How to: Make Homemade (Creamy) Almond Butter
Today, we are going to make homemade almond BUTTER! Are you excited?! I am!
It’s such a delicious type of nut butter. I adore it. I spread it on my Paleo waffles/pancakes/bread, fruits and even vegetables (ants on a stick…celery, almond butter, and organic raisins…heaven!).
I also use it for multiple recipes, to achieve creamier and richer results.
I tend to go through almond butter pretty quickly and it can get expensive if you’re buying a jar at the store for around $8-$10. What’s my solution to this problem? Homemade almond butter!
Check my recipe out!
Tools You’ll Need:
- 1 large Mason Jar
- Food Processor
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of roasted unsalted almonds (I bought mine at Whole Foods)
- ½-1 teaspoon of sea salt
Don’t forget to also get sea salt for this recipe!
Steps:
- Go to Whole Foods (or any other store that sells bulk) and buy bulk roasted/unsalted almonds.
- Bring them home and place all almonds in a ziploc bag or any other tight container – almonds will stay fresher longer.
- Take out your food processor and plug it in.
- Place 4 cups of almonds in food processor.
- Cover and push “on” to start processing. Process for about 1 minute.
- Scrape down the sides, close lid and process for another 2 minutes.
- Open lid and add sea salt (your almonds should have a buttery and creamy consistency at this point); continue to process for 1-1.5 minutes.
- Scoop almond butter out and store in a container with a lid (I used a mason jar).
You’ve now got yourself your very own homemade almond butter! Keep refrigerated. Lasts 1-2 weeks.
After 1 minute of processing.
After 3 minutes of processing.
After 5 minutes of processing (sea salt has been added at this point)
Related posts:
Tags: Almond butter, nut butter, roasted unsalted almonds, sea salt
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Comments (76)
Jennifer Hammond
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This was so yummy and EASY!!! I didn’t have walnut oil so I used coconut oil. Still tasted great and went well into the brownies I made. (I NEED my sweets!) Thanks for the great details!!!
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Mariel Lewis
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I am glad you liked these Jennifer! Good to know it works great with coconut oil as well
thanks for sharing that!
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revdoc1
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I also use coconut oil… no salt, no sugar… just almonds. My puppies love it! and i know they aren’t getting any additives
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Diane
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I don’t understand the reference to oil.
there doesn’t appear to be any in the ingredients or in the directions.
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Diane. I recently modified the recipe; the old version had oil in it. I prefer this new one a lot more!
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Bella
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Hi, in place of walnut oil can I use olive oil?
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Mariel Lewis
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Yes
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Priscilla
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Use regular olive oil NOT extra virgin. It becomes bitter and here is a page explaining why. http://summertomato.com/the-bitter-truth-about-olive-oil/
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Mariel Lewis
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Thanks for sharing Priscilla!
For this recipe, I don’t recommend using any type of oil though.
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Valerie
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What is a mason jar? Sorry for my ignorance. Thanks
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Valerie
. This is what a mason jar is: http://www.target.com/p/ball-12ct-regular-mouth-quart-jars-32oz/-/A-12911372#?lnk=sc_qi_detaillink
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Luis
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Greetings from Dominican Republic! I started paleo about 3 weeks ago and its been awesome. I did this recipe and itweent very well. I used. Organic cocunut oil(thought I never find in this country) but I replaced the honey with 3/4 tbsp ofstevia (didn’t have honey at home). It tasted very good. Thx for this great idea. A buen tiempo!
Btw, some times I get sugar cravings. Any good QUICK & SIMPLE paleo sweet ideas?
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Luis and welcome to Amazing Paleo! I am glad you’re jumping onto the Paleo bandwagon
. I looooove and crave sweets all the time too….my food suggestions to you when you’re craving sweets:
1. Dark chocolate (85%+ cacao) chocolate chips or bars
2. Fruit. You can freeze it and then blend it in your food processor, so it becomes like ice cream! (Ex: Blend in food processor – 2 large frozen bananas, 1/4 cup frozen cherries, 1 tablespoon almond butter, 1.5 tablespoons unsweetened cacao powder & 1/8 cup almond milk)
3. Any form of sweet potatoes…add cinnamon on top
4. Drink water…chances are you’re just dehydrated. This may calm anxiety and cravings.
5. Dried fruits (cranberries or raisins). Just be sure they dont have any extra sugars added.
6. Homemade trail mix: almonds, walnuts, pecans, raisins, dark chocolate pieces
Hope this helps a bit!
