How to Make Almond Butter
Homemade almond butter is healthy, affordable and even more delicious than store-bought! Learn how to make almond butter with this easy recipe.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
What took me so long to make almond butter? I just enjoyed homemade almond butter on toast for breakfast, and I must say—it’s far superior to store-bought almond butter. Homemade almond butter is ultra thick and creamy, and it tastes like warm, freshly roasted almonds.
Now that I know the difference, I can’t go back to buying jars at the store. I blend a tiny bit of cinnamon, vanilla and maple syrup into mine to make it taste extra special. Why not?
Homemade almond butter is more affordable, too. The math is simple. One pound of almonds yields one pound of almond butter (or 16 ounces), which is the size of the standard almond butter jar at the store. Just compare the price of one pound of raw almonds to the price of your favorite almond butter.
The cost savings depend largely on the almond butter. I’ve bought jars of almond butter at Trader Joe’s for seven dollars, so there’s not much savings opportunity there.
However, I’ve seen almond butter on shelves demanding seventeen dollars per jar. Seventeen dollars! For blended-up almonds! This is highway robbery, and I will not be robbed.
Homemade Almond Butter Tips
When it comes to making almond butter, patience is key. It might seem like the whole almonds will never turn into creamy nut butter, but they always do. Don’t give up!
Buy raw almonds and roast them in the oven yourself. Warm almonds blend more easily and offer maximum fresh almond flavor. Roasting the almonds only takes 10 minutes, and it’s absolutely worth it.
Roasted almonds offer the same nutritional benefits as raw almonds (protein, fiber, healthy fat, and vitamins), although their vitamin content is a tiny bit lower. The flavor difference is absolutely worth it, in my opinion. The “raw” almonds you buy at the store have probably been heat-treated to kill bacteria already and will inevitably warm up from the heat of the machine, anyway.
Watch How to Make Almond Butter
Suggested Equipment
Making almond butter is easy, as long as you have a sturdy food processor or blender and some patience. I’ve successfully made almond butter in my Cuisinart food processor and my Vitamix blender (affiliate links).
The blender may have been a few minutes faster (the tamper is handy to press almonds down into the blades), but I couldn’t tell a difference in the texture or flavor of the final product.
My favorite way to enjoy almond butter? I love it on whole-grain toast with berries on top (fresh berries, defrosted frozen, or chia berry jam). You can also spread almond butter on quick breads, like banana bread or muffins. Or, blend it into smoothies or swirl it into yogurt for extra protein.
This freshly roasted almond butter would make a lovely handmade gift. Just tie a ribbon around the jar and it’s ready to go. If this recipe spurs a nut butter kick, try making homemade pecan butter. Please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments!
Homemade Almond Butter
Homemade almond butter is healthy, affordable and even more delicious than store-bought! It’s easy to make, too. You’ll just need a good food processor or blender. Recipe yields about 1 ⅔ cup almond butter (that’s 16 ounces, the equivalent of a jar of almond butter from the store).
Ingredients
- 16 ounces (3 cups) raw almonds
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Optional: ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Optional: ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Optional: 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread the almonds across a large, rimmed baking sheet and toast the almonds for 10 minutes, stirring halfway.
- Let the almonds cool until they’re just warm (not hot), about 10 minutes.
- Transfer the almonds to a high-speed blender or food processor. Blend until creamy, pausing to scrape down the sides as necessary. You’re going to think it’ll never blend, but be patient! The almonds will go from flour-like clumps, to a ball against the side of the food processor (keep scraping down the sides and breaking up the ball), and finally, it will turn lusciously creamy. If the mixture gets crazy hot along the way, stop and let it cool for a few minutes.
- Once the almond butter is very smooth and creamy (no sooner!), you can blend in any add-ins you would like. I always add salt, for more flavor overall. You can also add cinnamon for a hint of spice, and vanilla and/or maple syrup for almond butter that tastes more special than store-bought.
- Blend until the add-ins are evenly dispersed. When I added maple syrup, I had to let the mixture cool, and then blend a few additional minutes, to make it creamy again.
- Let the almond butter cool to room temperature, then transfer the mixture to a mason jar and screw on the lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or until you see or smell any signs of spoilage.
