Homemade Almond Butter

My almond butter!

Almond butter is great but it sure is expensive. So is anything outside of peanut butter for that matter. I've also found there is a big difference in price between non-organic and organic versions of almond butter. Because I use so much of it, some would say I should be using the organic but it's just not in the budget.

The MaraNatha brand is the most economical I've seen. But again, the price varies widely within this brand depending if it's organic, all natural, raw, organic raw, no stir, etc. I don't frequent Costco much but they do have the best price for the MaraNatha All Natural Almond Butter. It's a large jar, 26 oz., I think. It's approx. $11. I've seen 12-16oz. jars of other brands from $7 to $18 depending on the variety.

I've always heard making your own almond butter or any other nut or seed butter is easy and possibly cheaper. Almonds can be pricey so it may or may not be cheaper if you compare ounce for ounce but making something yourself is rewarding in my opinion so that's gotta worth something, right? I hadn't planned on making my own almond butter any time soon but the place I buy it from was out and only had really expensive alternatives. I decided to just go without. I'll get some next week. Well next week came and they were still out! What the heck? After getting home, I found a half bag of almonds in the cabinet. The husband said they were stale. They were a little stale I guess but not bad. I figured this was the perfect opportunity to try my hand at making almond butter. I researched recipes and methods. I settled on just winging it. I knew the almonds were unsalted and unroasted so I started with roasting them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. I watched them carefully because they can burn quickly. I then let them cool. Once cooled (mostly), I put them in a food processor and started processing! After the almonds started to become creamy, I added sea salt. I'd add a little, blend then taste. And continued until it tasted good to me. I then scooped it into a mason jar and, boom, I had almond butter!

I can get a 16 oz. bag of raw almonds (not organic) for under $5. I can't get a jar of almond butter for that. My first batch was not a full bag and only filled the 8 oz. jar half way (pictured). I have since made a full bag and it filled the entire jar. It is thick and yummy. It's better than any almond butter I've had from the store. My almond butter is simply roasted almonds and salt - consistent with what you'll find on the shelf (minus the love, haha). Although, some brands do add sugar and oil so if you don't want those things, make sure to take a look at the ingredients before purchasing. My next adventure in "butter" making will be sunflower seed butter. I'll use the same process and see what happens.

PS: It's my brother's birthday. I love my big bro very much and hope he is having a wonderful day.