How to Make Almond Butter (1 ingredient, no oil, easy!)

Wondering how to make almond butter? Here’s your ultimate guide covering everything you need to know. You just need almonds and a food processor or a high-speed blender. In about 10 minutes, you’ll have your own homemade almond butter at a fraction of the cost of store-bought.

I love using almond butter in desserts, especially in no-bake treats like these Vegan No-bake Cookies and my favorite candy recipe, this Paleo Fudge. It also adds an amazing flavor to my most popular recipe, these Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I go through huge amounts of nut butter when developing a recipe. There’s no way I could afford to do that if I were using store-bought almond butter. So I learned how to make almond butter early on in my blogging days.

I roast them, let them cool a bit, toss them in the food processor, and then I have runny, smooth almond butter for a fraction of the price of what I can find in stores or even online.

For a while, I was making almond butter in my high-speed blender, but our neighbor actually complained to the super. It was disturbing his peace, apparently. And his dog’s.

So now I take my food processor, go to the pantry, close the door, and make almond butter.

You can make so much more with a food processor or the large pitcher of a blender like the Ninja I recommend below. Instead of using 1 1/2 cups of almonds, I can use more like 6.

Ingredients

You just need raw almonds! You can use pre-roasted or flavored almonds and skip the roasting step, but warm nuts are much quicker and easier to process than room-temperature nuts.

How to make it

Below you see the stages.

  1. Whole, roasted and slightly cooled almonds
  2. Chopped almonds and then a dry powder, like almond flour
  3. A paste-like, thick mass
  4. Runny, smooth almond butter!

Yield

1 1/2 cups (186 grams) of almonds yields 2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (186 grams) almond butter. So, that’s a 2:1 ratio of almonds to almond butter.

That means if you need 1 cup of almond butter, you need to use 2 cups of almonds.

But this ratio is only by volume! If you need 400 grams of almond butter, use 400 grams of almonds.

Equipment

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You need a food processor or a high-speed blender.

Food processor — a 1,000-watt processor will do the job. Before deciding on which one to buy, I recommend reading the reviews and searching for “butter.” You can also search the questions section on Amazon product pages for “butter.” In the top sellers, someone has usually already asked if nut butter can be made successfully with the food processor.

Blender — a regular blender won’t work, and you’ll kill your blender. You need something like a Blendtec or Vitamix.

When I looked at food processors a few years ago, most people recommended this Cuisinart for making nut butter.

That one is currently $289 and came out in 2015. I wanted to find a newer and cheaper one.

Nowadays, when you search for something like “best food processors for making nut butter,” you mostly find AI-written articles on websites consisting of nothing but AI-written articles.

So I recently spent an entire day trying to find the best affordable food processor for nut butter. So that excludes Vitamix and Blendtec.

I found this test where they (real actual people! not robots) have tested loads of blenders and tested several different aspects, including almond butter making performance. The Ninja rated a 9.5 out of 10.

There are a few personal blenders that have single serving-sized jars that are slightly better (I can’t imagine how, though) at making almond butter, but the Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher System [CO351B, SS351] is your best bet if you want a full-sized blender jar in addition to the smaller one meant for making nut butter. Right now, it’s $159.99 but it was as low as $119 in April.

If you’re in Europe, I believe that this is the EU version.

Here’s where you can see an overview of the other tests they did on the Ninja.

I was sold, so I bought one for my photographer and one for me. I’m pretty amazed by the results. The almond butter is just as creamy as the nut butter I make with my Blendtec.

Questions?

I thought about all the possible questions that might arise when making almond butter. If I’m missing something, let me know!

Nuts:

  • Can I use another type of nut?

    For peanuts, read my post on how to make peanut butter. For walnuts, you can check out my walnut butter recipe. You can use the recipe below for pecans, hazelnuts and cashews, but you’ll probably need to adjust the roasting time. If you want to use hazelnuts, you’ll probably want to get rid of hazelnut skins first.

    How long you have to process the nuts depends on the type of nut and your food processor or blender. Almonds take way longer than the above-mentioned nuts.

  • Do I have to roast the nuts?

