Nut Butter Guide: 12 Types of Nut Butter

Nut butter is a spread made from blending nuts with water until it forms a paste-like consistency. Nut-based spreads can be crunchy or creamy, and you can use them in sweet and savory applications. Popular nut spreads include peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, walnut butter, and pecan butter. Some nut butters are high in fiber, protein, and fatty acids and contain many vitamins and minerals that can be beneficial to your health.

You can buy different nut butters in grocery stores, or make them in your own kitchen. Here are the most common types of nut butters:

1. 1. Peanut butter: You can blend peanuts with oil and salt to make a smooth (or chunky) natural peanut butter. To make homemade peanut butter with a creamy texture, add a couple of teaspoons of neutral oil before blending. You can also transform basic peanut butter into chocolate peanut butter by blending it with dark chocolate chips or cocoa powder. While the peanut is technically a legume, the popular culinary nut is still widely consumed and treated like a member of the true nut family.
2. 2. Almond butter: Almond butter is a nut butter made from ground-up almonds. Like peanut butter, it comes in both smooth and chunky varieties, and it tastes delicious spread on whole-grain toast.
3. 3. Cashew butter: Cashew butter is a spread made of puréed cashew nuts. Naturally soft and high in fat, cashews blend into a peanut butter-like substance without any added oils. Cashew nut butter is an excellent source of magnesium, copper, and essential amino acids. You can use cashew butter as a substitute for peanut butter or tahini, and as a thickener for sauces and creams.
4. 4. Pistachio butter: Pistachio nut butter has a nutty, earthy, slightly sweet flavor, and is made by grinding lightly roasted pistachios into a paste. This flavorful nut butter is a good source of fiber, protein, vitamin B6, potassium, and essential amino acids. With its rich, nutty flavor, you can use pistachio butter as a dessert topping, a spread for toast, an alternative for pesto sauce, or add it to salad dressings.
5. 5. Hazelnut butter: Hazelnut butter is a spread made by blending roasted hazelnuts. This flavorful nut butter is an excellent source of protein, fiber, antioxidants, vitamin B, and vitamin E. With its rich, nutty flavor, hazelnut butter makes a perfect accompaniment to toast, pancakes, ice cream, and cookies.
6. 6. Walnut butter: Walnut butter is a spread made by grinding raw or toasted walnuts into a creamy paste. As the walnuts break down in the blending process, they release natural oils to form a creamy nut butter. You can use walnut butter in a variety of applications, from sweet to savory.
7. 7. Macadamia nut butter: Macadamia nut butter is a paste made from crushed macadamia nuts, sometimes flavored with a pinch of salt. When ground, the raw nuts release oils that bind the nut pieces together into a smooth butter. Roasting the macadamia nuts before blending adds another dimension to your homemade macadamia nut butter, deepening the flavor.
8. 8. Pecan butter: Pecan butter is a rich, spreadable nut butter that’s chock full of healthy fats and tastes like pecan pie. Pecan butter is an excellent source of fiber, magnesium, potassium, antioxidants, and vitamins A, B, and E. You can use pecan butter in breads, cookies, pies, or as a substitute for tahini.
9. 9. Brazil nut butter: Brazil nut trees are native to the Amazon and only thrive in wild, undisturbed areas. Brazil nuts are full of antioxidants and healthy fatty acids, and you can eat these hearty nuts raw or roasted. When roasted, you can blend the nuts in a food processor into a creamy, smooth texture to create your very own homemade nut butter.
10. 10. Chestnut butter: You can use roasted and peeled chestnuts to make a great butter that you can enjoy as a spread, as a base for a sauce, or to top your morning granola. To make this butter, turn the chestnuts into a fine powder with a food processor, add water and continue to blend until the consistency is smooth and paste-like.
11. 11. Pine nut butter: Pine nuts are typically a little more expensive than most nuts, but they make an excellent butter when toasted and blended together. To create pine nut butter, blend pine nuts with a neutral oil and a pinch of salt. (Adding garlic and basil to this mixture can transform it into pesto).
12. 12. Coconut butter: Blend shredded coconut shavings to make your own coconut butter that you can use as a spread for toast, as a garnish for desserts, or in savory applications.

Making your own nut butter is a simple way to add some new flavors and healthy fats to your diet:

1. 1. Choose your nuts. You can make nut butter from various nuts, including almonds, peanuts, pecans, walnuts, and cashews. You can also combine a few different nuts to make a flavorful, multifaceted butter. For instance, combining hazelnuts, walnuts, and almonds can result in a tasty and unique tree nut butter that you can’t find in stores.
2. 2. Prepare the nuts. You can use nuts in their raw form to make nut butter, but roasting or toasting your nuts first can lead to a more robust flavor. Check the specific temperatures required for different types of nuts, and roast until they are medium brown. If your nuts come in a shell or casing, peeling them before blending will also improve the flavor and texture. Some people also prefer to soak their nuts in water overnight to make them softer.
3. 3. Blend the nuts. Place your prepared nuts in a food processor or high-speed blender, and blend with a few cups of water (the amount of water depends on how many servings you’re making). Blend to the consistency of your preference. You can create a creamy nut butter by adding a tablespoon of oil to the mixture before blending. Add a pinch of sea salt to boost the flavor, or a tablespoon of maple syrup for a sweeter finished product.

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