However, my doctor said I need to start rotating my foods and have a break from so many almond products to avoid a food intolerance to yet another thing (so far gluten, dairy, soy, rice, corn, etc.). So after reading this I made a butter following your great directions from pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, pecans, a few cashews, pistachios, and walnuts. In other words, just about everything I had in the refrigerator except almonds. It was fast and delicious. I now have an option! Thanks so much for helping so many.
Barbara,
Yum – your mixed nut butter sounds divine! Thanks so much for reading my blog.
Thanks so much for your reply! I will take your advice and roast the walnuts first.
This recipe works like a charm!! We just made ours …came out just as creamy and delicious as any store bought almond butter. I had tried a few times without success, and with your helpful suggestions on how to dry roast and then process the almonds we’re sure to use this recipe on a weekly basis!
Thank you for such an excellent description with pictures. I figured that for the price they are charging, I had better learn how to do it myself. Your page was perfect. Worked like a charm. I roasted almonds and added a bit of honey. Thanks.
Thank you so much!Im going to do this soon with macadamia and brazil nuts!!!yummy yum yum!:)
Tried this today with my Blendtec. Followed steps in the official Blendtec recipe book as shown below. After following the first 3 rounds of blending, it was still not creamy yet so I mixed in 1 Tbs of coconut oil and viola – after that it got creamy right away, on the 4th round. I used raw almonds, raw pecans, and roasted cashews. It tastes pretty darn good.
Blendtec “Fresh Peanut Butter”
3 c nuts
optional, 3 tsp oil
Speed 1 for entire cycle; scrape sides down with spatula. Speed 5 for full cycle; scrape sides down with spatula. Speed 5 for another full cycle. Continue until reaches desired consistency.
Awesome, thanks for sharing Terri. I’ve done the same with my Vita-Mix, but never with any other raw nut. The coconut oil worked great, and I loved the taste. Almond coconutty goodness.
PURE HEAVEN. I just made it, roasting the almonds as suggested and it was perfect. I put them in the food processor still warm, and it only took about 7 minutes. Some Youtube videos made this using a ridiculous amount of oils. My life may now be complete! THANKS FOR POSTING THIS!!!! (Another life changer is when I discovered frozen “banana ice cream”. WOW
Amber,
You’re so welcome. Enjoy your almond butter – no added oil required!
P.S. It’s really good atop banana soft serve.
Worked perfectly the first time, and tastes delicious too! Thank you!
Aloha!
I live on Maui and am looking for a way to actually “can” the nut butters so that I can make some nice Christmas packages to send to the mainland of jams made from our local fruits (strawberry guava or lilikoi) would like to make a macadamia nut butter. I have been making the almond butter in my Vitamix (well worth the price, I got rid of my food processor). However, am wondering if you know if the nut butters can be canned in the same way that
jams are. Will it make the nut oil turn rancid?
Aloha!
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie,
So glad you’re enjoying your Vita-Mix! As far as canning nut butters go, I honestly have no idea. I do buy my tahini in a sealed can, and it then requires refrigeration after opening. So it might work? I know I’d be overjoyed to receive homemade nut butter for Christmas!
Heather,
I love this whole new nut butter world I’ve just been opened up to! I’ve already successfully made homemade peanut butter and can’t wait to try other nuts out. I am a college student and don’t have much of a budget to give out elaborate Christmas presents to my family and friends this year, so I had the idea to make everyone their own nut butters. Since I would like to make them in advance, I was wondering if you had ever heard of being able to can nut butters without changing their tastes with the can boiling process?
Thanks, Amy
Amy,
Weird, the commenter above you asked the very same thing a few days ago about canning nut butters, and honestly, I have no idea. I do buy my tahini in a sealed can, and it then requires refrigeration after opening. So it might work? I know I’d be overjoyed to receive homemade nut butter for Christmas.
Hey their!
I tried this over the weekend but used my Ninja blender-I don’t recomend that. I had to keep scraping the sides..that was discouraging so I put it in my food processor and oh my goodness what a difference! I didn’t use any oil and only used the bag of almonds I got from Sam’s club. I wasn’t a really big fan of the flavor so I added some cocoa. That helped some. I feel it needs some sweetness to it so next time I’ll add (as someone mentioned) some honey. It did turn out like the pics! Thank for the step by step! My boyfriends’ son is a huge fan of almond butter so I can’t wait till he visits. He’s excited about trying this especially when I sent him a pic. So now I know what to get him for Christmas! A food processor! This will save him alot of money because as he put it “I’m a pnut butter and almond butter junkie! LOL!
