my top 5 best tasting nut butters

I’ve tried dozens and dozens of different peanut butters throughout my life, from creamy to crunchy, from nuts to added seeds, and what follows is a compilation of the best of the best.

Right before I thought I had my top 5 down, I had to go to the nearby Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Lazy Acres natural food markets and scoured the aisles one more time to see if I missed anything.  Luckily, they had some sample packs of certain brands, and I just got a whole boat load of ’em.  And I had a grand ol’ time breaking those open and devouring each packet.

Here’s a pic of what I picked up on my last grocery run:

Yup, I was your peanut butter taste-tester guinea pig.  And after going all beast mode on those samples, and getting high on peanut butter, I finally got my definitive TOP 5!

I know this list is pretty broad, as it includes all types of nut butters,  I will totally consider doing separate top 5 lists on other categories like best protein-infused nut butters, best almond butters, best peanut butters, best all natural nut butters etc….but for now, we’re just going to be talking about my top 5 best tasting nut butters.

CRITERIA

The criteria for this list is pretty simple:

NO hydrogenated oils.  NO high fructose corn syrups.  NO diglycerides or other funky chemicals you can’t pronounce.  Just nuts, salt, or other natural ingredients.

I know “natural” is a pretty loose term in the food industry, and it’s mainly just a marketing buzz word, but generally speaking, for this post, I’m going to accept the addition of palm oil.

A common ingredient in most peanut butters out there on the market is palm oil.  Palm oil is added to peanut butter to prevent oil separation, keeping the oil from settling at the top of the jar.  This keeps the peanut butter nice and creamy, with no stirring required.

It looks like the jury is still out on palm oil, and despite the numerous articles I’ve googled and researched about it, there is still insufficient and contradicting evidence on its effects on the human body, good or bad.  But some good reading material from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, here.

–Taste gets more precedence over texture, ingredients, and versatility on the overall score.

–Texture represents the butter’s creaminess, crunchiness, and/or consistency.

–Versatility refers to the butters’ compatibility with savory and/or sweet dishes, and it’s ability to be enjoyed straight out of the jar.

–Price has no impact on the score.

–Creamy and crunchy style peanut butters are all qualified to be included in this list.

So, without further ado, here is my top 5 best tasting all natural nut butters!

5) Justin’s MAPLE ALMOND BUTTER :

What a great tasting almond butter!  The added sweetness of the maple sugar along with the dry roasted almonds is just a great combination.   I’d say this nut butter is best on snacks or desserts, and not so much savory dishes.  TASTE METER : 9.0 / 10.

This butter has a nice, thick consistency, and also very creamy.  There are no runny oils that rise to the top of the jar upon opening it, its very creamy all around.  Just looking at that picture above makes me want to grab a quick spoonful of it right this instant.  CREAMY / CRUNCHY METER : 9.3 / 10.

INGREDIENTS : Dry roasted almonds, maple sugar, palm fruit oil, sea salt.

NUTRITION FACTS : Cal: 190, Total Fat: 15g, Sat. Fat: 2g, Sodium: 65mg, Carbs: 9g, Fiber: 3g, Sugars: 3g, Protein: 6g.

PRICE : 12 oz jar = about $11.99

TRY IT WITH: my Dark Chocolate Blueberry Protein Pancakes recipe!!

4 ) Naturally More Extra Protein Peanut Butter Spread : 

Although there is added protein to this peanut butter, I still consider it as a regular peanut butter.  The added protein is very minimal (3 grams more than typical PB), and it isn’t an off-the-wall flavor like white chocolate, or chocolate coconut.  This peanut butter has that all natural peanut taste to it, almost like the shells were included in the jar.  Another very peanut-ty butter, and despite the added crunch you can barely taste the added ingredients at all.   Best enjoyed by the spoonful out of the jar.  Be aware though, it does dry out your mouth for some reason, so make sure to have a glass of water handy.  TASTE METER : 9.0 / 10.

This butter, has a consistency where you can literally just pour the thick, runny cream right out of the jar, even after being chilled in the fridge.  The rice protein and the flax seeds add a nice crunch to the texture.  CREAMY/CRUNCHY METER :  9.3 / 10.

