Whether or not you’re keto, nut butter is an excellent dietary choice: nutritious, versatile, and convenient (and we know we’re not the only ones who like to eat it straight from the jar).
The problem is, nut butter, like most products, comes in many different forms, some of which definitely aren’t the best for your health.
In this article, we’re going to discuss what makes good nut butter. You’ll learn more about the different nut butters on the market and what makes them suitable or unsuitable for a healthy diet.
What Makes Nut Butter Healthy or Keto-Friendly?
Nuts are a keto-friendly, low-carb food, and nut butter at its simplest is made from ground-up nuts. However, that doesn’t mean all nut butters are healthy or keto-friendly.
In an ideal world, you would read the nutrition information and ingredient list of every nut butter every time you purchased a new or different one. But this can be a challenge, especially if you don’t know what to look for.
To reduce the time and effort you’ll spend searching for the right product, here’s what to look for in healthy nut butter.
- It should be free of added sugar.
- It should be free of preservatives.
- If possible, it should be made from organic nuts. If not, at least try to avoid GMO nuts (look for Non-GMO labeling).
When it comes to nut butter (or any food really), the fewer ingredients, the better. If a nut butter contains any ingredients other than nuts, they should add nutritional value or related benefits, like MCT oil, coconuts, cacao powder, or cinnamon to name a few examples.
As long as a nut butter product meets these basic criteria, you can eat it on keto. In the next section, we’ll take a closer look at each type of nut butter and the pros and cons of each.
What Are the Healthiest Low-carb or Keto Nut Butters?
Almond Butter
Almond butter has a low net carb count and more fiber compared to most common nut butters.
A two-tablespoon serving of natural almond butter contains[*]:
- Calories: 196 kcal
- Fat: 17.8 g
- Net carbs: 2.7 g
- Fiber: 3.3 g
- Protein: 6.8 g
The butter also contains a variety of micronutrients including calcium, magnesium, and vitamin E[*].
Calcium is an essential mineral for the development and maintenance of bones[*]. Magnesium has several benefits to the body, including relieving muscle cramps after exercise[*].
The Best Keto Almond Butter Brands
- Justin’s Classic Almond Butter: We like this product because it’s non-GMO, fair trade, and only contains two ingredients (one of which is orangutan-friendly palm oil for texture).
- Georgia Grinders Salt-Free Almond butter: If two ingredients sound like too many, how about one ingredient (ground almonds)?
- Wild Friends Classic Creamy Almond Butter: This butter has the creamiest texture for drizzling on snacks and has only two ingredients (almonds and sea salt).
Nut Butter Blends
Having trouble deciding which nut butter is best? Nut butter blends are a combination of different nuts to make a single product, so you don’t have to choose between favorites.
And the possibilities are endless. The taste and properties of each nut butter blend vary according to the manufacturer, ingredients, and of course, the proportions of nuts added.
The health benefits of nut blends depend on the type of nuts in the blend. Overall, most nut butter blends will offer similar benefits to other nut butters on this list, such as:
- Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease[*].
- Reduced inflammation[*].
- Improved blood sugar control and reduced risk of type 2 diabetes[*].
But as with other nut butter products, it’s important to choose high-quality blends that contain only nuts and other nutritious ingredients.
Product Recommendation: Perfect Keto Nut Butter
Perfect Keto Nut Butter is a combination of nuts and other healthy fats designed to give you energy along with other ketogenic health benefits.
All the ingredients in the nut butter are natural and don’t include artificial preservatives and flavors.
The nuts used in the butter are hazelnuts, almonds, cashews, and macadamia nuts. We also add healthy fats from other natural sources including coconuts, cocoa butter, and MCT oil to make it even more nutritious and keto-friendly.
The butter comes in two low-carb flavors: Chocolate and Snickerdoodle.
Unlike most flavored nut butter, the Perfect Keto Nut Butter doesn’t contain any added sugars. The butter gets all of its sweetness from the keto-friendly sweeteners stevia and erythritol.