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Jo-Anne
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Almond muffins. 2 cups ground almonds, 1/2tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1tsp cinnamon, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup honey or crushed banana, 1/4 cup oil, 1tsp va illa extract, 11/2cups apple sauce, 1cup fresh frozen or dried fruit. Mix together, fruit last. Put in cake tins. Top with almond slices. 180 deg roughly 25 mins. Yum. A wet dough receive as ther is no flour.
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Sara
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Ok- I loved the recipe right out of the food processor, but it hardened overnight in the fridge. Did I do something wrong? Is it because I used coconut oil instead of walnut oil?
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Sara! I am about to modify my Almond Butter recipe very soon, so stay tuned to get the new and improved one!
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Sara, I just modified my Almond Butter recipe! Check it out and let me know what you think when you try it!
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Judene
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I am getting ready to try your almond butter recipe. Your ingredient list reads 3 teaspoons of walnut oil, but in your directions it reads 3 tablespoons. I am thinking it is probably 3 tbsp.. Just letting you know. Thanx – The recipe sounds great and explains everything thoroughly.
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Judene! Welcome to Amazing Paleo
. Just so you know, I am about to modify my Almond Butter recipe very soon, various people have not been having the best results and I think I know why. Soooo stay tuned to get the new and improved recipe!
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Judene, just modified my Almond Butter recipe! I think you’ll be really pleased with how this butter turns out
.
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tina
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I am reading the comments and I want to make sure that the new recipe does not need any oil in it. Is that correct?
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Tina! Yes, no oil in the new recipe. You only need roasted almonds and sea salt
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Jack
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Hi,
I’m going to try the new no oil recipe this weekend, how come you removed all the oil ? does it still taste the same?
Thanks!
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Mariel Lewis
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I just decided to make it a bit healthier (without the added oil) and use as little ingredients as possible. It tastes way better and keeps way better. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
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Cheryl
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I would like to try this recipe. I live in Baja CA, Mexico and bought some raw almonds. Is it necessary to soak and roast the almonds first? Also, I see many comments about oil in the comments but don’t see oil mentioned in your ingredients. How much oil do you use and when do you add it?
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Cheryl! Welcome to Amazing Paleo! It is not necessary to soak them, but you should roast them first for sure!
Don’t use any oil. Just use the ingredients the recipe calls for: roasted almonds and sea salt. This is an improved recipe, and it turns out way better than the one I had that used oil.
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Cheryl
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Mariel, Thank you for your quick reply. Can’t wait to try it. I will be looking at your website for sure. I am on a Candida diet and have found some help from Paleo recipes.
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Cheryl
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Mariel,
One last question, does it matter if I dry roast them or roast them with oil? If I dry roast them, will there still be enough oil to make the butter creamy?
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Mariel Lewis
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I think dry roasting them would be the way to go
, but you can probably do it either way.
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Cheryl
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Thanks again. I want to try it your way. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
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Mariel Lewis
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Ok, sounds good! Let me know how it goes
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Cheryl
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I made the almond butter just now. I let the food processor run for a very long time stopping to scrape the sides and after 25 minutes or so it wasn’t starting to get creamy. I added 3T olive oil and blended a while. It started to get a little creamy. I then started adding water and added more than 1/2 a cup I think. After a total of more than 45 minutes, it got creamy. It is not very soft though and I put it in the refrigerator. I soaked the almonds yesterday for about 20 minutes and then roasted them today. I don’t know if that had any effect. It tastes good. I hope it is not hard tomorrow.
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Cheryl! Oh my…sounds like you had your food processor working hard today
. I hope it doesn’t harden! Next time just make sure you buy roasted almonds and you’ll save yourself some time and trouble 
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cath
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just tried this , tastes fantastic! am going to use it as a base for a delicious almond bread recipe that i found!, thanks, by the way love your site ,its great!
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Cath! Great, I’m glad you liked the almond butter
Thanks for your sweet comment!
