Smooth and creamy almond butter - homemade - by you - in a food processor!

Doesn't get any better than that.

Almond butter is delicious, but homemade almond butter? It's even better.

Mostly because it's cheaper 😛 ...

and you can whip up a batch in 15 minutes or less when the craving kicks in (as long as you've got some almonds at home of course)...

and also, it's probably and usually healthier than what you can find in the store because YOU control what goes in it.

#zeropreservatives yes, please and thank you.

this healthy homemade almond butter recipe in a food processor is:

• vegan
• paleo
• keto
• gluten-free
• sugar free
• preservative free

what you need to make this healthy homemade almond butter recipe:

Making almond butter at home is one of the simplest recipes there is.

All you need are:

• almonds
• a food processor (I have been using this cuisinart food processor for years and it is great!)
• and a great positive attitude.

Okay the positive attitude is optional, but so worth it. 😛

how to make this healthy homemade almond butter recipe in a food processor:

Making homemade almond butter is EASY!

Let's walk through this recipe together.

First, you're going to roast your raw almonds at 350F for 8 to 12 minutes. I give a range because oven temps and times vary depending on YOUR oven. It's important that you keep an eye on your first batch to make sure you don't burn your almonds.

For me, the perfect time is 10 minutes, every time. If I go over that, my almonds burn. If I go under that, the almonds aren't roasted enough and I end up with a thicker (still delicious but not as smooth) almond butter.

Trial and error friends. Just try not to burn your almonds or else your almond butter is basically ruined (I mean, I still eat my burnt butter because, expensive almonds) but it won't be as tasty and will have a slightly bitter/burnt taste to it. It's always best to under-roast than to over-roasted.

How to know when your almonds are roasted enough? 

Look at the color. If they still look raw and haven't changed color at all, you probably need to give it more time in the oven. However, once they start looking golden-brown and a little dark, take them out!

Next, once your almonds are roasted... Remove them from the oven and let them sit on your counter top for just a minute or two. You don't want to add these burning hot almonds into your food processor right away because food processor containers are usually made out of plastic and i-donno-about-you but I don't really like the idea of having hot food touch plastic. Also, since the food processor is going to run for a few minutes, it's going to naturally over-heat a bit and so it's a good practice to just let the almond cool down a bit before adding them in there to reduce the heat-load.

Finally, add roasted almonds to your food processor and hit that button. This is going to take a while depending on your food processor. Some work faster than others. Mine is a pretty good, heavy duty food processor and it still takes a couple of minutes to turn these roasted almonds into a smooth butter.. so give it time.

You'll also want to hit stop and scrape down the sides of the food processor container a few times until it's really smooth and buttery. I use this handy $5 little spatula tool for that and it works like a charm.

Once your butter looks smooth and creamy, you are done. Congrats! You have made homemade almond butter using your food processor!

So easy fam, so easy!

Enjoy your almond butter in smoothies, in cookies, with apples, or just straight up with a spoon - no judgement here.

to summarize, a few tips for making homemade almond butter a success:

• Keep an eye on your almonds as they are roasting. Do not let them burn, I repeat, do not let them burn.
• Let almonds cool down for a minute or two before adding to the food processor.
• Stop and scrape down the sides of your food processor container every so often. This will help the food processor work more efficiently.
• If your food processor feels overly hot, let it take a break. Hit stop, let it cool down, and start it up again after a few minutes.
• Making almond butter will not take a few seconds, it takes minutes. Be patient. Soon you will have the creamiest and most delicious homemade almond butter at your disposal!

making homemade almond butter in a food processor vs a blender

This question comes up a lot.

Should you use a food processor or a high powered blender, like say a Vitamix, to make almond butter.

I own both, a food processor AND a vitamix blender and based solely on my experience, I prefer to make my almond butter using a food processor.

Two reasons why.. 

1. A food processor is much better at handling DRY ingredients, such as almonds. A blender on the other hand is meant to handle wet ingredients (like for making smoothies, soups and sauces). I feel that my food processor does a better job of turning my dry almonds into nut butter than my vitamix does.
2. My vitamix blender container is the tall and narrow kind, which means it makes it extra hard for the almonds to turn into nut butter. I would have to constantly stop the blender and scrape down the sides of the container to make it work, and even then the butter would not be as smooth as when done using a food processor. On the other hand, if you happen to have one of the wide vitamix containers, then in that case you can most definitely make the nut butter using your blender, as these wide containers are *meant* for nut butter making.

Again this is just based solely on my experience. You might have better luck with a blender but I just prefer to use a food processor.

my experience using a cuisinart food processor:

I have been using this food processor for almost four years now with great success. It does a great job of making nut butters, granolas, hummus, babaganoush, desserts and more. If you are in search of a good quality heavy duty food processor that will stand the hands of time with almost daily use, I can't recommend this cuisinart 9 cup food processor enough.

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