14 Almond Butter Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

If you've never tasted it before, all it will take is one spoonful of almond butter for you to realize why this nut butter is rising in popularity. While peanut butter is still more popular, this almond-powered alternative is delicious enough that it also deserves a dedicated spot in your pantry. In fact, if you select the right brand, you may discover that your love of almond butter is greater than your love of all other nut butters — including peanut butter.

Not only will your taste buds approve, but almond butter also helps you feel full longer and adds healthy fats to your diet, including monounsaturated fat. Additionally, consuming almonds has been linked to a reduction in inflammation and heart disease.

Unfortunately, picking the right almond butter brand isn't an easy task. Some brands are fantastic, while others will leave you promising yourself that you'll never deviate from peanut butter again. To help you separate the good from the bad, we've ranked almond butter brands starting with the worst and ending with the best. While not every brand of almond butter made the ranking, we've made sure to include all of the most popular brands.

On one hand, it's admirable that Artisana Organics makes almond butter that's certified organic, non-GMO verified, and Whole30-approved. This brand is also proud that their almond butter doesn't use nuts that have been toasted, roasted, smoked, baked, or otherwise cooked in any way. If you're looking for almond butter that is both raw and organic, you may be tempted to reach for a jar of this stuff. However, that'd be a mistake of epic proportions.

Though Artisana Organics almond butter may sound virtuous, its terrible texture and horrible flavor will cause you to forget about any of its positives. To get an idea of the texture, imagine putting sandpaper and a few drops of vegetable oil in a blender. The resulting gritty concoction is similar to the texture you'd experience if you make the mistake of purchasing this almond butter. Taste-wise, it may be even worse. The flavor of this almond butter is like a combination of watered-down almond milk and dirt. Yes, it's that bad. This brand should be a hard pass.

Who doesn't love shopping on Amazon? You click a couple buttons, and before you know it, a package is waiting at your door. Sadly, not everything you can find for sale is worth your hard-earned dinero. For example, the Amazon brand of almond butter is a complete and utter failure.

Happy Belly is Amazon's brand, and the almond butter is so off-putting that you will be grossed out before you ever put it to your lips. The main problem is that this stuff is disgustingly liquidy. Even if you stir it for minutes on end, it remains the consistency of syrup that you'd put on your pancakes. To make matters worse, Happy Belly almond butter even has a bad aroma. It smells like old, stale almonds were used to make this watery spread.

If you ignore all the warning signs and perform a taste test, you'll be sorry. This almond butter is as nasty as it looks and smells.

When it comes to protein bars, Rxbar is a brand that you can trust to always deliver a lot of value. They put the ingredients right on the front of the label, so there's never any funny business with this brand and what they put in their products.

Tragically, Rxbar's mastery of protein bars doesn't translate to the world of almond butter. Sure, the ingredients are still plain to see, but it's the taste that will let you down and leave you regretting your purchase. No matter if you go with their regular almond butter or switch things up and go with one of their flavored almond butters such as coconut or maple, there's simply no escaping the disappointing flavor.

What went wrong with Rxbar and their almond butter? Perhaps it's the fact that they add egg whites to increase the amount of protein in each spoonful. While more protein is usually a good thing, the additional health benefits in this case won't matter because you'll give up eating this almond butter long before the pouch is empty.

If you're looking to have a fun time at a party, having wild friends is a plus. At the very least, the get-together won't be a boring one. That said, if you're in the market for delectable almond butter, the Wild Friends brand shouldn't be your go-to choice. This stuff is definitely better than the brands listed above, but it's still far from the best of the best.

It's awesome that Wild Friends is a woman-owned brand that donates a percentage of the sale of each jar of their nut butter to benefit programs for women and girls. It's also super cool that this brand doesn't use palm oil in their products considering that the cultivation of palm oil is devastating to the environment.

Unfortunately, while there's no palm oil in their almond butter, this spread is still way too oily. If you put it in your mouth, the unappetizing oiliness will overshadow what is otherwise a fine-tasting product.

Good & Gather is a store brand that you will only find at Target. While a lot of their products compare positively to their brand-name counterparts, their almond butter is below average. You can find two types of Good & Gather almond butter: no-stir and stir.

When it comes to flavor, both of these almond butters are adequate. The taste won't blow you away, but you'll enjoy it. The issue with this brand is the texture. Annoyingly, the Good & Gather almond butter that claims to not need stirring actually does need to be stirred. The oil separates, which means you'll have a mess on your hands if you don't stir it. The other variety needs to be stirred even more. But no matter how long you spend stirring these almond butters, they'll still have a grainy texture that will invariably rain on your parade. Unless you like the idea of getting sand in your mouth, you should stay away.

Not to be confused with the legendary music festival that was attended by nearly half a million hippies in 1969, Woodstock is a brand of almond butter that actually does a lot of things right. When it comes to the texture and consistency of this stuff, there are no complaints. It spreads perfectly, and there's no excess grittiness or oiliness. It's thick but not so thick that it becomes bothersome.

What stops Woodstock almond butter from rising higher on this list? It's all about the taste — or the lack thereof. There's just not enough almond flavor in each mouthful. Even if you hold your breath and really concentrate, you'll still struggle to sense an ample amount of almondy goodness on your taste buds. If you're making an almond butter and jelly sandwich with this spread, you better be sure that you really like the jelly because the almond flavor won't be able to save the day.

If you wish to take a bit of a culinary gamble, buy a jar of almond butter made by Once Again. Sometimes, this brand's almond butter is amazing, and you'll be thrilled with your purchase. Regrettably, that's not always the case. Sometimes, this brand's product is inexplicably depressing, and you'll vow to never again pick their almond butter.

