13 High-End Peanut Butter Brands, Ranked
Peanut butter is the best. We could go on, and on, and on about our lifelong love of the miraculous, multipurpose spread. But high-end peanut butter is a newer love. As kids, we only knew peanut butter as sandwiched between squishy white bread, maybe with some jelly (not jam!).
When we were a little bit older and wiser, we realized that peanut butter could go on just about anything, from buttery Ritz crackers to crisp apple slices to crunchy celery. We went bigger and bolder, from drizzling it into morning oatmeal to stirring it into savory sauces — and never forget the sweet little cross-hatched cookies that appear at every office potluck and family Christmas party!
No matter how you use peanut butter, though, you have to admit that sometimes the old standbys can taste a little ... bland. And sugary. And artificial. If you are a die-hard peanut butter lover, you know that the best brands treat it with the respect it deserves and give it a little extra care or a little less disguise. Once you start dipping your spoon into the world of next-level peanut butter, you may never return. Here's our ranking of the best high-end peanut butter brands from worst to best.
13. Fit Butters
The first of the nutrition-forward peanut butters on this list, Fit Butters is blatant about its target audience. It's right there in the name, and the stuff is even sold at your friendly neighborhood Vitamin Shoppe. We think this is slightly an example of false advertising because we can't be the first to inform you that you're not going to become fit by eating a particular food (that's more about the movement factor).
Anyway, for a whopping $12.99 per jar, we expected something phenomenal that would make us feel all the endorphins of a long run. But even a nostalgic, kid-friendly flavor like Monster Cookie couldn't quite get it there when the texture was a bit too greasy and thin. We tasted the peanut butter part of a monster cookie, of course, but the cookie part was paler. Besides, a serving has less protein than a serving of Nuts 'n More, a protein-first peanut butter that we like a little better — and exactly the same amount as in your normal, run-of-the-mill Jif. Interesting. But there are plenty of other neat flavors to choose from, like Salted Caramel Pretzel and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and that's always a plus.
12. RXbar
Have you ever tried a RXbar? They are not for the faint of heart. Thick, dense, and chewy, those bars make us feel like we're primed for a marathon — and we're not even runners. When the brand came out with nut butter, we were intrigued. In the vein of their protein bars, the spread includes egg whites and dates. Actually, just a single egg white and a mere half of a single date. None of the other brands of nut butter on this list choose to go in this direction, and we could taste the difference.
There's nothing wrong with RXbar's Honey Cinnamon Peanut Butter. We love the slightly breakfast-cereal flavor. But we agreed that it does taste a little too unlike the classic flavor and texture we love in our peanut butter, so it would only be an addition to our pantries, not a substitute for the nut butter that's already inside. We agreed that we would rather get our protein from the easy, convenient bars themselves and stick to other brands of peanut butter. Or maybe spread some of those other peanut butters on top of our favorite RXbars. Now that's a good idea.
11. Crazy Richard's
Say hello to the oldest peanut butter company in the United States, which has to count for something, right? Crazy Richard's does a crazy thing by making peanut butter that is literally just peanuts ground until they become buttery. It's the purist's peanut butter, and that means that we both loved it and found it ever-so-slightly wanting.
Maybe we're salt deficient, maybe we have a sweet tooth, maybe we like a little more creaminess, but we're okay with that. We're also more than okay to throw those trappings out the window once in a while to get the bare-bones peanut flavor.
If you love popping raw peanuts into your mouth as a snack, you're one of the real ones, and this one's for you. For the rest of us, it's probably not going to become your everyday buy, even if only because it's such a loose, drippy, albeit tasty, mess. If you're into the no-frills taste and ingredients of Crazy Richard's, the brand is a little more accessible and affordable than some of the other high-end peanut butter brands around, which might be a big selling point. The brand offers almond butter for the allergen-aware, too.
10. Fix and Fogg
The name of this brand just sounds chic, doesn't it? Fix and Fogg reads as the brand of peanut butter that the English monarchy would eat, exclusively. The elegant jar design doesn't hurt, either. We tasted the Super Crunchy Peanut Butter, which was indeed ridiculously crunchy. It tasted more similar to eating just a handful of roasted nuts than any other brand, which makes sense since a jar contains only salt and peanuts. It would be very difficult to "spread" this stuff on anything since it's a kind of an ungainly ball of goodness. That's what you get for buying anything labeled "super crunchy."
There are so many delicious-looking flavors, and we wish we had the opportunity to try them all. The Smoke and Fire Peanut Butter and Choc Berry Everything Butter are high on our list. Overall, we think this is a brand to watch, and if you can splurge on one of the pricey (nearly $8.00!) jars, go for it. The cost is a little debilitating for the majority of us. We have to take that into account in our rankings, no matter how much we love knowing that the high-oleic peanuts hail all the way from New Zealand. That's a major flex.