Kathy,
As an almond and peanut butter junkie myself, I’m so happy to hear the recipe worked in your food processor, and I think that would make a great gift for your boyfriend’s son. I use mine all the time! And yes, cocoa almond butter with a little added sweetener (I prefer maple syrup) is delicious! Can’t go wrong with those ingredients.
fantastic! the pictures and info were so clear, this was incredibly easy…i now make my own nut butters every week! sooo yummy!
dd,
Oh good, so glad it worked for ya. Yummy indeed.
Hi, looks yummy! How much almond butter do you get from one cup of almonds?
Hi Nicole,
1 cup of almonds yields slightly more than 1/2 cup almond butter, and it’s very yummy!
For an even heathier twist add some ground flax seed to your nut butters. Not to much tho. It will make it harder to get it creamy.
Can you do this with a high end blender also? I don’t have a food processor – I just spent a lot on a great blender!
Lanna,
Yes, if you have something along the lines of a Vita-Mix or Blendtec, you can make nut butters. Roasted nuts work best. I’ve made raw almond butter in my Vita-Mix but had to add a little oil (used coconut), and it turned out delicious! It’s hard to clean the nut butter out from around the blades, but you can always take the blender apart if you need to – easier to clean that way. Hope it works for ya!
I used my vitamix to make almond butter tonight. All I had was sliced almonds. I toasted them briefly in the oven. Then dumped 200 g of the toasted almonds in the blender. It worked! No added oil either. I’d included a dusting of stevia, dash of cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. WOW! It tastes incredible. It’s calling me now. Gotta go!
Brian,
So glad it worked for you, and that combo does sound pretty incredible. Enjoy a big spoonful for me!
Thanks for this recipe. I’ve tried it with almonds and walnuts and it’s fantastic. I live in Chile and the only kind of nut butter they sell here is peanut butter. If I want to have any other kind of nut butter, I HAVE to make it myself.
Well, I’m just chagrined reading all these comments. I have a Cuisinart food processor (7-cup model) and tried making almond butter last night in it. Used 3-4 cups of toasted almonds and ran processor for at least 5 minutes, kept scraping the “nut dust” down several times, but it just wasn’t getting creamy. So added a couple of Tbls of coconut oil … still nothing like your picture…by this time I was getting frustrated and processor was getting hot on the sides so added even more coconut oil and some honey. After 10 solid minutes, still not creamy. The taste is great, but what could be the problem? Did I use too many nuts at one time? Can it be salvaged? I hate to waste all those almonds! I have a Blend-tec blender….should I put small amounts of the mixture in there and just let it run?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.
IB,
So sorry it didn’t work for you. I would try adding about half the amount of almonds next time, and as far as your current batch goes, I would try processing it again in two or three separate batches. It should also work in your Blendtec in small batches. Hope you end up with some creamy nut butter soon!
Hello again Heather,
Good ol’Blendtec! It came through just fine smoothing up all that almond mess I made last night! I did it in 2 small batches according to their instructions for making peanut butter; although I did push the Speed up to 8 during the last go-round. Next time I will start with only 1 or 1 1/2 cups of nuts and hopefully I won’t have to add any oil. Thanks for your quick reply to my last email and your great website! Have a happy week!
Hi I B.
Yay, so glad round #2 worked, and I hope you have a great week as well. Thanks for reading my blog.
I made this today, thanks to your easy tutorial! My almonds were a little on the dry side, so I added 1/4 tsp. organic canola oil once it was smooth. It took 30 minutes for it to be completely creamy! Patience is a virtue, I guess, but it was worth it! I ‘seasoned’ it with sea salt and nutmeg for a nice autumn flavor.
Hi eddie, so glad it worked for you, and I love nutmeg. ‘Tis the season. Hope you enjoy an almond butter filled fall!
Thanks for sharing! Wow, I will never ever buy almond butter again!! Delicious!!! <3
What about soaking the almonds first? Even to the point of sprouting?
Thanks,
Deb
Deb,
If I recall, I don’t think I’ve ever tried making sprouted almond butter, but I remember reading somewhere that you should dehydrate the soaked almonds in a dehydrator first to dry them out before processing. I’m thinking damp almonds just make kind of a pulpy goo.
