We Style-Examined 13 Creamy Almond Butters—Right here Are Our Favorites

Almond butter is a staple of my food regimen: I slather it on toast and apple slices, add it to my smoothies, and stir it into breakfast bars. And I like it a lot that I might—and sometimes do—fortunately eat it by the spoonful. For that cause, I at all times preserve a number of jars in my pantry.

Although almond butter is fairly mainstream at present, that wasn’t at all times the case. Once I first fell in love with the nutty unfold, it was usually solely out there at well being meals shops or, if I took the time to make it, in my kitchen. Fortunately for me, there are numerous manufacturers of almond butter out there to buy at present. The query is: Which of them are price stocking in your kitchen?

To seek out the easiest creamy almond butter, our editors taste-tested 13 totally different manufacturers of creamy almond butters—all made with roasted almonds—you are prone to discover at your native grocery retailer or on-line. We sampled 9 manufacturers of unsalted almond butter and 5 manufacturers of salted almond butter. To seek out the successful one in every class, we tasted them in random order with out realizing which was which. We tasted the unsalted and salted varieties in separate batches so we weren’t evaluating apples to oranges. After consuming many, many spoonfuls of almond butter, we tabulated the outcomes and topped an total winner for every class, together with a number of different worthy contenders, we might be pleased to maintain at house or in our workplace desk drawers.

The Standards

Creamy almond butter must be lusciously creamy. It must be thick and spreadable; it shouldn’t be chalky or gummy; and it shouldn’t be overly unfastened and saucy, nor so thick that it would not unfold. Although tiny chunks of almonds are welcome, almond butter labeled “easy” shouldn’t be so textured that it resembles crunchy nut butter. It must be wealthy and nutty, with the pure sweetness of almonds. Salted almond butter must be properly savory and well-seasoned, however shouldn’t be so salty that you really want a full glass of water after a single chew. Every chew must be earthy, nutty, and balanced.

Total Winners

The Greatest Unsalted Creamy Almond Butter: Maisie Jane’s Almond Butter

Nearly each single taster made a notice of how creamy this almond butter was. Our senior social media editor, Kelli, and I appreciated that it was thick and spreadable however not dry. Kelli additionally cherished the flavour of this almond butter: “Really tastes like almonds!” Like Kelli, I loved the flavour of this almond butter, although I might have preferred it extra if it have been even nuttier. Although Megan thought it was “fairly good!”

The Greatest Salted Creamy Almond Butter: Dealer Joe’s

Everybody agreed that this almond butter was salty—and, for probably the most half, we preferred it. “Salt is a tad harsh, however I like this one,” our editorial director, Daniel, wrote, describing its taste as “roasty almond, not disagreeable.” Regardless of discovering it “moderately salty,” Megan thought it had a “good nutty taste.” Kelli and I each thought it was good and salty, and our affiliate meals editor, Laila, preferred the slight crunch she bought from the granules of salt. “I benefit from the layered texture and like that it is salt-forward,” she wrote.

Runners-Up

Unsalted

• 365 by Complete Meals Market Creamy Almond Butter
• Good & Collect Creamy Almond Butter
• Dealer Joe’s Creamy Almond Butter

Salted

• Bowl & Basket Creamy Almond Butter
• Repair & Fogg Clean Almond Butter

Although not one of the almond butters we tasted have been fairly nearly as good because the winners, our editors additionally loved the nut butters from the six manufacturers above. Whereas Megan didn’t assume 365 by Complete Meals Market Creamy Almond Butter was tremendous flavorful, she and I each agreed that it was nutty and, as she put it, “completely nice.” Kelli discovered it barely candy, however in a great way, and preferred that it reminded her of pure peanut butter.

Aside from Daniel, all of our tasters loved the roasted notes of Dealer Joe’s Creamy Almond Butter. “Too roasty and weirdly candy,” Daniel wrote. Megan, alternatively, preferred its roasted taste. She described it as “pretty nutty and buttery,” and thought it tasted do-it-yourself. Of all of the almond butters we sampled, Good & Collect Creamy Almond Butter was probably the most fragrant. Daniel wasn’t a giant fan, however everybody else thought it was nutty and almond-forward, a lot in order that Kelli thought she might style the peel of the almond. “This one has that mildly almond extract taste,” Megan famous, “which I do not thoughts.” 

Our tasters preferred the salty-sweet taste profile of Bowl & Basket Creamy Almond Butter, however everybody thought its texture was barely too unfastened. “Essentially the most pourable one out of the line-up,” Laila noticed. We additionally had blended emotions in regards to the grittiness of the nut butter: Megan preferred that it did not really feel sticky, and Laila thought the granules of salt and almonds “made for a extra attention-grabbing consuming expertise,” however Kelli didn’t look after it. Except Laila, who discovered it bland, everybody agreed they’d be pleased consuming Repair & Fogg Clean Almond Butter. I, very helpfully, jotted down “scrumptious.” Kelli had a couple of extra ideas: “Strong. It tastes of almonds and is barely candy. No complaints.” 

The Contenders: Unsalted Creamy Almond Butter

• 365 by Complete Meals Market Creamy Almond Butter
• 365 by Complete Meals Market Natural Creamy Almond Butter
• Good & Collect Creamy Almond Butter
• Justin’s Traditional Almond Butter
• Kirkland Creamy Almond Butter
• Maisie Jane’s Clean Almond Butter
• As soon as Once more Creamy Almond Butter
• Dealer Joe’s Creamy Almond Butter

The Contenders: Salted Creamy Almond Butter

• Barney Butter Clean Almond Butter
• Bowl & Basket Creamy Almond Butter
• Repair & Fogg Clean Almond Butter
• MaraNatha Pure Creamy Almond Butter
• Dealer Joe’s Creamy Almond Butter Salted
• Tierra Farm Natural Salted Creamy Almond Butter

Key Takeaways and Conclusion

Almonds are the principle ingredient in the entire nut butters we tasted. A few of them additionally comprise salt, sugar, and palm oil, an ingredient usually used to emulsify nut butters. (As I discussed in my microwave popcorn style take a look at, it is price noting that harvesting and producing palm oil comes with environmental penalties.)

Total, our editors typically most popular almond butters made with simply roasted almonds and, if salted, a contact of salt. In the end, we preferred virtually each single almond butter we tried—it was only a matter of how a lot—and can be pleased to maintain most of those jars in our pantry for spreading, snacking, or cooking with.

Our Testing Methodology

All style assessments are performed with manufacturers utterly hidden and with out dialogue. Tasters style samples in random order. For instance, taster A could style pattern one first, whereas taster B will style pattern six first. That is to stop palate fatigue from unfairly giving anyone pattern a bonus. Tasters are requested to fill out tasting sheets rating the samples for numerous standards. All information is tabulated and outcomes are calculated with no editorial enter with a view to give us probably the most neutral illustration of precise outcomes doable.