Maple Sea Salt Almond Butter

Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you my favorite food is nut butter. I can find an excuse to have it with (or without) anything - toast, fruit, granola, oatmeal, by the spoonful, you name it. My preference on nut butter switches every so often, but my go-to is almond butter. It tastes amazing, it’s super versatile, and it’s a great source of protein and healthy fats, which makes it the perfect healthy snack.

When I first started making my own almond butter I realized I liked it way better than the store-bought kind. Homemade almond butter is ultra thick, creamy, and when you eat it fresh it tastes like warm, freshly roasted almonds. I blend a little bit of maple syrup, sea salt, and coconut oil into mine to jazz it up a bit. Why not!

Homemade almond butter is more affordable, too. 

The math is simple. One pound of almonds yields one pound of almond butter (or 16 ounces), which is the size of the standard almond butter jar at the store. Just compare the price of one pound of raw almonds to the price of your favorite almond butter. That being said, the cost savings depend largely on the type of almond butter you’re buying. I’ve bought jars of almond butter at Trader Joe’s for seven dollars, so there’s not much savings opportunity there, but compared to some other jars on the shelf for twenty two dollars, this is a no brainer!

To make homemade almond butter (or any kind of nut butter) you do need a food processor. I haven’t had success using a high speed blender for nut butter, so I wouldn’t recommend that. Other than that, you really just need almonds!

When it comes to making almond butter, patience is key. It might seem like the whole almonds will never turn into creamy nut butter, but they always do. It just takes a while to get it creamy and might require you blending in your food processor for 5-10 minutes at a time (depending on how much your food processor can handle).

I recommend roasted almond butter, and to do this you can either buy the almonds roasted or buy raw almonds and roast them in the oven yourself. Warm almonds blend more easily and offer maximum fresh almond flavor. Roasting the almonds only takes 10 minutes, and it’s absolutely worth it. Roasted almonds offer the same nutritional benefits as raw almonds - protein, healthy fat, fiber, and vitamins.

Roasted almond butter also makes a great homemade gift! Just tie a ribbon around the jar and it’s ready to go.

How To Make This Almond Butter

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup roasted almonds

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/4 cup coconut oil

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 325ºF.

• Place the raw almonds on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Once roasted, let the almonds cool until their warm (not super hot) and transfer the into the food processor.

• Combine the maple syrup, sea salt and coconut oil in the food processor.

• Blend until creamy, pausing to scrape down the sides as needed. You’re going to think it’ll never blend, but be patient! The almonds will go from floury clumps, to a wet ball against the side of the food processor (keep scraping down the sides), and then creamy. If the mixture gets crazy hot along the way, stop and let it cool for a few minutes before you resume blending.

• Let the almond butter cool, then transfer the mixture to a mason jar and screw on the lid. Store in a dry, dark place or in the refrigerator.