Notes
Change it up: You can create a mixed nut butter by substituting raw cashews, walnuts or pecans for some of the almonds. Just roast them all on the pan together.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Omg! sooo good. sooo easy. I used my Ninja blender and it took almost 15 min to get to a creamy texture with all the scraping. I added 1/4 t kosher salt, 1/2 t cinnamon and 1/2 t Mexican Vanilla. I am soo excited! it is so good and did not cost me $13.95 like my last jar of almond butter from Apple Hill, CA!
Hooray! Thank you for taking the time to comment, Suzi.
What setting did you put the blender on
I accidentally forgot about my almonds in the oven but even being overcooked this was still delicious! I just added a bit of avocado oil to help it along as it was very dry from overoasting the almonds (oops!) Glad I could salvage it! I have also made this when I did not overoast the nuts and it always comes out yummy!!
how much almond butter does this make
8oz of Almonds makes 8oz of butter. Nothing added nothing taken away….
Amazing! You are right, you think it’s never going to happen then … voila! Your almonds turn to almond butter! I didn’t add any ingredients to my mixture as this was my first attempt and I just wanted the plain and simple taste of the nuts. My gramma used to make me almond and cashew butter as a child as I’m allergic to peanuts… I inherited her Cuisinart when she passed and I’ve finally put it to proper use.
Thank you for sharing, Susie! I’m excited you enjoyed it. I’m sorry to hear about your grandmother! My thoughts to you and your family.
My granddaughter is allergic to peanuts, so where do you purchase your almonds that they are not in a peanut facilty?
Thank you
Got a Braun food processor for my bday and yours was my first endeavor! Followed your recipe exactly and it was delicious….smooth and creamy. Cannot wait to spread on apples, pretzels, crackers. Thank you.
So I bought Marcona Almonds (roasted) from Costco. I bought them months ago and have barely ate them. I’m out of almond butter abs thought, what if I used my roasted almonds from Costco to make almond butter ? Is this a terrible idea ? The Marconi almonds are softer then most almonds so I’m wondering if it could be okay when I throw them in the food processor. Anyone have thoughts ?
Hi Michelle, I don’t know if they will be too dry or old since you have had them for so long. If you try it, let me know! Sorry to not be of more help.
Can you use roasted almonds (pre roasted)
Hi Dee! You can try it. Sometimes store bought roasted are too dry so doesn’t provide the same result. Let me know!
I’m using dry roasted almonds from Trader Joe’s and I’ve been blending for a while now… still going
Hi, It’s likely how they were roasted. I’m sorry it didn’t work well for you!
i used trader joe’s roasted & unsalted almonds and it worked great!
Well, unless your almonds are more amenable than the ones my local grocery store provides I will have to add some peanut oil since the blender (and it is a healthy one*) has done nothing in five minutes to give hope or even a sign that a butter will ensue.
*14 Speed Oster
Hi Charles, I’m sorry you didn’t love this one. It does take some time, but this may not be the recipe for you.
It took 20 mins in my blender but we got there in the end and it doesnt look like its working until the very last minute.
Your reply reminds me to get a quality ‘food processor’ and now I have the funds to do just that!
I now have a ‘Ninja’ blender and with it I can make smooth almond butter in 4 minutes. That’s the speed I wanted. Tks for reply.
First time almond butter maker . The recipe was good I did add a bit of warm water and almond oil . I’m still blending but I’ve taste testing it and it’s yum.
Thank you for your review!
You really expected results in 5 minutes?? It literally says in the recipe that it’s gonna take longer.
Wow! This recipe was absolutely amazing. Tasted much better than any store bought almond butter – went down a treat!
Thank you for sharing, Siobhan! I appreciate your review.
You are my first recipe for my first almond butter. You are right. It takes awhile to get there. I am using a Ninja blender and used only 1 cup of almonds. It still took me over a half hour of blending. That could be because I was a bit afraid to just let it go, I was afraid it would burn up without more liquid. But, with scraping and replacing and perseverance, we got there. I only used the sea salt for now as I am learning to stay away from sweetners. Thank you for being one of my top results for DIY Almond Butter!
I made the recipe to half the size, added a touch of coconut oil for extra creaminess. This recipe only cost me about $1.80 to make since I had most of the ingredients on hand and bought about 1.60 lb. of Almonds at my local Sprouts at 3.99 for the pound. It definitely beats having to dish out $10-13 and I have so much more fun making it!
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you had fun making it.