Here is some interesting info on ‘sprouting’ almonds. http://sproutpeople.org/seeds/almond.html
I plan to ‘sprout’ mine, and then dehydrate them before I throw them in the FP….Should work great!
Thanks for the info Bekah and good luck. Hope you’re enjoying sprouted almond butter soon.
LOL! You’re probably right Heab. Thanks
I was also thinking they may spoil sooner to?
Deb, you’re welcome, and yes, I would definitely keep raw sprouted almond butter in the fridge. I’m thinking it wouldn’t last more than a few weeks before spoiling, but I’m not sure. Let me know if you try it!
Hehe i just used my budget $32 blender and made some awesome roasted almond butter in about 20minutes including the clean-up. I only needed to blend the almonds for about 5minutes total and they were done.. is that weird? I was thinking the whole process wouldn’t even work since my blender is not that good.
Sarahemily,
Weird? No, more like fantastic.
Glad it worked for ya!
Hi,
How long does it keep for and should I store it in the fridge?
Thanks
Hi Andrew,
I know most store-bought jars of nut butter say to refrigerate after opening, but I never refrigerate mine (unless raw) b/c I don’t like hardened, hard-to-scoop nut butter. That being said, jars never sit on our shelf for long and are usually gone within a few weeks of opening. So, I’ve never had a jar go bad on me. Keep in mind that homemade nut butters contain zero additives/preservatives, and so if it takes you a while (more than a couple of weeks) to finish the jar, I’d refrigerate. If kept in the fridge, roasted nut butter will last several months – up to six from what I’ve read. If it smells at all funny or taste sour, then throw it out as rancid nut oils can are bad news. My raw nut butters go straight to the fridge after opening, and I usually eat them within a couple of weeks as well. Not exactly sure how long they will last in the fridge.
Thanks. I just stuck it in the fridge anyway.
Just some feedback on the process of others who might read, I made mine with raw almonds and no other ingrediants and it took me about 35 minutes to get it into a paste form. I had to keep stopping and starting because it clumped at the bottom of the processor and the blades would just slide over it. Thank most likely has more to do with the processor than the method that Heather describes, so just be sure to keep this in mind.
Andrew
Ahhh, got my answer. I knew if I were patient enough and went through all the comments, I’d find an answer.
Thanks!
Just a tip: My Oster food processor rocked this. I did 3 oz cashew and 3 oz almonds, and one scrape down, 7 minutes later, I had butter. It was so crazy to watch, too! The transformations between nut to grained texture to clumpy to butter. I brought my husband in when I did a second batch!
Thanks!!
Thank you HEAB! made this this morning in my Cuisinart 4 cup FP.
It is a very old model but stood up to the time and heat awesomely.
I just recommend to new folks, do not quit before you get the butter consistency. My almonds (roasted for 10 min at 250) had been stored in the freezer and so I feared they were too dry, but no. They needed more time and smaller batches. Well worth the effort.
Johanna, so glad it worked for you, and yes, being patient definitely pays off when it comes to making nut butter.
So simple – I love it
Thanks Maryroze, me too.
You done good! I used your directions to make almond-cashew butter. If I didn’t have your page as a resource, I would never have gone for 13 minutes; I would have given up after just a couple!
It truly is almost magical — the longer you process, the creamier it gets. Thanks to you, I have a delicious, creamy almond-cashew butter with no added oils necessary!
Amy,
Yes, patience definitely pays off when it comes to homemade nut butter. Hope you’re enjoying lots of almond-cashew goodness this weekend.
Hi all, I just thought I’d comment on here too since I seem to spend a lot of time reading comments of how to make almond butter. I tried making it in my Ninja (very powerful blender) and it was a no go! Worked on it for over an hour off and on, nothing but dust and crumbles! So I finally bought a food processor and tried again yesterday. Again over an hour, nothing. I finally had to give in and add a tiny bit of water. That seemed to do the trick, but the almond butter was very pale although very good tasting! I am using raw almonds only. I do not want to add oil as I am trying to keep this very healthy. I think perhaps I will try roasting them in the oven as suggested. I’m thinking my nuts are just too dry and maybe the roasting will help release some of the oils thereby facilitating the creaming process! Any comments or hints will be appreciated. I am trying to remain a purist about this and I am refusing to add anything to my almond butter except almonds. Anybody with me on that?
