Guess what? I made almond butter yesterday! And it’s so easy, so tasty, and so cheap, I just had to share it with you! There’s no real “recipe” really, you just dump some almonds in a food processor, and process away…simple as that!
Well, almost… If you really like the nutty almond taste, I highly recommend roasting the almonds at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes first. Roasting helps to release their oils and really brings out their nutty flavor. And your kitchen will smell amazing!
Since I only did a 1-cup batch, I just put them in my toaster-oven to save electricity, and because I didn’t want to heat up the kitchen on a warm June afternoon. If you’re using the toaster-oven, it will take less time – mine were done at about 7-8 minutes. You’ll know when they’re done when they’re a little darker and the smell fills your kitchen.
Let them cool to the touch, then throw them into your food processor. Turn it on and let it go for a while. First, it’ll chop up the almonds…
Then, it’ll turn to a fine powder. You’ll have to keep stopping to scrape down the sides, then start again.
Then, the almonds will finally start to clump up. Keep scraping, then processing, scraping, then processing…
Soon enough, it’ll start to roll onto itself. Keep going!
Then, finally! You’ll see the oils burst and your rolled up ball will be shiny and smooth! But, keep going. You’re almost there!
Alright! Now, that’s what we’re talking about! Look at that consistency! Nice, smooth, creamy…
Now you can taste the butter. If you like it, that’s it – you’re done! Or you can go on and add in some extras for flavor. I added a dash of salt, a dollop of raw honey, and a drizzle of olive oil, and it was PERFECT! Totally smooth, totally spreadable, and just perfect for our taste.
It’s actually not as oily as it looks here. This is after it was refrigerated.
Look at that yumminess…
You can seriously eat this stuff right off the spoon.
Or smother it on an apple slice – my favorite!
Ok, one more shot of the yumminess…
Just store it in a glass container, and keep it in the fridge, where it should last for….ahhh, who am I kidding? We’re lucky if this stuff lasts us to the weekend! But seriously, it should last for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
The awesome thing about all of this is that it’s the same process to make any kind of nut butter! Peanut butter, cashew butter, walnut butter… Even seed butters, like sunflower seed butter and pumpkin seed butter. I think the same procees is also used to turn sesame seeds into tahini! This is seriously the coolest thing I’ve learned in a long time!
And while I’m on this new almond kick, I’m making almond milk today! So keep a look out for that post in a couple days.
Have you made any nut butters before? Did this process look easy enough for you to try it? Actually, I don’t even know why you’re still reading this… Go make some – now! 🙂
This post was proudly featured on:
[tssig id=”3″]
[tssig]
I soaked the almonds for a day to get off the stuff that is not good and am going to toast them in the oven in the evening (too hot right now) and then make the almond butter.
I just made the almond butter and was completely surprised at how easy this was to make. I have to admit, I was skeptical at first as I have never done anything like this before. This opens a whole new world for me……….. (HAPPY DANCE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Thank you so much.
Haha yay!!!
I totally understand your measurements as I am not one to use cups spoons etc.either. This sounds so easy and amazing. Surprised I didn’t learn this sooner!! I am going to add some delish natural cacoa powder to a batch. I eat almond butter almost daily so this will be fun to try. I can make it fresh. That amount you made would last me a day hehehehehe Thanks for the how to !
Has anyone tried roasting the almonds at a lower temp for longer, I want to avoid overheating the almonds and damaging the oil.
I think almond butter would be great for people on a pre-diabetes diet instead of things like sugar laden jam, but do want the oil to still be good for them! lol
You don’t even have to roast them at all, if you don’t want. Sometimes I just skip the roasting altogether. The raw almonds are healthier since they’ve retained their nutritional value, and the roasting just gives them a nice flavor. But the resulting butter still taste great either way! I’ll update the post with that info. Thanks for asking! 🙂
Nice illustrations of the process! I make homemade almond butter, too, though I haven’t tried it with roasted almonds, just raw ones. I start with almonds that have been stored in the freezer, that helps keep the blender from getting so hot during the blending process. I use my Vitamix and it only takes a couple of minutes. It was a bit of a learning curve to figure out how to do it without overheating the Vitamix but I have it down now and always keep us in stock with either almond butter or walnut butter. Walnuts are pretty soft so it’s much easier to make the walnut butter.
