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.
This almond butter is amazing! It came together just like described in the recipe. It did clump together when the syrup was added, but letting it cool and scraping the bowl worked – it turned creamy again.
That’s great, Brenda!
Hi Kate, I love almond butter and thought it’ll be fun to make a bottle. It all started well. I got to the creamy almond butter that spreads beautifully and tastes delicious. But when I add in a spoonful of honey and some salt, the mixture turned hard into hard cookie dough.. any idea why and how I can salvage it? and at the point, my blender seemed to have over heated and stopped working. Am waiting for it to cook before I try again. TIA
Oh no! Did you wait for it to cool to continue to blend?
Made this in my Pure juicer and worked like a charm! So quick and easy no blending required.
Patience pays off! Read a lot of folks mention the difficulty of blending it until creamy. Followed as written and only added a little salt…. heeded the “Patience” advice….Used a Ninja food processor and even ear protection :O Seriously!…..took 15 min. with some scraping of sides, but not even as much as I thought it would. Simple, easy peasy for me, thank goodness and DELICIOUS! Thanks for sharing Kate!
Thank you for this great recipe! I only made a small amount to try, as didn’t want to waste almonds. It was done in 12 minutes and tastes lovely I have an old Braun blender 500w turbo and wasn’t sure if it would work but it did an amazing job. Next time I’ll do a larger amount, although it will probably take longer. Thanks again.
My local Trader Joe’s is out of all of their almond butter for A MONTH so I finally tried making homemade almond butter and this recipe was fantastic.
I roasted raw almond slivers, cooled slightly, and blended in my Vitamix for 5 minutes for perfectly creamy and smooth almond butter.
I also added some whole roasted almonds to another batch and pulsed slightly to make crunchy almond butter.
Great recipe!
Thank you, TD!
Hello. Thanks for your recipe. Which food processor model do you use for making nut butter? Thanks
Hi! The one I used here was a Cuisinart. They don’t make this version anymore.
Oh thanks. If possible can you please write me the model number as I might find a second hand one if it’s an older version:)
Such a wonderful recipe. Super simple
I made mine with 3 cups of sliced almonds, roasted them, turned them a couple of times and took them out when I thought they were done. Not sure how long that was, somewhat around 10min. I love the scent of roasted almonds.
Let them cool down afterwards until I could easily touch them, still nicely warm. Put them in my Vitamix, started low, to watch, never went higher than 6 and used a lot them stomper.
They turned into creamy almond butter within 5-10 min.
I love it! Thank you so much for this recipe. Next batch I am going to start to play around with flavors.
Thank you for sharing, Cornelia!
I just wanted to see if I could be helpful to some of the questions below. This recipe requires a food processor, not a blender. Some blenders can do it but others can not. Roasting the nuts correctly will assist with the time used to make the butter greatly. A little oil made be needed but don’t put too much. If you are putting oil in multiple times it may be a problem that oil won’t fix. Do not add liquid-like stuff like maple syrup until it is the texture you want. If you add it in too early it could hinder the paste from ever getting smothered. I personally don’t like to add to my almond butter a drop of lemon extract(really a drop), sea salt, a little brown sugar, and a little honey.
Hello! I’ve tried this recipe twice now and can say that the key to easy blending is to properly toast the almonds! The first time I had to add over a cup of almond milk to my blender to make something that remotely resembled almond butter. The second time I toasted the almonds for an extra 5 min and had gorgeous almond butte within 5 min blending on low speed. Amazing!
Can I use canned Blue Diamond almonds?
This recipe is best as written. I haven’t used those before so I can’t say for sure.
How do you store it once it’s made? in the fridge? or shelf?
Hi Pamela! See the final step.
I just broke the motor of my vitamix that I use daily for 5 years using this recipe
Hi Elle, I’m sorry to hear that. I didn’t experience that. I have made this recipe several times. They are usually good about warranties. You may want to reach out to the customer service.
Worked great! Roasting definitely helps. It actually got creamy! (When I tried to make almond butter before this without roasting first, it wouldn’t get creamy but was hard and crumbly). I also ran the food processor without stopping it for several minutes until I noticed clumps going around, and I just stopped to break it up occasionally and scrape the bottom. Eventually, it turned into a softer and softer clump going around, until it actually smoothed out into creamy almond butter! :)
I’m glad it worked for you, Christian! I appreciate your review.
Hi Kate, I made the Almond butter and it looked nice and creamy until I added the honey and salt. It went back to the dough stage. I kept on processing but it never got creamy again. Not sure what went wrong but it tastes good.
Either add the honey slowly next time (like making an emulsion – tahini sauce, mayonnaise) to allow the natural oils to “accept” the water or add more oil, 1tsp at a time to overtake the extra water and make it runny again :)
Can I make this with blanched almonds? I’m on a low lectin diet atm.
