Here’s how to make almond butter at home, with step-by-step photos. No added oil required! This process is similar to making your own coconut butter or peanut butter, but when it comes to homemade almond butter you’ll need a little extra patience.
Almond Butter Ingredients
This homemade almond butter is made with just one ingredient— almonds! I use raw almonds, as I prefer their more mild flavor, but you can use roasted ones if you prefer.
There’s no added oil required for this recipe, as the almonds will release their natural oils during the process. Look for organic almonds, if possible, as all “raw” almonds are required to be pasteurized in the United States, and organic almonds are steam pasteurized, rather than using chemicals.
Almond Butter Benefits
Almond butter has been getting a lot of positive attention lately, possibly because it has more vitamins, mineral and fiber when compared to peanut butter. (Because peanuts are a legume, they also aren’t a part of the Paleo or Whole30 diets, which has many people looking to almond butter as an alternative.)
Here are a few other benefits of almond butter:
- It’s a good source of monounsaturated fats, which have been associated with a lower risk of heart disease.
- Almonds are one of the best natural sources of vitamin E, an antioxidant, and may also help lower cholesterol.
- It’s a good source of magnesium, which is thought to promote healthy blood pressure.
- Studies have shown that people who regularly eat nuts & nut butters tend to avoid weight gain, despite the high calorie content in nuts. This may be due to the fact that nuts and nut butters are satiating and help balance blood sugar levels.
Homemade Almond Butter in a Blender
I use a food processor to make my almond butter, but you can use a powerful blender, if you’d prefer. I recommend adding 1/4 cup of oil to the recipe in that case, to help facilitate blending. My old 2-speed Vitamix would produce a burning smell when trying to make almond butter without the oil, but if you have a 10-speed Vitamix, the lower settings will help to avoid that.
How to Make Almond Butter
As I mentioned before, making almond butter really just requires patience, but I’ve included step-by-step photos below to help you gain the confidence you need. I think it helps to have a visual example!
To get started, I recommend warming your almonds in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350ºF. This step is optional, but it can save you and your food processor some time, as the almonds will heat up regardless from this process.
Add the almonds to the bowl of your food processor, fitted with an “S” blade, attach the lid and start processing. I use one pound of almonds at at time, which is roughly 3 cups.
Be prepared, the food processor will be running for a while. You’ll notice that the ground almonds will start to collect around the edges of the bowl, so be sure to stop and scrape down the sides every few minutes, just to keep everything blending evenly.
Depending on the size of your food processor, you’ll notice a change start to happen around the 10 to 15 minute mark. As the oils are released from the almonds, they’ll start to stick together and form a large mass that moves around the bowl. You’ll also notice that the almond butter is getting rather warm
After about 20 minutes of consistent processing– right about the time when you think you’re never going to wind up with almond butter and want to give up– magic will happen. You’ll finally have a grainy-looking almond butter. Don’t worry, you’re almost there!
After a few more minutes of processing, your almond butter will become smooth and creamy.
Let the almond butter cool, then transfer it to a 16-ounce container with a lid. I don’t recommend sealing the almond butter until it’s completely cool, so that it doesn’t create steam inside the jar. (Steam will cause it to spoil faster.)
Homemade almond butter can be stored for at least 2 weeks in the fridge, but mine often lasts longer as long as I am careful not introduce any moisture to the jar.
Is Almond Butter Healthier than Peanut Butter?
I started using almond butter as a replacement for peanut butter in many cases, because peanuts tend to be more susceptible to mold that produces aflatoxin, which has been associated with liver cancer. (source) On the bright side, aflatoxins may be reduced by as much as 89% when you grind peanuts into peanut butter! (source) Hence, why there are still plenty of peanut butter recipes here on my website.
