Natural peanut butter, almond butter and tahini: how to choose a nut butter

Natural peanut butter is made from peanuts and not much else: no added sugars, no hydrogenated oils, sometimes a pinch of salt. This guide is for anyone standing in front of the nut butter shelf wondering what's actually in the jar, from families packing lunches to bakers and hummus makers. It explains the difference between natural and regular peanut butter, compares almond butter, cashew butter, tahini and seed butters, covers nut-free spreads, and shows you how to make tahini sauce and your own nut butter at home with ingredients from our bulk section.

The nut butter shelf has grown a lot. Next to peanut butter you'll now find almond, cashew and hazelnut butters, sesame tahini, sunflower and pumpkin seed butters, flavoured spreads and even peanut butter powder. They all spread on toast, but they don't all taste, cook or behave the same way.

What is the difference between peanut butter and natural peanut butter?

Natural peanut butter is ground roasted peanuts, sometimes with salt. Regular peanut butter usually adds sugar and a stabilizer such as hydrogenated or palm oil, which stops the oil from separating and keeps the texture super smooth in the jar. That's the whole difference: natural peanut butter has fewer other ingredients, and you stir it.

That layer of oil on top of a fresh jar is a good sign. It just means nothing has been added to hold the peanuts and their oil together. Stir it back in with a knife or a sturdy spoon, then keep the jar in the fridge and it will stay mixed.

How to choose a natural nut butter

Turn the jar around and check three things:

1. The ingredients list. The best nut butters have one ingredient, the nut or seed, or two with salt. Avoid products with sugar, glucose, palm oil or hydrogenated oils near the top if you want a natural spread.
2. Roasted or raw. Roasted nut butters have a deeper, nuttier flavour. Raw nut butters taste milder and sweeter, and work well in smoothies and dressings.
3. Smooth or crunchy. Smooth spreads easily and blends into sauces. Crunchy keeps little pieces of nut for texture. Both are the same nut butter, just ground differently.

We carry a full range from Nuts to You, which has ground nut butters in Paris, Ontario since 1989. Most of its nut butters are certified organic, and the nuts and seeds are dry roasted rather than oil roasted. The organic peanut butter is made from dry-roasted, blanched organic peanuts and nothing else: no added sugar, no salt, no added oils or stabilizers.

Is natural peanut butter actually healthier?

Natural peanut butter has the same peanuts as regular peanut butter, minus the added sugars and hydrogenated oils, so it's the simpler choice. Peanut butter is a good source of plant protein, about 7 to 8 grams in a 2 tablespoon serving, with mostly unsaturated fats, including monounsaturated fats, plus some fibre, vitamin E and magnesium. Like all nut butters it's rich, around 90 to 100 calories a tablespoon, so a spoonful or two is a serving.

Almond butter, cashew butter and other nut butters

Each nut brings its own flavour and texture, so it's worth having more than one jar in the cupboard:

• Almond butter. Toasty and slightly sweet. It has slightly less protein than peanut butter but more than double the vitamin E, with a little more fibre and calcium. Nuts to You makes it roasted, smooth or crunchy, and raw, which tastes milder.
• Cashew butter. The creamiest and sweetest of the bunch, with a soft, creamy texture that's lovely in sauces where you'd otherwise use cream. Nuts to You's is dry-roasted cashews with a little sunflower oil.
• Hazelnut butter. Rich and toasty. Stir in a spoon of cocoa and a little maple syrup or honey for a homemade chocolate hazelnut spread without the palm oil.
• Almond and hazelnut. A blend of the two, good on toast with sliced banana or pear.

Is almond butter healthier than peanut butter?

Not really healthier, just different. Peanut butter has slightly more protein; almond butter has more vitamin E, a bit more fibre and calcium. Calories and total fat are close. The healthiest nut butters are the ones with the shortest ingredients list, so pick the flavour you enjoy, and rotate between them if you like variety.

Tahini: sesame seed butter

Tahini is a paste of ground sesame seeds, a staple of the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Most tahini is made from hulled sesame seeds, which gives a smooth, mild paste with less bitterness; tahini made from whole seeds is darker and more bitter. Tahini has a drippy consistency compared with nut butters, which is exactly what you want for sauces and dressings.

It's the key ingredient in hummus and baba ghanoush, and it's just as good drizzled over roasted vegetables, stirred into a grain bowl or spread on toast with honey. Tahini can even go into desserts: try it in cookies or drizzled over ice cream with a little honey.

• Nuts to You Organic Fair Trade Sesame Tahini is one ingredient: organic, fair trade sesame seeds, mechanically hulled and dry roasted.
• Eden Organic Roasted Tahini is organic hulled tan sesame seeds, dry roasted and ground smooth, with no sodium.

How to make tahini sauce

This is the sauce we put on almost everything: falafel, roasted vegetables, grain bowls and salads. It takes two minutes.

1. Stir the jar. Mix the tahini well first, since the oil rises to the top.
2. Combine. In a bowl, put ¼ cup tahini, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 small grated garlic clove and a pinch of salt.
3. Whisk in water. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of cold water, a spoon at a time. It will thicken and look broken at first, then turn smooth and pale. Stop when it pours like heavy cream.
4. Season it. Add more lemon, a pinch of cumin, chopped parsley or a drizzle of olive oil to taste. It keeps in the fridge for about 5 days.

How do I make tahini at home?

