How To Make Homemade Almond Butter

Last Updated on July 12, 2017 by Diane Hoffmaster

This post about How To Make Homemade Almond Butter has been sponsored by Ninja Kitchen Mixers. All opinions are my own.

Have you ever wondered how to make homemade almond butter?  If you have looked at the price tag, I bet you have! At my local grocery store, it costs almost $9!  Talk about an expensive snack!  Yes, it's healthy and yes I'm thrilled that my family happily spreads almond butter on apples, bread, and crackers.  But the price tag is breaking my grocery budget! Not long ago I was in Sam's Club and saw a huge bag of almonds for $11.  I thought this was a pretty good deal so I grabbed a bag.  I just figured I would use the almonds for trail mix but decided to see if I could make homemade almond butter and save myself a few pennies on my next grocery trip.

How to Make Homemade Almond Butter

There are a ton of health benefits of almonds.  Not only do they add lots of fiber to your diet but they are loaded with vitamins, minerals, and vitamin E.  Since they are loaded with protein, they help fill you up and give you a boost of energy.  I have trouble with low blood sugar and find that a healthy dose of protein helps keep it level as the day goes on.  This almond butter recipe is very flexible.  If you want it sweeter, add more honey.  Prefer more salt?  Just add more to taste.  Some recipes I came across included the addition of oil to the blending process and others did not.  I chose to add it but you can play around with that as well.  You really need a healthy dose of patience for this process so don't be in a hurry to go anywhere for a bit!

Ingredients:

4 cups whole almonds
1 to 2 TBS oil of your choice (I used vegetable oil)
1 tablespoon honey (optional)
¼ teaspoon salt (optional...to taste)

Step One:  Roast the almonds (optional-the heat will help the blending go a bit faster)

In a 350 degree oven, roast the almonds for 7 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally.  You don't want them dark...just toasty warm

Step Two:  Place into heavy duty food processor

You need something pretty strong for this task.  I used the Ninja Mega Kitchen System for mine and after a while, it was definitely warming up a lot.  Something with a smaller motor may not be able to handle this but the Ninja got the job done.

Step Three:  Turn on the power and start waiting!

This is not a fast process.  It will take about 12 to 13 minutes to get from whole almonds to almond butter.  Periodically turn off the power and scrape down the sides to keep all the powder down at blade level.  You will want to use a small container for this process or start with a lot of almonds.  If the food processor bowl is not full enough,  the blades will not make contact with the almond flour and you will not get almond butter.

Step 4:  Congratulations,  you have made almond flour...

After just a minute or so you will have already made almond flour.  This is a very useful ingredient in many recipes but not what we are aiming for here.  Keep blending and waiting!

Step 5:  You have slightly pasty almond flour

After a few more minutes you will notice that your almond flour is starting to clump together.  This is a good sign! Scrape down the sides of the bowl a bit.   At this point, go ahead and add 1 tablespoon of oil and the honey and salt if you are using them.   Turn the food processor back on and keep on waiting.  You may or may not need the rest of the oil.

Step 6:  You have almond butter!  FINALLY!

After a while, you will FINALLY have almond butter.  If you would like it a bit smoother and creamier, add the other 1 tablespoon oil.  It took over 10 minutes to make but you have made your own almond butter all by yourself.  All natural and a lot cheaper than the stuff they sell at the grocery store.  If you like it with more texture you can stop a bit early but I like it fairly smooth so I did a full 13 minutes.  Pour this creation into a jar and let cool a bit at room temperature.  Once it is cool, put the lid on and store it in the refrigerator.  Use within a couple of weeks.

Let me know if you decide to make almond butter yourself.  I would love to hear your own experiences with this.  You can make all sorts of nut butters the same way.  Almonds take longer than softer nuts like peanuts and cashews.  I can't wait to try cashew butter next!

Now that you can make homemade almond butter, how about homemade extracts?

How to Make Homemade Extracts

Diane Hoffmaster

Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy.  She has two college aged kids, one husband and more pets than she will admit to. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire  but left her career in science to become a stay at home mom. Years of playing with LEGO and coloring with crayons had her craving a more grown up purpose to her life and she began blogging and freelance writing full time.  You can learn more about her HERE.