Hi Virginia,
Sorry it took so long in your food processor, but yes, roasting the almonds first should help as it will bring out the natural oil of the nuts. Hope the next batch happens more quickly.
Nice. I’ve always made mine by pushing toasted nuts through a Champion juicer. Quick and the cleanup is easy; just use hot water.
Hi Priya,
How cool – didn’t know you could make nut butter with a juicer. Impressive machine that Champion.
thank you so much! the method worked like magic. can’t believe how simple it was. so creamy and delicious <3
Anutha,
Great, so glad it worked for you. Hope you’re enjoying some of that delicious nut butter for breakfast this morning!
Did it last night and it worked! Used raw almonds in a Mophy-Richards medium-duty processor. It’s pretty cool when the transition happens – for a few mikutes, it’s clumpy and dusty, but at a certain moment it just transforms into butter. Will be doing this regularly, and trying different nuts!
Has anyone ever tried putting protein powder in the mix?
Max,
So glad it worked for you, and yes, the transition from dusty nut clumps to creamy nut butter is pretty cool. I’ve never tried adding protein powder when making homemade nut butter, but I have stirred it together with a little store bought nut butter as a snack. Love spreading it on apples. If adding to a batch of homemade nut butter, you might need to add a bit of oil to keep it smooth.
I just made this! It was wonderful ! Thank you!
Thanks Hannah Jane.
PS – I love your illustrations!
Thanks for the clear explanation *and* photos – great page! Wish I’d seen this before I experimented unsuccessfully so many times. ;oD My favorite is mixed nut butter ….I’m in California and I shop mostly at Whole Foods, and they have a great organic raw mixed nut combination in the bulk department –Brazil nuts, cashews, almonds, and pecans. By the time it becomes mixed nut BUTTER, it’s even better than just out of the bag!
Hi Kristi, so glad you found me, and I hope your future nut butter experiments are more successful. I’ve made a mixed nut butter out of roasted and salted mixed nuts. So good, but I’d love to try a raw version. I’ll have to look for the mix the next time I’m at Whole Foods or just make my own. Love Brazil nuts, and they get so creamy in the food processor. All those yummy fats!
I’ve have been reading that a Vitamix will make almond butter in about 3 minutes. Seriously considering investing, even though I have a Hamilton Beach food processor. Or to go the other direction: Has anyone used a hand grinder to make nut butter? Or would that just make nut meal?
Hi Carol,
Yes, the Vitamix will make nut butter. Roasted nuts work great, but I’ve had to add a little oil when using raw nuts. I prefer the food processor because you can make bigger batches at once, and clean up is much easier. It’s hard to clean out the nut butter from down around the Vita-Mix blade, and I usually end up having to take it apart. That being said, I LOVE my Vita-Mix. Got a reconditioned model years ago and use it often.
Thanks for this recipe! I decided to add a bit of organic maple syrup to mine when I made it and I love the way it turned out. Here’s the recipe I used, if you are curious to check it out: http://www.creativesimplelife.com/2013/01/02/organic-roasted-almond-butter/
Thanks!
Ro-ro. I bought a big bag of almonds at Costco and put 5 c. raw almonds, 2/3 c. flax seed meal and salt in the processor. Things went well for a while. Then the motor seized up. I added a bunch of water and mixed up two quart-sized batches of this almond flax butter. It is tasty, for sure. But the broken food processor trumps the homemade savings. Make small batches, right?
Pambela,
Oh no, so sorry to hear about your food processor! Smaller batches are definitely key. Enjoy your almond flax butter – sounds like you have plenty.
Its yummy. By the time its gone, I’ll have saved up for the new machine. I’m currently putting it in protein smoothies to add extra fat and depth. I’m going to try the sloppy joes recipe.
Enjoy your sloppy joe’s. Another recipe I need to revisit.
I am so excited about this, I will definitely try it tonite.
Hi Sia,
I’m so glad. Enjoy your nut butter!
Can anyone give me a formula to figure out how many cups of nuts makes how many cups of nut butter? I would like to figure out how much (if any) money I would save over buying (already made) nut butters
Hi Susan,
For me, 1 cup of almonds yields slightly more than 1/2 cup almond butter. Hope this helps!
