A creamy homemade almond butter with a hint of sweet maple flavour. So easy and delicious that you’ll never want to buy store-bought again!
This past weekend, I tackled something that’s been on my kitchen to-make list for longer than I care to admit — I finally made a batch of homemade almond butter.
It’s no secret that I’m kind of obsessed with the stuff. Not only is it a major staple in my diet, but it’s also one of the most common ingredients that I use in my recipes. Would you believe, then, that despite the fact that I’ve been maintaining this love affair for years, I’ve never actually made my own? Nope. Not once.
I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that I’ve been perfectly happy with the oh-so-tasty-and-convenient jars that I’ve been able to find in stores… but with Justin not showing much love to us Canadians, and Maisie Jane’s continuing to go up and up in price, I would have had to start looking into selling my kidneys on the black market soon if I wanted to continue supporting my addiction… and even that would only be a temporary fix since I only have 2 and they’re not exactly renewable resources 😯
A smarter solution would be to buy a bunch of almonds and make my own butter — so that’s what I did…
Why did I not do this sooner?!? Oh yeah… because I was terrified. I’m not going to beat around the bush here — making almond butter is a loud and violent affair, with the first few seconds making you feel like you’re trying to process rocks. But after that? It’s pretty much smooth sailing.
And as an added bonus, you can calm your nerves by munching on a handful of delicious maple roasted almonds that you deliberately left out of the food processor because you couldn’t stop eating them and seriously considered pulling the plug on the entire operation and just calling it a day right there. Ahem.
One of the best parts about making things in your own kitchen (besides being able to lick the spoon) is being able to control what goes into them. No questionable ingredients. No added preservatives. Nothing but the good stuff… with the good stuff in this case being almonds, maple syrup, cinnamon, and a touch of sea salt. That’s it! And while it may not be as quick or convenient of a process as picking up a jar from your local grocery store, there’s something inherently satisfying about looking at a finished product and knowing that you made it yourself…
And if you’ve never made your own nut butter because you’ve been too intimidated to try (like I was), I can promise you that you have nothing to worry about — it really couldn’t be simpler!
You start by roasting your almonds…
Not only does doing so bring out a more complex and robust flavour, but adding warm almonds to your food processor makes them that much easier to process. Trust me. I skipped the roasting step in the first batch I made, and it probably took twice as long. It also didn’t taste nearly as good… so no cutting corners to try and save time!
Next comes the processing…
This part takes a little bit of time and patience, but there’s nothing complicated about it. You simply let your processor run for about 10 minutes (turning it off to scrape the sides as necessary), and watch as the almonds go from a grainy paste to a creamy butter. Easy peasy! And you don’t need a fancy processor either. The one I used was around 25 years old and it had no problem getting the job done.
After that, all that’s left is to grab a spoon and enjoy!
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Creamy Maple Roasted Almond Butter
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw almonds
- 6 Tbsp. maple syrup
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- optional: 1-2 tsp. coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Pour almonds onto baking sheet and drizzle them with maple syrup, using your fingers to ensure that they are evenly coated. Roast for 15 minutes, stirring at least once to prevent burning.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let the almonds cool for about 10 minutes. You want them to still be warm so that they’re easier to process, but not hot so that they don’t put an added strain on your processor.
- Pour the almonds into your food processor and pulse to begin breaking them down. Add 1 tsp. of oil if needed and let your processor run until the almonds begin to break down into a grainy paste, and eventually a smooth butter. Stop processing every couple of minutes to scrape down the sides of the bowl and give your processor a brief rest.
- When almonds become creamy, add salt and cinnamon, and continue processing until desired consistency is reached.
- Transfer the almond butter to an airtight container, and store in the fridge for up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
Looking for more almond butter recipes? Try one of these!
Flourless Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Muffins
Chunky Monkey Snack Bites
Almond Butter and Pretzel Truffles
Whoa. Just. Whoa. I need to do this. I’ve made my own peanut butter as well as my own cashew nut butter. And I made almond butter once but it didn’t turn out that well. Probably because I was experimenting with the oil / liquid ratio. And probably because I didn’t roast them. D’uh. Will definitely try this recipe!
Yummm!!! I’m scraping the bottom of the Barney Butter Jar so I definitely need to whip up some almond butter asap!
I’d probably eat all the roasted almonds before they even made it to a nut butter!
YUM. Sadly, the one time I tried to make almond butter with my food processor, it actually started smoking. So I won’t be trying that just yet 🙁 But I might just have to make the maple roasted almonds for snacking!
