Try our Vanilla and Honey Almond Butter recipe for delicious twist on classic nut butter. Make your own homemade almond butter with just 5 ingredients and a food processor. Homemade nut butter is so easy to make and if your family can get through a jar in a day, then this will save you a fortune too. Sweet and salty roasted almonds, blended in to a smooth and creamy butter.
A lot of nut butter on the supermarket shelves has a lot of added salt and sugar, whereas this recipe has just a touch of honey and a pinch of salt to add a lovely sweet and salty combo.
Just a quick warning, you are not going to be able to control yourself around a jar of this! On toast, in a smoothie or just straight out of the jar - homemade nut butter just got even better.
This is the perfect addition to a breakfast spread. Serve it alongside our Strawberry Puree and Homemade Healthier Nutella with some pancakes and waffles, and you have yourself a breakfast feast. Do you want to know how to make almond butter? Read on!
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Why you will love it
- Cheap - Almond butter can be really expensive in the shops, but if you can bulk buy almonds then making it yourself is much cheaper. You usually only find flavoured nut butter in speciality stores too, and they can be pricey.
- Adaptable - We have added honey and vanilla to flavour it, but there are a few other options for flavouring it that we have added below. You can even use different nuts.
- No waste - The great thing about making it yourself is that you can make exactly the amount you need, so nothing goes to waste.
- Easy - This is so easy. We have roasted the almonds first, as we think it gives a better flavour. But other than that, it is as simple as blending it all up.
Ingredients needed
- Almonds - We used standard skin on almonds, as they are the cheapest to buy and you can usually buy them in bulk.
- Honey - This is what sweetens the almond butter. Buy the best quality that you can afford, as you really can taste the difference.
- Vanilla - This adds so much flavour. Use vanilla extract rather than essence.
- Coconut oil - This helps to loosen up the mixture a little, which makes it easier to blend. But it also gives it that creamy and silky texture.
- Salt - Just a pinch of salt adds so much flavour and balances out the sweetness of the honey perfectly. You could leave it out though if you prefer.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
How to make almond butter - Step by step
One: Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Mix the melted coconut oil and honey together.
Two: Spread the almonds over a lined baking tray, pour over the honey/coconut oil mixture and mix until all the almonds are coated. Put in the oven for 15 minutes. Once roasted, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
Three: Put the roasted almonds, vanilla, any remaining honey and salt (if using) in to a high powered blender. Blend until smooth. You will need to keep stopping the blender and pushing the mixture down. This can take up to 20 minutes.
Nut butter variations
There are a couple of ways that you can adjust this recipe. Firstly, you can change the nuts that are used. Sure, this is almond butter, but why not try making a honey and vanilla cashew butter? Or even pecan or peanut butter? You can even use a mixture of nuts.
You can also adjust the flavours that are used. One of our favourite ways to do that is to make a chocolate version of this. A couple of tablespoons of cocoa powder adds a lovely richness to the nut butter.
How to use almond butter
To be honest, we are happy to just eat it out of a jar with a spoon! But that isn't the healthiest choice. Luckily, there are so many different ways to serve this and here are some of our favourites:
- Dip apple slices in it
- Put it in porridge
- Spread on Banana Bread
- On toast
- As a pancake topping
- On waffles
- Add it to a smoothie
- In a croissant
- Melt and drizzle over ice cream
- Dip strawberries in it
- As a cake frosting
Recipes using almond butter
FAQs
Yes, we really recommend that you roast the almonds first, as it will make such a difference to the taste and texture of the finished spread.
It will take 10-15 minutes to blend nice and smooth, depending on your food processor. At the beginning, it will look like it isn't doing anything and you will think it isn't working. But, keep stopping it and scrapping down the sides and it will all come together beautifully. Trust the process.
The more powerful your food processor, the quicker it will be to make homemade almond butter. We used a Morphy Richards PrepStar, which is great if you are making a large batch. However, the batch we made was quite small, so we used a NutriBullet instead.
The great thing about this homemade almond butter is that you can make a huge batch of it and keep it for easy meals and snacks. You can keep it in a jar in the cupboard for a month or in the fridge for for up to 3 months. Keeping it in the fridge will harden it though.
To make a vegan version of this almond butter, you just need to swap the honey for maple syrup.
If you find that your almond butter is too thick (this really is a preference thing), then you can add a teaspoon of melted coconut oil, until it is your preference consistency.