Sometimes my nut butter gets so creamy it becomes liquid. Other times it stays in a flaky powder form, never getting remotely creamy. Does anyone know what could cause this to happen? I need my butter to be more consistent. Does it have anything to do with the temperature of the nuts before I put them in? Do I put them in while hot or cooled off? Or is that not the issue? I roast them first then put in the food processor. Please help, thanks!
Vicki,
From what others have said, warm nuts will turn into nut butter more quickly. So, yes, I would try letting them cool first, and consistency can be different for different nuts. For me, nuts with a higher fat content tend to get more creamy. (Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, etc).
Hi Heather,
Thank you for your response. I am a bit confused though, if warm nuts turn into butter quicker, isn’t that a good thing? My first time I can’t recall if they were warm or cool but I believe they were somewhat cool and they were creamy liquid when I was done, the 2nd time I didn’t put them in hot, but somewhat warm, and it’s the 2nd time they turned into flaky powder crumbles. I was working with hazelnuts only.
Sorry Vicki,
I didn’t read your first comment right. I thought you meant the nut butter was always turning too liquidy right away. I’m not sure why it sometimes turns into powder crumbles, and other times your nut butter gets creamy, especially when you’re using with the same type of nuts. I’m kind of stumped on this one. Same brand of hazelnuts or did the different batches come from different sources?
Hi Heather,
Well the first hazelnuts were from the grocery store in the bulk section no shells. Those are the ones that worked. The 2nd set was from a farm, I spent forever breaking the shells on those. Those are the ones that turned to flaky powder. In both cases I toasted before putting into the food processor. I can’t imagine that fresh ones would have this kind of issue? But I don’t know what else it could be? It’s so strange. If this is the case, then it’s difficult to know exactly which would work again because the store may get them from different sources and some fresher than others. It baffles me how one can practically turn liquid whereas the other pure powder.
Hi Vicki,
I wonder if the hazelnuts without shells sold at your store were blanched to remove the shells? Blanched nuts will turn creamier much sooner than fresh raw nuts. Only reason I can come up with….I’m baffled too.
Hi Heather,
One thing I know is it’s not the processor since it’s brand new and worked awesome the first time. My stuff now looks like your scrape scrape scape pic, but it just can’t get past that. The first time it went through that step and on to creamy goodness. So my friend said maybe I didn’t put in enough nuts, but it was similar amount to last time. So that leaves what you mentioned. How would I know if the stores are blanched? Their weren’t white, and I peeled them after I toasted them in the oven, so I assume their not blanched? This time around I couldn’t peel them after I toasted them, I tried but the skin wouldn’t come off at all, before I got 50% off. That’s the only difference. But that would only make it a grainy creamy, not powder right? Especially since before I only got 50% off anyway.
One more thing, you said blanched nuts would turn creamier *faster.* But my fresh ones didn’t turn creamy later, but not at all, like half an hour I tried versus minutes before. So maybe the fresh farm ones I need more of them to get the result of the store ones? Because although I used the same amount of nuts each time, they would just stick to the sides as powder flakes no matter I was constantly scraping them off with the spatula. The other time I scraped and it made a difference. Gosh this is confusing, and I’m the only one it seems who has this issue lol.
Hi Vicki,
Gosh, again I’m stumped, and sorry you can’t find an easy solution. I would recommend sharpening your blade, but you probably don’t need to since your processor is new. The difference has to be in the various batches of hazelnuts. If the skins were on, they they weren’t blanched (I thought you meant you bought skinless hazelnuts). So yeah, something is different about the nuts. I just don’t know what that difference is, and I hope your next batch turns out better!
Thanks Heather. For anyone who uses hazelnuts, are they from the store or farms? I wonder why the store one I could peel some of them after toasting and couldn’t peel any at all after toasting with the farm fresh ones? Wonder if that indirectly has to do with why I am experiencing what I am. Not that it shouldn’t get creamy either way, only a little grainy with the skin but should still be creamy. I had the same issue with the NEW Cuisinart I gave away thinking it was defective. Now the same issue with a NEW Kitchenaid. Just wonder though if the answer has to do with that difference at all. The farm ones are cheaper and tastier so I am not excited to use store ones when I have access to the best in my state. Will keep you informed if I learn anything.
OMG! It worked!
I just stumbled across your site today, and decided to try making roasted hazelnut-almond butter. It turned out great! I added only a pinch of sea salt. I can’t wait to try different nuts an some of your other suggested additions like maple syrup and cinnamon.