    If you want to make raw almond butter, I recommend finding a recipe for raw almond butter. I’m guessing you have to add oil to get it totally smooth. When you roast nuts, you bring out their oil, which makes processing much easier.

  • How full should I fill the food processor? What if I only want a small amount?

    If you don’t fill the processor enough, you won’t get anywhere. You need enough nuts so that the blade is fully covered, and then add some more.

    Should you not need much almond butter, then see the questions in the storage section below.

    If using a food processor, you’ll likely need to use 3 cups of almonds (or even more to get the blades covered if you have a large one).

  • If you’re using the small jar of a high-speed blender meant for making nut butter, there’s a max line on the jar. You can fill nuts up to that line.

Adding things to the almond butter:

  • Can I add liquid stuff like honey, vanilla, etc.?

    If you add anything liquid other than oil (which you do not need!), then the almond butter will seize. It’ll be clumpy and pretty much ruined. So please don’t try that!

    In this maple cinnamon almond butter recipe, I roasted the nuts in maple syrup first (so that they were basically candied) and then added cinnamon after processing. And it’s incredibly delicious!

  • Can I add spices and salt?

    You can! If you want vanilla, use the seeds of a vanilla bean. A little cinnamon is also nice.

    My recommendation is to make your almond butter, and once it’s your desired runniness, pour some almond butter in a little bowl, add a little of whatever you want to add, and see if it works. This is a much better way than adding something to your almond butter and ruining your whole batch!

  • Don’t I need to add oil? Lots of other recipes say to add oil!

    You don’t need a fancy new food processor to make almond butter. I used to use one from the former East Germany, meaning it was really old. I have no idea why some recipes call for oil. Just keep processing, take breaks if necessary, and don’t give up!

    Do you see how runny my almond butter is? I’ve never needed oil to get to this consistency!

    If you want to add oil, you certainly can.

Storage:

  • Does homemade almond butter have to be refrigerated?

    Definitely refrigerate it! The oil can go rancid. I read that you can store opened almond butter on the shelf for up to 3 months, but I don’t think I’d recommend that, especially since homemade almond butter doesn’t have any preservatives.

    I don’t leave mine at room temperature for longer than 1 week. It’s just safer to keep refrigerated.

  • How long does it stay good?

    I’ve left my almond butter in the refrigerator for embarrassingly long periods without anything funky happening to it. But I’m going to say 3 months to be on the safe side.

    Also, be sure to always use a clean spoon. If you use something that was previously in jam, your mouth, whatever – your almond butter will mold in no time. And make sure not to use almonds that are about to expire if you want your almond butter to last for a while.

  • Can I freeze almond butter?

    Yes! For up to 4-6 months. Make sure to use an air-tight container.

  • Does it separate like some natural almond butters?

    I’ve had that happen a few times. When the jar gets lost at the back of the refrigerator for half a year, but even if it doesn’t visibly separate, you should stir it before every use to make sure the oil is evenly distributed.

  • How will I know if it’s gone bad?

    You’ll be able to smell it. It’ll smell like oil paint, paint thinner, or something along those lines. You’ll know! Throw it out immediately. And if you didn’t notice a smell but it tastes bitter, that also means it’s rancid and time to throw it away.

Troubleshooting:

  • My almond butter isn’t coming together! What can I do, and what did I do wrong?

    Are you sure your food processor can handle making nut butters? If you are, you just need to be patient. Some food processors take longer than others.

    Also, did you process the nuts while still warm but not hot? That helps the process along. Using room temperature almonds takes a lot longer. If your processor is getting hot, take a break. Remove the bowl from the base, open the lid, and let sit for 10-20 minutes or until it’s cooled quite a bit. We don’t want you to kill your food processor!

My favorite recipes with nut butter

Other than the ones I listed at the beginning of the post, here are some other favorites.

