Store-Bought Almond Butter Review!

Ahh almond butter, how we love you! Almond butter is a versatile nut butter rich in protein, fiber, magnesium, riboflavin, calcium, and potassium.

If you’re already an almond butter fan, prepare to elevate your fan-hood to even greater heights.

We did a formal, side-by-side review of some of the most popular almond butters on the market. Our goal was to see which brands delivered on taste, texture, and stir-ability and which ones weren’t worth the hype, saving you the time and money of doing the research yourself!

THE GROUND RULES //

• We tested 9 almond butters. Some were purchased from Amazon (for accessibility’s sake) and others were from a variety of health food stores.
• This review is not sponsored in any way. We were not given free product or compensated for any of our reviews, and we had no contact with any of these brands.
• We excluded any products containing palm oil, added sweeteners, or artificial ingredients.
• We tried to be as unbiased and objective as possible when reviewing.
• We tested the almond butters by the spoonful, grading on a scale of 1-5 (1 being poor, 5 being excellent) on:
  • Stir-ability
  • Taste
  • Texture
  • Overall thoughts
• For consumer awareness, we also examined:
  • Cost per ounce (US $) — subject to variability
  • Added oils or salt
  • Raw or roasted
  • Glass or plastic jar (and whether BPA-free)
  • Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.)
  • If we would repurchase

RESULTS //

First place: Trader Joe’s Creamy No Salt Almond Butter
Second place: Georgia Grinders Original Almond Butter
Third place: Whole Foods 365 Organic Creamy Unsweetened No Salt Almond Butter
Fourth place: Jiva Raw Sprouted Almond Butter
Fifth place: Woodstock Smooth Dry Roasted Unsalted Almond Butter
Sixth place: Spread the Love Unsalted Almond Butter
Seventh place: Once Again Creamy Lightly Toasted Almond Butter
Eighth place: Almondee California Almond Butter
Ninth place: Artisana Organics Raw Almond Butter

THE REVIEW //

#1: Trader Joe’s Creamy No Salt Almond Butter

Stir-ability: 4 – oil separation, but visibly creamy and pretty easy to stir.
Taste: 4.5 – closest thing to homemade I tasted. Perfectly roasted. No bitterness. It would, of course, be elevated with salt. But since it’s unsalted I feel this is about as good as it gets!
Texture: 5 – very creamy with only a slight amount of grit.
Overall thoughts: 4.75 – great overall and really impressed with the texture and taste.
Approximate cost per ounce: $0.50
Added oils or salt: None
Raw or roasted: Roasted
Glass or plastic jar: Plastic (BPA-Free)
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): Non-GMO

Overall score: 18.25/20
Would we repurchase? Yes

#2: Georgia Grinders Original Almond Butter

Stir-ability: 2.75 – visible chunks of almonds on top. Oil on top. Slightly difficult to stir and actually get creamy.
Taste: 4.5 – great flavor that would be elevated by sea salt. But even without, the almonds were perfectly roasted. No bitterness and really pleasant and noticeable almond flavor (unlike some of the others, which were more bland). Enjoyed it overall!
Texture: 4.5 – I liked the slight crunch from the slightly unblended pieces. And overall it was really creamy once stirred.
Overall thoughts: 4 – despite the difficulty stirring, the flavor and texture were both really pleasant.
Approximate cost per ounce: $1.03
Added oils or salt: None
Raw or roasted: Roasted
Glass or plastic jar: Glass
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): Non-GMO

Overall score: 15.75/20
Would we repurchase? Yes

#3: Whole Foods 365 Organic Creamy Unsweetened No Salt Almond Butter

Stir-ability: 4.5 – a little separation but stirred together quickly and easily.
Taste: 3.5 – a little bland, probably because of lack of salt.
Texture: 3.5 – smooth with a little grittiness.
Overall thoughts: 4 – oil separated on top when opened. Pretty basic — tastes like homemade. Nothing special.
Approximate cost per ounce: $0.69
Added oils or salt: None
Raw or roasted: Roasted
Glass or plastic jar: Plastic
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): Non-GMO

Overall score: 15.5/20
Would we repurchase? Maybe

#4: Jiva Raw Sprouted Almond Butter

Stir-ability: 5 – no separation of oil and nut butter — very creamy,
Taste: 2.5 – bitter, slight vanilla undertone, definitely tastes raw/sprouted.
Texture: 5 – super creamy.
Overall thoughts: 2.5 – really great texture, no separation, high quality, but I didn’t like the taste.
Approximate cost per ounce: $1.87
Added oils or salt: None
Raw or roasted: Raw
Glass or plastic jar: Glass
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): Organic, Non-GMO, Sprouted

