Absolutely Nuts About Butter: My Assortment of Nut Butters

As a vegan, it is important to monitor where your Omega-3 fatty acids are fitting into your menu, among other things. As an American Human Being it is important to balance your current Omega-6 intake that is rampant in a classic American diet with more Omega neutral or High Omega-3 sources.

Adding things like Almonds, Coconut Oil, Flax Seeds, and Walnuts will even out your ratio, as well as give you a variety of nutrients!

My favorite nut butters to institute at home are Peanut, and Cashew, since we use Almond Milk, Almond Meal and Almond Flour routinely.

You will need a High Power Blender, like my personal favorite; The Ninja Blender! (A food processor will also suffice) Annnnd a cookie sheet to roast your nuts if you did not purchase them pre-roasted, which I recommend going the home-roasted route!

 The used price is the BEST I've found!! Otherwise, take your little 20% off coupon to Bed Bath and Beyond to purchase for $80! Free shipping if they are out of stock! You're welcome!

Peanut Butter #1: RAW

Process Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 32 ounces

Ingredients:

2 # Raw Spanish Peanuts

1 Tablespoon Salt (Optional)

Directions:

Literally stick those nuts and salt into a blender or food processor and blend until creamy and smooth! Due to the friction of the blade, the butter will heat up as it blends, so be careful, if you have a dull blade it will take longer to get to the creamy butter consistency, at which point, your contents will be hot!

This recipe is not my favorite, because the butter does end up a little sticky and slightly chalky. But hey! It’s raw, so it MUST be good for you right?! ^_^
Below is the recipe in a food processor, because not everyone has a Ninja! Stages of the buttering process:

Peanut Butter #2: Regular

Roast Time: 30 minutes

Cool Time: 15 minutes

Process Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 32 ounces (I always end up with a little extra)

Ingredients:

1 # peanuts (Spanish is better due to the high oil content)

1 Tablespoon  Salt

3 Tablespoons Oil, divided

2-4 Teaspoons Agave (Or Honey)

Directions:

Roast your peanuts for 30 minutes on 350 with salt and 2 Tablespoons oil. Allow them to cool for 15 minutes before blending them to oblivion with the remainder of your ingredients. The blending process usually takes me about 10 minutes, but I have had it take up to 30 on a dull blade. If you are interested in a little less earthy flavor in your butter, rub your peanuts in between your hands to loosen their skins, then twirl them in a salad spinner so all you have left to process is pure peanut!

Peanut Butter #3: Elegance!

Roast Time: 30 minutes

Cool Time: 15 minutes

Process Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 24 ounces

Ingredients:

1 # peanuts

6-8 Tablespoons oil

1 Tablespoon salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 ½ Teaspoons molasses

2 teaspoons Vanilla

Directions:

Roast your peanuts for 30 minutes on 350 with salt and 2 Tablespoons oil. Allow them to cool for 15 minutes before blending them with the remainder of your ingredients. When adding the oil, add only 1 tablespoon at a time, because 6 can make it too runny, I usually find that 4 is perfect, but not every batch goes the way you plan. The blending process usually takes me about 10 minutes, but I have had it take up to 20 on a dull blade. I usually leave the skins on this recipe because it adds to the complexity of the butter. I also recommend writing down what you do to each batch, so that you can refer back to your recipe and alter it as your taste buds desire!

Cashew Butter: Simple and Satisfying

Roast Time: 10-15 minutes

Cool Time: 15 minutes

Process Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 32 ounces (I always end up with a little extra)

Ingredients:

2 # Raw Cashews (I use cashew pieces because they are cheaper and do not affect the quality)

1 Tablespoon  Salt

5 Tablespoons Oil, divided

Directions:

Roast your cashews for 10-15 minutes on 350 with salt and 2 Tablespoons oil, until they are a roasty golden color, but I err on the side of under-done because cashews burn quickly! Allow them to cool for 15 minutes before blending them into a puree of bliss. The blending process usually takes me about 10 minutes, but I have had it take up to 20 on a dull blade. The cashew requires a bit more oil than the other butters because it likes to pretend it’s perfect, but if you refrigerate it and pull it back out later it reveals a gritty paste that doesn’t spread so well.

If you happen to burn a batch, usually it is still salvageable…you can continue with a toasty taste to your butter, perfect for autumn, orrrr you can add chocolate syrup! If you don’t have any premade, add 2-3 tablespoons of cocoa processed with alkali (dutch cocoa) and an extra 1-2 tablespoons oil plus 1 tablespoon of sugar. Then it’s a toasty chocolate butter that tastes like a piece of heaven on toast! Then again chocolate and peanut butter are my favorite pair! And the roasty toasty version is just the Bonnie and Clyde of butters!

Anyone have a good walnut butter recipe? That would be most desireable on my kitchen table with its high Omega-3 content…so far walnuts just seclude themselves to my Waldorf Salad.

Peanut Butter #1: 1.67 per pound

Peanut Butter #2: 1.70 per pound

Peanut Butter #3: 1.74 per pound

Cashew Butter: 3.40 per pound

If you refer to the Food Comparison Chart Master, you will see that the cheapest I’ve found natural peanut butter for is $2.50 per pound at Fred Meyer, and sometimes it will be on sale for $2. So here is how you get it the cheapest you can, because you can make it for less than the sale price!