I hope you’ll enjoy this almond butter! I’d love to hear from you if you make it. Please leave a comment below or tag #texanerin on social media so that I can see it. Thanks! :)

How to Make Almond Butter

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Rated 5.0 by 17 readers
How to Make Almond Butter (1 ingredient, no oil, easy!)
  • Prep Time:
  • Cook Time:
  • Ready in:
  • Yield: 1 1/2 cups if using 3 cups of almonds

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups (186 grams) raw almonds if using a small high-speed blender nut butter jar1
  • 3 cups (372 grams) or more raw almonds if using a food processor2
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and roast the almonds on a baking sheet for 8-12 minutes or until fragrant, stirring after every 5 minutes.
  2. For the food processor:

  3. Let cool for just 5-10 minutes, and then transfer the nuts to the food processor and process until creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, about 6 to 12 minutes. Do not overheat your food processor! Take breaks if your food processor starts to warm up too much. In the first stage, you’ll have something that looks like almond meal. Then it’ll form a thick mass. Then it’ll break down into a liquid. After that, blend for another minute so it’s easily pourable.
  4. If using a high-speed blender like a Blendtec or Vitamix:

  5. You’ll only be able to use about 1 1/2 cups of almonds. Roast the almonds using the above directions and let cool completely. Then use the smaller Twister jar (or the equivalent – this is the smaller jar with a blade attached to the lid that you use to manually scrape the sides of the jar. This jar is meant for making nut butter.) and process at medium-high speed for 1-3 minutes. If your blender gets too hot, take breaks. Let the blender and ground almonds cool a bit, if needed, then blend again. Do not overheat your blender!
  6. Make sure it's room temperature or cold before using in a recipe.
  7. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Notes

  1. If you're using the small jar of a blender meant for making nut butter, there's a max line on the jar. You can fill nuts up to that line. Usually it's around 1 1/2 cups.
  2. If using a food processor, make sure that the blades are covered by almonds by about 1" or 2.5cm.

Recipe by  | www.texanerin.com

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  • Marc
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    March 11, 2020 @ 12:18 pm

    Made this with walnuts, its a simple but great recipe. Explaining the different stages was very important, I would have added a little oil half way through if the process had not been explained, and that would have ruined it. Please try it, it’s well worth it 👍

    • Erin replies to Marc
      March 13, 2020 @ 5:52 am

      Thanks again for your feedback! I’m so glad you liked it. :)

  • Kari - Get Inspired Everyday!
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    December 16, 2019 @ 4:08 pm

    Look so easy, definitely have to try making my own, never done it before!

  • STACEY CRAWFORD says
    December 14, 2019 @ 7:58 pm

    I’m going to try this in my food processor. I was going to get rid of it, as it is big and clunky and takes up so much cabinet space, but now I’ve found a purpose for it, so it stays!

    • Erin replies to STACEY CRAWFORD
      December 20, 2019 @ 1:17 pm

      Woohoo! Glad it now has a purpose. :D

  • Hope
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    December 13, 2019 @ 10:24 pm

    Love homemade nut butters, so much tastier than store bought! This one looks delicious!

    • Erin replies to Hope
      December 20, 2019 @ 1:17 pm

      I agree! :)

  • Heather H
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    December 12, 2019 @ 3:06 pm

    This is so easy, I can’t believe I don’t do it more often!

    • Erin replies to Heather H
      December 20, 2019 @ 1:18 pm

      Right?! So much cheaper, too!

  • Raia
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    December 10, 2019 @ 8:17 pm

    Oooh, that looks so creamy and delicious! Thanks for sharing!

    • Erin replies to Raia
      December 20, 2019 @ 1:22 pm

      You’re welcome! :)

  • Jean
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    December 10, 2019 @ 3:45 am

    Love making almond butter at home like this. It’s SO much better than the store-bought version!

    • Erin replies to Jean
      December 20, 2019 @ 1:23 pm

      I agree!

  • Van
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    December 10, 2019 @ 1:48 am

    Not sure why, but when i roasted my almonds with maple, it took way longer to grind them. Still turned out perfectly and absolutely yummy! But just curious why it took so much longer. Thanks for the recipe!

    • Erin replies to Van
      December 15, 2019 @ 8:08 pm

      You’re welcome for the recipe! It took way longer than 12 minutes? Hmm. It could have to do with your food processor. Some are faster than others. Did you fill the bowl enough so that the almonds were covering the blade very well? If you don’t add enough, that can also slow things down.

