Nowadays, nut butters range from nothin’ but nuts to hazelnut-laced sugar-and-oil spreads. Then there are the no-nut spreads, which coax “butter” out of everything from sunflower seeds to, um, crushed cookies. Here’s our guide to what matters. For our take on the latest spreadables, see below.


1. Get mostly healthy fats.

It’s a no-brainer. We’re talking nuts and seeds, so plenty of butters fit the bill.

Our Best Bites and Honorable Mentions have no more than 3 grams of saturated (unhealthy) fat per two-tablespoon serving. That means most butters that contain just nuts or seeds (plus salt, maybe) qualify.

That limit also lets in some “no stir” butters. They add only a touch of sat fat from palm, coconut, or other oils that stay solid at room temperatures, which keeps the spreads from separating.

To maximize your dose of heart-healthy polyunsaturated fats, bypass cashew butter in favor of peanut, almond, or just about any other. (See “Nut vs. Nut.”)

2. Minimize added sugar.

Nuts are delicious on their own, so our Best Bite butters have no added sugar. Honorable Mentions can have up to 3 grams (less than 1 teaspoon).

Most unflavored nut butters have no more than that. But don’t be duped by flavored spreads. Nutella, Trader Joe’s Cocoa Almond Spread, and 365 Organic Hazelnut Cocoa Spread contain more added sugar (17 to 19 grams) than nuts.

Two better bets for chocolate lovers: yummy Peanut Butter & Co Dark Chocolatey Dreams or Soom Dark Chocolate Tahini with Sea Salt. Each adds just 6 grams (about 1½ tsp.) of sugar.

3. Don’t sweat the sodium.

Our Best Bites add no salt. But let’s say you want some. Just a dash of sodium is enough to get great taste. Take Smucker’s Natural Chunky Peanut Butter. Two tablespoons have only 95 milligrams (4 percent of a day’s worth) of sodium. In fact, few butters top 150 mg, our limit for Honorable Mentions.

4. Consider protein.

Want a little plant protein from your schmear?

Cashew or oat butter isn’t the best (see "What to know about new oat butter"). Each typically has just 2 to 4 grams of protein in two tablespoons, instead of the 6 to 8 grams in peanut, almond, soy, or sunflower butter.

And spreads that replace some of their nuts with sugar and oil (like Nutella) or all of the nuts with cookies (like Lotus Biscoff Cookie Butter) have a measly 1 or 2 grams of protein.

5. Peanut butter or almond?

jar of Smuckers natural chunky PB
Any butter with only peanuts or almonds in its ingredients list—plus maybe a bit of salt—is a sure bet.
Marlena Koch - CSPI.

Almonds have slightly more fiber, magnesium, calcium, and vitamin E, but peanuts are no slouch in the nutrient department. And a jar of almond butter costs about twice as much as peanut. Both get Best Bites, so let your taste buds—or wallet—guide you.

What’s no different: calories. Almond, peanut, and other nut butters are similar (around 180 to 200 calories per serving). Heard that almonds have roughly 20 to 25 percent fewer calories than scientists thought? That’s not true for puréed almonds. (It applies to whole almonds because many people don’t chew them well.)

 

6. Don’t fear “hydrogenated” oil.

Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter contains “hydrogenated vegetable oil.” That’s not the same as “partially hydrogenated oil”—the infamous artificial trans fat that the FDA banned years ago.

“Hydrogenated” means “fully hydrogenated.” That’s a saturated oil...much like the palm or coconut oil in “natural” no-stir nut butters (see No. 1). And nut butters don’t have very much.


Is a nut butter with added protein worth buying?

jar of skippy creamy protein PB
An extra 3 grams of protein for your PB sandwich.
Marlena Koch - CSPI.

New “protein” butters don’t turn peanut or almond butter into chicken breast. We’re talking 9 or 10 grams of protein in every two tablespoons instead of the usual 6 to 8 grams.

Does that matter? It might if your meal (say, a peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich) has little protein elsewhere. But maybe not if you’re only having a snack (like an apple with peanut butter). Here’s what you’re getting...and paying:

  • Skippy Protein. It’s peanut butter blended with enough pea protein to hit 10 grams per serving. We paid $4.50 for a 14 oz. jar—about $1.50 more than regular Skippy.
  • PBFit Added Protein Spreads. Again, pea protein brings the peanut spread’s total to 10 grams per serving. (The label’s “42% more protein” sounds more impressive than “3 grams more protein.”) But it costs up to twice as much as Skippy Protein. And a 16 oz. jar of PBFit’s almond spread (9 grams of protein) hits $14.
  • RX. All of the company’s almond and peanut spreads add dried egg whites instead of pea protein and dates instead of some (or all) of the sugar. They’re no cheaper than PBFit.

