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!
Megan,
Do you warm up the almonds at 250 degrees or 350? The recipe shows 350 but the video I think said 250? I just want to make sure I do it correctly… thank you!
Sorry for the confusion! I used to do it at 250, but now I set the oven to 350.
Great recipe. I panicked (despite your assurance) and added coconut oil thinking it wasn’t going to get creamy. It didn’t hurt the flavour – just wasn’t necessary.
True to your word, it did turn into lovely, creamy butter. I also added honey at the beginning which didn’t seem to have an adverse effect. This jar won’t be around in 2 weeks so no concern about it spoiling 🙂
Hi,
This recipe is about as simple as any recipe can possibly be. And it produces very flavorable and buttery results.
My only remark is that it doesn’t take nearly 25 minutes of blending to come to completion, at least not with my blender (a Vitamix 6300). After about ten minutes of blending at about 2/3 speed, the butter was done (at least to my satisfaction). This is very important if you’re a guy without too much patience (like me!).
Hi. I make the almond butter with your (easy)directions. It comes out perfect and we’re all enjoying it immensely.
Thanks for all your delicious recipes.
How much oz of almond butter does this 3 cups/1 pound of almonds yield?
It makes a 16 oz jar of almond butter.
Hi what oil would you suggest if using oil
I would use almond oil if you can find it, otherwise whatever oil you have that it most neutral in flavor.
Hi i just made this and it turned out fantastic.store bought has so much sugar in it.i just want to say thankyou for posting it.no more store bought for me
Excellent recipe! Thank you for helping me turn my unused almonds into almond butter. I loved the idea to warm them in the oven before processing them. It only took me 10 minutes in my Cuisinart. So easy, yet so rewarding! Thanks for being awesome! 🙂
I never ended up with almond butter and my food processor started to overheat at about the 20 minute mark
I would give your food processor a rest so it can cool down and then process again. It can take a while depending on the machine and the almonds, so the timing is only a rough estimate. In a pinch, you can always add a drizzle of neutral-flavored oil to help the process go faster!
Wish I had read this all the way thru before starting. I soak my almonds as a general rule, it’s something I started doing when I did an elimination diet last year, and I just always do it, but seems that it’s not the ideal thing to downer making almond butter!
I shall persevere a little longer, then give up and use my ‘almond flour’ for baking!!
Can I use salted almonds? Or would it not taste sweet enough?
Yes, I think salted almonds would work just fine.
Looks yummy recipe.. i must try
I made this today, it’s definitely a waiting game! Is it 102 cals per serving or per mixture?
Since you’re in KC you gotta do the group buy of almonds with us! Every year around November we buy from the greensmoothiegirl.com annual buy where we can get almonds that aren’t heat pasteurized coming out of CA like all the ones in the store are. We freeze them and make almond milk and almond butter all year long. We do a group buy because it saves on shipping. Let us know if you’re interested! Still loving your instant pot cookbook!
i ABSOLUTELY NEED TO COMMENT ON THIS. I HAVE TRIED SEVERAL ALMOND BUTTER RECIPES WITH L ESS THAN SATISFACTORY RESULTS. FOLLOWED THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY AND IN APPROXIMATELY 20 MINUTES I WAS AMAZED TO FIND CREAMY, SMOOTH, DELICIOUS ALMOND BUTTER AS ONE WOULD EXPECT FROM A FINE COMMERCIAL ORGANIC BRAND. THANK YOU … I WILL BE USING IT REULARLY.
Would you know if the Ninja QB1000 food processor set is good at making nut butter? I’m just wondering if the top motor design of that Ninja model is difficult for such a task? Like is the trigger heavy to hold down? Thanks for useful post btw.
I own a small Ninja food processor and I don’t think it would be able to run for 20 minutes to make almond butter. It could probably handle other types of softer nuts, though, like cashews!
Thanks to this recipe, I kept the food processor going, going and going– until the sides of the bowl were almost hot. The end product is incredibly creamy, fresh, and so much less expensive than the store version which often includes sugar and other undesirable ingredients. Thank you for this recipe!
Good easy recipe. I made this in Cuisinart processor, it was done nice and creamy in 20 mins. Happy about that! I added pinch of salt and some maple syrup but it got all clumpy, just added a few drops of coconut oil, and it was its wonderful self again. Another commenter said to just keep processing without oil and it will return to glory.but I didn’t have the patience to wait lol.
Thank you! I was ready to give up on my almond butter until I read your recipe – specifically the part about how LONG it would take to blend the almonds before it turned into butter. 😁
Hi, Megan. Just subscribed to your website, but has been a follower since. I got one of your books as well. Thank you so much for all the delicious recipes!
Forgot to mention I made this, and came out nice and creamy and yummy!
Heating the almonds gently roasts them and vastly improves the flavor of the almond butter!
Oops! Forgot to rate before.
Wow! I made it for the first time today out of necessity — thought I had some for the Black Bean Brownies (also a first time attempt) but didn’t. I threw out what was left of the jar I had — it tasted chalky and would separate (I’ve since heard that running it through the food processor to blend and then back into the jar, it won’t separate again.) I followed your directions and video, using my Cuisinart, with perfect results. I am amazed there is no chalky taste and it actually tastes slightly sweet. If I hadn’t made it myself I would swear there was some type of sweetener in it. Thank you for the excellent instructions and video. Without them I would have thought something was wrong due to how long it takes to transition from one stage to the next!