INGREDIENTS : peanuts, sprouted brown rice protein, pea protein, peanut oil, evaporated cane sugar, flax seeds, sea salt, molasses powder.

NUTRITION FACTS : Cal: 170, Total Fat: 13g, Sat. Fat: 2g, Sodium: 110mg, Carbs: 6g, Fiber: 2g, Sugars: 3g, Protein: 10g.

PRICE : 16 oz jar = about $4.29

TRY IT WITH: Best enjoyed straight out of the jar!

3) Skippy’s Natural Creamy Peanut Butter :

This was my go-to peanut butter growing up as a kid and well into my college years.   This was the king of peanut butters for me before I started going organic and discovered other nut butters.  This butter defined the ideal in my head of what peanut butter is supposed to taste like.    TASTE METER :  9.0  / 10.

The added palm oil holds the peanut butter together and keeps the consistency all throughout, even to the last bits at the bottom of the jar.  A butter knife slides right through the thickness.  No runny oils and no stirring required here.  Just a no nonsense nice, thick, and creamy peanut butter.

CREAMY/CRUNCHY METER : 9.5 / 10.

INGREDIENTS: roasted peanuts, sugar, palm oil, salt.

NUTRITION FACTS : Cal: 190, Total Fat: 16g, Sat. Fat: 3.5g, Sodium: 150g, Carbs: 6g, Fiber: 2g, Sugars: 3g, Protein: 7g.

PRICE : 40 oz jar = about $5.39

TRY IT WITH: mixed into my Dark Chocolate Macadamia Nut Protein Bars!!

2) Costco’s Kirkland Organic Creamy Peanut Butter :

The first time I tried this, I was blown away by the strong, deep, and robust peanut flavor it had.  It was very rich, and very flavorful.  It felt like every single one of my taste buds on my tongue were stimulated.  It was a straight up “mouth-gasm.”  It didn’t have that “plastic-ky” taste to it like other peanut butters out there, either.

TASTE METER :  9.5 / 10.

Once you stir in the oils from the top and incorporate it into the mixture, everything just flows nice, and thick, and creamy.    CREAMY/CRUNCHY METER :  9.0 / 10.

INGREDIENTS: dry roasted organic peanuts, sea salt.

NUTRITION FACTS : Cal: 200, Total Fat: 15g, Sat. Fat: 2g, Sodium: 40mg, Carbs: 7g, Fiber: 3g, Sugars: 2g, Protein: 6g.

PRICE :  2 / 28 oz jars = $9.99

TRY IT WITH: my Ultimate Acai Berry Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie!!

1)Trader Joe’s MIXED NUT BUTTER :

This is THE best tasting nut butter I have ever had.  Period.  No contest.   The combination of almonds, cashews, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, brazil nuts—is just peanut butter perfection.   This is my go-to whenever I need to satisfy a quick hunger pang.  I will gladly eat this stuff straight out of the jar, use it in my smoothies, or just pour it right on top of pancakes, ‘cuz I’m a beast like that.    TASTE METER :  10 / 10.

This butter is naturally creamy, requires only a little stirring to mix all the flavors together, and you get a smooth, thick texture all around.   Even out of the fridge, you could literally pour it right out of the jar, even though it was kinda runny, it still has a thick smoothie-like consistency to it.   You can stick it in the fridge to solidify the butter just a bit, but still tastes great at room temperature.                                   CREAMY/CRUNCHY METER :  9.5 / 10.

There is a mixture of 6 different nuts in this concoction, so you get a variety of nutrients across the board only available in those certain nuts. With 5g of protein per serving, Not as high with the protein count, but the flavor more than compensates for this.   A quick fix is to just mix it with another protein source!

INGREDIENTS: almonds, cashew nuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, sea salt.

NUTRITION FACTS : Cal: 190, Total Fat: 18g, Sat. Fat: 2.5g, Sodium: 35mg, Carbs: 7g, Fiber: 2g, Sugars: 1g, Protein: 5g.

PRICE : 12 oz jar = $5.99

TRY IT WITH: my Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Protein Bars!!  Goes hand in hand!!

Quick FTC disclaimer:  Although I am a Costco employee, I have purchased all said products and am not compensated from Costco, or any other company, in any way for my product recommendations.  I genuinely like these products and any reviews or opinions are strictly my own.