Two of the best no-nut butters

jar of natural Sunbutter
Yummy, nut-free, plenty of polyunsaturated fat.
Marlena Koch - CSPI.

Allergic to peanuts or almonds but want a butter that delivers healthy fats and just as much protein? You have options:

  • Sunflower butter. SunButter is not only free of peanuts and tree nuts; it’s processed in facilities without them. Bonus: sunflower butter has more folate, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin E than peanut butter.
  • Soy butter. Wowbutter turns toasted soybeans, oil, sugar, and salt into near-nut-butter. Mmm. Too bad it’s not as easy to find in stores as SunButter (check online).

The pros and cons of powdered nut butters

Jar of PB2 peanut powder with cocoa
Buttery texture? No. Nutty taste? Yes.
Marlena Koch - CSPI.

Powdered nut butters like PB2 and PBFit are made of nuts that have been pressed to remove much of their oil. To prepare, mix with a little water. Each serving has a decent dose of plant protein (4 to 9 grams) for a fraction of the calories (50 to 70)...but less of that creamy texture.

That said, a spoonful easily blends protein and a nutty flavor into smoothies. And powders sure beat “reduced fat” spreads like Skippy Reduced Fat or Better’n Peanut Butter, which replace some healthy nut fat with refined carbs like corn syrup solids, rice syrup, or tapioca syrup. (We didn’t list those in our chart.)


What to know about new oat butter

Oat Haus Granola Butter replaces nuts with finely ground oats.

Jar of original Granola Butter
No nuts, but more sat fat and less protein.
Marlena Koch - CSPI.

The downsides:

  • Fats. Olive oil (good) plus coconut oil (bad) pushes the sat fat above nut-butter territory.
  • Protein. Oats instead of nuts means just 2 or 3 grams in a two-tablespoon serving.
  • Added sugar. Most varieties have enough maple syrup to add 4 or 5 grams of sugar per serving.
  • Price. It’ll cost you some $10 to $13 for a 12 oz. jar.

The upsides:

  • Got allergies? It’s peanut-free.
  • Taste. The Original tastes like an oatmeal cookie (cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, ginger).

Nut vs. Nut

All nuts and seeds have roughly the same amount of fat (15 to 20 grams per ounce), but the percentage that’s saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated varies. Most nuts, seeds, and their butters lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol if you eat them instead of meat, cheese, or refined carbs. But nuts and seeds with far more (LDL-lowering) poly fat than (LDL-raising) sat fat can do the most good. (Nuts with mostly mono fat are second best.) Cashews, Brazil nuts, and macadamias have the least poly vs. sat, so their butters don’t get a Best Bite or Honorable Mention.

chart showing various fat content of a variety of nuts

 

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Our chart of the best spreadable butters

Best Bites (✔✔) and Honorable Mentions (✔) have no more than 3 grams of saturated fat in a 2 Tbs. serving. Best Bites have no added sugar or salt; Honorable Mentions can have up to 3 grams of added sugar and 150 mg of sodium. We disqualified cashew, macadamia, and Brazil nut butters (see “Nut vs. Nut”), but not butters that mix those with other nuts.

Key

Value: Best Bite
Best Bite
Value: Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention
Peanut Butter (2 Tbs.)CaloriesSat Fat (g)Added Sugar (g)Sodium (mg)Protein (g)
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionSmucker’s Organic—Chunky or Creamy118020508
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionMaraNatha Organic Crunchy19020708
Value: undefinedBest BiteAny brand with no salt, sugar, or oil11902.5008
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionPeanut Butter & Co Old Fashioned Smooth1902.50408
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionTrader Joe’s Organic Creamy Salted Valencia1802.50658
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionTrader Joe’s Salted—Creamy or Crunchy1902.501408
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionPBFit Added Protein Spread1802.5215010
Value: undefinedBest BiteMaraNatha Organic Creamy No Sugar or Salt Added2003008
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionSmucker’s Natural Chunky19030958
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionSmucker’s Natural Creamy190301108
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionMaraNatha Creamy—Natural or Organic119031658
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionPeanut Butter & Co Crunch Time180321007
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionPeanut Butter & Co Smooth Operator190321007
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionSkippy Super Chunk190321257
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionTrader Joe’s Creamy No Stir Spread190321307
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionSkippy Protein—Chunky or Creamy12103214010
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionSkippy Creamy190321507
Justin’s Classic2103.50257
Jif No Added Sugar Creamy2003.50558
Simply Jif Creamy2003.51657
Jif Natural—Creamy or Crunchy11903.52757
Peter Pan—Creamy or Crunchy12103.521158
Jif Creamy1903.521407
Skippy Natural—Creamy or Super Chunk12003.521407
Skippy No Sugar Added210401107