I already have my eye on a few of your other recipes. Thanks for taking the time to share!
Dee,
Oh good, so glad it worked for you, and I hope you enjoy the other recipes. Thanks for reading, and I’m glad you found me.
Decided to give this a go using my wifes blender/processor. I managed to break it completely and it refuses to work now so she is not happy. I am in the UK and the blender was about £30GBP or $46
It tastes rather good but has worked out more expensive than buying it from the health store which only charges around $8 for a small jar. Oh well, live and learn.
How long will it keep?
Hi Ray,
Sorry about the blender/processor, and I hope your wife isn’t too upset.
I know most store-bought jars of nut butter say to refrigerate after opening, but I never refrigerate mine (unless raw) b/c I don’t like hardened, hard-to-scoop nut butter. That being said, jars never sit on our shelf for long and are usually gone within a few weeks of opening. So, I’ve never had a jar go bad on me. Keep in mind that homemade nut butters contain zero additives/preservatives, and so if it takes you a while (more than a couple of weeks) to finish the jar, I’d refrigerate. If kept in the fridge, roasted nut butter will last several months – up to six from what I’ve read. If it smells at all funny or taste sour, then throw it out as rancid nut oils can are bad news. My raw nut butters go straight to the fridge after opening, and I usually eat them within a couple of weeks as well. Not exactly sure how long they will last in the fridge.
I love almond butter ( my favourite of nut butters ) but it is so expencive here that i live. There is only one brand and its expencive.
I found this post and decided to give it a try even if i don’t have the best food processor(its REALLY old
)I wasnt hopefull but the butter was so easy to make!
I roasted my almonds at 200°c for 10 minutes ( 1 cup and a half- i sadly didnt have more at home) then put them in the FP and the butter was done in like..7minutes! so fast and so easy. Im planning to make the butter regularly now! going to give peanut butter a try too… i love cashews but i never tried cashew butter before.. is it any good?
( excuse my possibly crappy english- i’m not a native speaker )
<3
Hi Masa,
Your English was great.
I’m happy to hear the almond butter worked out for you and so quickly. Your REALLY old food processor must be an oldie but goodie. Enjoy experimenting with different nuts. Cashew butter is good but not as flavorful as almond or peanut butter. One of my favorites is roasted pecan. So yummy.
hi heather,
thanks for this recipe. i was just wondering why 4 ounces of raw cashews only made about 1 ounce of cashew butter? is this normal?
Hi Ta,
You’re welcome, and with almonds, the amount of nuts I use usually yields about half the amount of nut butter. So, if I use 8 ounces of almonds, I’ll end up with about 4 ounces of almond butter. I’m not sure why you only ended up with an ounce of cashew butter.
Ta,
PS I found this recipe for cashew butter (http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2006/07/cashew_butter.php), and the blogger ended up with my same results. Her recipe calls for 2 cups cashews and yields about a cup. Sorry you’re ending up with so little. Wish I could be more of more help!
thank you for the quick response! aah well, it still tastes delicious
I wonder about adding coconut oil. That would be a heart healthy option as well. Then you would have coconut flavored almond butter!
Vicky,
Coconut oil is the only oil I ever add to my nut butters. It’s amazing in raw almond butter!
Thanks mucho mucho heather! I just made my 1st almond butter! Can’t belive it’s so easy!
Btw, is it ok to add some flax seeds while processor i running? im trying to get as much Omega 3 as i can. Tnx
Liz, you’re so welcome, and as far as the flax seed go, I don’t think I’ve ever tried it. I would wait until your nut butter is creamy, and then adding them should be fine. However, not sure if they would get ground up at that point, and so you might want to add flax seed meal instead of whole flax seeds. Hope it works!
That was really helpful! Again, tnx for responding quicker than almond butter! XD
I just made my nut butter in my magic bullet. Wonderful, except mine was too thick. Oh well, there is always next time!
Kayla, oh well indeed. Thicker nut butter is much easier to eat with a spoon.