The MCT oil in the butter is also an added benefit for when you need a quick boost of energy in your day.
If you’re looking for a healthy all-natural, ketogenic nut butter, Perfect Keto Nut Butter not only ticks all the boxes of an outstanding nut butter but also delivers added keto benefits from coconuts and MCT oil.
Product Recommendation: SuperFat Keto Nut Butter
SuperFat Keto Nut Butter comes in two flavors, cacao coconut, and macadamia coconut, in 10-ounce jars (9 servings per jar). This nut butter blend brings together the nuttiness of almond butter and the creaminess of macadamia nuts. It also contains coconuts for a boost in healthy fats and dietary fiber.
If you like to eat nut butter straight from the jar but don’t always remember to bring a spoon, the single-serving nut butter pouches are exactly what you didn’t know you needed all your life (but seriously, they’re amazing for people on the go).
Each pack contains one 30 g serving of SuperFat’s one-of-a-kind nut butter. The packs come in four delicious keto flavors:
- Cacao Coconut
- Macadamia Coconut
- Macadamia Almond
- Macadamia, MCTs, and Probiotics
SuperFat nut butter comes without preservatives, fillers, or any other harmful ingredients. It doesn’t contain palm oil and has only 2 grams of net carbs per serving. It doesn’t contain any sugars but instead relies on the natural sweetness of nuts and natural sweeteners like stevia. Try SuperFat keto nut butter in jars, single-serving packs, or six-serving pouches to suit any time or occasion.
Peanut Butter
You probably don’t need a reminder of what peanut butter is or why it’s so popular. Peanut butter is the most popular nut butter in the United States and the world!
The problem is, most peanut butter brands on the market contain sugar and other artificial preservatives that aren’t keto-friendly or healthy.
There’s no shortage in the number of health benefits eating peanut butter can give you. Peanut butter provides the body with many nutrients such as protein, fiber, magnesium, and vitamin B6[*].
A sixteen-year study on over 80,000 women found that those who regularly ate peanut butter and peanuts were at a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes[*].
Another study on Japanese men found that supplementing your regular diet with peanuts reduces the risk for heart disease by increasing HDL cholesterol, lowering LDL cholesterol, and boosting antioxidant capacity[*].
Despite a high calorie content, peanuts and peanut butter may even support weight loss in overweight individuals by improving satiety after meals and boosting resting energy expenditure[*].
To enjoy the benefits of peanut butter, choose only high-quality peanut butter brands and products. Good peanut butter shouldn’t contain sugar. It should be free of preservatives, and should be organic if possible.
Two tablespoons of natural sugar-free peanut butter contain:
- Calories: 204 kcal
- Fat: 16.4 g
- Net carbs: 5.6 g
- Fiber: 1.5 g
- Protein: 7.2 g
You can enjoy up to 4 tablespoons of peanut butter a day without worrying about exceeding your carb limit.
The Best Keto Peanut Butter Products
Contrary to popular belief, peanut butter can be a part of healthy snacks. Below are our favorite keto-friendly snacks that use peanut butter as an ingredient.
- The Perfect Keto Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip bar combines the nuttiness of peanut butter and the sweetness of stevia to give you a delicious, healthy, keto-friendly snack.
- Our Perfect Keto Peanut Butter Keto Cookies are made with peanuts and other wholesome ingredients like grass-fed butter and collagen. The cookies have only 4 g of net carbs per serving (and also come in two other different flavors if you need a peanut break: Snickerdoodle and Chocolate Chip).
- The Perfect Keto Peanut Butter Nola Bar is a chewy, grain-free, keto-friendly granola bar with loads of nourishing ingredients like MCT oil, peanuts, and almonds.
- Finally, SuperFat Keto Cookie bites (peanut butter flavor) are tasty, clean, keto cookies with only 2-3 g of net carbs per serving (4 cookies).
Macadamia Nut Butter
We’d be remiss to talk about keto-friendly nut butters and forget about macadamia nuts. Macadamia nut nutrition is unique because the nuts have the lowest carb content among common nuts.