Homemade Almond Butter (1-minute video):
How To Make Almond Butter (No Added Oil!)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups almonds (one pound)
Instructions
- To make the process faster, warm the almonds in an oven preheated to 350ºF degrees for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the almonds to a large food processor fitted with an "S" blade, and process them until creamy. You may want to stop and scrape down the sides every now and then, but this process will take up to 25 minutes. The almonds will first look like a flour with clumps, then will form a ball that moves around the food processor, then it will turn to a grainy almond butter before it becomes silky-smooth. Be patient! Just when you'll want to give up is usually when the magic happens.
- Once totally smooth and creamy, transfer the almond butter to a glass jar and store it in the fridge. I've found that almond butter with no additives usually lasts at least a month in the fridge, but be sure to check for signs of spoiling (such as mold or a bad smell) each time you use it.
Video
Nutrition
Almond Butter Nutrition per tablespoon: Calories: 102, Fat: 8g, Carbohydrates: 3g, Fiber: 2g, Protein: 3g
Almond Butter Recipes
You can use your new almond butter in the following recipes. They are some of my favorites!
- Almond Butter Blondies
- Almond Butter Buckeyes
- Almond Butter & Spinach Smoothie
- Almond Butter Brownies
- Almond Butter Pancakes
- Almond Butter Freezer Fudge
Homemade Almond Butter Tips:
- You may add salt to this recipe to your tastes. I’d recommend starting with 1/4 teaspoon, but keep in mind that many recipes call for unsalted almond butter, so you’ll need to adjust accordingly if using it in recipes.
- Don’t be tempted to add liquids to this recipe, such as vanilla extract or maple syrup. They can reduce the shelf life of the almond butter and may cause the texture to seize. I’ve heard lots of feedback regarding this in the comment section below, so be cautious! If you desire a sweeter almond butter, you might try something granulated like coconut sugar instead.
- I’ve made this recipe using a KitchenAid, Cuisinart, and Breville brand food processors, all with great results. My very favorite food processor is this Breville model.
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Reader Feedback: Have you tried making your own almond butter, or other nut butters? Let me know if you have any other tips in the comments below!
Thanks for sharing your simple recipe to make a homemade almond butter. I used a magic bullet and turned out great. I’ll make my own almond butter, it’s cheaper.
Wow! Totally worked. I only had raw, organic, slivered almonds on hand. I roasted them for 14 minutes on 250, then put them in my basic old food processor. Only took about 5 minutes! Maybe because they are slivered, but I’m sold on making my own. Almond milk is next! Thanks!
I don’t have much patience which is one of the reasons I haven’t gotten into cooking / baking! But I really want to develop some skills in making some tasty things! I live with my boyfriend and his family, and am not sure what they have but I’m hoping they have a food processor because I have a good amount of almonds still and this would be super cool to make! Thanks for sharing! Its so simple, and easy I am going to have to make patience my thing waiting on the creamy goodness for thirty minutes!
https://curlycaroline.wordpress.com/
Does anyone know how long this lasts in the Refrigerator?
I LOVE the fresh ground almond butter at my nearby Whole Foods, but at $10.99/lb it’s quite pricey so I thought I’d try this. (I’ve learned that different Whole Foods have different prices for this!) Easy peasy to make -done in 6 minutes with my Cuisinart. But the taste isn’t the same so I’m not loving it. I used Kirkland (Costco) roasted almonds. Anyone know what kind of almonds are used at Whole Foods?? Does the fresh grind have salt sprinkled on their almonds. Trying to figure out how to make THAT one 🙂 Thanks!!
You can try adding some honey when the almonds are in the food processor to add some taste to it.