I recommend this as written. I haven’t tried with blanched.
Yes. I love using blanched almonds to make a creamier, smoother flavour – no almond skin to take over, tastes like cashews – they’re not as intense. roasting them still brings out more flavour, and makes them process quicker from room temperature.
The almond turned out fantastic. Everything happened exactly as you said. As I was blending, I kept rereading your notes. All of a sudden, I looked up and the crumbs turned into butter. Magic! Patience was the key. Thanks for your accurate post!
Great to hear, Robin!
I made the almond butter this morning and now enjoying it with and apple. Simple and easy and yummy.
How much Oil did u guys add to y’alls recipe
I didn’t follow this exactly (went raw not roasted), but it does require patience (LOTS). I didn’t add anything to my Cuisinart food processor except premium raw almonds. it seems like an eternity to get from whole almonds, to almond meal (at which point I added a little sea salt), to almond flour (dry dry dry all the way), and then voila, it becomes a butter. I shut mine down probably 4-5 times along the way to let everything cool (noticed the unit below the bowl was getting warm). Love it!! Much better than what I’ve bought “fresh ground” from our local health food store. But let’s face it – it’s almond butter. unless you add stuff to it, not a lot of flavor comes from ground raw almonds.
Thank you for sharing, Marcia!
This is sooooo delicious!!I did exactly as you said and it turned out perfect! I have a ninja professional plus and the almonds went to butter in 7 minutes!! Thanks so much for this recipe! I pay $10 for an 8 oz jar of almond butter at Kroger. I can make this for $5.
I’m glad you love it! Thank you for your review, Joy.
I had a lot of roasted, salted almonds in my freezer just sitting there, so I decided to give this a try. I thawed them and then toasted them lightly at 350F for 5 or so minutes first, to warm them up a bit. They came together and got creamy extremely quickly in my Vitamix (maybe 5 min?), no problem at all! I added a small splash each of vanilla, maple syrup and canola oil and blended again. Tastes great!
Great to hear! Thank you for sharing your experience.
Another great recipe! Easy,encouraging instructions and well worth the effort. Thank you Kate! this will be Great on the banana oat pancakes!
It looks so simple! However, I added the salt and vanilla before churning the almonds. It now, however, does not make a butter. It still is a powder. Is there anything I can do now?
Thanks.
Hi, How did it turn out? Did you let it cool down first? It will take more time to reblend.
Delicious!!! This recipe worked so well for me! My dad gave it a thumbs up when he tried it, and he doesn’t usually like almond butter. Will be making this over store bought any day!
Delicious and so easy in a Vitamix. Probably takes about 2 minutes. I do think this recipe is about having the right equipment! I don’t think I’ll ever buy nut butter again.
Thank you for sharing, Nicola!
I made this today and it is great. I have my first gift jar ready to go and am inspired to next try cashew and pecan nut butters as well. I now have something nutritious to offer my vegan grand-niece.
Thank you so much!
I am so glad you reinforced that eventually the mix would turn into a soft butter. I had my doubts for a while but kept the faith!!
I’m glad you kept at it! I appreciate your review.
I like to read “bad” comments to be aware of pitfalls when trying something new but so many are because they used raw nuts which isn’t mentioned in the recipe! Added water too early, again she mentions to add maple syrup AT THE END. Or a lower powered motor which again isn’t designed to make nut butter. When following the recipe AS WRITTEN I got very toasted but not black burnt nuts (darker than the pictures) so will reduce temperature by 20°next time. Even with adding 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (kept almonds amount the same) and NO OIL. I got incredibly creamy, smooth (but not runny) almond butter with subtle cinnamon notes – I’m hoping the vanilla and maple syrup will come out of dormancy tomorrow. I appreciated the cinnamon, salt and sugar amounts brought out the flavour in the almonds without overpowering them. And as I say interested in the flavour once it’s sat and melded.
I have 1 question aren’t almond skin to be removed before making the butter.
No need to remove the skin.
I didn’t roast the almonds before I tried making the butter in my cuisinart. It seems to take a lot longer than the peanut butter I also make. Should I try roasting them anyway even though they are chopped pretty fine?
Hi Bj, for best results I recommend following the recommended recipe. Let me know what you think when you try it!
i tried the almond butter, it was easy to make in my ninja processor. i added cinnamon and ginger. it is delicious. thank you.
You’re welcome, Nandy!
I had to use more maple syrup than the recipe states so that it wasn’t so dry I couldn’t even swallow it, but other than that, I didn’t change anything. Definitely a good base recipe for almond butter.