Ooh, I never even thought I make walnut butter! That sounds delish!
I’m so excited to try making some cashew butter! I didn’t realize how easy and cheap it is to make it yourself! I love finding new ways to save money and making things from scratch myself rather than using store bought.
nice blog 🙂 and also nicely photographed.
Thanks, stui 🙂
Quick question – we make almond milk all the time. Can you make almond butter from the left over meal? I have SOOOO much, would love to add another recipe to what I could do with the left overs 🙂
Hey Tina, you know, I came across this idea a few weeks ago and actually tried it but failed miserably and didn’t try it again. Maybe you’ll have better luck than I did! If you do try it, I’d love to hear how it went!
Hi Tina. You could dry the meal and use it as nut flour for baking.
Such a great question! I have seen people actually THROW OUT the almond pulp after making almond milk. AAAaaaggghhhh! Don’t miss out on the goodies you can make with the pulp. After squeezing out all the milk I can, I spread the pulp out on the flexx sheets of my Excalibur dehydrator and dry it thoroughly. Then I put it in the food processor and grind it into almond flour. I make raw almond crackers, biscotti, almond bread and anything thing else I can think of with the almond flour. And I consider it FREE as the almond milk is my prime reason for investing in raw almonds in the first place. Almond flour is expensive to purchase, but there is no need if you are making your own almond milk. Enjoy!!
I used to make almond butter in my food processor, but it was hard on the motor. NB: I was using raw almonds. Does it make a difference that you roasted the almonds first? I don’t want to destroy my food processor again! I’d prefer raw almond butter, if you have any suggestions for how to make it without doing that.
Hi Nada,
Oh no, sorry about your processor! Mine wasn’t having too much trouble, and I think it is because of the roasting. If you want raw butter, maybe you could try soaking them overnight, which is what I do when we use them for snacks or when I make almond milk. Now you’ve got me thinking: I think I want to try making the butter with raw, soaked almonds next time! 🙂
Looks so good. What type of food processor (brand?) do you use and has it lasted a decent time with your homemakings like your nut butters? I am on the hunt for something that can withstand making nut butter but also handle our home made energy bars (thick prunesss!!) that our blender has a hard time with!!
-Christy
Hi Christy,
Honestly, I just bought my food processor about 6 months ago, and it’s my first one. How I managed without one for this long is beyond me, but I’m so happy with it. I just bought the most reasonably priced one and I have no complaints, really. It’s a Black & Decker and handles the nut butters very well. I also make hummus in it too 🙂 My only gripe is that it’s a bit loud, but we’ve learned to live with it LOL. I think it should be able to handle your energy bars, but you can check the reviews on it here: http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-FP1600B-8-Cup-Processor/dp/B0038KPRG6
Hope that helps and good luck!
Hi Sarah, Loved your Almond Milk and Almond Butter recipes. Did you design your website?
It’s great and I would like to create or have someone create a web site with a similar layout, but totally unrelated to your topics.
Hi Debbie,
Thanks for the kind words! No, I didn’t design my blog. I actually found this theme online for free. I’m in the process of updating the look and feel of my site so I’ll be changing the theme very soon, so if you’d like to check out the theme, it’s here: http://naturalsoapblog.com/2010/07/organique-wordpress-theme/
Hope that helps!
Thanks so much Sarah!! I will check the link. I volunteer in Rwanda and post to a blog so I am looking forward to creating a more presentable web site.
