The creamy deliciousness of cashew butter is difficult to give up, but if you have to, cashews aren’t the only delicious and crunchy nuts out there. There’s a wide world of unique nuts, each with amazing health benefits.
We made sure to include the best ones so you don’t wave goodbye to your favorite spreads — peanuts, almonds, and hazelnuts are great substitutes!
Fans of homemade nut butter, we’ve got you covered as well. We have three delicious and healthy recipes waiting for you to try out. Let’s begin.
Spread the Joy: 6 Cashew Butter Replacement
Peanut Butter
Good old peanut butter takes first place on our list.
Most peanut butter the market contain added sugars and hydrogenated vegetable oil. If you want a healthy spread, go for pure peanut butter. The only ingredients in pure peanut butter are peanuts and perhaps salt. The spread is loaded with nutrients as well as protein and fiber.
Moreover, you can freeze it for up to a year and still maintain its nutritional qualities, texture, or flavor.
Keep in mind that peanuts are pretty calorie-dense. A pound of peanuts has 160–200 calories, so don’t overindulge if you want to lose weight.
Butter varieties with excessive sugar, chocolate, or additives should be avoided whenever possible. Skip the low-fat kind since it includes additional sugar to enhance the flavor.
Almond Butter
If you want to branch out from peanuts and cashews, then almond butter is a delightful alternative.
Almond butter has about 2 grams more heart-healthy monounsaturated fat per serving than cashew butter. It also has more calcium and less sugar.
Almonds contain Vitamin E and magnesium and can help reduce blood pressure and regulate blood sugar.
So if you ask us, almond butter wins the top spot for healthiest butter. Look for natural varieties that list roasted almonds as the sole ingredient.
Pecan Butter
Pecans are the underdogs of the nut world. Nevertheless, they taste great, offer wonderful health benefits, and are an excellent substitute for cashew butter.
Pecans are heart-healthy nuts. They lower your cholesterol levels and provide more than 19 types of vitamins and minerals — folic acid, potassium, phosphorus, and vitamins A, B, and E.
Pecans are rich in antioxidants and can even help you manage weight. The best part, they are sodium-free, so anyone who needs to watch their salt or sodium intake can snack on pecan butter without worrying.
Walnut Butter
Walnuts are a superb butter alternative thanks to their excellent nutritional content and outstanding flavor.
Compared to other alternatives, walnut butter has somewhat less protein and slightly more fat, but it excels in omega-3 content. On top of that, it’s rich in antioxidants and vitamin E.
Walnuts lower cholesterol, support your well-being, and enhance heart and brain function. Walnuts’ omega-3 fatty acids raise the brain’s serotonin levels, the neurotransmitter that keeps you cheerful and happy.
It might be hard to find walnut butter at your local grocery store, but you can always find it in health food stores.
Hazelnut Butter
If you ask us, this might be the tastiest cashew butter alternative. Just hearing its name makes us want to go to the nearest health store to buy a few jars.
Not only is it delicious, but it’s healthy too, as hazelnuts provide a good deal of vitamins and dietary fiber. They also help lower bad cholesterol.
While this butter can be a wholesome addition to your diet, don’t go overboard. Some of the more widely available kinds contain a lot of additives, including chocolate and sugar. Choose one without additives or check the nutrition label for the amount of sugar and fat.
Sunflower Seed Butter
If you’re allergic to tree nuts, give sunflower seed butter a shot. This nutritious cashew butter substitute is rich in fatty acids, vitamin E, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc.
If you have cardiac issues, sunflower seed butter should be the first on your list of alternatives because it contains far less fat than other varieties. It’s also a terrific choice for those who want to gain muscle definition because it has more protein than cashew butter.
Nuts & Seeds Substitutes in a Nutshell: Raw Nutritional Content
| 1 oz portion: | Protein | Carb | Fiber | Sat. Fat | Mono Fat | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peanut | 7 | 4.5 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 6.8 | 159 |
| Almond | 6 | 6.1 | 3.5 | 1.1 | 8.8 | 163 |
| Pecan | 2.6 | 3.9 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 11.6 | 196 |
| Walnut | 4.3 | 3.9 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 185 |
| Hazelnut | 4.2 | 4.7 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 12.9 | 178 |
| Sunflower | 5.5 | 5.6 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 5.2 | 164 |
Homemade Nut Butter Recipes
Store-bought butter jars are great, but you can also make homemade butter. We have three easy recipes that will make you excited about homemade butter.
Super Seed Peanut Butter
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of organic dry roasted peanuts
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
- 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
- 2 tbsp hemp seeds
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- Sea salt (optional)
To start, put dry roasted peanuts in the food processor and blend until they become a creamy paste. You can use the salted or unsalted variety.
The blending process can take up to 15 minutes, so be patient. Stop the processor every couple of minutes and scrape off the sides to make silky smooth nut butter.
Add a blend of super seeds — sunflower, chia, pumpkin, and hemp seeds — straight into the food processor. Pulse the food processor to combine; you don’t want to blend it up too much as the seeds give this butter a bit of crunch. You can also add cinnamon and sea salt for a richer taste.
Chocolate Coconut Almond Butter
Ingredients:
- 2 cups raw almonds
- 2 cups coconut chips
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp raw cacao powder
- Sea salt
Start by toasting almonds and coconut chips on high heat for 5 minutes. Transfer them into your food processor and blend until smooth and creamy for around 15 minutes.
Scrape the sides of the food processor as needed. Next, add raw cacao powder, coconut sugar, and a sprinkle of sea salt. Blend for another 30 seconds, and you are all done.
Vanilla Cinnamon Pecan Butter
Ingredients:
- 3 cups pecan halves
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar (optional)
Start by toasting organic pecans in a toaster oven or regular oven for around 5 minutes on high heat. Once they are golden brown, transfer them to the food processor and blend for around 15 minutes.
When the pecans reach a creamy consistency, add the cinnamon, vanilla extract, and coconut sugar (optional) and blend for another 30 seconds. Pecan butter has a thicker consistency than the other alternatives. It isn’t as smooth or as runny, but the taste is phenomenal.
Conclusion
Nut butters are healthy and fulfilling snacks. Peanuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, and sunflower seeds are good sources of protein, vitamin E, folic acid, and minerals like zinc and copper.
You won’t go wrong with any of these; however, we do recommend you make homemade butter by following our recipes. If you give their aroma and crunchiness the chance to win you over, we guarantee you’ll never think of getting store-bought ones ever again.