Omg I had it to the perfect creamy consistency and then added the maple syrup. Ive been processing it for a good 10 minutes now but it just won’t come together. Its like flaky sand now. :( What do I do? Im thinking of adding some oil at this stage but worried it may ruin the flavour.
Hi Far! I’m sorry to hear that. Did you keep processing it and did it work? Did you roast your almonds?
I had the same experience. It was nice and creamy and then I added the extras and poof, everything separated. It was was like I had one really hard ball of dough separated from a pool of oil in the bottom of the blender and I could never get them to meld back together afterwards. I will try again, but this first try was, unfortunately, a disaster :(
Hi, I’m sorry to hear that. Was it cooled down before you added the ingredients? Did it seem warm?
This also happened to me but I continued processing and it became creamy again. Great recipe and tasty butter.
Add extra maple syrup to make dough for the most beautiful biscuits and that’s all the ingredients usually around 1/4 of a cup maple syrup to jar of Almond butter mix to dough roll into balls flatten alittle with a fork pop in the oven 12 to 15 min on 160
Hi so I’ve been reading a lot of the comments having the same problem and I had this problem as well and I kept blending it and it eventually turned more liquidy. Just keep blending for 15-20 minutes but taking breaks so that your blender doesn’t break.
thank you Kate! best almond butter ever!!!!
I’m delighted you think so, Marily! I appreciate your review.
I loved it! Took me 40 mins to get it creamy, then I added honey and it took me more 30 mins! I ate almost half of the butter preparing it! So delicious!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE !!!! I just recently move to study in Korea and couldn’t find any proper none sugary natural almond butter (I’m from the Uk and have boxes of it there…) so decided to experiment :) Never going back !!!
Wonderful to hear, Megan! Thank you for taking the time to review.
It came out so beautiful and creamy. Thank you for the recipe:)) Five stars!
Just made this and omg!! So easy and so yum!! Thank you for this recipe :-)
I’ve never made any type of butter and I categorically do not like peanut butter, however I’m wanting to make some Healthy protein bars and everything has nut butter in it. Almond butter is not easy to purchase especially in the current climate so I thought, why not give it a go. The recipe is SPOT On! I don’t have a blender, but I do have a mini chopper.Worked like a charm. I had faith as per your instructions and voila – Nut butter. Texture and taste wise it is not my preference (there is no chocolate) and it seems a tad dry, I like the suggestion to add a little coconut oil, I will try this next time. Thanks so much for the recipe Kate, I can now make my Chocolate Protein bars.
I’m happy you loved it, Cassandra! I appreciate you taking the time to review.
While this was delicious, it broke my $500 Vitamix.
Hi Katie, I’m sorry to hear that! I have made this several times in my Vitamix with no issues. Vitamix has great customer service. I would call and see if yours is still under warranty. They are usually 7-10 yrs.
It broke my Vitamix too. I’d had it for two weeks
Hi James, I’m sorry to hear that. I have never had issues. Vitamix has great customer service and warranties are usually 7-10 years.
I first tried without roasting the almonds (honestly got so excited to try this recipe i forgot the roasting step)… could not get a creamy enough texture… then tried roasting them first and OMG just the smell alone was amazing..but i did achieve
that creamy texture . Thanks for the recipe ! I’ll definitely make this again.
We have a ton of almonds from our tree that needed to get used so I figured I’d give this a try. OMG so delicious!!! I’m so glad you mentioned several times to be patient during mixing because I would have given up otherwise. It took around 30 minutes in my old food processor (with lots of breaks to scrape the sides and let it cool) but it finally came together and I am eating it straight out of the food processor because I couldn’t wait! Will make again!
Hooray! That’s great, Amanda. I’m glad you loved it.
This recipe is amazingly delicious! Thank you! it has so much flavor it was like a party for my palate.
Thank you for sharing, CC! I appreciate your review.
For those of us who have never ventured down this “butter” path, until today (me! me! Me!) it would be more kind for the authors to give more definitive time lines as to how long this whole process takes…instead of just ” be patient, it takes time”. In actuality, I didn’t want to burn my motor out on my professional grade cuisinart… There are “stages” that the nuts go through: whole to chunks, chunks to tiny bits, bits to a flour consistency; flour consistency to a grainy sand consistency; then sand to butter…..it took approx. an hour to go from whole almonds to “butter”; and I ran the machine in 15 minute increments—cooling the motor for a couple hours in between runnings and pulsing it…. it is delicious!! It does work; but the majority of people will have no idea the actual time it takes to get it from nuts to butter. (( approx 1 hour of processing 2.5 cups nuts to get 2.5 cups nut butter)) we added a bit of salt, a tad of cinnamon and about 3 TB of raw unfiltered honey….it was still too glompy for us and so I added two tsp of organic cocoanut oil and “that” was the magic the recipe seemingly needed to get a true butter / spreaedable consistency. Yummy!!