Hi! I was wondering if it’s okay to soak the almonds first before making them into almond butter?does that change anything? Thanks!
You would have to make sure they are 100% dry before making them into almond butter. Any moisture will ruin the texture and will make the almond butter spoil much faster.
Thank you! I appreciate it:)
Hello my name is Sherry and I was wanting to know can you make almond butter after being soaked for 12 hr. And dehydrated ?
As long as they are fully dry, I think that should work. Let me know how it turns out!
Someone gave me a peanut butter maker machine. Has anybody ever used this before to make their own nut butter?
Is a serving 1TBS or 2TBS? Thank you!!!
Wah!I tried making it added 2 TBS olive oil and 2 tbsp honey after an hour of blending and no butter. Ended up blending for 45 more mins and it melted the inside bottom piece of my ninja blender:( $7 turned into $50 loss and still no butter. The mixture is tastey but it never quite creamed up. Even after it was pretty warm almost hot. I thought about throwing the fluffed blended almond mixture into the microwave to heat it up a lot and see what happens.
I made almond butter and it became a ball in the food processor and not as creamy as I’d like. Do I need to keep it going longer?
Yes, the ball stage is a good sign! But you need to keep processing to get creamy almond butter.
I love almond butter. What makes it easy and much faster is to make sure you almonds are raw (yes, they can actually be bought raw although they cost more) or at least buy what they consider raw (slightly pasteurized) and let them soak in water for about 8 hours. This causes the enzyme inhibitors to be released so you can digest them better. They will be much softer after soaking them and should take much less time to make. Hope this helps.
Ive made this recipe before but never got my butter as silky smooth as yours thanks for sharing it.
Does the jar need to be steralized before putting the almond butter in it?
I just purchased the Wild Soil Almonds! In the words of Chandler from Friends, “Could I BEEEE anymore excited?!” haha Thanks for the suggestion!
I just made a small batch of almond butter using a 10oz container of almonds using my Instant Ace Plus blender and didn’t realize I was going to need to scrape the sides down lol! So I ended to adding about 3 tbsp’s of avacado oil and ran the “Nut Butter” program again. I’m going to try it again without the oil now that I know scraping the sides is normal
Just made for the first time after trying forever to find a food processor that would work. Looks like the key was to set the processor to low. Added cinnamon and vanilla (and put cardamon on the grocery list). Saw someone else suggest sunflower seeds; shall try that next. KitchenAide food processor. Appreciate everyone sharing their successes so I can learn from you.
Anybody know how much butter 3 cups almonds reduces to? Thanks!
In my experience, it usually reduces by about half. So 3 cups of almonds makes roughly 1 1/2 cups of almond butter.
Loved this recipe. Thank you!
Hi, I tried your recipe but the almonds are naturally dry as compare to peanuts or cashew so it stays crumbly and not smooth or creamy if I don’t add oil. Any recommendation for which oil should I add ? Thanks
If you want to add oil, I would try to use one that is mild-flavored. Almond oil would be the most similar in flavor, but you can use any oil that you enjoy the flavor of.
Hi, would it be ok to call a recipe just 1 ingredient (almond) if we use almond oil to make the butter creamy and keep the shelf life longer (as oil is natural preservant).
I want to make this butter for friend who has peanut allergy and doesn’t want added oils.
Turned out great,BUT took a long time to get creamy!
That’s a good idea All the recipes said roasted…thanks for the tip.
Thank you for your almond butter recipe. I think this is the first time I read what someone wrote on a recipe blog! Just chock full of helpful and useful tips and the end result looks really creamy. Now I need a really good food processor so I can do this myself.
Delicious! So easy and a real cost savings. Thank you!!!
How much did 3 cups almonds make?
3 cups of almonds is roughly 16 ounces by weight, so that makes 16 oz. of almond butter, too. That turns out to be just under 2 cups.
Ten minutes in the oven really made a difference – almond butter came together in less than five minutes, perfectly smooth and creamy.
Perfect! This was just what I needed. The insights about heating almonds first, alert about the ball forming, length of time, etc. were so helpful! The second time I used up a bunch of sliced almonds someone passed on to me and adjusted the warming time down to 5 mins. Worked great again. thanks so much as I feel confident to keep buying bulk almonds and making my own almond butter.
As instructed, warmed in oven at 350for 10 min then put in my Vitamixer. Turned out but it melted the tamper. Did not find any warning of this happening in the Vitamixer manual or in the recipe. Shopping for a new tamper.
Just made my first batch of almond butter! Cant believe how easy it is! Thanks for the instructions, you gave me the courage to persist when I thought it wasnt working. Took under 25 minutes. No more buying expensive but small jars!
Thank you so, so much — I always had something missing when I made almond butter, thought it needed more oil, but no, it needed more patience — I had no idea it takes that much time, so this was wonderfully helpful.
Thank you! I was just about to give up on my almond butter ever turning creamy, but just as you said, there was a magical moment when it started to become butter!
Thank You SO much for this easy Recipe. I made this yesterday, following your instructions, and am happy with the results.