I ran out of peanut butter for a recipe and decided to google for a substitute and came across your site. I have all kinds of nuts on hand so when I read how easy it was, I just had to give it a shot. Oh my gosh! How simple!! Works great and tastes delicious! I had questioned for just a split second if my protein bars would be affected by using this versus store bought peanut butter but they are perfect. I love having things made at home by me and knowing whats in it. I can’t believe that I’ve never tried this before! Texture is thinner than store bought but you also are eating something that is pure! LOVE
hi, this is kind of a silly question but so far I can not get anyone to answer it. when making almond butter everyone says to use whole almonds I have a really big bag of sliced almonds and cant afford to “test” this theory. I know you can opt out of roasting them so far the only reason I have found that people do not opt out is it takes longer to break down, and if you take care in roasting the slices would that work? thanks for any help you can offer
JeanneMarie
Hi someone else use the some almonds they don’t have to blend as long
I’m going have a try myself at making this I make my own almond milk and cashew milk
Hi
I tried this yesterday using ground almonds as I didn’t have any wholen ones (cheaper as well for future Ref).
I warmed 170g of ground almonds up as directed and then put them in a in a liquidiser. Honestly it took no more than 8 minutes to finish and I scooped 150g out of the liquidiser . If it works works on ground almonds it is bound to work on your slivered almonds. Good luck ( you won’t be needing it).
Can I do it with a blender? I don’t have a food processor. My blender has several speeds
I would say unless you have a very expensive and powerful blender it cannot get the blades moving fast enough to work for this recipe. However you can always just go the age old route of just trying it and seeing what happens. If it doesn’t work you can just throw the almond bits into muffin batter! Lol
Hope to try this one day when I get a processor…
I just bought a nearly-new Cuisinart food processor on Craigslist for $30.00! The seller was given this for Christmas and had a small kitchen. And she isn’t into cooking. Sure beats paying retail! Just an idea! ;D Now, back to making me some almond butter in my “new” food processor…
Thanks so much for the advice and encouragement! I’ve been thinking about making almond butter for a long time, but today I actually did it! Note: I found myself having to stop the food processor often to scrape down the sides, so I moved the whole operation to my stand mixer (paddle attachment). This worked fine, and made it easier to blend the almonds as the process went on.
Again, thanks for the push!
Petra
Made this today.. succumbed and add a little honey and salt. But its AWESOME! Thanks so much!
Can always just buy a really high quality almond butter. Very hard to find, but they are around for sure. Wyldsson do a great one… https://wyldsson.com/product/almond-butter/. Watch out for nut butters with added oils, sugars and salt. Not good.
Thank you for this article. I’d like to get off of peanut butter and try almond butter but it is so expensive. Do you need a very high powered food processor. I don’t own a KitchenAid or anything of the like but only a small Cuisinart. I’m thinking that will not do the trick here since it would be on for quite some time.
time for humor? yes, it is always time for humor so here goes: I decided to try your Almond Butter and even checked out your link to making Almond Milk. When my butter was almost perfect, I decided to add a bit of sweetness and drizzled in a bit of raw honey. As it was “processing” that,, I thought it would be a great idea to add a hint of vanilla. The nut butter was probably about 30 seconds from perfection when I added the vanilla. Well, I am here to tell you that it went from being crazy smooth and perfectly creamy to an awesome ball of taffy-consistency-candy! Wow, is it ever crazy delicious but it is soooo not spreadable. All of the coconut oil I had addded to the recipe was now separated and was easy to drain off. and it is delicious. Some fo the best mistakes become the best new recipes Thanks, loving this!
If I add a little oil or coconut oil…how long will the shelf life decrease? What is the average shelf life for almond butter?
Also, was thinking of adding a little cinnamon, would that decrease shelf life?
Thanks!
Marla
with a nutribullit RX i just made 12 oz. of sunflower seed butter. i didn’t want them to go bad. i purchased too many. i saw no recipe, just put them in and hit the button. i soon saw i needed moisture of some sort to keep the seeds blending. i added 1 1/2 teaspoons of grape seed oil (better than olive) and away it went. 10 min. time and another 10 min. to clean it all up. i’ll be having sunflower butter and grape jelly on toast in 2 hours. the butter is tasty. i think i’ll put a bit of sugar in my next batch. Jiffy look out!!! here i come….