Hi Kee, I appreciate you taking time to share your experience. I wish I could provide that type of detail, but it honestly just depends on the nuts and machine you are using. Mine personally doesn’t take that long. I’m happy you enjoyed it!
I’ve been meaning to switch to homemade nut butters for the longest time and used this recipe on my first try and WOW. I’m so impressed by the result and I’ve truly converted. As mentioned above, the key is patience and for a minute I thought I was doing something wrong, but behold the creamy and glossy consistency came and I couldn’t be happier! I added salt and honey for the perfect balance :)
That’s great! I’m glad you loved it, Kino.
I am planning on making this recipe tomorrow. I see how much blending time it’s taking. Would it skip a step if I chopped the almonds into smaller pieces before starting the blending process?
Hi! Sorry for my delay. It can depend on your machine. What did you end up doing, Erin?
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that. Were your almond old?
Hi Just wanted to know please the shelf life of the home made butter , thank you.
Ofer
Great recipe. I am blending until smooth,, almost runny- when I add the salt, cinnamon, vanilla and honey the mixture becomes very thick and chunky again. What is going on?
Hi! Did you allow it to cool before blending again? It will take some additional time after to add those to get back to the creamy texture.
16 ounces of almonds is 2 cups not 3 cups?
Hi Michelle! The measurements listed are correct. If you try it, be sure to let me know what you think!
Hi Kate,I just made this.So easy and yummy.I added the salt and maple syrup.You are right,it takes time to get creamy but patience paid off.I had to cool a few times as well.Thank you!
Wina
This is such a tasty recipe! One question for you- whenever I add the honey at the end, the creamy texture becomes hard…. Is there a replacement or some way to prevent the almond butter from solidifying (while still keeping the sweet taste)?
Hi Erica! Be sure to let it cool as it says in the steps. I hope that helps!
I never achieved smooth and creamy, and although I added each of the optional ingredients, it tastes a bit bitter.
Hi Sara, I’m sorry to hear that. Did you add more salt?
Made the almond butter and absolutely love it It was so easy. I used the food processor. It’s creamy and delicious. Thank you!
Giulia
Hi all, this was my first time ever making almond and cashew butter. It was as easy as ABC. However, I can only speak of my successful result and the use of a 7 cup Kitchen Aid Food Processor (which was use for the first time). I can safely say that I will not be purchasing Almond Butter as this recipe is so simple and effective in creating a delicious almond and cashew butter. Please encourage all your friends to make their own butter using this recipe will certainly promote good health.
I couldn’t see a video that was called for in the article. I’d like to see it,
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! It checks a lot of boxes for me—not having to stir a jar for 10 minutes to get it smooth, being able to use my own glass jar, and it really was easy to make (and tasty)! I truly will never buy one from the store again :)
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it, Katie.
I love almond butter but disclaimer the almonds in the mixed nuts from Costco. I had a few cups of almonds just sitting in my shelf and thought I’d try this recipe with them. Turned out delicious! They are already salted and roasted, so just had to blend them. I used my food processor.
Hi Kate. I tried this recipe and it was successful. But to my disappointment, when I added maple syrup, the mixture got all clumpy again. I cooled the mixture and processed again but I had no luck. I then mixed it up with some oats and banana to make energy bites. What do you think must have gone wrong?
Regards,
Angela
Hi Angela, How long did you blend again?
I blended it the 2nd time for slightly more than 10 minutes, and since the mixture was starting to get quite hot, I decided to let it cool down first. I blended it again later for about 5 minutes and still saw no progress.
It may have needed a bit more time since it got hot. Sorry to hear you didn’t have great results.
I was so hopeful for this recipe but it didn’t work! And believe me, I was persistent! Now, I’m probably at fault, so I will try again.
Is there a reason why using soaked almonds wouldn’t work? I’m wondering if it’s because the almonds I used were previously soaked. Should I have toasted them longer?
