Sep 02
So I think by now, we all know how deep my love for nut butters truly is. Remember my peanut butter taste test?
I go through phases where I’m in love with peanut butters, but I also tend to gravitate towards all the delicious nut butters out there: Cashew, coconut, almond, hazelnut… the options are endless! And yes, making your own is a breeze, but sometimes I love to sample all the fun flavors at the store.
So today I’m bringing you SIXTEEN peanut free nut butters that I’ve fallen in love with. My assistant and I sampled each one and ranked them by sweetness, saltiness, flavor profile and even give recommended uses. So, whether you’re feeling bored with your typical nut butter or you have a peanut allergy, you are going to LOVE this list. Grab a spoon and DIG IN.
Note: Saltiness and Sweetness are ranked from 1-5; 5 being the saltiest or sweetest.
1. Wild Friends Organic Honey Sunflower Seed Butter
- Price: $14.99
- Size: 16oz
- Texture: Amazing texture; extremely smooth and creamy
- Saltiness: 2
- Sweetness: 4
- Flavor profile: Great roasted sunflower seed flavor with a strong hint of honey. Even Rose, who doesn’t like sunflower seeds, enjoyed this seed butter.
- Recommended use: If you are allergic to nuts, this is a great substitute. Great baking sub for peanut butter due to texture. Nice for sandwiches.
- To purchase: Amazon (sunflower butter multi-pack only)
2. Wild Friends Chocolate Almond Butter with Crunchy Almond Pieces
- Price: $14.99
- Size: 16 oz
- Texture: Smooth with large chunks of roasted crunchy almonds
- Saltiness: 2
- Sweetness: 5
- Flavor profile: The dark chocolate taste somewhat overpowers the almond butter flavor however, the large chunks of almonds remind you it’s a nut butter not a frosting.
- Recommended use: On a banana or any kind of fruit FOR SURE! Great on banana bread. This is more of a dessert nut butter.
- To purchase: Amazon (multi-pack only)
3. Trader Joe’s Crunchy Almond Butter
- Price: $7.99
- Size: 16 oz
- Texture: Smooth but is has nice crunchy pieces.
- Saltiness: 4
- Sweetness: 1
- Flavor profile: Definitely a nice roasted flavor, simply classic.
- Recommended use: It’s my go-to almond butter for baking, especially if you love a little crunch. Best when refrigerated.
- To purchase: Amazon (pack of 2) or in Trader Joe’s stores nationwide.
4. Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter
- Price: $11.99
- Size: 12 oz
- Texture: Incredibly thick yet still smooth, a little bit of a grainy texture
- Saltiness: 2
- Sweetness: 5
- Flavor profile: It tastes like a delicious vanilla almond frosting and reminded us of those mini vanilla creme cookies.
- Recommended use: Straight out of the jar or on top of any sort of fruit or treats. It’s simply amazing! This is Monique’s absolute favorite.
- To purchase: Amazon or their website.
5. MaraNatha No Stir Raw Maple Almond Butter
- Price: $9.99
- Size: 12oz
- Texture: Very smooth and creamy
- Saltiness: 1
- Sweetness: 3
- Flavor profile: Unique raw almond flavor, almost tastes similar to cashew butter. Nice hint of maple flavor.
- Recommended use: Baking, on bagels or oatmeal, in granola bars or on fruit. A litle plain jane due to it being raw.
- To purchase: Amazon or their website.
6. Nikki’s Vanilla Cake Batter Coconut Butter
- Price: $12.99
- Size: 12 oz
- Texture: Very creamy, almost oil-like
- Saltiness: 1
- Sweetness: 3
- Flavor profile: Didn’t really taste like cake batter but more like a vanilla coconut oil/butter flavor.
- Recommended use: In smoothies or on fruit
- To purchase: Amazon or their website.
7. Barney Butter Cocoa + Coconut Almond Butter
- Price: $7.99
- Size: 10 oz
- Texture: Smooth and creamy
- Saltiness: 1
- Sweetness: 5
- Flavor profile: This was my assistant’s favorite! This had both a bold chocolate and coconut flavor, and the flavors balanced well together.