1 Average of the varieties listed.

Key

Value: Best Bite
Best Bite
Value: Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention
Almond Butter (2 Tbs.)CaloriesSat Fat (g)Added Sugar (g)Sodium (mg)Protein (g)
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionPBFit Added Protein Spread180121409
Value: undefinedBest BiteAny brand with no salt, sugar, or oil11901.5007
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionTrader Joe’s Salted—Creamy or Crunchy11901.50957
Value: undefinedBest BiteMaraNatha Natural Creamy No Sugar or Salt Added2002.5007
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionPeanut Butter & Co Smooth1902.501006
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionMaraNatha Natural Creamy Light Roast1902.51606
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionMaraNatha Natural—Creamy or Crunchy1902.51656
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionMaraNatha Natural Creamy Dark Roast1902.52307
Value: undefinedBest BiteJustin’s Classic22030106
Justin’s Coconut Almond21042605

1 Average of the varieties listed.

Key

Value: Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention
Mixed Nut or Cashew Butter (2 Tbs.)CaloriesSat Fat (g)Added Sugar (g)Sodium (mg)Protein (g)
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionTrader Joe’s Mixed Nut Butter18020356
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionNuttZo Power Fuel—Crunchy or Smooth18020456
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionNuttZo Peanut Pro Smooth1902.50409
365 Unsweetened Cashew Creamy1903004
NuttZo Keto Crunchy18060255

Key

Value: Best Bite
Best Bite
Value: Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention
Powders (2 Tbs.)CaloriesSat Fat (g)Added Sugar (g)Sodium (mg)Protein (g)
Value: undefinedBest BitePB2 Pure Peanut600006
Value: undefinedBest BitePBFit Pure Peanut700009
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionPB2 Peanut6001906
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionPB2 Almond50011005
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionPBFit Original Peanut6002958
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionPB2 Peanut Crunchy600.51805

Key

Value: Best Bite
Best Bite
Value: Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention
Seed or Soy Butter (2 Tbs.)CaloriesSat Fat (g)Added Sugar (g)Sodium (mg)Protein (g)
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionTrader Joe’s Sunflower Seed Spread2101.53708
Value: undefinedBest BiteNuttZo Organic Tahini Fusion Five Seed1802007
Value: undefinedBest BiteSunButter Organic2202058
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionSunButter No Sugar Added200201108
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionSunButter—Natural or Natural Crunch200231007
Value: undefinedBest BiteSoom Tahini—Organic or Premium1903056
Value: undefinedHonorable Mention365 Organic Tahini20030406
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionWowbutter—Creamy or Crunchy200321007
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionSunButter Creamy200331207

Key

Value: Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention
Flavored Peanut Butters & Powders (2 Tbs.)CaloriesSat Fat (g)Added Sugar (g)Sodium (mg)Protein (g)
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionRX Honey Cinnamon180301109
RX Chocolate1803.501009
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionMaraNatha Banana18031357
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionSkippy Roasted Honey Nut Creamy200321257
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionPB2 Peanut Powder with Cocoa50031004
Justin’s Honey2103.53907
PBFit Chocolate Peanut Powder7004955
Peanut Butter & Co Dark Chocolatey Dreams18036456

Key

Value: Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention
Other Flavored Butters (2 Tbs.)CaloriesSat Fat (g)Added Sugar (g)Sodium (mg)Protein (g)
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionRX Vanilla Almond1802.501059
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionNuttZo Organic Chocolate Power Fuel1802.51406
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionRX Maple Almond1802.511059
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionMaraNatha Natural Raw Maple Almond1801.52506
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionJustin’s Cinnamon Almond20023606
Value: undefinedHonorable MentionJustin’s Maple Almond21033905
Justin’s Honey Almond20034806
SunButter Chocolate21034906
Oat Haus Cookie Dough Granola Butter17044252
Oat Haus Original Granola Butter17044303
Justin’s Vanilla Almond20035905
Soom Vanilla Bean Tahini1602605
Soom Dark Chocolate Tahini with Sea Salt160261155
Soom Chocolate Tahini17027155
Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut & Almond20038904
Trader Joe’s Speculoos Cookie Butter1702.511551
Lotus Biscoff Cookie Butter1702.511651
Trader Joe’s Cocoa Almond Spread210217102
Nutella200419152
365 Organic Hazelnut Cocoa Spread2001219203

Daily ValuesSaturated Fat: 20 grams. Added Sugar: 50 grams. Sodium: 2,300 milligrams. Protein: 50 grams.

Source: company information. Nutrition Facts and ingredients can change; always check the label. The use of information from this article for commer­cial purposes is strictly prohibited without written permission from CSPI.

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