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
I cannot believe I have never made my own almond butter… And thanks to you I now have no excuses – an easy recipe and I have all the bits I need!
I am craving this so much now! Never tried a flavoured almond butter as we can only get plain in the UK. Oh I bet this butter is good inside a date 😉
I only just had my first taste of flavoured AB last year when I was able to pick up a jar of Justin’s maple, and it seriously rocked my socks off. I definitely recommend giving it a shot 😀
I am always having to purchase an extra jar of nut butter for use in recipes..even then, I don’t like to gamble – it has to be a trustworthy source to commit my precious nut butter to! This almond butter falls under that treasured category, I can tell.
Aahh the Chunky Monkey Bites! Just between me and you: I have on several occassions whipped up the “batter” just to eat -warm- without forming into cookies and freezing 🙂 . So.good.
I need this and a SPOON!
Mmm this sounds delicious! I’ve been making my own nut butters (thus far: peanut, almond, cashew, almond/cashew/pecan) for about a year and a half, and I think in that time I’ve bought maybe three or four jars of peanut butter, and only because I needed to bake (since store bought works better than homemade for baking). I LOVE homemade nut butter — the stuff from the jar just is not the same!
Talk about YUM! I just want to reach into my computer screen and grab a big ol’ spoonful of this stuff!
I love your little spoon!!! So cute! I made pistachio butter once (Yeah, it was DELICIOUS) but I am SO lazy with cleaning my food processor I always shy away from all recipes which require it. Oof.
My favorite nut butter is like choosing my favorite… Well, anything. I’m kind of indecisive :o)… Right now, though, I am loving “Naturally More Peanut Butter” because it has flax seeds in it and I like the little crunch. Otherwise, Jif has a pumpkin spice whipped thing right now and it’s SO FREAKING GOOD (besides from all the ingredients I just ignore).
I’ve never tried almond butter but I think I’ll give it a try.
I love the idea of roasting the almonds beforehand. I was so intimidated the first time I made homemade nutbutter, too. Now I’m hooked – and I love that I can control exactly what goes into it (and what doesn’t!)
Your pictures alone are making me drool. Yummmm!
Surprisingly enough in my country there isn’t the love for nut butters….Seriously WHY??!!
You might find a jar of peanut butter lying in a random shelf but that is it. So what do I do? Make my own nut butter. So thank you for the recipe!
Before I have tried my almond butter with vanilla and raspberry flavours and they actually taste pretty good!
Omg I need this in my life. I’m picturing it with my protein pancakes, and it being just like heaven. Ugh pinning this now.
I’ve been wanting to make my own nut butter for months now too. It’s so expensive to buy and with how much I eat I should probably start my own factory. Sounds like you have a opportunity to sell yours in Canada! I’m sure you could. Then I could buy almond butter from you when I start my muffin truck since it regularly goes into my muffin recipes too. Ha!
Definitely stop putting it off and give it a try! I’m kicking myself for not getting around to it sooner.
can you say heaven in a jar?!! this looks delicious. making my own nut butter has been on my list for quite some time. one of my wedding gifts was a food processor! my kitchen is currently packed up for next month’s move, but you can bet i will be testing out this recipe once my new kitchen is all set up. 🙂
Mmm! I used to make my own peanut butter and cashew butter all the time! But then my mom just said it’s just as cheap to buy the pre-made stuff than to buy unsalted peanuts. Oh ok. But there IS something so satisfying about your own hot-off-the-processor nut butter!
And I’m always tempted to buy Justin’s, but the price tag turns me off. I’ll dive into Amanda’s almond butter instead 😉
Holy crap this looks good! Almond butter is so freaking expensive! I actually bought some cashews last week to whip up some nutbutter at home. Might have to use some of these steps to make it extra delish!
I adore making my own nut buttres!! My favorite one to make is my vanilla roasted almond butter with cranberries. So.Stinking.Good:)
Is it cheaper to make yourself? I can’t say that I’ve tried. I did think of you recently though. I finally bought a jar of Justin’s. I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s smiling at me from my pantry.
I admire your self-control! There’s no way I’d be able to let a jar of Justin’s sit untouched, especially if we’re talking vanilla or maple. And it’s definitely cheaper to make your own. I had to buy a bag of peanut-free almonds so I could pick them up in bulk, but if you don’t have to be careful of allergies then that would make it -even- cheaper.
