Recipe Directions

  • 1. Place the almonds only (do not add the honey or salt) into your food processer.
  • 2. Food process your almonds for five minutes, stopping every 1 minute to scrape down the sides. (Almonds will just be all powdery and you'll think you need to add liquids. But do NOT add any liquids.)
  • 3. Continue processing almondsfor an additional 15 minutes.(Yes, that's right, 20 minutes total!!) Almonds will eventually turn dough-like, then whipped, and then finally, they'll turn buttery and identical to store bought almond butter if you process them long enough! (Scroll down to "Thoughts" for a minute-by-minute play by play!)
  • 3. After approximately 20minutes of food processing (could be a bit longer or a bit less depending on the strength of your food processor), your almond butter is ready.
  • 4. Transfer creamy, spreadable almond butter to a jar or bowl. Then, optionally, add the honey and salt immediately and then stir by hand.
  • 5. Enjoy immediately. Store leftovers in fridge.

The Rawtarian's Thoughts

By The Rawtarian

Raw almond butter recipes are something of a myth in the raw food world. Why won't they blend well? What's the deal with all these bad raw almond butter recipes?

But I've got a raw almond butter recipe that does the trick.

Make this raw almond butter recipe in your food processor, not your blender, not your VitaMix and not your BlendTec. (Trust me.)

This raw almond butter recipe is simple and delicious. I love it spread on apples or raw crackers. Keep it in the fridge. It tastes best when it is served at room-temperature.

Note: Do NOT soak your almonds in advance. (Use dry, unsalted, unsoaked, unroasted almonds.)

This is a great replacement for peanut butter. And much healthier, too!

Please wear ear protection, by the way! This is a long and loud process.

Note: Note all food processors are up to this task. There is a small chance that your food processor's engine will burn out during this process, particularly if you have a cheap one. Consider letting the motor pause for a few 20 second intervals during this process to let your food processor cool down a little.

Note re: photograph: The almond butter in this photograph is a bit too chunky! Keep processing until you get the texture of store bought spreadable wet butter. I need to update this photo but I haven't gotten around to it yet!

Laura-Jane's Notes using her Cuisinart Classic Food Processor:

  • First 5 minutes: Need to scrape the sides every minute or so to ensure the mixture is evenly distributed. (Important.)
  • 5 minutes: Sticky, beginning to ball together.
  • 6 minutes: Formed a big ball. (Might need to stop briefly and bust up the ball.) 
  • 8 minutes: Doesn't need any more interference from here on. Now, little sticky crumbs.  
  • 10 minutes: Big hot sticky dough ball!
  • 11 minutes: Starting to look whipped!
  • 12 minutes: Getting wet.
  • 14 minutes: Getting smooth and creamy!
  • 16 minutes: Similar to above.
  • 17 minutes: More spreadable, almost store bought.
  • 18 minutes: As spreadable as store bought!
  • 20 minutes: Yep - it's perfect! Same texture as store bought but a little lighter in color.

Recipe Photos

Nutrition Facts

Nutritional score: 89 out of 100
  • This recipe is very low in Calories, Carbohydrates, and Sodium.
  • This recipe is an excellent source of Vitamin E.
  • This recipe is a good source of Protein, and Riboflavin.
  • This recipe is a noteworthy source of Dietary Fiber, and Iron.

Amounts per 35 g (1 oz) suggested serving

NameAmount% Daily
Calories 206 8 %
Protein 7 g 13 %
Fat 18 g 23 %
Carbohydrates 7 g 2 %
Dietary Fiber 4 g 12 %
Sugars 1.7 g
Calcium 92 mg 9 %
Iron 1.3 mg 10 %
Sodium 1 mg
Source: USDA, The Rawtarian

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Comments and Reviews

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30 votes
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I made some of this last night after a trip to the store brought on a slew of pleas from the babies to make almond butter in their commercial grade machines. I declined as the price and texture both displease me. But this! This is wonderful! I may never but peanut butter again. The speadability of ine wasnt great but I got impatient for the final product and cut out aybe too soon. But the kids wanted to eat it like cookie dough it was so good. We all agree that nothing beats this fresh and warm from the processor. Thanks. Now I'm on to the raw chocolate cookies. Then flax crackers. Thanks for all your recipes and pracitcal advice. Anything to make living raw easier. Especially with two kids!

27 votes
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tandi how old are your kids and how easy is it to get them to eat raw

26 votes
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My pleasure Tandi! :)

Your babes sound cute.

32 votes
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You mentioned that yours is a cheaper food processor and doesn't overheat. I've got a very inexpensive Hamilton Beach. Will I have to stop and start it every few minutes?

Also, what dry almonds are you buying? Something equivalent to Diamond Whole Almonds? Also, is it healthiest to buy raw organic ones? Does it wind up more expensive to make it at home if you choose to use the latter? In some stores you can grind it there fresh - again, I've never paid attention to which almonds they were using.

