Homemade Cashew Butter

Learn how easy it is to make homemade cashew butter with this super simple 2-ingredient recipe that’s so creamy and versatile! Easily customize it to be sweet or savory.

A few reasons I love homemade nut butter is:

• it’s SO easy to make – seriously, you’ll wonder why you haven’t made it sooner
• it tastes incredible
• you can flavor it however you want to (hello, versatility!)
• it’s way more cost-effective than storebought
• it helps reduce unnecessary plastic waste – many storebought options come in plastic jars.
• great for peanut allergies – it tastes so similar you really can’t even tell the difference.

Homemade Cashew Butter vs. Store-Bought

So, why make homemade cashew butter when you can just buy store-bought? Some store-bought nut butter options use added sugars and low-quality oils.

I’m a huge believer in making things homemade when you can. And homemade cashew butter is no exception. Especially since it’s incredibly simple and easy to make. It just requires a little patience, but barely any work.

Store-bought cashew butter is also expensive. I’m talking between $12-14 a jar expensive. Oy vey! For comparison, you can buy a 2-pound bag of organic raw cashews for around $20, which would be a TON of cashew butter.

Ingredients

It really is this simple, but trust me… this stuff is amazing!

• Raw cashews – these nuts provide a really creamy texture. When roasted, they have a really nice flavor that’s slightly sweet and tastes similar to peanuts.
• Avocado oil – a little neutral oil like avocado oil or coconut oil helps to add a lot of creaminess to the nut butter.
• Kosher salt – helps to round out the natural sweetness of the nuts.

Side note: It’s best to use raw cashews and then roast and salt them yourself. Store-bought roasted cashews typically aren’t roasted with the best oils and can be overly salty.

How to Make Homemade Cashew Butter

Warning: It’s really loud for the first 10-20 seconds when the nuts are breakig down. It gives me a mini heart attack every time. Now that you know the scariest part of the process, let’s get to it.

Roasting the Nuts

Add the raw cashews to a large baking sheet and spread them out into a single layer.

Roast them for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. (Check after 10 minutes and if needed, give the pan a little shake before roasting for another minute or two.)

Let cool for about 5 minutes before adding them to your food processor.

Making Nut Butter

Nuts go through stages before they turn into butter.

• First, the food processor breaks the nuts down into a mealy texture.
• Then, the nuts start to form into a ball.
• Finally, the ball will slowly start to break down again and become butter.

I find that doing this in 3-minute increments works quite well.

Please note that you’ll have to occasionally scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula when it starts to build up there.

Now that the roasted cashews are slightly cooled, turn your machine on and let them ‘process’ for about 3 minutes. I set my timer to make this process go smoothly. No pun intended.

what it looks like after 3 minutes ^ (the ball stage)

After the 3-minute mark, open the lid, scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl, and then turn it on again to churn for another 3 minutes.

You’ll see the ball slowly start to break down into butter.

after 6 minutes ^ (it’s starting to become smoother, but is still gritty)

Step 4. It’s getting there. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl, add in the salt and oil, and turn it on for another 3 minutes.

it’s ready: after 9 minutes ^

Now, that it’s completely smooth, it’s ready to use.

Cashew Butter Flavor Combinations

If you want to make the homemade cashew butter a little more exciting, you can easily do this by adding in different flavorings.

Here are some ideas:

• chocolate “peanut butter”: cocoa powder + maple syrup + vanilla extract
• vanilla cake batter butter: vanilla extract + maple syrup
• churro butter: cinnamon + organic cane sugar
• mint chocolate butter: cocoa powder + maple syrup + peppermint extract

If using, add them in at the same time you add the salt and oil.

Frequently Asked Questions

Helpful Recipe Tips

For best results, make homemade cashew butter in a food processor. A high-powered blender will work, but a food processor is much easier.

The length of time it takes will vary. This will depend on the power of your machine so it could take a little longer than 9 minutes.

Raw or roasted. You can choose to leave the cashews raw, but roasting the nuts gives the butter a deeper, richer flavor.

Don’t leave out the pinch of salt – regardless if you’ll be using it for sweet or savory dishes.

How to Use Cashew Butter

One thing that’s great about this homemade cashew butter is that it’s incredibly versatile. You can use it as it is, or substitute it any time you’d typically use peanut butter.

It can be used in sweet and savory dishes alike.

• Cookie Dough Bites
• Puppy Chow Bars
• Peanut Butter Noodles
• Snickers Bites
• Asian Brussels Sprouts with Lemon Miso Sauce