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Homemade almond butter tastes amazing and is easier to make than you might think! Once you try it, you may never go back to the store-bought version again.
Almond butter has gained popularity over the years as an alternative to peanut butter, and for good reason. It’s loaded with minerals and tastes delicious! It’s the perfect addition to healthy snacks, like Apple Nachos and Homemade Granola Bars.
Creamy almond butter can even be used as a flour alternative in gluten-free baking. Try it in Almond Butter Cookies or Almond Butter Blondies.
You can also use it for dairy-free creaminess! My favorite way to use it is in my Vegan Latte or Almond Milk Ice Cream for a mind-blowing treat.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Homemade almond butter is made with just one ingredient: almonds! Look for unroasted almonds when shopping, as you’ll be quickly roasting them during the first step of this recipe.
You can also add salt or ground cinnamon for extra flavor, but I don’t recommend adding a wet ingredient, such as maple syrup, vanilla extract, or honey. Wet ingredients can cause the almond butter to seize (the texture will be ruined), and will make the nut butter spoil much faster.
How to Make Almond Butter
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and spread one pound (3 cups) of almonds out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast the almonds for 10 minutes or until they smell lightly fragrant. This process helps release the natural oil found in almonds and will make the next steps move much faster.
Remove the pan from the oven and let the almonds cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Adding the almonds directly from the oven to a food processor or blender could melt the machine if you don’t let them cool down first, so be patient!
Once the almonds have cooled for at least 10 minutes (it’s okay if they feel warm to the touch) add them to the bowl of a large food processor fitted with an “S” blade.
Secure the lid and start processing.
The almonds will creep up the sides of the machine as you blend them, so you can stop and scrape down the sides with a spatula if you’d like to. However, I’ve noticed around the 4-minute mark that the almonds will naturally fall down on their own without any scraping.
Let the food processor continue to run. After 8 minutes of processing, you may start to hear a “sloshing” sound, as the almond butter has suddenly become runnier. This is a great sign!
Now you can stop and scrape down the sides of the machine, and add any seasoning you like, such as a 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt or ground cinnamon. (Remember, no liquids can be added or it will ruin the texture.)
Process for another minute or two, and you should have a creamy almond butter that drips off the spoon. The whole blending process should take 10 minutes or less when you start with warm almonds.
Note: If you need to skip the roasting process, it may take nearly double the time for raw almonds to break down in a food processor. It can be done, but it’s definitely harder on your machine and requires more patience. This process can take a full 20 minutes!
Transfer the homemade almond butter to a 16-ounce mason jar and let it cool completely before securing the lid. Otherwise, steam will collect in the jar and cause the almond butter to spoil faster.
Almond butter can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and may last even longer as long as you don’t introduce any moisture to the jar. Nut butter will thicken when chilled, so that can make it slightly harder to spread on toast, but it will thin out when you bring it to room temperature again.
When you have almond butter on hand, making almond milk is easier, too!
Making Almond Butter in a Blender
If you don’t have a 12-cup food processor, but you do have a high-speed blender (like a Vitamix), that can be used to make homemade almond butter, too.
The difference is you’ll need to use more almonds and a tamper.
To make almond butter in a blender, roast and cool the almonds as directed above, but start with 4 cups of almonds. This is the minimum quantity required to use a blender.
Secure the lid and blend the almonds on a medium-low speed. You’ll need to use a tamper often to keep the almonds moving. (If your blender doesn’t have a tamper, I don’t recommend this method. It’s too frustrating to have to stop and scrape constantly!)
While you might think using a high-speed blender would be faster than using a food processor, it still took my blender 6 to 7 minutes to achieve a creamy result. This is only 1 minute faster than the food processor method, and it’s not nearly as hands-off.
So, if you have a food processor, that is my preferred machine for this recipe.
Detoxinista Tip
If for some reason your blender is having a hard time breaking down the roasted almonds, you can add a tablespoon of neutral-flavored oil to the blender to help the process along. You may need to use up to 4 tablespoons total when blending a difficult batch.
Looking for more easy ways to use almond butter? Try it in my Banana Snack Cake, Freezer Fudge, Vegan Banana Bread, or Almond Butter Brownies.
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole almonds (3 cups)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and spread the almonds out in a single layer on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Place them in the oven to roast for 10 minutes, then remove the pan and let them cool for at least 10 minutes before moving on. (Placing very hot almonds in your machine could melt it, so be patient!)
- Transfer the cooled almonds (it's okay if they are slightly warm) to a large food processor fitted with an "S" blade. Secure the lid and start processing. The almonds will start to look like flour and stick to the sides of your machine, but after 4 to 5 minutes of processing, it will change into a thicker consistency and release from the sides of the machine.