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rachel
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I wonder how many cups of the pre sliced almonds. I need to go to whole foods and get the whole ones.
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Catherine
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we used whole almonds which we then roughly chopped, roasted @ 300 F for about 8 minutes and processed while still warm. it was so easy, the house smells so nice and it tastes so good!
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Catherine
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just dry roasted the almonds, (.375 kg) we sliced them first, put them in the processor, after about 5 minutes added 1/2 tsp of salt, then ran another 2 min added 1/2 tsp of honey, ran another 2 minutes, DONE!
so good!!!
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Liz
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Is this any cheaper than buying almond butter? I use a lot of almond butter in my paleo breakfast blend and now my hubby started eating it now and I’m afraid it’s going to get expensive!
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Liz! Yes, this is definitely a cheaper way…plus, it has no preservatives added to it and it tastes extra amazing!
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Jon
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Thanks for sharing this. I just had two questions:
- Can you recommend a relatively inexpensive food processor that’s still strong enough to make butter with?
- Do you think blanched almonds would work as well (I find the skins to be a GI irritant).
Thanks!
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Jon!
Either way, it’s a good investment.
1. I use a Cuisinart Food Processor and I really like it. It is not too expensive – $130 (if you have a Macy’s credit card, you could possibly get it 20-25% off with the coupons they send you in the mail). I have heard that the KitchenAid Food Processor does an AMAZING job…it’s more expensive, but it might be worth every penny!
2. Blanched almonds will not work for this recipe.
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Katy
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We received a Ninja food processor and blender as a gift recently. Though very expensive ($300) I hope this will last forever…it is AMAZING. Motors in most other processors/blenders just weren’t powerful enough and in one case just gave up (KitchenAid). Having 2 kids who have gluten and dairy sensitivities as well as my GF/DF diet, and a hungry husband meant that we needed something that could hold up to our demands.
Also I just toasted the almonds on a baking sheet in our small toaster oven on “medium” toast (about 5 minutes toast), works perfectly every time. For some reason I can handle cooked almonds but not raw. Easy recipe and my kids love it as well. FYI if you omit the salt and cut back on blending time, you can make your own almond flour as well. Just be careful not to overblend or you’ll end up with more butter.
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Cindy
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There is alot of mention to adding oil but I don’t see it. I see the mention that the recipe was modified but it isn’t showing up. Would you mind just telling us about the oil in the comments please? We are going to make this today!! Thanks so much!! Excited to SAVE some money on almond butter!!!
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Cindy. I decided to NOT use oil for this recipe…makes the results 10x better. Just follow the recipe as it is
. Happy processing 
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Alexandra @ Creative Simple Life
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Thanks for this great recipe! I decided to add a little bit of organic maple syrup when I made mine and it turned out delicious. If your are curious to check it out, here’s my recipe: http://www.creativesimplelife.com/2013/01/02/organic-roasted-almond-butter/
Thanks again for your help!
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Cheyenne
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Greetings From New Zealand!!
I was wondering how long this product can be stored for, if its in a jar? And if it needs to be stored in the fridge?
Thx
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Cheyenne! So glad to hear my recipes are being viewed in New Zealand
. Thanks for your comment! Yes, I store my nut butter in a mason jar with a lid. It stays very fresh that way 
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Mariel Lewis
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It does need to be stored in the fridge! Lasts about 3 weeks
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Julie
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G’day Mariel,
Thanks for sharing this recipe I am going to try it today…just dipping my toes into paleo at the moment. I found a recipe talking about almond butter…I don’t think you can buy it in Australia. So making it in my Thermomix will be the way to go I think…no oil even better.
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cris
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Soo no raw almonds and with skin right? I have been doing almond butter a few times for the last months with raw almonds and with the skin and it was not this creamy… Is it because they were raw?
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Cris! Yes, the almonds should be roasted! If you buy them at the store (in bulk) already roasted, it will make your life a lot easier…that way you dont have to roast them yourself. Raw almonds don’t typically make good almond butter.
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Cristina
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Thanks I will buy them roasted for the next time. Regards from Spain!!!