Thanks again! Debbie
So cool how it grinds up like that and gets so creamy. Thanks for sharing this thrifty recipe with us on foodie friday.
I’m curious about the roasting of the almonds. I’ve been told that roasting the nuts may add to the taste, but destroys nutrients. Any in put on that? Do you know if these nut butters can be made without roasting the nuts first?
thanks!
Hi Mirel! Thanks for your question because it reminded me to add this info into the post!
From what I’ve read, roasting them makes a very small and insignificant nutritional difference. That’s only if you roast them though, instead of buying them pre-roasted. A major benefit of roasting them is that it also destroys the enzyme inhibitors, making them easier to digest. If you’d rather not roast them, you can also just soak them to get the same effect, but I must say, roasting really gives them a whole new flavor!
Thanks again and I hope that helps!
Ok, I keep meaning to make some almond butter and some hazelnut butter (I have both kinds of nuts in my freezer), but I keep finding excuses not to do it. After this post, no more excuses. My oven is heating right now to roast the nuts.
BTW I found your article through the “Must See Links” post at Little House in the Suburbs.
That’s awesome, Annie! And thanks for letting me know where you found me! 🙂
OK, this looks awesome! We eat a lot of almonds and we eat/buy natural peanut butter all the time. I am totally going to try making BOTH myself!
Thank you for linking with my Super Link Party! 🙂
I remember the first time I ‘made’ peanut butter by accident. It was much more shocking than it should have been! This looks so good, I bet it’s great in a PBJ on homemade break with fresh strawberry jam!
Thanks for linking up at Chicken Scratch NY
Thanks for the great recipe and for linking it up @ CountryMommaCooks : )
I just made some! Ooooo!!!! So Yummy! I added a little Realsalt, some raw honey and extra-virgin coconut oil. Thank you for this recipe and the photos that were so very helpful. 😀
Great! Glad the photos were helpful. And I LOVE the coconut oil idea! Gotta try that next time, thanks!
Looks awesome. resharing on FB and pinning. I cant seem to eat almond butter, it irritates my throat, but I would love to try this with cashews or something. Thanks!
Thanks for resharing! I’m dying to try this with cashews too! I love cashews but have never had cashew butter.
I’ve got to try this! Thanks for the great pictures!
I am going to try this. 🙂
I have a nearly 5lb bag of raw almonds in the freezer and I’m ready to make some. The pictures are great in showing what it looks like just before it’s done and right after. I think I’d start freaking if it was just in ball on the blades! Gonna make some and try it in recipes calling for peanut butter(like sauce).
I have been wanting to try this for a while now. I am hesitant to try because I once purchased homemade peanut butter that was really gritty and not so good. Is this smooth when you are done? Thanks for posting!
That’s what’s so great about this, Renee! You can make it as smooth or as gritty as you’d like! Just drizzle in some oil to help it become as smooth as you’d like. I eyeballed it, but it was probably around 1/2 teaspoon or so, so you could start there.
Thank you! I can’t wait to try it.
Wow, this is awesome! I will have to make some, along with the homemade yogurt.
Isn’t it?? I still can’t believe how easy this is. And the almond milk post will be up tomorrow morning. Now THAT is something you really have to try – it’s to die for delish! 🙂
I would really like to try this, but how much is a dollop and a drizzle? I do have a dash measuring spoon 🙂
Haha, sorry about that! I’m notorious for not measuring anything 😉 The dollop of honey was just a big tablespoonful and the drizzle of oil was no more than maybe 1/2 teaspoon or so. The measurements aren’t precise because it’s really up to your own tastes. Some people like their nut butters more salty, some like them sweeter. Some like it really thick and paste-like, others like it more creamy and spreadable. That’s what’s so great about homemade – you can tweak it to your own tastes! Hope that helps! 🙂
wow!!!! how wonderful. i made this recipe and just love having it homemade. your pics are amazing and made it so much easier for me to understand how to make this recipe just right…thank u so much… 🙂