Thank you for sharing, Steph! I’m glad you were still able to enjoy it.
This worked for me, using a Cuisinart food processor. You were right, staring at the flour, I was considering adding a few drops of oil to get it to break down further, but sure enough.
However, I could’ve just let it get too hot while blending, but it definitly tastes a little burnt. In the future I’ll be roasting them for about 2-3min less, but I ended up adding about a teaspoon of honey+maple syrup with the salt, and that balanced it out enough to save it.
We are in the beginning stages of a new home build so to say my kitchen is currently a hot mess is an understatement. With that being said, I just made this with a coffee bean grinder and a hand mixer and it turned out perfect. If I can do it with that, you can do it with proper kitchen equipment. Excellent recipe thanks!!
That sounds exciting, but I bet crazy at the same time. I’m glad you loved it, Trish!
In the middle of making my almond butter, I was reading everyone’s comments about how theirs did not work out. I followed this recipe, exactly how it was written, and mine turned out the perfect consistency and texture. Just like store-bought almond butter.
Mine came out creamy until I added honey. It stiffened badly. Next time I will do just almonds with a little salt.
This is the second time I’ve made this recipe, and had complete success each time. Thank you for the awesome, easy recipe and helpful notes :) I added vanilla to this batch and it tastes soooo great!
That’s great to ehar, Kristen! Thank you for your review.
I happen to have a hand-turned flour mill with steel grinder plates (nut butters are too oily for the stone plates). It makes excellent nut butters, with roasted nuts of all kinds. I give almonds a quick whirl in the food processor first, since they’re too big to fit in the mill’s feed mechanism.
Wonderful but I think I just killed my food processor. I used blanched almonds- so amazing
Great to hear, Sue! I appreciate your review.
Thank you for this recipe, Kate! It works beautifully every time.
I’ve made Almond Butter and Almond and Walnut Butter. Followed the instructions, no added oil in either and they’ve both turned out great. OK, it too a lo of processing but I’m really happy with the results. People just have to have some patience in the processing. Thank you for this instruction
You’re welcome, Sandie!
So this was a kitchen adventure! I used my ninja bullet and downsized the recipe. It did take some time, but I ended up with almond butter!
Great to hear, Angela!
Haven’t made it yet. The recipe makes 1-2/3 cups. How long does it last?
I hope you love it! Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or until you see or smell any signs of spoilage.
I’ve made this almond butter recipe several times and it just gets better and better. This time for some reason, it whipped up in like 10 min.
Same exact nuts I used and roasted last time (I get them bulk at WinCo) and the batch was smooth in about 10-15 min. But the time before, it took almost 20 (give or take the time it takes to cool in between)
Anyways, it comes out so good that I eat it like it’s candy. I can’t stop!
If I used cashews instead of almonds and the cashews were already bought roasted would they still work? Would I just skip the roasting part?
I don’t have a foolproof recipe for cashew butter, sorry!
Tried shop bought almond butter a friend provided and decided to make some myself. I was lucky enough to find this page/recipe and followed it with the suggested additives and made something that can only be described as awesome and just so much better than the shop bought stuff. It may have taken a long time but it was worth every second, thanks heaps for the recipe.
You’re welcome, Marco! I’m happy to hear you love this recipe.
This worked beautifully. Thank you for putting this up. Ignore the people who can’t follow instructions. :)
Hello Kate! My almonds wouldn’t blend to make a butter consistency, I had to add some water. Then it came out beautifully, my very first almond butter! So delicious. Regards from Italy! Andie
I’m happy to hear it turned out! Thank you for sharing, Andie.
No mention of whether these almonds are blanched or not. I buy blanched almonds in bulk and plan to use those, unless someone tells me otherwise. I’ll also be using the same Cuisinart that the author mentioned/linked.
Such a simply and easy recipe. No need to buy almond butter ever again. Some have had trouble, so sharing some specifics from my experience that might be helpful.
1- I purchased whole raw almonds from my grocery store
2- I roasted per the instructions. Some were shiny/appeared wet, but most looked relatively normal except perhaps with some of the skin lifting
3- I removed from the oven and waiting until they were cool to the touch. They were still quite warm.
4- I used a Cuisinart food processor, starting on low until it was a flour-like consistency, then bumped up to high.
5- I probably blended for 5-7 minutes on high; it moved from a moist flour, then grainy clumps, then finally started to resemble a really chunky butter. Then I kept going until it was properly smooth.
6- THEN I added a pinch of sea salt
I think the key is 1) make sure you have raw almonds. If they’re already roasted and you’re re-roasting, it will dry them out, and 2) make sure they’re properly warm. The heat builds and draws out the oil.
Thank you so much for this easy and healthy recipe!