In addition to the typical benefits of nuts like improving heart health and blood sugar control, macadamia nut butter also provides the body with important mineral manganese[*].
Manganese may not be as popular as other minerals like potassium and iron but it’s equally important. Manganese is part of manganese superoxide dismutase, an enzyme that takes part in antioxidant activity in almost all body cells[*].
However, macadamia nuts are quite pricey, which also puts their butter on the expensive side. If you find that pure macadamia nut butter doesn’t fit your budget, nut butter blends that include macadamia nuts are a good option.
Vor Pure Macadamia Butter
Vor’s macadamia butter is a 100% macadamia butter with no added sugar or salt. The butter has only one ingredient: dry-roasted macadamia nuts. A two-tablespoon serving of Vor Pure Macadamia Butter contains:
- Calories: 230 kcal
- Fat: 24 g
- Net carbs: 1 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 3 g
Pecan Butter
Most of us know pecans from sweet holiday dishes like pecan pie and candied pecans. However, on their own, they make a wonderful low-carb snack.
A 2-tablespoon serving of pecan butter contains[*]:
- Calories: 230 kcal
- Fat: 21 g
- Net carbs: 2 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
In addition to their unique taste and hard-to-beat macros, pecans also provide your body with a lot of health benefits.
Pecans are a very good source of unsaturated fats with one of the highest ratios of unsaturated to saturated fat[*]. Among the unsaturated fats in pecans are monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) which studies have shown to improve cardiovascular risk[*].
A meta-analysis of studies done on nuts found that tree nuts, including pecans, improve insulin sensitivity, therefore, lowering your risk for type 2 diabetes[*].
Product Recommendation: Purely Pecans Nuttin’ But Pecans Pecan Butter
This product is 100% pecan butter made from only one ingredient, pecans.
The butter has a pure pecan flavor and is very keto-friendly with only 2 g of net carbs per serving. The butter is free of preservatives, sugar, and fillers.
Walnut Butter
Walnuts are one of the most keto-friendly nuts. As you’d expect, walnut butter is equally keto-friendly with a two-tablespoon serving containing[*]:
- Calories: 188 kcal
- Fat: 18 g
- Net carbs: 4 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
The butter has an earthy and slightly bitter taste.
Among common nuts, walnuts have an especially beneficial nutritional profile because they contain significant amounts of omega-3 fats.
Omega-3 fatty acids are one of the most studied nutrients. Several scientific studies have shown them to have numerous benefits including:
- Support for cardiovascular health including healthy levels of triglycerides and HDL cholesterol[*][*].
- Healthy blood pressure support[*]
- Omega-3 fats support brain development, especially during pregnancy, and support brain health throughout the lifespan[*].
- Omega-3s reduce inflammation levels in the body by preventing the production of proinflammatory cytokines[*].
Product Recommendation: Sun and Seed Organic Raw Walnut Butter
Sun and Seed Walnut Butter is made from fresh unroasted nuts slowly dried below 104ºF, to avoid damaging the natural enzymes and nutrients.
This nut butter is very keto-friendly with a 32 g serving having 221 calories, 20.8 g of fat, 2.3 g of total carbs, and 16 g of protein.
Hazelnut Butter
When we talk about hazelnut butter, we aren’t referring to sugar-filled chocolate spreads and products on the market (although the SuperFat chocolate nut butter blend is a good keto substitute for those).
Hazelnut butter, like other nut butters, refers to ground hazelnuts. It has a creamy nutty taste and can be used anywhere peanut butter would be used.
It’s very rich in vitamin E and magnesium[*]. Vitamin E is an essential antioxidant that supports skin health[*].
Pure hazelnut butter may not be available in most areas but you can easily make your own at home.
Product Recommendation: Vor Pure Hazelnut Butter
Vor offers a pure nut butter with only dry roasted hazelnuts as the ingredient.
Reviews of the product describe it as an authentic butter that tastes like hazelnuts. A two-tablespoon serving contains:
- Calories: 190 g
- Fat: 17 g
- Net carbs: 2 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 4 g
Pistachio Butter
Pistachios go well with keto desserts and so does pistachio butter. Pistachio butter has a slightly sweet, nutty flavor.
