Make It Or Buy It....Almond Butter

I'm a fan of most nut butters, and when we purchased our new blender recently, I was thrilled to see recipes for different nut butters, including Almond Butter. Almond Butter is pretty expensive at the stores, so I wanted to see how much cheaper it would be to make it from scratch. Especially since the only ingredients are Almonds, Salt, and Oil (I used peanut, but you can use whatever you want.) I found the cheapest almonds at Costco for only $3.23/lb.

3 C almonds (1.06 lb) at 3.23/lb...$3.42
3-4 TBS oil...$0.03
1 tsp salt...negligible
Total Price for 16 oz Almond Butter...$3.45...$0.21/oz

At the grocery store, I did not see any almond butters for less than $0.45/oz. However, Costco has Almond Butter for $0.22/oz. 
Bottom Line: Make It unless you want to purchase it from Costco, in which case the extra penny per ounce is not worth the extra effort. Also, make it if you like to customize your almond butter with additions (honey, for example), or just prefer the taste of fresh.

Simple Almond Butter

• 3 C roasted almonds 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3-4 TBS oil (peanut, canola, grapeseed, etc.) 
• Roast raw almonds by placing in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes, stirring halfway through.
• Place roasted almonds and salt in food processor or blender, and blend until it resembles a flour/crumb mixture. 
• Scrape almond mixture to center of food processor or blender and add oil. Process several minutes until you like the texture.
• I like my almond butter a little thinner, but that's just because I find it richer and heartier than peanut butter, so I find it easier to eat when it's thinner. But, you can adjust the thickness by adjusting the amount of oil you use. 

Check out the entire Make It or Buy It Series HERE


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