I love this almond butter recipe. Every time I make it, I’m amazed at how much better it tastes compared to the jars I’ve bought from the store. My family loves adding a few extras like cinnamon and vanilla, which makes it seriously delicious! Making almond butter is just as simple as homemade peanut butter, cashew butter, and tahini. You even can make it super creamy or crunchy. I’ve shared how below.
Key Ingredients
Almonds: I always start with raw, unsalted whole almonds and roast them in the oven until they’re perfectly toasty. Roasting the almonds before blending them into butter brings out their nutty flavor and releases their natural oils, resulting in a creamier texture. Salt: Just a pinch of salt makes all the difference in flavor! You can adjust the amount to your liking. Cinnamon and Vanilla: These are optional additions, but add a warm, sweet flavor that complements the almonds beautifully. Sweetener: I like adding a drizzle of honey or maple syrup to balance the flavors. I don’t add much, but you can adjust it to your taste.
How to Make Almond Butter
The almonds undergo a few stages before turning into almond butter (shown in the photos below). It goes quickly. To make almond butter, start with raw almonds. I toast them until fragrant in the oven, which takes about 10 minutes. After letting the almonds cool for a few minutes so they are not piping hot, we toss them into our food processor (you can also use a high-speed blender). After 20 seconds or so, the almonds turn into almond flour. It’s very fine and like a heavy powder. It’s hard to imagine that this eventually turns into silky smooth almond butter, but trust me. Give the almonds longer in the food processor so the heavy powder begins clumping on you. Don’t worry! If it isn’t moving much inside the food processor, turn it off, open the lid, scrape down the sides, and break up any large clumps. You may need to do this a few times. After a minute or two of blending, we have creamy almond butter! Now is the time to add seasonings like salt, cinnamon, or vanilla extract. You can also add a sweetener like honey or maple syrup if it needs it. I love a little maple syrup. We use a 12-cup food processor (10-cup should be sufficient), but a large high powered blender should also work. 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional Honey or maple syrup, optional 2Add the almonds to a round or square cake pan (or rimmed baking sheet). Roast them for 3 minutes, shake the pan, then roast another 3 to 5 minutes or until the nuts are lightly browned and smell nutty (be careful as they can burn quickly). Let them cool until you can handle them. 3For crunchy almond butter: Set aside 1/3 cup of the roasted almonds. Pulse them in a food processor 6 to 8 times until finely chopped. Transfer the chopped almonds to a bowl and set aside. 4Add the remaining roasted almonds to the food processor. Process for 1 minute, then scrape down the sides of the bowl. 5Continue processing for another 2 to 3 minutes until the almond butter is smooth and creamy. It will go through different stages, starting as whole nuts, turning into a fine powder, a clumpy mess, and finally, a smooth paste. Scraping down the sides and breaking up any clumps will help speed up the process. 6Once smooth, add the salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Process for 10 to 20 seconds. 7Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. If you prefer a sweeter almond butter, add a teaspoon or more of honey or maple syrup and process for another 5 to 10 seconds to incorporate it. 8For crunchy almond butter: Stir in the reserved chopped almonds.