The nutrition profile of pistachio butter is similar to that of typical nut butter. It’s rich in fat and protein and low in carbs. It also contains significant amounts of micronutrients like iron, magnesium, and vitamin B6.
Product Recommendation: NutRaw Organic Pistachio Butter
NutRaw pistachio butter is a product by California Pistachio Growers.
The butter has three ingredients: pistachios, vanilla, and sea salt. It’s free of any added sugar or preservatives and each serving gives:
- Calories: 160 kcal
- Fat: 13 g
- Net carbs: 5 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 6 g
Cashew Butter
Cashews aren’t the most keto-friendly nuts out there because of their relatively high carb count. A two-tablespoon serving of cashew butter contains 8.2 g of net carbs, which means most people should limit themselves to two servings or less of cashew butter to stay keto.
A two tablespoon serving of cashew butter also contains:
- Calories: 188 g
- Fat: 15.8 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 5.6 g
Cashews are rich in the monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) called oleic acid. This MUFA has many health benefits including:
The Healthiest Cashew Butter Brands
There are a wide variety of cashew butter brands on the market, some of which contain sugar or unhealthy artificial additives. Below are some of the offerings that meet our criteria for healthy, keto-friendly nut butters:
- Jiva Organics Raw Organic Cashew Butter
- Artisana Organics Raw Cashew Butter
- WholeFoods 365 Cashew Butter
- Georgia Grinders Cashew Butter
Seed Butter
While technically not made from nuts, healthy seed butters (such as sesame, sunflower, hemp, or chia) are close enough to make this list — and offer many of the same flavors and benefits.
Seeds have a similar nutrition profile to nuts. They’re high in fat, protein, and fiber and low in carbohydrates. In fact, many seeds offer more fiber and fewer net carbs than nuts, making them extremely keto-friendly.
Two tablespoons of sesame seed butter (tahini) contain:
- Calories: 178 kcal
- Fat: 16.1 g
- Net carbs: 3.6 g
- Fiber: 1.4 g
- Protein: 5.1 g
Studies suggest that regular consumption of seeds greatly reduces one’s risk for heart disease and other chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes[*][*][*]. These observations may be due to the healthy fats and fiber found in seeds, both of which play a role in maintaining overall health.
Healthiest Seed Butter Brands
- SunButter Organic Sunflower Seed Butter
- Baron’s Organic Tahini
- Indigo Nutrition Organic Raw Hemp Seed Butter
- Nuttzo Multi-nut and Seed Butter
What Is the Best Nut Butter for Keto?
Variety is the spice of life, and it’s also the best strategy when you’re shopping for nut butters.
Because each type of butter offers distinct benefits — such as magnesium in almonds, manganese in macadamias, or high fiber in seed butters — you’re better off rotating your selection.
Or if you’d like to get the benefits and flavors of various nut butters without having to choose just one at a time, our masterfully blended Perfect Keto Nut Butter contains macadamia nuts and more, giving you a fairly priced low-carb product with outstanding flavor and keto benefits.
Do you have to roast nut before using in spreads and flours
Roast it and blend!
Julie Dalton, I learned in a book on enzymes that raw nuts and seeds have trypsin Inhibitors and chemicals that prevent the seed from germinating ( phytic acid) while dry, and these don’t digest very well. One can’t get the full value of the proteins in these unless they preferably soak them ( causes sprouting) and then roast them. This will split the most phytic acid out of them. It’s the same with grain flours ( organic preferred, all conventional raised grains are now doused with Round Up to make a quick harvest, and this is in our flour and grains causing numerous gastric and bowel problems from ingesting it) . But if you have organic grains or course. Soak them for a day or two before using them. For simple baked goods this can be as simple as mixing up the recipe the day before which presumably contains liquids, and letting it sit a day or at least a night before baking it normal the next day. I had become used to this process for making church cookies by the 6 dozen every Sunday.