- You can stop and scrape the sides of your food processor at this point if you'd like to, but the whole process can be relatively hands-off with almost no scraping required. In fact, you can let the machine run for 8 to 10 minutes without scraping, and the nut butter will form on its own! This is the advantage of using a food processor, rather than a blender. (See tips in this post if you prefer to use a blender, though.)
- Once the almonds have been processed for 8 to 10 minutes, they should reach a runny, drippy consistency. At this point, you can add in a 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt or ground cinnamon, if you'd like added flavor. Do NOT add any wet ingredients, or it could affect the final texture.
- Store homemade almond butter in a 16-ounce mason jar. It will need to cool completely before you add the lid, so it won't collect steam inside the jar. Adding moisture to the jar could affect the shelf life. Almond butter can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 1 month when no moisture is introduced, so always be sure to use a clean spoon or knife when using it.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this homemade almond butter recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it.
Oh my gosh i am so excited.. it took me two days to get almond butter, but by golly I finally got it! I was using a 1 1/2 c Proctor Silex (the cheapest one at Fredmeyer), but it never went past crumbs. That could have been because I didn’t have patience. So I used the in-laws Hamilton Beach processor (you can put whole pieces of food in it) and just over 20 mins later, voila! I did think that the ball of almonds was going to just spin and spin in there, but about 6-8 mins later it started to crumble apart and result in almond butter!! Woot Woot! Also, the bulk almonds I bought was more expensive than the 12 oz jar of MaraNatha’s creamy almond butter.
Can’t wait to try this, thanks for sharing! Where can I buy healthy almonds online? Thank you!
You can get 4lbs with free shipping here: http://amzn.to/XxWSqf
Nuts.com 🙂
Such a shame. Followed the instructions and tried to be brave like Peter but killed my processor before the ‘magic’. It’s going to cost me more than a jar of almond butter to replace 🙁
I’m so sorry to hear that!
I am new to the paleo diet and I’m a baker by profession. In my experiments with new recipes, almond flour and butter have the best flavor and texture. To say it’s inexpensive is an understatement!I love this recipe!It saves me money and time in the grocery store. I can control the salt and the sugar intake. I was a little nervous when my almonds turned into a rock hard mass spinning around my Cuisinart, but the results are creamy and delicious! Thank you so much!
Brieana
Hi, I tried to make my butter with sprouted almonds but I forgot to dry. what can I do now they are sitting in my ninja blender all crumbed up together. hoping you reply to this post wih a solution thank you in advance.
Lily
I’m afraid you’ll wind up with a soggy nut butter at this point, so you may want to try turning it into some sort of sauce! Try making the Creamy Asian Noodles that I have posted in the recipe section!
Like Coco, I make homemade almond butter with my Vitamix blender. Unlike her, I have had the problem of overheating the machine, either smelling a burning or plastic smell or having the blender shut itself off with its automatic sensor. But I have learned how to avoid that. I kind of pulse it and let the blades come up to their full speed between each pulse. I also keep the almonds in the freezer and start with frozen almonds, that keeps the nuts themselves from being cooked and also helps keep the machine cool. It takes me a couple of minutes altogether, and I agree that once you start making your own almond butter you won’t be going back to store-bought!
Hi Mary,
I would also like to try making almond butter in my Vitamix.
Do you buy raw almonds and roast them first, then putting them in the freezer? Most of the posts all agree to roast or dehydrate first. Thanks for your tips! Cindy
Unfortunately, this did not work out so well for me. I have a Cuisineart food processor and all was going well until about 15 minutes it….not only does mine look really dark but there was steam coming out of the top, almost like the butter it was making was cooked. The processor was so hot I was afraid to keep processing it. The consistency stayed the same from minute 7-15/20. Not sure what else I can do? The consistency it is right now is smooth when brought together but crumbles easily, nothing close to creamy. Any suggestions?
The steam is actually normal, so is the HOT processor! The processing warms up the almonds, which is when they release their oils… making the almond butter get creamy. It sounds like you just needed to let it go a little longer! Scraping down the sides regularly helps, too. Also, if you don’t want to worry about burning-out your food processor, try toasting the almonds in the oven for 5-10 minutes before adding them to the processor. That way, they’re already hot and ready to release their oils!
thanks
Followed directions to the T and my almond butter turned out perfect 👍 Cuisinart food processor worked great for this!
just made this? whats the shelf life? Thanks!!
It lasts a long time when kept in the fridge. I’ve never had a jar go bad before I use it up, so I’m not sure… but at least a month!
i was watching dr oz and saw almond butter helps belly fat loss,so there was a receipe for almond butter to make and he added oil,is that good to add or not before I give it a try.
I don’t think it’s necessary to add the oil. Try warming the almonds in the oven first before processing, for a quicker homemade almond butter!