  • Carina
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    December 9, 2019 @ 11:45 pm

    I make almond (and other butters) in my Vitamix or blender. It’s well worth the effort, so delicious!

    • Erin replies to Carina
      December 20, 2019 @ 1:23 pm

      I think so, too!

  • Chrissy says
    September 17, 2019 @ 2:06 am

    Hi Erin I live in UK on South coast , not too many complainers about food processors and shoes on the mat down this way.
    I’ve just made the choc cookies with butter and they were yummy.yummy.Aldi and Lidl is the best place for buying all types of nuts here too.

    • Erin replies to Chrissy
      October 17, 2019 @ 7:12 pm

      Hello! I’m so sorry for just now seeing your comment. I’m so glad you liked the cookies! Do you mean the paleo chocolate chip ones? I’m glad you enjoyed them! Sorry again for my slow reply.

  • Megan Stevens
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    July 15, 2019 @ 4:29 pm

    I look forward to doing this with walnuts, pecans and hazelnuts. Thanks for all your tips and insights!

  • Laine Strobel
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    May 17, 2019 @ 3:26 am

    Hello! This looks delicious, am I allowed to use one of these photos on a dietitian’s social media if I give you credit for it?

    • Erin replies to Laine Strobel
      May 19, 2019 @ 8:32 pm

      Hi there! If you link to the recipe, sure. :) Thanks for asking!

  • Jessica says
    March 30, 2019 @ 7:22 pm

    Hi! Thank you for the recipe. The almonds that we buy in bulk are already roasted. Have you tested it with roasted almonds? Just want to make sure double roasting is ok?

    • Erin replies to Jessica
      March 30, 2019 @ 7:52 pm

      Hello! I wouldn’t roast them again but you could warm them up a bit in the oven so that they’re easier to blend.

  • Greg says
    March 9, 2019 @ 9:11 pm

    A reason for the price difference – Due to salmonella outbreaks, almonds produced in USA for consumption within the USA need to be ‘pasteurized’ (usually a chemical process) which is aparently an expensive process. This treatment is not required for some export markets. It would be interesting for you to comment if your cheap Aldi almonds are marked as pastuerized. Lots of info on the web, but this came from https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2007/04/06/Almonds-must-be-pasteurized-say-new-USDA-rules.

    • Erin replies to Greg
      March 16, 2019 @ 9:05 pm

      That’s a great idea! But I checked my almonds and they don’t say anything about pasteurization. The article says that unpasteurized almonds must be labeled as unpasteurized so I guess mine are. And it’s not just almonds, it’s all nuts! It’s just so strange. Thanks for your comment!

  • T Davis
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    July 31, 2018 @ 6:14 am

    Thank you, Erin!!! With patience, this turned out beautifully in my Vitamix. I am so glad I read your blog on it before trying it. If I had not, I would have for sure thought it needed additional oil added to it. I just kept going though……and it turned out absolutely perfect. Thank you for all the great recipes you put up. I am off to make your “Perfect Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies” now! (-:

    • Erin replies to T Davis
      August 1, 2018 @ 3:11 pm

      You’re so welcome! I’m really happy that you found the tips useful and that it worked out well for you. I know I was tempted to add oil the first time I tried it, too! I really thought it’d be impossible for it to turn into something runny. I hope you’ll enjoy the cookies! Thanks a bunch for your comment. :)

      • Rachel replies to Erin
        August 29, 2018 @ 3:54 am

        Hi Erin,

        I loved your video! So helpful and easy.
        Where did you find inexpensive almonds? I live in California
        and the prices are so high.
        Thanks in advance!
        Rachel

        • Erin replies to Rachel
          August 29, 2018 @ 9:59 am

          Hi there! I live in Munich and for some reason, we have imported Californian almonds (at places like Aldi, Lidl, and the German version of Wal-mart) cheaper than in the US. :( I really don’t understand it. Have you tried buying in bulk online? Sorry I don’t have a better answer for you!

  • Chrissy says
    March 7, 2018 @ 2:10 am

    This is a great and simple recipe. Thanks! It will be even more healthy if you blanch the almonds to remove the skins before roasting. The skins have lectins which can be hard on the gut and also can cause inflammation. Just boil some water and pour it over the raw almonds. Let sit 1 minute and then drain & rinse with cold water. Pinch the skins off between your thumb & fingers.