Extra tips
• Making this recipe is pretty loud! So maybe don't make it whilst anyone is trying to sleep, work or on an important phone call.
• You can add some extra flavour to this vanilla almond butter with a pinch of cinnamon. It works with nutmeg or ginger too.
• Buy raw almonds and roast them yourself, rather than buying roasted almonds. This will save you a lot of money.
• This would make a lovely homemade gift. Buy a fancy jar with a lid and then fill it up with your homemade almond butter and wrap a pretty ribbon round it.
More nut recipes
If you’ve tried this homemade almond butter recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Vanilla and Honey Almond Butter
Ingredients
- 200 g (1.5 cups) Almonds
- 3 tablespoon Honey
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon Coconut oil - melted
- 1 pinch Sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
- Mix 2 tablespoon Coconut oil (melted) and 3 tablespoon Honey together.
- Spread 200 g Almonds over a lined baking tray, pour over the honey/coconut oil mixture and mix until all the almonds are coated. Put in the oven for 15 minutes. Once roasted, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
- Put the roasted almonds, 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract, any remaining honey and 1 pinch Sea salt (if using) into a high powered blender. Blend until smooth. You will need to keep stopping the blender and pushing the mixture down. This can take up to 20 minutes.
Recipe Tips
- Making this recipe is pretty loud! So maybe don't make it whilst anyone is trying to sleep, work or on an important phone call.
- You can add some extra flavour to this vanilla almond butter with a pinch of cinnamon. It works with nutmeg or ginger too.
- Buy raw almonds and roast them yourself, rather than buying roasted almonds. This will save you a lot of money.
- This would make a lovely homemade gift. Buy a fancy jar with a lid and then fill it up with your homemade almond butter and wrap a pretty ribbon round it.
Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Beth says
I have totally never made any nut butter! Why? I ask myself! This looks so amazing! You've just inspired me to break out the Cuisinart!
Ellen says
Love the flavor profile of this recipe. They all work so well together. Would be delicious on pancakes.
Celia (Chicago Jogger) says
YUM... I am a huge almond butter fan. This flavor combo sounds perfect.
Emily says
I love a good almond butter and this one sounds divine!
Tara says
I have tried to make nut butter before, but it just doesn’t seem to work. Any tips on where I could be going wrong?
Anita says
I am not sure my food processor would cope with this. But I might buy a jar of almond butter and stir some vanilla and honey in to it, because that flavour combination sounds really good.
Juliet says
Thanks for the recipe! I'm gonna try it with my blender instead, since I don't have a food processor. I hope it'll work. Btw, may I ask if there's a nutrition info for this? Perhaps a rough guide? Just would like to know the calorie count for it. Thank you!
Dannii says
I would say be careful doing it in your blender, as some people have said that it has broken theirs.
I am still going through all the old recipes to redo them and add the nutritional info. But, if you add all the ingredients in to My Fitness Pal, it will work it out for you.
Katrina Modlinsky says
2nd attempt tonight- no messing with it every 2 minutes and it worked perfectly. I mixed nuts as I didn't have enough almonds. Twas amazing!
Dannii says
I am happy it worked for you. I find that too, sometimes you don't have to move it around at all and other times I have to constantly mix it.
tota says
but I heard that peanut butter is not healthy and it makes you fat !! so I don't get it :(
Pamela says
Peanuts are not actually nuts at all. They are legumes (like beans). They grow in the ground - not on trees like real nuts.
Michelle Burdett says
Can you please advise on calories as thought nuts were all really high fat
Thanks
Michelle
aneta says
... was supposed to be "skin" ... ;)
aneta says
Do you use almonds without the brown sking or with it?
Dannii says
I have used both and they both work well.
Allie says
Here in Germany almond butter is very expensive too..and yeah only in health stores we could find them..oh well..will give this a try (with Hazelnut too 'cause it is my fav:D) ..thanks for sharing !
Dannii says
Let me know what you think! The homemade one tastes even better in my opinions
Jen says
Do you store your nut butters in the fridge or out at room temp? And how long are they good for?
HHHAdmin says
I store them at room temperature. The last batch was kept for about 4 weeks (before it was eaten) and it was perfectly fine.
ilene says
homemade almond butter stays for 30 days out of the fridge....I make it all the time (but I do toast my almonds in the oven first, love the flavor).
Lucy says
Had a go but used less almonds incase didnt like it. dont think i have the right kind of food processor but gave it a try then used the electric whisk for a bit, worked okish. think be nice on toast or something like that!!