You could always try adding a little almond or coconut oil next to make it thinner. Just don’t add water as it will spoil much sooner.
i ground my hazelnuts for an hour or something, but they never got creamy. i am very disappointed, especially because i had such a hard time cracking and peeling them…
Eva,
Oh no, I’m sorry it didn’t work for you. How old is your food processor? The blades made need to be sharpened. Also, did you toast your hazelnuts. Toasting the nuts before grinding helps release their natural oils and speeds up the process.
i toasted them for a bit, i was afraid to burn them… the food processor is actually more than 20 years old, but only used 1 week a year, on passover…
Hmm, I’m assuming it’s the processor then. Might need to sharpen the blades as even though they’re not used often, they’ve been around for a while. Wishing you peace this Passover season.
My food processor and almond butter gets hot after its done.
Is it that my processor is bad or this getting hot is normal?
Doesn’t getting hot effects the almond butter health benefits?
Great blog you have
John, it’s normal for it to get warm. but just be careful as you don’t want to burn out your food processor’s motor. If you ever smell a burning smell, shut your food processor off, and let it rest for several minutes. If you’re using raw almonds, some people think that the enzymes get destroyed after the nuts are heated above a certain temp (usually about 115 degrees), but I usually make roasted nut butter and don’t worry about mine getting warm. Personally, I do not believe heating almonds takes away any of their health benefits.
Just made some roasted almond butter for the first time. Everything went great and I had the perfect consistency! That was, until I decide I wanted it a bit sweeter and added some honey and it went back to crumbles! I ended up fixing it with a tiny bit of oil after about 20 minutes, but I’m wondering what I did wrong? Am I not supposed to add the “extras” to the food processor and instead mix in by hand? Thanks!
Ps. This really was super easy, can’t wait to experiment with other nuts!
Hi Kelly, I usually add in any extras at the end as well, and it usually takes another few minutes to get creamy again (maybe 10). Not sure why it took so long, but yes, adding some oil was the best way to fix it. You did nothing wrong, and I’m glad it work for you. Have fun experimenting!
This turned out amazing! I’m so excited about it that I’m actually leaving feedback for once! I roasted my almonds first and since I have a tendency to burn EVERYTHING, I lowered the oven temp to 300 F after 6 minutes. I stirred them, then popped them back in for an additional 10. Due to my impatience I put them right into the processor which I think worked to my advantage because I ended up with creamy almond butter in about 10 minutes. After transferring it to a jar I added some honey and voila! Awesomeness! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Trisha,
So glad it worked for you and thanks for the feedback. I definitely think using warm almonds helps speed along the process. Enjoy your honey almond awesomeness.
Omg! Great instructions! Smells delicious, and tastes even better! My eyes have been opened. Thank you!
Lindsey,
You’re welcome.
My almonds did get smooth and creamy in the FP but after I added some honey, sea salt & coconut oil it was hard and dried out. Any ideas to keep it creamy?
Hi Heather,
The coconut oil should make your almond butter even creamier. I would add it first and then add the honey and sea salt. It will clump up but then should get smooth again – might take a while, like up to 10 minutes.
Hi! I am so glad I found this site. I am a nut butter addict and my addiction is getting pricey! I figured I can get nuts in bulk and make my own butters. I am excited! Thanks so much.
Carol,
Glad you found me too. Enjoy your homemade nut butter!
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Today I made homemade almond butter with a good processor.. It did everything it was supposed to do until I added honey into it and now it is hard.. I don’t know what to do! Help? Did the honey make it hard or did turning on and off the good processor make it hard? And is there any way I can turn it back to butter again?
Hi Miranda,
After adding honey, your homemade nut butter will get dry and clump, but after processing for several more minutes (8 – 10?), it should get creamy again. Hope this helps!
How many watts is your food processor?
Thanks.
Hi Janet,
According to the bottom, it’s an 800 watt.
Hi there,
I’ve seen nuts that say they are already toasted/roasted. Can I use these or should I toast them again? Thanks! I’ve had success and failures with nut butters, but some of the comments on here have been very helpful!
Nutter,
Yes, those should work great and leaves you with one less step to do. Hope you’re enjoying some homemade roasted nut butter soon!
Someone commented about raw cashews being expensive. Try your local Indian market (Asian Indian, not Native American
. Big bags of raw cashews for not too much moola. You can roast / toast them yourself in the oven sorry I don’t remember what temp/time, as I was just experimenting – probably about 300F and waiting until I could smell something! (Try toasting them with some sage (or, poultry seasoning) and a very little pinch of salt, just to eat as a snack). THANK YOU ALL for the inspiration – I’m going to dig out my machine and give homemade nut butter making a try!