- Recommended use: On fruit, in oatmeal, on toast topped with raspberries, in yogurt or smoothies! We love this as a healthy treat.
- To purchase: Amazon or their website.
8. Manna Butter Cinnamon Date Raw Nut Butter
- Price: $12.99
- Size: 12 oz
- Texture: Very thick, but not crunchy
- Saltiness: 2
- Sweetness: 3
- Flavor profile: It tastes like a melted LaraBar! We LOVED this one for it’s unique flavor and texture. The dates made it taste like cinnamon raisin toast in nut butter form.
- Recommended use: On breakfast item, especially swirled in oatmeal. Not recommended for baking due to its thicker consistency.
- To purchase: Website
9. Big Spoon Roasters Mission Almond Butter
- Price: $13.95
- Size: 10 oz
- Texture: Thicker, but no stirring necessary. Just a tiny bit of a crunch.
- Saltiness: 2
- Sweetness: 2
- Flavor profile: Amazing roasted almond flavor. Tastes like fresh roasted almonds right out of the oven. You can tell it’s high quality!
- Recommended use: Literally on anything. This is a terrific go-to almond butter for using in baking, on fruit or just by the spoonful. Love this one!
- To purchase: Website
10. Maisie Jane’s Creamy Cashew Butter
- Price: $10.99
- Size: 12 oz
- Texture: Very smooth and a little thick
- Saltiness: 1
- Sweetness: 3
- Flavor profile: It tastes like sweet roasted cashews. Not overly sweet because there is no sugar added. This is a versatile nut butter.
- Recommended use: This would be a great sub for peanut butter on a PB&J sandwich. We’d also recommend this for baking due to it’s lovely texture and consistency. This would be terrific option for anyone with a peanut allergy.
- To purchase: Website
11. MaraNatha No Stir Coconut Almond Butter
- Price: $9.99
- Size: 12 oz
- Texture: Smooth with a nice texture. Not too creamy and not overly thick.
- Saltiness: 1
- Sweetness: 3
- Flavor profile: Bold coconut flavor, tastes rich and almost tastes more than coconut butter than almond butter. Great for those who love coconut!
- Recommended use: In oatmeal, on pancakes or french toast or on fruit. Would not recommend for baking unless you are a huge coconut lover.
- To purchase: Amazon
12. Whole Foods 365 Organic Creamy Almond Butter
- Price: $7.99
- Size: 16 oz
- Texture: Smooth and creamy
- Saltiness: 2
- Sweetness: 1
- Flavor profile: Tastes like a hint of roasted almonds. It isn’t overpowering.
- Recommended use: This would be wonderful for baking, on toast, or in smoothies.
- To purchase: Available in Whole Foods stores nationwide.
13. Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter
- Price: $11.99
- Size: 16 oz
- Texture: Incredibly thick yet still smooth, no grainy texture.
- Saltiness: 1
- Sweetness: 5
- Flavor profile: Tastes like nutella, but with much more hazelnut flavor. The hazelnut overpowers the chocolate flavor quite a bit.
- Recommended use: Enjoy it as a treat if you like nutella but want a little bit of a better version. Great for frostings or in cookies.
- To purchase: Amazon or their website.
14. Wild Friends Vanilla Espresso Almond Butter
- Price: $14.99
- Size: 16 oz
- Texture: Thick with a nice gritty texture of ground almonds
- Saltiness: 1
- Sweetness: 2
- Flavor profile: Strong roasted almond flavor even with the addition of vanilla and espresso. A slight hint of espresso is noticeable. Another favorite!
- Recommended use: Baking, granola bars, energy bites (due to the tiny bit of espresso), great in oatmeal. We liked that it wasn’t overly sweet.
- To purchase: Amazon (multi-pack)
15. Barney Butter Almond Butter Smooth
- Price: $7.99
- Size: 10 oz
- Texture: Super thick and smooth.
- Saltiness: 2
- Sweetness: 3
- Flavor profile: Lacks a little bit of a strong roasted almond flavor possibly due to it being made with blanched almonds. Slightly sweet and definitely has a different flavor than most other almond butters.