9. Peanut Butter & Co.
With the simple, no-frills name and packaging design, we almost let Peanut Butter & Co. slip under our radar. It has the normal amounts of sugar, protein, and the like. A seemingly normal peanut butter taste that could pass as whatever brand you typically grab when it's on sale. Then we realized that the brand sported a sneaky White Chocolatey Wonderful flavor, so we made haste to include it. Thank goodness we did.
Even without any flavor, Peanut Butter & Co. created a soft, comforting basic peanut butter that is an unchallenging way to upgrade your lunch game. It's quite nice. But how is everyone sleeping on the combination of white chocolate and peanut? We all know how good the milk chocolate pairing is — hi, Reese's! — but the middle child of the chocolate trio, the oft-forgotten and even simply tolerated, the affable white chocolate swoops in for a tasty triumph.
Milk (the youngest sibling) or dark (the oldest sibling, just go with it) both have strong personalities that can camouflage even the punchy flavor of peanut butter, but white chocolate is the perfect match. Great brand, great flavor, and a great new discovery. Though, the flavor name kind of sounds like it should be a Starbucks drink.
8. MaraNatha
The texture of natural or organic nut butter is always going to be thinner and runnier than the texture of the pastier ones that use more oils to provide structure. By taste alone, however, MaraNatha gets pretty close to that nostalgic, comforting, joyful taste we remember and associate with elementary school lunches. If you want to know which of those (like Jif, Skippy, Peter Pan, etc.) is our top pick, be sure to peruse this complementary ranking of some bigger and more household names.
Obviously, we first correlate peanut butter with baking (cookies, brownies, and cakes, come to mind), the spread can also be a secret weapon in tons of savory lunch and dinner recipes as well. Consider one of our favorites: Thai cuisine. Isn't that nutty sauce the heart and soul of many of the best dishes? Well, then we suggest using high-quality peanut butter like Maranatha to take it up a notch.
Maranatha does still generate a little cap of oil if stored upright, though, and can be a sticky situation if accidentally spread on countertops instead of muffin tops. Storing it in the fridge helps, but here's a pro tip: if you do keep your peanut butter chilled, stash it on the fridge door so that it doesn't get too cold. The perfect consistency is a work of art.
7. Santa Cruz
We have all heard of light and dark roast coffee, naturally, but the same discrepancy in peanut butter? That's a new one, courtesy of Santa Cruz. The organic brand's "Light Roast" is a solid, happy, beachy sort of peanut butter with a mild and sunny flavor. The "Dark Roast", meanwhile, is like a trip to the dark side of the moon. We were impressed by how deeply nutty, robust, and rich-tasting this jar of peanut butter was.
It definitely tasted more savory than sweet, which is a nice change when so many brands' takes on peanut butter lean into dessert-like elements with blends such as Birthday Cake and Monster Cookie. Even so, another taste tester said that the Dark Roast reminded her of that slightly burnt, crispy, caramelized edge of her mom's peanut butter cookies, so clearly, you can make of it whatever you will. We just suggest you try it and decide for yourself whether or not it belongs in sweet cookies, hot soups, or maybe just everything in between.
6. Nuts 'n More
Nuts n' More is one of the more nutrition-forward brands we tried, but that doesn't mean it didn't go big on the fun and trendy flavors. It also offered single-serve, grab-and-go peanut butter squeeze packets, which are great if you can't fit a whole jar of your favorite spread in your purse. Sure, they aren't the most environmentally friendly, but getting your protein and healthy fats through peanut butter rather than meat is environmentally friendly, so ... do we get a pass?
Speaking of protein, while you can get Nuts 'n More in a far, these High Protein Snack Packs come in a variety of fun flavors and have 9 grams of protein. We tried a few flavors, and have to say, if you have a thing for that good old artificial funfetti flavor, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better one in a nut butter. The cookie dough and salted caramel were pretty great, too.
However, all these flavors tasted a tad artificial (even though they're not) and the texture was a bit too runny. But birthday cake lovers can rally for it, and we love what the brand is doing!
5. NuttZo
Did we go nuts for NuttZo? A new brand to us, we came into this tasting with an open mind. Like Nuts 'n More or Fit Butters, NutZo designs its nut butter with a specific goal in mind. Your basic brands like Jif or Skippy churn out peanut butter for taste and convenience. The healthy fats, moderate protein, and vitamins are just bonuses or new product launches that riff on a classic. NuttZo emphasizes and beefs up the nutritional value of peanut butter. It's the opposite approach to the less-is-more mission of brands like Crazy Richard's.