I just made this and it turned out amazing! I used 3 cups like you stated and I got about 2 cups of butter. Thank you.
I hope you don’t mind, but I shared the link on my Instagram, but this method is truly awesome. I can’t wait to check out more of your recipes. Thanks!
P.s. I wanted to rate this 5 stars, but my phone won’t let me…
I almost spent 9.99 on a small jar of almond butter at whole foods when I thought to google if you could make almond butter with a food processor at home (since I already had a bag of them.) Wow! I am so impressed. Worked exactly like your recipe says and I love that it is so clean ( we can see exactly what we are eating and how high quality it is.) Taste great (I added a pinch of sea salt) thank you such much! Now I am inspired to see what else I can make at home!
Why it smells so bad 🙁 i make it the exact same way. Could you tell me how can i fix it or this is how it smells
My first time making almond butter.It take me about 10 min in my food processor. I added a pinch of salt and 1tsp of raw honey, soooo delicious!!!! I don’t think I will buy almond butter again.
Where do you buy your nuts from In bulk? That is s good price? I couldn’t find it on your website! Thanks!
Did you ever find a source? Looking as well. Thanks!
Just made butter of mixed nuts.
How long are you able to store it, in the fridge or cupboard?
I’m so glad I read this! I started making the almond butter and thought “What the heck? I should have butter already!” I almost gave up when I saw the dry crumbly mess. Your words got me through this process 🙂
Just finished my first batch! Great taste! I started with 1 cup of almonds; wasn’t sure if my little 2-cup food processor could do the job but it whirred its’ little heart out and right at the 10 minute mark… the MAGIC happened! I added a pinch of salt to enhance the flavor (“You are the salt of the earth…” Mt 5:13)
And now on to batch #2 with a little honey this time! Thanks so much for this wonderful tasting and cost-saving recipe!
I have a Premiere wet stone grinder and the butter turned out great and got consumed really really quick. I was wondering would it be possible to add some dried goji berries to the to my next batch for an added flavour or would it ruin the process?
Hi!
I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for AGES….but I only have an old Thermomix…..could I make the butter with that? And do you usually take the brown skin off the almonds before putting them in the processor?
Thanks!
I have made this recipe many times, but today was the first time that I used raw almonds. Wow – I was surprised at how long it took versus using roasted almonds! From start to finish, it took about 25-30 minutes, whereas when I first roast the almonds following your directions, it only takes about 10 minutes. I have a 14-cup Cuisinart food processor, and the motor got really hot during the 25 minute time period. At about the twenty-five minute mark, I just turned it off and let it sit for about 5 minutes. I then added a tablespoon of coconut oil and a 1/4 teaspoon sea salt to help speed things along, and let it run for about 5 more minutes. The end result was creamy and delicious, but I think I will stick to first roasting my almonds for a bit before I add them to the processor. I am glad I decided to use the raw almonds today, though, it is fun to make things differently sometimes for comparison purposes. Thanks again, Megan, for this delicious recipe and all your tips!
I have almond butter! Whoohoo! Thanks for your work and recipe; it took 25 minutes to see butter, at 30 minutes it is smooth and creamy. I started with raw organic almonds, heated them as you suggested, used an old hamilton beach food processor. Things did heat up but the almond butter very delicious.
Can you share a brand/source for your almonds? Thanks!
Maybe soak the almonds first then process?
No, don’t use wet almonds! They must be dry to make nut butter. You’re welcome to soak them and then dry thoroughly before processing, if you like.
Has anyone ever made almond butter without skin? I know much of the benefit is in the skin, but I have a hard time with the grittiness. looks like a great recipe – can’t wait to try it!
Don’t try and make this yourself. Burned out the motor in my brand new food processor. Awesome.