What will determine whether your gamble pays dividends is the bitterness level. About half the time, there's no bitterness, and you'll be thrilled with the texture and the flavor of the almond butter. But if you get unlucky and get a bitter batch, each mouthful will make you cringe a little bit. The stuff is still edible, but it's not the most pleasant of experiences.

Of all of Once Again's almond butter options, their blanched almond butter is most worthy of a recommendation. This light-colored spread looks unique, and if you get lucky, it tastes good enough to put a big, bright smile on your face.

If you want a large quantity of almond butter at a very reasonable price that is average in quality, go to Sam's Club and look for the Member's Mark brand. This stuff isn't premium almond butter, but it's difficult to be mad when you consider the value. You can do a whole lot worse.

The only slightly negative thing we can say about Member's Mark almond butter is that it's salty. In fact, it's saltier than every other brand in this ranking. If you think salt and almonds are a marriage made in heaven, you may actually love what Sam's Club sells. Conversely, if you're trying to limit your salt intake or if you don't like salty foods, you're better off going with another brand.

There are a number of outstanding Member's Mark products. This almond butter isn't quite good enough to deserve such a lofty adjective, but you definitely get a lot of almondy bang for your buck.

As long as you're armed with a winning game plan, you can reliably get wonderful almond butter from Justin's. This brand, which started as a side hobby for an entrepreneur named Justin Gold in Boulder, Colorado, specializes in making creative almond butter flavors. However, it must be noted that not all of their flavor creations are tasty.

First of all, don't select their classic almond butter, the coconut almond butter, or the vanilla almond butter. All three of these flavors are such a letdown that you'll stop eating them after two or three spoonfuls.

That said, Justin's has a couple of winners. Their honey almond butter is absolutely magnificent. It's so spectacular that you'll be tempted to eat it out of the jar with a spoon. Their cinnamon almond butter is quite a bit different but also deserves a hearty round of applause. Spread it on sliced apples, and you'll be head over heels for this stuff.

While the almond butter made by Living Tree Community Foods is certainly expensive, it's of such high quality that it unquestionably deserves a top five spot on this list. When it comes to freshness, no other brand can compare. This spread tastes like it was made with care one almond at a time.

Living Tree Community Foods says that their almond butter is not only raw and organic but also "alive." Their product is created in small batches, and each batch takes several days to make. Instead of grinding their almonds, this brand only uses sliced almonds. At first, you may believe that their claims are mumbo jumbo, but your mind will be changed once you put their almond butter in your mouth.

Based in Berkeley, California, Living Tree Community Foods has a history that dates back to 1979. In addition to almond butter, this brand makes many other phenomenal nut butters, including Brazil nut butter and pine nut butter.

Almond butter that says Trader Joe's on the label is so tasty that you deserve to taste it at least once in your life before you're six feet under. This brand is obviously available at Trader Joe's locations, but even if you don't live near one of their stores, it's easy to order it online from Amazon. While their creamy almond butter is really good, it's their crunchy almond butter that is the real showstopper.

Generally, you should avoid almond butter that claims to be crunchy, even if you adore crunchy peanut butter. Crunchy almond butter is usually too chalky or so crunchy that it will make your teeth hurt. But, thankfully, Trader Joe's is an exception to that rule. This stuff is just crunchy enough to add some entertainment value to the texture without getting too much in the way of the overall experience.

If you're headed to Trader Joe's for their almond butter, don't forget to pick up the pretzel nuggets that are filled with almond butter and their Almond Butter Puffs Cereal.

It's safe to say that MaraNatha knows a thing or two about making top-of-the-line nut butters. This brand was fourth in the peanut butter brands ranking and is third in this ranking of almond butter brands.

If you usually prefer peanut butter over almond butter due to the fact that peanut butter is typically sweeter, give MaraNatha almond butter a try. Its products all have an ample amount of sweetness, even the raw almond butter. If you have a picky eater in your household that refuses to give up their peanut butter in favor of almond butter, this is the brand capable of handling the convincing.

When it comes to flavored almond butter, MaraNatha is heads and shoulders above the rest of the field, with offerings including caramel almond butter and raw maple almond butter.

The moment you see almond butter made by Barney Butter, you know you're viewing something different. At first glance, you may mistakenly believe that you're looking at highly processed almond butter. It actually looks exactly like mass-produced generic peanut butter. But the truth of the matter is much more delicious.

The reason the Barney Butter brand looks so smooth and creamy is because they take the extra step of removing the skins from the almonds. The result is an almond butter that has a silky texture and a clearn flavor. If you pass on almond butter because you think it's too gritty in texture and too harsh in flavor, give this brand a whirl, and prepare for your mind to be changed.

As more and more people taste the Barney Butter difference, this brand is popping up in an increasing number of stores. You can already find their almond butter in various stores, including Walmart, Whole Foods, Kroger, and Publix.

If you're searching every nook and cranny of the United States for the ultimate almond butter in all the land, you'll be happy to learn that the creme de la creme is easily obtainable at your local Costco. Kirkland Signature almond butter is in a class of its own. When you factor in its affordability, no other almond butter brand can even compare. It's no shock that this product is listed as one of the very best food items you can get at Costco.

The texture is practically flawless, and the flavor is even better. No other almond butter is as rich or as memorable. Regardless of what you decide to add it to, you're guaranteed to have success. From basic almond butter sandwiches to complicated keto desserts, Kirkland Signature almond butter is the stuff you want and deserve.

This brand also makes organic almond butter. It's more expensive, but it's also equally as scrumptious as the conventional stuff.