Making almond butter at home is just as quick and easy as making any other nut butter. In fact, it only takes 50 seconds if you have the right tools. The final result is smooth, creamy, and absolutely delicious homemade almond butter.

Almond butter – with almonds being the only ingredient – can be a tricky nut butter to make at home. This is because almonds are one of the hardest nuts on the market. They have a rather rigid, tough texture that makes almonds hard to break down into smooth nut butter. Other nuts such as cashews, macadamia nuts, pecans, or walnuts are much softer and break down quicker.

The best way to soften nuts (and make them easier to digest) is to soak them in water overnight. If you’re thinking that you can’t use wet almonds to make almond butter, you are right. Water does not mix well with nuts’ natural oils. So, the next step is dehydrating the almonds. You can either use a dehydrator or an oven with a dehydrator setting. If you have neither (most people don’t), you can set the oven at its lowest temperature, keep the door slightly ajar, and dehydrate the almonds that way. You might also be able to find activated (soaked and dehydrated) almonds in the store and use those.

If you’re not interested in soaking nuts, you can use unsoaked nuts to make nut butter. I have done it with my Vitamix in under 1 minute (I have timed it several times). You just have to know a few tricks.

Tips for Making Homemade Almond Butter

Ingredients

Homemade almond butter requires nothing but one ingredient:

Almonds: I prefer raw whole almonds (with the skins on), but blanched almonds in any shape or form – sliced, slivered, etc. work too. If you can find almonds in the refrigerator (as opposed to a shelf or a bin), get those. They will be fresher and more flavorful.

How to Make Almond Butter

The great thing about this almond butter recipe is that it literally takes 50 seconds to turn whole almonds into creamy nut butter. Here’s how:

Roast the almonds. Spread the almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast them at 325°F/163°C until fragrant, for 10-12 minutes. (If using blanched whole, sliced, or slivered almonds, the time will be shorter). If the almonds don’t taste toasty enough after the 12-minute mark, place them back in the oven for a couple more minutes, but keep an eye on them as they can burn quickly. Roasting nuts releases their natural oils, making them easier to break down into nut butter.
Let the almonds cool. This step is really important. If the almonds are too hot, they will melt the Vitamix container. This is not an issue when making hot soup in which the water prevents the blend from going above 212°F/100°C. But nuts are dry and with enough friction of the blade, they can go above 250°F/121°C where the container starts to melt.
Blend. Add the almonds into a Vitamix blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy, for about 1 minute. The almonds will go from whole to crushed to ground to pasty to creamy. Use the tamper to push the nuts down into the blade as you’re blending. If the almond butter seems dry, it’s most likely because the almonds needed to roast a little bit longer. If that happens, just add a tablespoon of neutral oil at a time until the almonds turn into creamy nut butter.
Note: you can also use a food processor to make nut butter, but the process is much less efficient – it takes about 20 minutes!

How to Serve Almond Butter

Homemade almond butter is a staple in our house. I eat it in smoothies or hot oatmeal for breakfast, with apples or celery sticks as a snack, or in desserts, especially Vitamix ice creams. If you love chocolate, you should try dipping piece of (dark) chocolate into almond butter. It’s amazing! I also use almond butter as a substitute for peanut butter, not only in desserts or PB&J sandwiches, but also in dips, sauces and marinades.

If you’d like to switch things up, you can customize any nut butter with add-ins like cinnamon, coconut sugar, cocoa powder, or even chopped almonds (for crunchy almond butter). Just make sure you don’t add any water-based liquid ingredients, such as maple syrup or honey, as they can cause nut butters to seize.

How to Store Almond Butter

Refrigerating: transfer the almond butter into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 month. (The natural oils from the nuts oxidize when exposed to elements like air, light, and heat, which will eventually turn the nut butter rancid if not stored properly. Also, roasted nuts turn rancid faster than raw nuts).
Freezing: transfer the almond butter into an airtight container and freeze for up to 6 months.

If you try any of these recipes, please, leave a comment and rate the recipe below. It always means a lot when you do.

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