- Recommended use: Classic almond butter so it would really be wonderful used in any way.
- To purchase: Amazon or their website.
16. You Fresh Naturals Glazed Donut Cashew Coconut Butter
- Price: $12.99
- Size: 12 oz
- Texture: Incredibly smooth, almost oil-like.
- Saltiness: 1
- Sweetness: 3
- Flavor profile: We didn’t think it tasted like a glazed doughnut necessarily, but rather like super sweet cashews.
- Recommended use: Smoothies, freezer fudge, for apple dipping
- To purchase: Website
Question: Which nut butters are you excited to try? Are there others that are your favorites that didn’t make the list? Leave a comment!
Important note: When I created this post, none of the ingredients listed on the nut butter packages included peanuts.
[Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means a small percentage is paid out to AK when you click over and purchase from Amazon. However we also included links from their websites when available!]
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All excellent choices! My favorite brands, however, are Buff Bake and Cracked.
WHAT! You are my hero for trying all of these. That Justin’s nut butter is going to hop in my cart when I make a visit to Whole Foods today 🙂
we love all of these –
What a great list! Peanut butter is still king in our house with my little guys but I bet they would love some of these nut butter variations. I need to give some a try!
Wow, what a line-up! I admit to being loyal to TJ’s for the price (I love their raw almond butter), but am curious about Wild Friends now! Not sure if they just didn’t make your cut, but I really love Bliss Nut Butters, too. Pinned this!
some of my favorites in here – what a comprehensive and information packed collection, I love it!
I love Barney Butter vanilla/espresso bean. Talk about your dessert butter! 🙂 Me, the jar, a spoon…all the makings for a happy mom.
You’re spot on with the Barney Butter creamy/almond. I would recommend that for coaxing PB lovers to the almond side because it’s so mild tasting. The Barney Bare version has no added sugars and is also very good! I love that it’s a no-stir brand and that makes it easier to spread on things I pack in lunches as it won’t get runny by the time lunch rolls around.
Question: do #7 and #11 have actual coconut pieces/flakes/texture? I love coconut flavor but can’t take the texture. Weird, I know but at my age we just go with it. Thanks!!
Cute graphic. I’d love to try the espresso almond buttah!
i’ve only tried the tj’s almond butter, so i really need (want) to try the others! can the maranatha no stir actually get away without stirring??
Totally! I didn’t have to stir it at all.
I love these posts. Such great information. The Wild Friend’s brand is intriguing–I haven’t see it before but now I have to keep an eye out for it. The chocolate flavor–OMG!
I love that you did this!! Thanks for the comparison. Now I’m craving nut butters!
Greatest post ever! I adore Nikki’s Cake Batter!
I love almond butters! I think cashew butter is delicious and way too underrated too!
Calling these peanut free is misleading. I have checked most of them and all of them say may contain peanuts, or at the very least processed on shared equipment. The only one on this list I know to be peanut free is Barney Butter.
I was going to make the sameness comment- these are not peanut free or safe for those with allergies s
Hank you are correct. This list is misleading and dangerous. Here is the disclosure from maranatha. These butters do not contain peanuts, but currently all of our products are produced in the same facility using shared equipment. We perform an exhaustive clean-out between production runs, but we can not guarantee that our products are 100% free from any trace of peanuts or the other nuts that share the equipment. If you or your child has an anaphylactic allergy response to peanuts or tree nuts, and you have any questions about whether or not it is appropriate to use our products, consult your doctor.
Justin’s also has a disclosure about the co packer they use.
Barney is the only certified peanut free manufacture of almond butter on this list that I know of. I didn’t check the others websites.
Thanks Steve. Yes, of course if you or someone you know has an allergy then you need to read the labels. These nut butters are not supposed to be made with peanuts, sorry it’s misleading.
I agree. Since this is a life and death allergy for many a disclaimer should be posted on thus article. My daughter sadly has a peanut and soy allergy so actually none of these but Barney’s work. Any peanut allergy sufferer doing a google search on peanut free nut butters would find this article and if they aren’t careful could buy a dangerous item. Pls add a disclaimer at top!