Homemade Almond Butter (Just Almonds)

Learn how easy it is to make homemade almond butter with just 1 ingredient: almonds (and a touch of oil depending on your food processor!). It’s simple, nutritious, and tastes so much better than store bought!

I originally published this tutorial in 2013 and have since added new photos and more helpful success tips.

Have you ever tried making homemade nut butter? It’s wildly simple, and you start with just 2 items: nuts and a reliable food processor.

I usually whip up almond butter, and it’s a staple in our house. We go through it quickly because not only is it incredibly flavorful, it’s super versatile. Use it as a dip for apple or pear slices, spread it on toast with jam or honey, blend it into a smoothie, or my favorite: on a spoon with mini chocolate chips on top.

The options most certainly do not stop there. Homemade almond butter is fantastic on top of healthy banana pancakes, or used in recipes like flourless almond butter cookies, breakfast cookies, almond butter sparkle cookies, and healthy berry streusel bars.

Best Kinds of Almonds to Use

Whole almonds are best. I recommend roasted, lightly salted almonds for the optimal flavor. You can use the sliced or slivered varieties, but I find they are a little drier and you need a bit of oil to get things moving.

I’m not affiliated with this brand, but I typically use Blue Diamond lightly salted almonds. They’re easy to find, blend nicely, and have fantastic flavor.

If using raw almonds, spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet (no need to line it), and toast them in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 10 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before processing—it’s OK if they’re still a bit warm!

Best Food Processor to Use

A dependable, high-quality food processor is a must-have for making homemade almond butter. It’s an essential tool that simplifies countless recipes, including homemade biscuits and scones, homemade pesto and other sauces, crumb crusts like Oreo cookie crust and graham cracker crust, and treats like rum balls and Oreo balls.

A food processor with a 750+ watt motor is best for making almond butter. Here’s what I use and other options:

How to Make Homemade Almond Butter

You just need 1 ingredient and, if needed to help along your food processor, a teaspoon or 2 of a neutral-tasting oil, such as avocado oil. Or if you don’t mind the flavor, you can use light olive oil or melted coconut oil.

Making homemade almond butter takes around 10–15 minutes, depending on your food processor/blender’s strength. Be patient with it!

At first it will look gritty and crumbly, like this:

Then it will get a little chunkier and climb up the sides as it processes. Give it a stir and scrape down the sides:

It will begin to clump together as the nuts release their oils:

Continue to blend until smooth:

There is no additional oil or any other ingredient in there! Just almonds.

Can I Add Flavor?

One benefit of making your own almond butter is the option to flavor it. After the almond butter has been processed, feel free to add a little cinnamon, honey or maple syrup, and/or vanilla extract. Or try my recipe for:

Is homemade almond butter cheaper than store-bought? That really depends.

Some store-bought almond butter is $6/jar and some is $12/jar—it depends on the store and the brands/types they sell. Same goes for buying whole almonds. While you may save a few dollars by making your own almond butter, the real benefit of making almond butter at home is the fresh taste!

Almond Butter Success Tips

• Every couple or minutes, scrape down sides of your food processor to help things move along and give the motor a break.
• Have patience… takes up to 15 minutes or longer depending on food processor.
• Once it’s finished and you transfer it to a jar, let it cool for at least 1 hour uncovered so steam isn’t trapped in the jar.

Now the fun part: Finding all the ways to enjoy it!

How to Use Homemade Almond Butter

• Spread on toast (like sandwich bread, whole wheat bread, or multigrain bread)
• Spread on seeded oat bread
• As a dip for apple and pear slices, banana, and carrots or celery
• Spread on banana bread or zucchini bread
• Stirred into oatmeal, yogurt, or cottage cheese
• Spread on pancakes or waffles, like these healthy banana pancakes or fluffy whole-wheat waffles
• In baking recipes, such as almond butter cookies, banana chocolate chip breakfast cookies, flourless almond butter chocolate chip cookies, and blueberry almond power muffins
• Blended in smoothies
• Replace the peanut butter in peanut butter trail mix bars or no-bake chocolate oat fudge bars
• Replace the peanut butter in peanut chicken zucchini noodles or other savory peanut sauces