Hi Amy, I’m assuming that impacted the results. I haven’t tried it with previously soaked, so can’t say for sure.
Amazing! I blended mine in a Cuisinart, and added salt, vanilla, cinnamon and little agave. OMG. Why have I ever bought this instead of making it?!
One thing I did totally on accident, because I am a bonehead and can’t read, is put the hot from the oven almonds right into the processor, *along* with the mix ins. I know, I know, supposed to wait until everything is creamy and cool! But take heart if you are as clueless as me, because it worked out fine! It took a while but I just cleaned the kitchen while I let the Cuisinart do it’s thing and voila, creamy awesome butter! Thanks again!
What kind of blender/food processor do you use? I think I’m using the wrong thing. I’m using a Cuisinart 700 Watt chopper grinder. How long does it take to turn into a luscious cream, as you described it?
Hi Connie, I used a food processor for this recipe. It does take sometime to become creamy, depending on your machine and specific almonds.
I don’t feel like I got it to look as creamy as the one in the picture but it tastes good
If it tastes good, that’s what is important! Thank you for your review, Tiffany.
I just loved this with all the additives
I have since made a new lot without additives as I could not find your recipe and it sure was boring. I have since found yours again & this will be the only one I make from here on in
Thanku so much
You’re welcome, Cheryl! I’m happy you plan to make this one again.
this tripped a breaker and broke my vitamix :( but i transferred the batch to my food processor and it worked beautifully. just wish i had started with the food processor. otherwise very simple. i added more salt than called for but omitted the other add-ons. will try those
next time.
Hi Yuko, I’m so sorry to hear that! I haven’t had issues. Have you checked with Vitamix support?
Do you leave the skins on?
Yes! No need to remove them.
Thank you so much! Your directions made this truly easy. I used slivered almonds, so it was extra quick, and my food processor didn’t even get warm.
You’re welcome! I’m glad it turned out for you.
Made this today using my blender and they are super easy! thank you!!! One question though, is there anyway to improve the almond taste? I toasted my almonds before grinding and didn’t add any vanilla extract or cinnamon. This is the first time I make almond butter (I’ve made peanut butter & cashew nut butter before) so I am a bit surprised that the almond butter has such a mild taste. Any thoughts?
Thank you again for the recipe!!!
I’m glad it worked! It could be your almonds. They can vary.
I’ve never tried making any nut butter before but this recipe is amazing! Will try other nuts in the future
This took 50 years I swear – I was exhausted by the end of it. I was being super cautious as it was my first time and it never turned into a ball whatsoever and got kinda grainy yet smooth. Whatever – put that batch aside to make another one and I decided to let it go, not caring about how hot it would get and it did that ball thing and suddenly became smooth and that only took under 5 mins whereas the first batch took me 40mins. Added the two batches together and it was soooo smooth and creamy!
Used a kentwood food processor and roasted my raw almonds in my the air fryer (Phillips brand) at 180°C for 10-14 mins. Also used Australian bush honey and Dutch cinnamon
Thanks for this recipe
Thank you for sharing, Kimberley!
worked so well – thx for sharing thst the mixture thickens after adding the maple syrup & to wait till cooler to re blend to make it smooth again.
I’ve never made not butter before & was pretty impressed.
I like the fact that your recipe didn’t add oil.
I had similar results to others. Seemed pretty smooth- as smooth as it was going to get, but turned crumbly after the salt, vanilla and maple. I wonder if the almonds were a bit old. I got them in bulk, but they were pre-packaged. Might try adding a little oil as someone suggested, or just use it in smoothies. Nice recipe though! I’ll try it again with fresher almonds.
I’m sorry it didn’t turn out! How long did you keep blending after you added the add-ins? It can take more time after that depending on your almonds.
This was so easy! I was a little skeptical that it would ever get smooth but once I used the high setting on my Ninja food processor (instead of puree) and let it go for several minutes before scraping, it was like magic!! I couldn’t believe indidnt have to add extra oil or water! Indid add some vanilla and cinnamon. Wow so good! It was for my husband but I love it!
Hooray! Thank you for sharing, Louisa.
How long does one jar stay good for
Hi Danielle! See the final step. I hope you love it!
What kind of syrup did you use? Can I use agava instead ?
Hi, I haven’t tried it with that. I used maple syrup.