    • Erin replies to Chrissy
      March 8, 2018 @ 9:11 am

      Thanks for the tip! I wonder how it’d work to roast already blanched almonds, which I can buy at a not totally outrageous price where I live. I go through so much almond butter when coming up with new recipes there’s no way I could pinch off all those skins and get anything else done. ;)

      • Judy replies to Erin
        May 6, 2018 @ 7:58 pm

        I soak all the nuts I use in water for around 24 hours to remove the lectins then dry them in the oven at a very low temp. People who get a sore mouth from nuts don’t seem to have a problem when the nuts are soaked and dried, especially walnuts and pecans. I think they taste so much better as well. So you could soak the almonds then dry/roast them, I’m not sure amount of time it will take to dehydrate and roast, but there you go!
        When I make nut based salad dressings, when using the soaked nut while still hydrated, the dressings are much smoother.

        • Erin replies to Judy
          May 11, 2018 @ 8:58 pm

          Hi there! Sorry for just now seeing your comment. Thanks a bunch for the tips on soaking almonds! That’s so interesting about the sore mouth thing. I had no idea. Thanks again for your comment!

  • Sandra | A Dash of Sanity
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    March 4, 2018 @ 6:59 am

    I would love to try this! I love almond butter! Homemade is always the best!

  • Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet
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    February 28, 2018 @ 6:50 am

    I started making my own almond butter this year and love it! Your tips are super helpful!

  • Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
    February 28, 2018 @ 1:30 am

    Mmm! I’ve never tried this myself, and so glad to have all your tips!

  • Katerina @ diethood .com
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    February 27, 2018 @ 7:01 pm

    Homemade is the BEST!! This looks fantastic!

  • Chrissie
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    February 27, 2018 @ 12:30 pm

    I absolutely love the idea of this, and I bet my food processor would do the job nicely! Can’t wait to try it with the almonds I’ve got on hand!

  • Jen says
    February 27, 2018 @ 11:51 am

    I’ve been wanting to make almond butter for a while but never knew where to start! Thanks for making such a thorough guide!

  • Kalley
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    February 27, 2018 @ 12:56 am

    I used a Nutribullet, and it worked perfectly!

    • Erin replies to Kalley
      March 3, 2018 @ 3:20 pm

      Awesome! Good to know that that works well. :) Thanks for the tip!

  • Amy @ Little Dairy on the Prairie says
    February 26, 2018 @ 5:16 pm

    I am going to have to try this!

  • Diandra says
    February 26, 2018 @ 9:31 am

    The joys of German neighbors … I had two run-ins with the elderly couple that used to live opposite us. Once they were annoyed by my running shoes drying on our doormat, on the top floor, at the dead end of the hallway. “This is not how we do it around here.” (Don’t know where he thought I come from, I’m pretty pale and blond.) And obviously we closed our wardrobe sliding doors too loudly. (I put felt patches between them. I’m nice like that.) Just smile and counter-attack. You have the laws on your side – from about seven in the morning till ten at night (with a lunch break form twelve to three) you can basically do whatever you want, even on Saturdays and Sundays. ^^ (Or walk over to him, hand him some cookies and ask which almond-butter-making times would be most convenient for him. ^^ )

    • Erin replies to Diandra
      March 3, 2018 @ 3:19 pm

      Haha. So true! We have an older retired policeman here who has made up his own Ruhezeit hours and thinks we and everyone else should follow them. ALL day Sunday, holidays, and anything past 5pm on weekdays doesn’t suit him, either. When we told him that it says 1-3pm Monday-Sunday Ruhezeit in the contract, he said that his contract doesn’t say that. Haha. And man. Sounds like you have some winners in your apartment building, too! So annoying. I so miss houses being cheap enough (in Texas) that most people just buy one and don’t have to deal with these people!

  • Natalie
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    February 26, 2018 @ 6:20 am

    I never tried making almond butter at home but heard about it and wanted to try. Looks so easy and delicious, and I bet it’s even more good for you then store bought kind.