Overall score: 15/20
Would we repurchase? No

#5: Woodstock Smooth Dry Roasted Unsalted Almond Butter

Stir-ability: 2.5 – super separated. Took quite a while to stir, and even then it wasn’t completely creamy.
Taste: 4 – definitely tastes roasted, in a good way. No salt. But overall really straightforward and pleasant.
Texture: 4 – pretty creamy with slight grittiness. 
Overall thoughts: 4 – I liked it overall, but the separation wasn’t ideal and it took quite a bit of stirring to get it creamy, but compared to others I would repurchase. In terms of flavor, reminded me of the roasted almond butter you get from the bulk bin at grocery stores.
Approximate cost per ounce: $0.94
Added oils or salt: None
Raw or roasted: Lightly toasted
Glass or plastic jar: Glass
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): Non-GMO

Overall score: 14.5/20
Would we repurchase? Yes

#6: Spread the Love Unsalted Almond Butter

Stir-ability: 3.5 – pretty oily/drippy. Relatively easy to stir, but some hard chunks on the bottom.
Taste: 3 – quite bitter. Tasted over-roasted and slightly burnt.
Texture: 4.5 – very creamy. Only slightly gritty.
Overall thoughts: 3 – The flavor was disappointing even though the texture was very creamy and smooth.
Approximate cost per ounce: $1.00
Added oils or salt: None
Raw or roasted: Raw
Glass or plastic jar: Plastic (BPA-Free)
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): Non-GMO

Overall score: 14/20
Would we repurchase? No

#7: Once Again Creamy Lightly Toasted Almond Butter

Stir-ability: 3 – oil separation on top, took a little longer to stir than the others. But once stirred, seemed creamy. Still had visible grittiness.
Taste: 3.25 – slightly bitter, but not as much as Jiva or Artisana. No vanilla undertone. Just straightforward almond butter.
Texture: 4 – mostly creamy with a little grit.
Overall thoughts: 3.5 – pretty decent, high quality, but gritty texture and nothing special in terms of taste.
Approximate cost per ounce: $1.12
Added oils or salt: None
Raw or roasted: Lightly toasted
Glass or plastic jar: Glass
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): Organic, Non-GMO

Overall score: 13.75/20
Would we repurchase? No

#8: Almondee California Almond Butter

Stir-ability: 3 – not much separation and stirred okay, but there were noticeable chunks of darker almond butter, which made it look kind of gritty.
Taste: 3 – a little cardboard-like and slightly bland. Compared to the others it somehow didn’t have as strong of almond flavor.
Texture: 4 – pretty creamy, with only a little grit.
Overall thoughts: 3.5 – looked more like peanut butter than almond butter at first — orange-brown and creamy. The texture was pretty good, and the flavor was good, not great.
Approximate cost per ounce: $0.68
Added oils or salt: None
Raw or roasted: Roasted
Glass or plastic jar: Plastic
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): Non-GMO

Overall score: 13.5/20
Would we repurchase? No

#9: Artisana Organics Raw Almond Butter

Stir-ability: 3.5 – oil on top, but noticeably gritty and seemingly unblended in spots. Once stirred, it did seem buttery.
Taste: 3 – bitter — not as bitter as Jiva — but noticeably bitter. Vanilla undertone. Noticeably raw.
Texture: 3.5 – gritty, a little chunky, not too smooth.
Overall thoughts: 3 – great ingredients, but not creamy enough or well blended. The flavor was underwhelming.
Approximate cost per ounce: $1.41
Added oils or salt: None
Raw or roasted: Raw
Glass or plastic jar: Glass
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): Organic, Non-GMO

Overall score: 13/20
Would we repurchase? No

HOW TO USE ALMOND BUTTER //

We enjoy almond butter by the spoonful (for a protein boost), in smoothies (especially berry), on toast, with apple slices, in sauces, and in recipes such as our Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, No-Bake Almond Butter Cup Bars, Almond Butter Tofu Stir Fry, and Almond Butter Dipping Sauce.

It can also be used as a substitute for other nut butters (such as peanut butter) in many recipes. The possibilities are endless!

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Into product reviews? Be sure to check out our Plant-Based Vanilla Protein Powder Review, Flavored Protein Powder Review, Chocolate Protein Powder Review, and Plant-Based Protein Bar Review!

We hope you enjoyed this almond butter review! Let us know what other brands you love in the comments below!