6 Almond Butters, Tasted & Ranked

Almond butter might seem like a simple product that wouldn't vary much in flavor or texture from one brand to another, but there is a surprising array of these healthy nut butters in grocery stores. From no-salt-added spreads to flavored butters boosted with maple or vanilla, there's plenty to choose from for your almond butter and jelly sandwiches.

Whether you're allergic to peanuts or you're a total peanut butter fanatic, almond butter is a great alternative or supplement to your nut butter collection. It's nutty, creamy, and rich, with a milder flavor and grittier texture than traditional peanut butter. It's great in your classic sandwich, but almond butter can also be blended into a delicious sauce or salad dressing, or try it with a banana for a satisfying on-the-go snack.

To help you out before you head for a pantry restock, I sampled six of the most widely available almond butters to find the best-tasting jar. I sampled each of these plain, smooth butters at room temperature immediately after opening them for the first time. I looked for a pure, classic almond flavor and a pleasant texture that wasn't overly thick and dry or runny and oily.

Here's how these almond butters ranked in descending order from my least favorite to the overall best.

Trader Joe's Creamy Salted Almond Butter

Trader Joe's offers a few varieties of almond butter, including this smooth and creamy version with added salt. The only two ingredients are almonds and sea salt.

The look:  TJ's almond butter comes quite separated and requires several minutes of stirring to incorporate. It has a thick layer of oil on top and the butter is heavily speckled and textured.

The taste: This almond butter was more oily than others–almost liquidy–even after well stirred. It was also the grittiest in the bunch, but the flavor was slightly off, almost stale tasting.

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Full Circle Organic Creamy Almond Butter

This fully organic almond butter from Full Circle is made with dry-roasted unbleached organic almonds. You can find it at retailers including Tops, Piggly Wiggly, Giant Eagle, Schnucks, and Food City.

The look: Full Circle's almond butter was in the middle in terms of stirring difficulty–there's a top layer of separated oil, but the butter underneath is softer and more stirrable than others I sampled.

The taste: This almond butter tasted fresh, nutty, and simple. However, the texture was slightly more drying than others in this test. It's also unsalted and lacked a bit of that savory flavor dimension.

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Woodstock Almond Butter

There's a single ingredient in this Woodstock-brand almond butter for purists: almonds. It's about as natural as you can get, and the texture and flavor back that up. Find it at retailers including Giant and Stop & Shop.

The look: This almond butter had more of a separated pool of oil on top than others I sampled. The oil took some elbow grease to fully incorporate, and made a bit of a mess by sloshing out of the jar. I imagine it would be even more difficult to mix when cold, and it's recommended to store in the fridge.

The taste: Once you do the work to mix the Woodstock butter into a uniform consistency—or as close as you can get to uniform—it tastes like almonds, plain and simple. However, the texture is on the grittier side, and I found it dry and gummy.

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MaraNatha Natural Almond Butter

MaraNatha's almond butter is labeled "no-stir" and it's true, the spread was largely uniform upon opening the jar. It contains palm oil in addition to almonds. Find it at Kroger, Target, Walmart, and Amazon.

The look: This is the smoothest, least gritty almond butter I sampled, so if you're particular about texture, you may prefer the frosting-like consistency of the MaraNatha no-stir butter. It's shiny and uniform.

The taste: The MaraNatha almond butter was the smoothest-feeling and richest-tasting butter in this test. It has almost no grittiness and the additional palm oil blended into the almonds adds a fattiness that's round-tasting and coats your mouth but doesn't dry it out like some of the butters made with only almonds.

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Justin's Classic Almond Butter

Justin's Classic almond butter is blended with palm oil and dry roasted almonds. As a result, it's higher in calories, fat, and saturated fat than the other spreads on this list. It also comes in handy single-serve packets for travel. You can find it at many retailers including Amazon, Target, Whole Foods Market, and Walmart.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

The look: Justin's almond butter is smoother and more uniform than the butters made without added oil. It still has flecks of texture from the dry-roasted skin ground into the mixture.

The taste: This butter is dense and thick, but soft and spreadable. It's moist and creamy with a fattier flavor than oil-free butters and very little grittiness.

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Fix & Fogg Smooth Almond Butter

Fix & Fogg uses Australian dry-roasted almonds and New Zealand sea salt in this smooth almond butter. Notably, this was the only almond butter I tested that didn't need to be refrigerated after opening, which is a benefit because it stays spreadable at room temperature—not stiff. Find it at retailers including Giant Eagle, Sprouts, Whole Foods, and Central Market.

The look: This creamy butter had a thin layer of separated oil on top that required very little stirring to incorporate into the thicker almond base below. The golden-brown butter is heavily flecked with bits of darker roasted almond skin.

The taste: The Fix & Fogg almond butter tasted rich and nutty with just a touch of saltiness. It had a smooth texture with a bit of grittiness that made it taste more substantial and natural. Fix & Fogg takes top honors because it's creamy and highly spreadable without added oils, and it tasted fresh and truly like almonds and nothing else.