How to make almond butter that tastes better than anything you can buy at the store. Our delicious homemade almond butter is thick, creamy, and easy to make.
More nut butter recipes: We love making homemade nut butters. See our homemade peanut butter and easy cashew butter.
How to Make Almond Butter
I love this almond butter recipe. You have all the control, meaning the amount of salt or extra flavors like vanilla or cinnamon is up to you. You can make creamy almond butter, or if you like a little crunch, you can make crunchy almond butter.
Making almond butter at home is just as simple as making peanut butter. Throw unsalted almonds into a food processor and hit go. The almonds will go through a few stages before turning into almond butter (shown in the photos below). It goes quickly.
To make almond butter, start with raw almonds. I toast them until fragrant in the oven, which takes about 10 minutes in a 350° Fahrenheit oven. After letting the almonds cool for a few minutes so they are not piping hot, we toss them into our food processor (you can also use a high speed blender).
After 20 seconds or so, the almonds turn into almond flour. It’s very fine and like a heavy powder. It’s hard to imagine that this eventually turns into silky smooth almond butter but trust us.
Give the almonds longer in the food processor so the heavy powder begins clumping on you. Don’t worry! If it isn’t moving much inside the food processor, turn it off, open the lid, scrape down the sides, and break up any large clumps. You may need to do this a few times.
After a minute or two of blending, we have creamy almond butter! Now is the time to add seasonings like salt, cinnamon, or vanilla extract. You can also add a sweetener like honey or maple syrup if the almond butter needs it. I love a little maple syrup.
My Tips for the Best Almond Butter
If you are anything like my family, you go through jars (and jars) of nut butter every week. We eat oatmeal most mornings, and always add a dollop of almond butter on top. If you’ve never tried making your own nut butter before, let this almond butter recipe be the recipe you try! Here are some of our top tips for success:
- Toast your almonds first. Toasting the nuts first adds so much flavor to the nut butter. I do this in the oven, it takes about 10 minutes with a 5 minute cool down time.
- Use unsalted nuts and then season to your own taste. When I can find them, I buy unsalted almonds (usually in the bulk aisle of the grocery store). We do call for salt in our almond butter recipe. By starting with unsalted nuts, we have more control and can add a little salt at first and go from there until the almond butter tastes perfect.
- Add a tiny bit of ground cinnamon and vanilla extract. This is optional, but when you add just a 1/4 teaspoon of each (cinnamon and vanilla), the almond butter transforms from pretty tasty to almost addictive. You can always add more, but I actually love it when there is just a hint of cinnamon and vanilla.
- Sweeten with maple syrup or honey. Depending on your taste, you might want to add a little sweetness. I love the flavor combination of cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup.
- Add oil as needed. If your almond butter is too thick or seems dry, you can add a small amount of neutral oil, such as avocado oil, walnut oil, or grape seed oil.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will homemade almond butter last? Most homemade nut butters (including almond butter) will last for 3 to 4 weeks. I like to store mine in mason jars. It will last longer when stored in the refrigerator.
How much almond butter does this recipe make? We have a 12-cup food processor, which is perfect for three cups of almonds. Three cups also makes 16-ounces of almond butter, which is equivalent to the standard size of nut butter jars purchased from the store.
Can I make almond butter in a blender? Yes, but you’ll need to use a high powered blender (which most are). More expensive models with a tamper (like Vitamix) will actually make the process go much quicker.
The almonds aren’t turning into almond butter! What am I doing wrong? My first tip for making nut butter is to be patient. Nuts go through a couple odd stages before turning into a creamy, spreadable substance (see our photos above or watch our video showing us making peanut butter). Depending on the variety and brand of nut you are using, you might find the process goes more quickly or slowly.
If you’ve been patient and still aren’t happy with the texture, consider adding a teaspoon or two of neutral oil to help the nuts along. Grape seed oil, avocado oil or a vegetable oil are all good options.
More From Scratch Recipes
Easy Homemade Almond Butter
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
How to make almond butter that tastes better than store bought. Our delicious homemade almond butter is thick, creamy, and easy to make. We use a 12-cup food processor (10-cup should be sufficient), but a large high powered blender should also work. Use our recipe to make creamy almond butter or crunchy.
You Will Need
3 cups (16 ounces) raw unsalted almonds
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
Honey or maple syrup, optional
Directions
- Toast Nuts
1Heat oven to 350° Fahrenheit (176° C). Add the almonds to a round or square cake pan (or rimmed baking sheet).
2Roast nuts for 3 minutes, shake pan then roast another 3 to 5 minutes or until the nuts are lightly browned and smell nutty (careful, they can burn quickly). Let cool until you can handle them.
- Make Almond Butter
1If you are making crunchy almond butter, add 1/3 cup of the roasted almonds to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 6 to 8 times, or until the nuts are chopped into very small pieces. Transfer the chopped almonds to a bowl and reserve for later.
2Add the roasted almonds to the bowl of a food processor. Process 1 minute then scrape sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Process another 2 to 3 minutes until the almond butter is shiny and smooth. Depending on the brand/variety of almonds you are using, this may take slightly longer. As you process them, the almonds will go from whole nuts, to a fine powder, to a clumpy mess, and finally to a creamy smooth substance. Stopping and scraping or breaking up any large clumps will help to quicken the process.
3When the almond butter is smooth and creamy, add the salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Process for 10 to 20 seconds and then taste. If you feel it needs it, add additional salt, cinnamon or vanilla. To sweeten it, add a teaspoon or more of honey or maple syrup and process another 5 to 10 seconds so that it is well incorporated. For crunchy almond butter, stir in the reserved chopped almonds.
4Store in a sealed container, like a mason jar, for a few weeks. It will last longer when stored in the fridge.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Creamier nut butter: If your almond butter is too thick, add 2 to 3 teaspoons of neutral oil (like walnut oil, grape seed or avocado oil), and process a little longer.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
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Hi there, Does this recipe have to have salt added. I know the other ingredients like cinnamon, maple, etc are optional, but does it need salt? I bought a jar of almond butter in the store today, very pricey. Thought I would try your recipe out. Thank you very much, June.
Hi June, you can leave out the salt.
I made this today for the third time. The first time it came out perfect, smooth, creamy and delicious. The second time i forgot to roast the almonds and it came out grainy. Tried to fix it by adding flax seed oil, just made it greasy. I ended up using most of that batch in smoothies (delicious!) Today I remembered to roast the almonds and at first everything was great. The mixture was smooth but dry, so I tried processing it a little more hoping it would get creamier but instead it got chunky, chewy, and a little oily. I added a dash of coconut/almond milk hoping to smooth it out but that just made it oilier (which I don’t understand because the milk is not greasy!) I finally hit on the solution: add a little water. That made the mixture smooth and creamy once again. Lessons learned; remember to roast the nuts, don’t overprocess but if you do, adding a little water will smooth things out again. Thanks for posting this recipe!
Hi Chere, Thanks so much for sharing your extra tips. We are thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe to make it three times already!
This was perfect & delicious. Thanks!
This is such great news! Thank you for coming back and letting us know how the recipe worked out.
Creamy, tasty and so easy to make! I added a little maple syrup and it’s delish!
Hi Scarlet, We are thrilled that the almond butter recipe worked well for you. I love that you added maple syrup!