Amazing! I have a Ninja Master Prep (used the food processor/chopper bowl, not the big pitcher) and it worked like a dream. It definitely got a little warm but kept on churning. Be sure to warm the almonds beforehand and scrape down the sides a few times. All I added was a pinch of sea salt as I didn’t have any cinnamon on hand. I will never buy almond butter again! Can’t wait to try macadamia nut butter next!
OMGOSH I did think my processor was going to explode but, PATIENCE is key ( I had to go outside my processor was deafening!) AMAZING THANK YOU!
Thank you so much for the detailed instructions. I just made up my first batch of almond butter and it was perfect. My processor handled the job well and I varied the speed at times as I watched it fold the sides down. I didn’t need to do too much scraping if sides. I guess that is dependant on brand of processor and shape of bowl.
?
if you want to add vanilla don’t use the vanilla extract whatsoever for more or less anything, its a poor product at the best of times, just get proper vanilla pods, fermented and cured, and all that other beautiful stuff that needs to be done to them to get the sweet amazing taste to really pop out. (which is what the vanilla pods you buy have been through)
use proper vanilla or drop it… honestly…
Has anyone ever used with the small handheld Braun food processor attachment ?
hi I ran across your site while I was looking for almond butter how to make in my nutria ninja with auto- IQ can someone please tell me how to use it for nut butters. thank you.
I am wondering if you use the big main bowl of your food processor or the smaller inner bowl. I am looking to do 3 cups like you did.
Use the big bowl!
Thank you! Have made nut butters in the past in my Vitamix, and you are correct – they all but burn. MUCH better in food processor! Thanks for the helpful tips as well (scrape down, wait for it, wait for it ….!). Aloha.
hi Megan!
For the past two years,we have been buying raw, *unpasteurized*, natural almonds from a local farm. Unfortunately, the farm was bought by a big company and no longer accessible to us.
Do you know where I should get raw, unpasteurized almond? I am looking for a reliable source, rather than those huge chain stores/wholesales.
Any suggestions is highly appreciated.
Can this butter be frozen?
How long do you think it would keep in the fridge? I was thinking of making it for gifts to my neighbors next winter. Have you ever tried to freeze it? I hate to run out of almond butter! I;m glad I can make my own now, Thanks,
I’m looking for all natural ingredient recipes free of toxins and sugar and unhealthy oils. This homemade almond butter is right up my alley, can’t wait to try it!
Hi, Megan – I keep coming back to this recipe again and again, love to follow your photos as I make the almond butter. Just wanted to point out though, you have two different oven temperatures listed for roasting the almonds before you process them… 250 degrees is stated in the beginning of the description, and 350 degrees is listed in the recipe section. Just wanted to bring this to your attention 🙂
Thank you for your delicious recipes!
Guys!! I just tried it with my soup blender, got tu same result in 10 seconds!?
what is the make and model of your soup blender?
Blending as I type, tasted some along the way, how have I lived without almond butter?! Thank you so much ♡
I use to always think why my home made butter doesn’t last longer after reading this I realized it was because I always used soaked almond thanks for sharing this wonder full recipe.
Great recipe and so much tastier then the store bought kind. Loved it!
Can you start with almond meal, or does it have to be whole almonds?
A few readers in our Facebook Community mentioned that you need to add oil to the mixture if you’re using almond flour or almond meal. It sounds like maybe the flours are dehydrated a bit and don’t have enough oil compared to the whole almonds.
Why kind of food processor do you use? As I mentioned in a comment above, mine burned out after 10 minutes and is smoking so much, I think it’s toast (pun intended haha).
I used a KitchenAid food processor for about 15 years (pictured in this post), and then the blade finally broke apart earlier this year. They don’t make the same model anymore, and the newer ones didn’t have as great of reviews, so I replaced it with an 11-cup Cuisinart model, similar to this one: http://amzn.to/2uPq6MX So far it’s been great!
Have never made any nut butter before, but thought I’d give it a go after seeing this recipe. You were spot on when you said it would magically happen. I dead set thought it wasn’t, then it did. Thanks so much.