Toast 1 cup of sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes until golden and fragrant. Let them cool, then blend in a food processor for a few minutes, scraping down the sides, until they turn into a crumbly paste. Add 2 to 4 tablespoons of a neutral oil and keep blending until smooth. Homemade tahini takes less than 15 minutes. The sesame seeds in our bulk section are natural, unhulled seeds, so homemade tahini from them is darker and more bitter than a jar made from hulled seeds; many people like it that way.

Seed butters and nut-free spreads

Seed butters are made from seeds instead of peanuts or tree nuts, so they're a great option for anyone avoiding nuts and for school lunches.

• Sunflower seed butter. Nuts to You makes it from organic, dry-roasted Canadian sunflower seeds and nothing else. It's creamy and mild, lighter than peanut butter, and the closest match for a peanut butter sandwich.
• Pumpkin seed butter. Rich, earthy and deep green, from organic dry-roasted pumpkin seeds. Lovely swirled into oatmeal or yogurt.
• Tahini. Sesame seed butter works as a nut-free spread too, though sesame is itself a common allergen.

For a nut-free classroom, always read the allergen statement and "may contain" line on the jar. Some seed butters are made in facilities that also handle peanuts and tree nuts; the Nuts to You pumpkin seed butter, for example, may contain peanuts, tree nuts and sesame.

What can I use as a nut-free substitute for peanut butter?

Sunflower seed butter is the closest swap in sandwiches, baking and sauces. Pumpkin seed butter and tahini also work if sesame isn't a concern. In baking, sunflower seed butter can turn slightly green when it meets baking soda; it's harmless and just a reaction between the seeds and the soda, and less baking soda helps.

Is there a nut-free chocolate spread?

Most chocolate hazelnut spreads contain hazelnuts, so they aren't suitable for nut allergies. For a nut-free chocolate spread at home, stir 1 tablespoon of cocoa and 1 to 2 teaspoons of maple syrup or honey into ¼ cup of sunflower seed butter, with a pinch of salt. It's a delicious spread on toast, pancakes or apple slices.

Flavoured peanut butter and peanut butter powder

A few spreads on our shelf go beyond one ingredient on purpose:

• Fatso Maple Peanut Butter blends peanuts with organic coconut oil, MCT oil, flax and chia seeds and a hint of maple. It's vegan, gluten free and keto-friendly, and spreads a little richer than plain peanut butter.
• PB&Me Organic Peanut Butter Powder is roasted organic peanuts pressed to remove most of the oil. Per 12 g serving it has 6 g of protein and about 45 calories, so it's handy in smoothies and baking if you want peanut flavour and more protein for the calories. Stir it with a little water and it turns back into a spread.

Make your own natural peanut butter

If you have a food processor, homemade peanut butter is easy and you control the salt and texture.

1. Roast. Spread 2 cups of peanuts on a baking sheet and roast at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes, until fragrant. Our bulk organic dry split peanuts are already lightly roasted, so a few minutes warms them up.
2. Blend. While they're still warm, blend for 5 to 10 minutes, scraping down the sides. They'll go from crumbs to a thick ball to a smooth, creamy paste.
3. Season. Add a pinch of salt, and a spoon of honey or a little cinnamon if you like. For crunchy, stir in a handful of chopped peanuts at the end.
4. Store. Spoon it into a clean jar and keep it in the fridge for up to a month.

Ways to use nut butters

• Breakfast. Stir a spoon into oatmeal, spread on toast with banana, or blend into smoothies.
• Sauces. Whisk peanut butter with soy sauce, lime, garlic and a little honey for a satay-style sauce for noodles and vegetables.
• Snacks. Apple slices or celery with almond butter, or dates stuffed with peanut butter and a square of chocolate.
• Baking and desserts. Nut butter cookies, energy balls and no-bake bars. Our healthy snacks guide has a homemade granola bar recipe that uses any nut or seed butter.

Nut butter questions we get a lot

Which peanut butter is real, natural peanut butter?

Read the ingredients. If it says peanuts, or peanuts and salt, it's natural peanut butter. If you see sugar, glucose, palm oil or hydrogenated vegetable oil, it's a regular, stabilized peanut butter.

Do I need to refrigerate natural peanut butter?

Once opened, yes, it's best kept in the fridge. Natural nut butters have no stabilizers, so the oil can separate and, over time at room temperature, go stale. The fridge keeps it fresh and keeps the oil mixed in.

What exactly is tahini made of?

Sesame seeds, usually hulled and roasted, ground into a paste. Good tahini has nothing else in it.

What is the best substitute for tahini?

Cashew butter or sunflower seed butter are the closest swaps in hummus and dressings. They're a little sweeter, so add an extra squeeze of lemon.

Shopping for nut butters at Luminate

You'll find natural peanut butter, almond butter, tahini and seed butters in the pantry aisle at both stores and online in our nut butters and spreads, syrup and honey collections. Nut butters are shelf stable until opened, so they ship across Atlantic Canada in 1 to 3 business days, with free shipping in Canada on orders over $80. In Halifax, Bedford and Dartmouth, Luminate Express brings them the same day when you order by 11 am.

More from the pantry: our guides to hemp hearts, chia and flax, local honey and maple syrup and healthy crackers.

Product details come from our own product listings. Nutrition figures are typical values for each nut or seed. This article is general information, not medical or nutrition advice.