Homemade Nut Butter

This a simple recipe for homemade nut butter that can be swapped for any nut you have on hand. Make this into a PB&J and pair it with no-cook freezer strawberry jam and homemade sandwich bread!

Let me preface this post with this statement:

I am not a make-your-own-peanut butter type of gal.

Oh no.  I buy my all-natural peanut butter in bulk from Costco and don’t mess with the hubub that comes with making your own:

1. finding an affordable place for nuts
2. buying the nuts
3. soaking the nuts
4. dehydrating the nuts

And then you can decide whether or not to roast and season the nuts. Sheesh.  We’re up to six steps and we haven’t even made the nut butter yet!

That is why I choose not to make my own.  I don’t really find it helpful to spend 3-4 days preparing the nuts for nut butter when I need to make sandwiches NOW.

So the fact that you’re seeing a recipe for homemade nut butter is a rarity.  You can thank the crumbs at the bottom of my container of cashews for this post.

 

Homemade Nut Butter

In the midst of re-arranging and organizing my pantry (a.k.a. digging through way too many containers to find the tiny little jar that got pushed all the way to the back), I noticed that the tub of cashews was nearly empty.  Well, nearly empty of whole cashews that is.  There were plenty of smaller, broken pieces.

In an effort to waste less food, I tried to come up with a purpose for these random, crumb-like pieces of nuts.  Certainly, I didn’t want to throw them out – not at $6 per pound!  But there was no Asian dish with a peanut sauce on the menu, nor were making granola bars that week.

That’s when the idea of homemade nut butter popped into my head.  Big nuts get smashed and creamed up anyway, so why not throw in the smaller pieces too?  We’d not waste them, save the larger pieces for snacking or recipes that need them, AND have a fresh batch of delicious nut butter to smear on our sandwiches.

Sounded like a win-win-win to me!

Ingredients for Homemade Nut Butter

• 2 cups nuts
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
• Pinch of salt (optional, to taste)

Psst! If you’re going to add salt, I highly recommend Ava Jane’s Kitchen. You may think all salt is created equal, but unfortunately, 90% of the salt produced around the world contains microplastics (gross, right?). Ava Jane’s Kitchen is an exception. Their salt is 100% microplastic-free, and it’s SO GOOD! Plus, you can get a bag for just 1¢!! (Get your penny bag of salt on this page.)

How to Make Nut Butter

Here are my easy instructions for tasty nut butter.

Step 1. Using a large food processor or a high-speed blender, grind nuts into a fine powder, for approximately 2-10 minutes.

Step 2. Add the melted coconut oil and continue processing, scraping down the sides as needed, until the nuts have released their natural oils and the butter is smooth and creamy approximately 5-10 minutes.

Step 3. Add optional salt and any other additional flavors once the nut butter is finished, and process for 1 minute to incorporate well.

Recipe Notes

• I use a Blendtec with the twister jar for homemade nut butter, but most blenders and food processors will also work. Depending on your equipment, it might take less time, or more time, to get creamy nut butter.
• 2 cups of nuts make approximately 1 1/2 cups of nut butter. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Type of Nuts

When it comes to making nut butter, you can pretty much use whatever nut you want, in whatever size you want.

• If you have money to burn and have a craving for roasted pine nut butter, then by all means, go for it! For those with more meager budgets, I encourage you to use the nuts you already have on hand and buy regularly, or the small pieces left behind after the husband demolishes a few containers of whole cashews.
• If you stray from the typical cashew/almond/peanut butter route. It has some great information on why certain nuts produce certain types of butter, and how to counter any issues that may arise.

Questions About Homemade Nut Butter

Homemade Nut Butter Combinations

Homemade nut butter doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, one of the first flavor combinations I tried was honey cinnamon cashew butter and OH.MY.GOODNESS, it was AMAZING! I may or may not have eaten the entire batch with a spoon. (Mr. Crumbs reads this blog, so I cannot divulge such information without incriminating myself. 😉)

• Remember that you don’t need one single nut to make nut butter either. Combination butter like cashew-almond, almond-pecan, or peanut-macadamia would all be excellent. Just use whatever you have!
• Sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, molasses, or brown sugar can add a dessert flare to ordinary nut butter and practically eliminate the need (or desire) for jelly. Or consider adding another puree like coconut butter for a rich, coconut-y flavor.
• Think of spices like vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. When fall rolls around, maybe add a tablespoon of pumpkin puree along with traditional fall spices. Maple pumpkin almond butter anyone?
• Put a twist on traditional nut butter with chocolate. Cocoa powder, semi-sweet chips, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate would all be divine with any nut in my opinion. What about almond butter with a bit of milk and dark chocolate and coconut butter mixed in? It would be almond joy on a spoon!

While rabbit trailing on Pinterest, I found a reader who takes leftover nuts from Christmas, adds 1 tablespoon of sweetener, a dash of salt, and adds curry, cayenne, or paprika. She then spreads it on figs, dates, or crackers with pepper jelly. Talk about a genius way to re-purpose random holiday leftovers!

Do the math before committing to making your own nut butter indefinitely. However, if you’re just looking for a way to use up those random leftover pieces of nuts and are in the mood for a little something that’s a cross between honey and coconut and chocolate and peanut butter, well then by all means, make some nut butter!!

More Easy Recipes for Sauces & Condiments

• Homemade Apple Butter
• Carrot Top Pesto
• Homemade Mayo
• Easy No Cook Freezer Strawberry Jam