Best Almond Butter Brands Taste Test
After an office-wide taste test, one brand came out on top
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Whether you're spreading it on toast, dipping your apples into it or just diving in spoon first, chances are you care about the flavor and taste of your almond butter. Too gritty and it won't spread; too flavorless and you may as well stick with peanut butter. We've taken the guessing game out of the nut butter aisle by trying six common grocery store brands and separating the jars that captured our hearts from the tubs that just fell flat.
Criteria
For this test, we stuck to creamy almond butters, since the crunchy vs. creamy debate is a beast in and of itself. We also tried to stick with ones that list almonds and salt as the only ingredients. Only one had added sugar (Jif), but we still included it for mass appeal and brand recognition. We tested for flavor and texture, as well as what one editor called "overall sandwich-ability."
Our Top Picks
MaraNatha
This creamy and tasteful almond butter had "high sandwich-ability," according to one editor, and another said it was the perfect butter for eating straight off a spoon. Another said the "stick" was just right; not too much gets stuck to your mouth, but it's not too watery either. Overall, despite a slightly higher price point, MaraNatha is the way to go.
Jif
Maybe it's unfair to say the only one with sugar ties for first, but it did get top marks from all the editors except one. People mentioned that it was more of a dessert butter and would be better paired with an Oreo than a piece of toast. Say what you want about sugar, but we couldn't resist its sweet, fluffy perfection.
Whole Foods' 365
This grocery brand made our top three with its great nutty flavor driving its high score. One editor noted the almond flavor was more present than in others, and that it would work well for both snacking and baking.
Runners-Up
Barney Butter
Though Barney Butter scored extremely high on texture (it was by far the smoothest variety), its flavor didn't quite do it for us. So if texture is the most important quality to you, this is your winner. It was also the most expensive of the bunch, coming in at about $10 for one 10-ounce jar. For comparison, 16 ounces of the Whole Foods brand rang in at just $7.
Trader Joe's
The jury was split on one of our go-to staple brands, but the TJ's loyalists were not enough to combat the scores from a few editors who thought it was too gritty and flavorless. One editor even mentioned it "felt like eating a face mask."
Justin's
Tasters were shocked to hear that the brand they most typically associate with nut butter was actually their least favorite. Editors thought this butter was bland and gritty, with one even saying it tasted like plastic.