Yay – you did it! I have been looking forward to you making AB, Amanda – I really thought you might use your Ninja – but now am curious – what type of 25 year old food processor is this one?
I have made my own nutbutter before – in my $20 blender – and I really like the fresh taste more than my fav Justin’s maple AB!
Happy Monday lady – hope your week is off to a great start
I think it’s a Cuisinart, Shashi! I was tempted to use a blender, but cleaning out processors is just so much easier 😆
Yummy yummy! I love making my own nut butters, BUT I have never ever roasted them first! What! Fantastic idea lady and I will be sure to try that for my next batch!
Maple Almond butter is like one of the greatest flavor combos for nut butters ever, haha! XOXO
I’ve made almond butter a few times and I’m always reminded how easy it actually is. But then I forget and convince myself that it’s hard and buy it instead…It’s time to give it a shot again, i think! 😉
I have made my own nut butter before but I have to admit I’ve fallen off the wagon for some time now in favor of convenience and less-dish-washing 😉 But I might just have to get back on to make this recipe in lieu of shelling out $13 for Justin’s version 😛
Making nut butters would be a reason I would want a food processor! This looks fabulous and thank you for sharing!
oh baby.. i love nut butters of all kinds!!! mmm this sounds amazingly good : )
Gorgeous photos, Amanda! Not having access to jarred almond butter in Mumbai means I’m constantly whipping up a fresh batch..and I love it! I’ve found that roasting the almonds beforehand makes a world of difference to the end flavor. I don’t tend to add any oil as it the almonds’ natural oils seem to do the trick for creating a creamy consistency. I love the idea of adding maple syrup to the almonds while roasting- will be trying this out in my next batch!
Definitely give it a shot! It takes things to a whooooole new level of deliciousness! That is… if you can stop yourself from snacking on the almonds and putting them in the food processor 😛
So impressed. Your almond butter looks divine! I think I am equally obsessed with almond butter. My food processor would definitely not be able to handle masticating nuts so, for now, I’ll stick with my fav, Trader Joe’s raw creamy unsalted variety.
Also, I read yesterday’s link love but didn’t get a chance to respond. High five for the multitude of your smoothie recipes featured in one of the links (sorry, currently cannot recall the name of the site.) Not that I am the least bit surprised, you are a culinary maven.
Hmmm.. I had no idea that roasting almonds beforehand would make the processing go smoother. Who knew!?! (well besides you :)). What would we do w/o you?
I will have to try roasting the minds first the next time I make almond butter. I’ve made almond butter with honey roasted almonds and it was divine. Maple syrup is sure to put this in a category of it’s own. Yum!
Yayyyyy!!!! You did it!! Soooo jealous of your Food Processor.
It looks SO perfect and I love the thought of roasting the almond beforehand!
Not sure how you do it. The last time I did this I got some ground almonds instead of almond butter.
Did you let them process for long enough? Because it does take a while and you just need to keep at it. Sometimes it helps if you add a small spoonful of oil to help things move along.
As soon as I saw the title of this post I thought, “she finally did it!” You ARE almond butter, to me, so this is only fitting. Looks delicious!
Yesssss, homemade almond buttah is the BEST. Glad you finally got to try some!!
What food processor did you use? Mine is barely able to cut through butter! This looks awesome…. I love maple-nut combos!
Oh goodness… it’s so old that I’m not even really sure. I think it’s a Cuisinart though!
Making almond butter has been on my kitchen to do list forever as well. Problem is I leave my bag of almonds at work. I know… I could buy a second bag but that would make too much sense.
I’ve also put off making nut butter but this just looks too good. The maple roasted almonds by themselves look like a great recipe so I would probably keep some of those as-is too. I’m going to get over being intimidated and make your recipe! Looks more than worth it!
Definitely give it a shot! I promise you it’s no where near as bad as you think, and you’ll be kicking yourself for not trying it sooner!
Stop. just stop! This is took much! Amanda….I can’t keep my hand….okay, spoon….I am a bit more civilized than that ahhahaha….out of the almond butter as it is…..now you are adding ROASTED MAPLE!!! That jar will be gone in less than a day! I am 1000000% with you, I will never buy homemade again, sooooooooooooooo good when you can make it yourself, and I love watching the stages,…..my favorite is what I call “the hamster”, do you know what I mean? Okay, I need to stop this random ramble right now. I should have just commented “yum”….
The hamster? 😆 Is that when it all clumps together and starts going around in one big ball? I’m almost afraid to ask 😛