Moiche,
You’re welcome and thank you for the cashew tips. Roasted sage cashews sound amazing. Hope you’re enjoying some homemade nut butter soon!
I just made some hazelnut butter and OMG it is great and so easy. I toasted the nuts at 350 for about 12 minutes then put them in my food processor and in about 10 minutes I had very smooth hazelnut butter. I did do a small batch though since this was my first attempt at nut butter of any kind. I’ll be making my own nut butters for sure from now on. Thanks for a great recipe HEAB and the helpful comments from others too.
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for letting me know that your hazelnut butter turned out, and I hope you’re enjoying a variety of homemade nut butters soon.
I just tried making some almond butter and it was a disaster. I waited 15 min, 30 min, 40 mins then and hour and still nothing. I have a cuisinart 11 cup, but it just kept staying in that crumbled moist stage. The only thing I could think that would be the problem is that I soaked the almonds before hand. But i stopped after the machine started making a high pitched sound haha. Any thoughts because as others have mentioned the expense of raw almond butter is so high, but I think how long I tried to process they are no longer raw anymore!
Sarah,
I’m thinking it was the soaking. If you want raw almond butter, I would either skip the soaking altogether or soak and then dehydrate the almonds at a low temp until crunchy. If there is any moisture from the water left in the almonds at all, I don’t think it will work. Good luck, and I hope the next batch turns out for ya!
Thank you for your help I will try that! I ended up making nut milk with it so it didn’t turn out so negatively
Very excited to make it! Even more excited to eat it =)
Hi Natalya,
I’m excited for you. Enjoy!
Ta daaaa!!!! I did it!!! After going to Trader Joe’s and looking for their Almond Butter for over a month and them telling me they have not been able to get any a thought came to me (lol) I had heard it wasn’t too difficult making almond butter so I googled you and found you. I decided to toast the almonds, next time I may try and use raw ones. The only thing I added was two pinches of sea salt to three cups of almonds. My food processor had been taking a few years vacation, I think its vacation time is over! Thank you so much.
Hi Carmen,
Yeah, our TJ’s has been out of almond butter the last few times I’ve been there as well. Glad you found me and that the method worked for you. Also happy to hear the food processor is back in action!
hello, can I also make home-made almond (or any other nut) butter if I have a 400W blender?
Therese,
I don’t think so. You need a more powerful blender like a Vita-Mix or Blendtec. Sorry.
does this need to be refrigerated?
Hi Jeaneen,
I know most store-bought jars of nut butter say to refrigerate after opening, but I never refrigerate mine (unless raw) b/c I don’t like hardened, hard-to-scoop nut butter. That being said, jars never sit on our shelf for long and are usually gone within a few weeks of opening. So, I’ve never had a jar go bad on me. Keep in mind that homemade nut butters contain zero additives/preservatives, and so if it takes you a while (more than a couple of weeks) to finish the jar, I’d refrigerate. If kept in the fridge, roasted nut butter will last several months – up to six from what I’ve read. If it smells at all funny or taste sour, then throw it out as rancid nut oils can are bad news. My raw nut butters go straight to the fridge after opening, and I usually eat them within a couple of weeks as well. Not exactly sure how long they will last in the fridge.
Has anyone tried using a stick mixer? like the ones you use to pulverise soups and stuff? I think ill give it a go. Half almonds and half walnuts? How would that taste?
Jennifer,
I love almond walnut butter, but I don’t think an immersion blender will cut it. I will just throw the nuts around. You need a blender with a high speed motor like a VitaMix or Blendtech or a powerful food processor to grind the nuts.
This looks great! Can anybody tell me how much butter I’d get from 4-6 oz of almonds? What sort of jar would it fill? Thanks
Hi Rebecca,
From 8 ounces of nuts, I usually get about 4 ounces of nut butter. So, 4 to 6 ounces should yield around 2 to 3 ounces of nut butter. I usually put mine in recycled peanut butter jars or you could use an 8 ounce mason jar. Enjoy!
Thank you!
Oh my gosh I just made mine with coconut oil, cocoa powder (thickens/dries it so add oil accordingly), vanilla extract, maple syrup and a bit of salt. Took me five minutes and It. Is. Delish. My own chocolate almond butter with ingredients I can pronounce. Win!
Jenelle,
Win indeed! Sounds delicious. Love chocolate almond butter.
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