How To Make Homemade Almond Butter

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Everyone should know how to make homemade almond butter. Not only is it significantly cheaper than most store bought varieties, but it's also healthier and tastier. The best part is that it's incredibly easy to make. With a sturdy food processor, and bit of patience, you too can make a jar of delicious, crunchy almond butter.

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Ingredients
Nutritional Benefits
Instructions
Cooking Tips
Recipe Video
How To Serve
Recipe Variations
Equipment
Similar Recipes
How To Make Homemade Almond Butter

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make almond butter in a food processor:

Almonds: While roasted, salted almonds make a good snack, you'll want to use use raw, unsalted almonds to make nut butters. That's because you'll do the roasting yourself in this recipe. Freshly roasted, warm almonds will blend more easily.
Cinnamon: To add extra flavour, you have the option to add cinnamon. Besides being good for your taste buds, cinnamon offers up anti-viral and anti-fungal properties too.
Vanilla Extract: Similarly, you have the option to add this ingredient for taste. Vanilla extract has a sweet and potent flavour, almost caramelly in taste. So, if you have a sweet tooth, this is a good add-in that doesn't pack a lot of calories.
Salt: Salt is a universal flavour improver, bringing out the natural flavour in foods - including this homemade almond butter.

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

Nutritional Benefits

If you're like me, almond butter is a staple in your diet. But, is almond butter actually good for you? In a word, yes.

What makes this crunchy almond butter healthier?

Almonds are packed with healthy fats: Almonds are high in healthy fats that are body needs called monounsaturated fats. These fats are important for growth, development and reducing inflammation in the body.
Almonds are high in vitamin E: Almonds are one of the best sources of vitamin E, which is vital to our immune systems, an important antioxidant, and protects our eyesight.
Homemade almond butter is healthier than store bought: Because you control the inputs, this homemade almond butter recipe is often healthier than store bought varieties that can be loaded with additives and sugar. By buying raw almonds over roasted almonds, you're also getting slightly more nutritional value in the nuts, as they're closer to their natural state.
Almond butter is healthier than peanut butter: While both nut butters offer nutritional value, almond butter has slightly more vitamins, minerals and fibre. In fact, it has double the fibre that peanut butter has. That matters because fibre is important in regulating bowel movements, helping us feel full for longer, and lowering our bad cholesterol.

Instructions

Let’s break it down step by step to take any guesswork out of how to make homemade almond butter.

Roast the almonds: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. While the oven is preheating, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the almonds across the tray. When the oven is ready, bake the almonds for 10 minutes. Do not skip this step. Roasting the almonds will release natural oils that allow you to more easily make the almond butter.
Cool the almonds: Let the almonds cool for 10 minutes. Once cooled, set one cup of the almonds to the side.

Prepare the food processor: Insert the S Blade in your food processor.
Blend the ingredients: Place the remaining 3 cups of almonds in the food processor. You have the option to add in cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt in this step if you want extra flavour. If you prefer traditional almond butter, then skip those ingredients altogether. Turn the food processor on for 10 - 20 minutes. You may need to pause every so often to scrape ingredients off the side and into the centre.

Add remaining almonds: Once you've reached your desired consistency, add the cup of almonds that you set aside. Process the almonds for 30 - 60 seconds to chop them up. This is what will give you the crunch in your crunchy almond butter.
Store in airtight container: Use a spatula to move the almond butter from your food processor into an airtight container like a mason jar. Store in fridge for up to two months.

Recipe Notes

Patience is key. The length of time in the food processor will vary depending on the brand of your food processor and sharpness of your blade. It may seem like the almonds won't ever turn into nut butter, but keep going, they always will.

For the full ingredient list and step-by-step directions, scroll down to view the recipe card.

Cooking Tips

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions on how to make almond butter in a food processor.

What kind of almond should I use?

I use organic raw almonds.

Raw almonds have a slightly higher nutritional value. They also have a stronger taste that I prefer. And, finally, they will blend better when you roast them just prior to adding them to the food processor.

Organic is important when it comes to almonds. All almonds require pasteurization to control for things like salmonella. Most are pasteurized through chemicals, but organic almonds are pasteurized with steam instead, a healthier alternative.

What do I do if my almond butter is too dry?

First, make sure you've blended long enough. Expect it to take up to 20 minutes to achieve a creamy consistency. It can often look dry and crumbly right up to the very end. So, keep going and have patience.

If it's still too dry after blending for 20 minutes, then you can add in oil. It's usually unnecessary to add in oil as the almonds release natural oils when blended in the food processor, but there might be times where you need it to reach your desired creamy consistency. Generally, you would use unflavoured oils like safflower or canola. However, it's also becoming popular to add coconut oil to homemade almond butter if you like the flavour. Whichever oil you choose, start with ½ a tablespoon and work your way up.

How do I store my homemade almond butter?

Once you've finished the recipe, let the nut butter cool to room temperature. Then transfer the mixture to an airtight container like a mason jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to one month, or until you see signs of spoilage. You can also freeze for up to four months.

Recipe Video

Want to see how I make this recipe? Watch the video below!

How To Serve

Now that you have a jar of delicious, crunchy almond butter, it’s time to build the perfect meal with it. Here are a few delicious options.

Add it to a breakfast bowl. Add healthy fats to your morning yogurt or oatmeal bowl. This will help you feel full until lunch.
Spoon it on top of waffles. Give your waffles extra flavour and a punch of nutrition by melting almond butter on top when they're just out of the waffle maker.
Spread it on toast. This is a delicious, low sugar spread to add on toast. Top it with fruit and you have yourself a tasty, healthy snack.

Check out these easy healthy recipes that include homemade almond butter for more inspiration.

Recipe Variations

Mixed nut butter: The beauty of making homemade nut butters is that you can add variation in flavour and health benefits by fully or partially substituting other nuts for almonds. My favourite add ins to almond butter are cashews and walnuts. You'll simply replace almonds at a 1:1 ratio - swapping 1 cup of almonds for 1 cup of cashews, for example. All steps remain the same.
Make it creamy almond butter: If you're a fan of creamy almond butter, that's easy to do. Instead of setting 1 cup of roasted almonds aside, put all 4 cups of roasted almonds in the food processor at once.
Add extra sweetness with honey: Homemade almond butter with honey is all the rage right now. If you have a sweet tooth, you can add 1 tablespoon of honey into the food processor alongside the roasted almonds.
Make it plain almond butter: This recipe includes cinnamon and vanilla extract for extra flavour. But, I often leave these ingredients out and go for straight almond butter without the twist. Try both and see what you like more.

Equipment

Here's what you need to make this homemade almond butter recipe.

Food Processor: It's easy to make homemade almond butter if you have a good food processor. Just make sure it comes with an S Blade, as that's the best blade at turning nuts into butter.
If you don't have a food processor, but have a Vitamix, you're in luck. I've also successfully made this recipe in my blender.

Similar Recipes

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