The spreads we tasted were thinner than average but still had a lot of texture. The tiny seeds, which bring a lot of that extra nutritional value, provided a nearly microscopic crunch and chew, and an earthy, hearty flavor. We actually really enjoyed it, though we would not say that the NuttZo peanut butter is interchangeable with a more typical, mild spread.
We can see this stuff melting into your fluffy white bread instead of having a nice thick layer. But hey, we can also see ourselves drizzling it onto our nutrient-dense oatmeal or yogurt bowls and feel great about our decisions (both in taste and macros.) It was so much better than we anticipated, and we're pretty delighted to be able to recommend it.
4. Stonewall Kitchen
Some of the brands on this list really focus on nut butter and nut butter alone. We can easily give the products the benefit of the doubt simply because they are paying such singular attention to perfecting one perfect product. Others, like Stonewall Kitchen, showcase a wide variety of artisan items. Does this mean the brand is at a disadvantage? Not necessarily. We discovered Stonewall Kitchen after trying their jams and instantly becoming absolutely smitten. And what goes hand in hand with a great jam? A great peanut butter. And that's exactly what we got.
The brand doesn't offer a million kinds of funky flavors like White Chocolate Macadamia Nut or Keto 7-Seed Butter but does have your classic creamy and chunky peanut butter. One of our favorite things about Stonewall Kitchen is the New England aesthetic, very "coastal grandmother," as TikTok would say, and effortlessly cool. Somehow, the taste of the peanut butter reflected that. It's luscious, silky, a bit sweet, and goes down as easy as a sunset on Martha's Vineyard.
It's nothing special in terms of flowery accouterments or Olympian nutritional levels but does taste far more elevated than your average Jif — we mean, Joe. Now we just really wish we had some of those fantastic jams to pair with it for the most chic PB and J of our lives.
3. Justin's
Is it just us or is Justin's the first peanut butter that comes to mind when imagining a "healthier" or "natural" peanut butter? It seems like when everyone had their usual, cheaper, easily accessible peanut butter — maybe even the generic store brand like Great Value, Food Lion, or Kroger — the cool kids' mom bought them Justin's. Yeah, that might just be us. Either way, Justin's builds its brand around a clean, simple approach.
There's a minimal dash of salt and a minimal pour of oil, so it isn't a far cry from the standbys. We, however, would argue that it tastes, noticeably superior. There are bright, or as one taste-tester quipped, "preppy" flavor notes to Justin's, which might be why it makes such great peanut butter cups. It's easy to forget that peanuts are a multi-purpose ingredient and can go from a buckeye candy to a supremely spicy Senegalese stew. There are many unconventional ways to use peanut butter, but if you begin branching out and expanding into an even bigger peanut butter nut, you'd better keep a solid amount of Justin's around so you don't run out. Good peanut butter goes surprisingly quickly.
2. Once Again Organic
We first fell in love with Once Again not through its peanut butter but its sunflower seed butter. Seriously, we love our peanut butter, but have you ever tried sunflower seed butter? It's a game-changer, and Once Again Organic creates a gorgeous spread perfect for anyone with or without a peanut allergy.
But back to the task at hand: The peanut butter is absolutely delicious. It has a velvety, heavenly texture, even though it's got that dribbly natural consistency. Next, especially considering that it's organic peanut butter, this one is also pretty close to regular grocery-store peanut butter in tasting notes, which is a real feat.
Like Crazy Richard's, Once Again contains nothing but peanuts, but is far too complex to seem like it at first taste. Last, but not least, we'll never get enough of that cute little raccoon mascot. We're just glad that he's the bearer of some of the best nut (or seed) butter ever! All allergies aside, it certainly deserves a place in your pantry right next to the trusty peanut variety.
1. Big Spoon Roasters
It was so, so hard to choose an ultimate favorite peanut butter amidst such a divine array of high-end brands. Ultimately, however, we felt great about our choice to award Big Spoon Roasters with the gold medal. Everything about it is golden, from the texture that's pleasantly rustic yet indulgently luscious, to the way it tastes the way freshly ground peanuts themselves could only hope to taste.
That homemade touch is just, well, matchless. We loved the basics, but it's the vast revolving door of artisan flavors that have our hearts: Bourbon Pecan Peanut Butter, Chai Spice Peanut & Almond Butter, and don't even get us started on the almond, cashew, pistachio, and walnut butter!
We would be remiss to not mention Big Spoon Roasters offers a spicy flavor called Hot Mamba, which is even known as a miracle cure in the Caribbean island of Haiti (a bit of fun trivia about peanut butter to whip out and impress your friends). Whatever the flavor, this peanut butter cures us of all our woes while we're eating it. We'd rate it 11 out of 10.