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Mary @ Fit and Fed
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Hmm, I make almond butter with raw almonds and I like the way it turns out. It’s not at all as olly as commercial almond butter, though. Even the Trader Joe’s raw almond butter, made with only almonds, seems to have more oiliness to it than my homemade almond butter. It’s nice to know that the Cuisinart food processor does such a quick job on the almond butter: I’ve seen other recipes that call for 15-20 minutes of blending. I use my Vitamix, so it only takes a couple of minutes.
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Thuy
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Thank you so much for the recipe. I made my first-time almond butter yesterday and it was delicious. I added a pinch of sea salt and tiny bit of honey, no oil or anything else. It was absolutely yummy! Even my five-year old picky eater enjoyed it on toast and with apple slices. My friend had a taste of it on thin rice crackers and immediately asked for the instructions. It’s so simple but so fresh and tasty. I will only make it at home from now on. Thank you.
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Mariel Lewis
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Awesome! Thanks for the wonderful comment. I love knowing you guys enjoy my recipes!
Just like you guys…I LOVE almond butter!
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Lisa
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I only have salted roasted almond…can i use them and omit the sea salt? Or will that still be too salty?
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Lisa! I’m thinking it might be too salty. But hey, give it a try and test it out. I may be wrong
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Ginger
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At the five minute mark, all I have is almond dust. Are you sure we don’t need oil?
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Ginger
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Ok – now – at the 25 minute mark, I have nice creamy almond butter.
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Mariel Lewis
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Positive. You do not need oil.
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Alexis
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I just made this tonight. Just almonds, no salt. My favorite ever!!! I’ve never made my own nut butter and I’m hooked. I now see no need to pay someone else to do what I can myself. Thank you so much!
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Debbie
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Hi I tried to make your recipe with no oil using normal almonds from the shop, but after 20mins in the food processor it was still flour. How can it be possible that yours turned to butter and mine did not? In the end I added olive oil, and it finally worked.
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Debbie! Did you buy rosted almonds? They need to be roasted.
Also, what type of food processor do you have?
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Andrea
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I just made this and have to say I don’t know how anyone can get the creamy consistency without adding oil. I was just like Debbie, grinding away and worried I was going to burn out my food processor! It may be that you have a more powerful model than me, mine is rather old.
Going to get back to grinding away now that my machine has cooled down.
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Dave
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Awesome! Easy to make and much tastier than the fresh ground from my local Hy-Vee
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Daniela
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Hi! How long can this be stored for?
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Mariel Lewis
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It’ll stay nice and fresh for about 1-2 weeks.
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Eric
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Is a large expensive food processor necessary for this or are there any reliable FPs that are smaller in size but still reliable (like a 4-6 cup from the classic line at Cuisinart). I don’t have any other use for the FP besides almond butter, and getting a 10-14 cup FP seems like overkill to make a few cups of almond butter a month.
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi Eric! You should get whatever works best for your needs. Cuisinart is a good brand.
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Wendy
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Absolutely love almond butter. The first time I made a batch I just put a little bit of olive oil in it. Since I bought some coconut oil I thought I would try a little bit of that. I did hear though if you use coconut oil it can become very hard – which concerns me! Also, since I am the only one who eats this and it makes such a large batch, I froze smaller batches (maybe 3/4-1 stick of butter size) and they came out fine. Just took a batch out and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.
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Helen
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Could I try this with a blender? Since I do not have a food processer..
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Mariel Lewis
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Yeah, I’m sure that would work just fine.
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Wici
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I just got a food processor yesterday for my birthday, and the first thing I had to try was this recipe, and it turned out great!
I’ve got a question though, how much oil was the original recipe for? Because I tried it like this without, and it got very dry so I added some coconut oil. Just wondering how much you used to use, out of curiosity.
Fantastic recipe, thanks!
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Mariel Lewis
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Hi there! Happy late birthday
hope it was a great one! Yay for a new food processor…you’re gonna love all you can do with it! I believe I used 1-2 tablespoons of walnut oil.
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Gabby
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i was trying to make almond flour for some macaroons and I left it in the food processor for too long. i didnt want to throw out a whole cup of almonds so i came across your blog, i adjusted the recipe to my quantity and it is delicious! im eating it on a sandwhich right now
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