33 votes
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Hi Sarah,

Personally, I use raw organic almonds that are imported from Italy. All U.S. raw almonds, even organic, are treated to kill micoorganisms. It's actually more dangerous to consume raw almonds that aren't certified organic because they are often treated with dangerous chemicals to kill the microorganisms. You can find raw organic italian almonds at Whole Foods Market and online. Ask stores near you to see if they carry any. Find out more information about raw almonds here http://www.cornucopia.org/almonds/ It's definitely more expensive to use good quality imported raw organic almonds but you save money if you compare how much you would pay for jarred italian raw organic almond butter ($17.99 for 16 oz jar - at a minimum, or $11.99 per pound for raw organic italian almonds). So looking at it that way, it's cheaper to make your own. Hope this information helps you!

71 votes
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I also use raw imported almonds from Italy. I get 5 lb bags online from Jaffe Brothers. I have been very happy with them!!

41 votes
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Hi Lori, glad you're nuts over your nuts ;)

98 votes
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i always boil almonds before eatting them. it kills the bacteria, & i like the soft texture. question: i want to boil my almonds & make almond butter. i assume they must be dreid out first. i have a 7 speed silox blender. will that work? what is i put the almonds in there damp, & just make enough butter for one sandwich?

56 votes
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Hi Lauren, yes, do dry them out first.

66 votes
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Hi Maryann,
Do you mind telling me which Whole Foods store you shop at? The organic raw almonds I buy at the Sauganash store in Chicago (Peterson & Cicero) and most other Chicago WF stores charge $14.99-16.99/lb. for both the Italian and domestic. If they are charging $11.99 in another market I'm going to give them hell for overcharging us here in Chicago! Thank you :)
Mary Ellen

29 votes
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If you feel that the unit is overheating then you should turn it off to give it a break. Perhaps after 5 minutes

34 votes
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hmmm how did you handle the almonds - if at all - before grinding them to butter?
Did you soak, dehydrate or peel them?

31 votes
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Important note:
Sometimes a recipe calls for soaking/rinsing the seeds or nuts immediately before using. This is important for two reasons: remove enzyme inhibitors and funky tastes. Also, soaking may be necessary in order to soften the nuts.

However, in the case of these almonds though, I do not do anything to the almonds beforehand. I definitely don't peel them. You could certainly soak them and rinse them to remove the enzyme inhibitors, but then I'd make sure they were dry. To be honest, I don't bother doing this with almonds for some reason. I just take dry almonds and throw them in my food processor.

27 votes
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I was listening to Dr. Bob Marshall, PhD, describe how that all nuts today are coated with some substance by the manufacturer. He says he "never eats any nuts without soaking them overnight in water, first." He states that he then pours the water off and rinses the nuts before eating them. His website is www.qnlabs.com. There are digital recordings at this website, but probably no specific recording on this subject. This information is just "thrown in" every so often on his radio shows and the mp3 downloads. Thank you for your website and information.

31 votes
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Thanks for sharing Betty - we always soak all of the nuts so we get the most nutrients and easier to digest....and always organic.....still - we soak them in water with a few drops of Lugols Solution (iodine solution) - which is a germicide - cuz you never know! Plus it also adds a little iodine to our diet :)

30 votes
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Thank you for the recipe. I will try it. It is very easy to make.

34 votes
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try the same recipe with raw walnuts, add 1 tsp cinnamon decrease honey 1 tab, much quicker takes a few minutes to prcess into a creamy texure

33 votes
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Netty, have you tried it yet? I've heard some people say that they have difficulty with their food processor overheating, but I haven't had any trouble myself, even though my food processor is cheaper.

23 votes
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you can put nuts straight through a champion juicer and you get instant nut butter. Almonds need to be fresh ish if too old they are dry and it will be crumbly. Brazil nuts are oily, can add them to almonds. Cashews awesome on their own

25 votes
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Great tips Natasha! I will have to get me one of those juicers. Sounds awesome.

Thanks for sharing. It's comments like yours that make this place great!

34 votes
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What food processor do you use for almond butter making?

37 votes
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Here is the cheap food processor that I own - it gets bad reviews on Amazon but it's cheap and it's the one I've been using for almost 4 years! I don't have a problem recommending it, it's the Black and Decker Quick and Easy: http://tinyurl.com/avdwva4

47 votes
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Why can't I use my vitamix to make almond butter?

49 votes
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Hi Yum, It just doesn't work out very well - especially because the carafe is high and the blades are small. In general, blender is for smooth, liquidy things (sauce, pudding, smoothie, soup) and food processor is for dryer items (brownies, cookies, pie crust, etc). Almond butter is somewhere between the two extremes (liquid and dry) but it works much better in FP.

44 votes
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I have a VitaMix nut jar. Can I use that make this?

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