Todd Today, you can purchase just about every single type of nut butter that you can imagine, pistachio, pecan, cashew, walnut, and the list goes on. You can even buy “nut-free” nut butter that is made from chickpeas, sunflower seeds, and soybeans. There have been a multitude of small companies producing nut butter in the past ten years.
Of course, walnuts come from walnut trees. There are two main types of walnut trees, English Walnuts, and Black Walnuts. Black Walnut trees grow faster than English Walnuts and are typically grown for wood. English Walnut trees take longer to mature and are often grown for their nuts. English walnuts have a milder taste and black walnuts have a bolder, more earthy flavor. American Black Walnut trees are native to 32 states.
When looking at a manufacturer of walnut butter there are several things to take into account. The first thing that I look at is where the walnuts are from. China produces ~50% of the world’s walnuts and the USA is second, with ~25%. The second thing that I look at is what type of walnuts are used. If English walnuts are used then the walnut flavor will be more subtle and less earthy than if black walnuts are used.
The third thing that I look at is if the walnuts are organic. Walnut trees tend to have a lot of pest issues and walnut trees on farms tend to use a lot of pesticides.
Another thing that I look at is the ingredient list. I look for other nuts, seeds, and other ingredients like palm oil. If you are allergic to peanuts or other nuts, make sure to check if the walnut butter is made in a facility where peanuts are processed. Most of the manufacturers of walnut butter are small and contract out the manufacturing to larger companies that process a multitude of nuts.
Most walnut butter is made from walnuts that have roasted and the flavor profile of a raw walnut butter is different than butter from a roasted one.
The 5 Best Walnut Butters
Crazy Go Nuts Walnut Butter
- Type and Source of Walnut: Califonia, unknown type
- Organic or non-GMO: non-GMO
- Raw or Roasted: not listed
- Additional Ingredients: sea salt
Crazy Go Nuts is a small company based out of California that operates its own manufacturing plant. Crazy Go Nuts specializes in walnut products and they have a large range of non-GMO walnut butter.
Crazy Go Nuts Walnut Butter has a slightly gritty taste, but it does not have a very bitter taste like unsweetened walnut butter can have. The consistency is thick, but not too thick. It is less dense than some other 100% walnut butters. I think that they have nailed the consistency with this walnut butter.
Crazy Go Nuts Walnut Butter does not just come in plain. Crazy Go Nuts has seven flavors of walnut butter: Coconut, Chocolate Espresso, Banana, Orange, Maple, Oatmeal Cookies, and Plain. They have the most adventerious flavors of any walnut butter company. The combination of banana and walnuts really does lend to a taste of banana walnut bread.
Crazy Go Nuts has medium distribution with some Kroger stores and Walmarts carrying their products. If you are planning on stocking up on Crazy Go Nuts, spending more than $30, it is often cheapest to order directly from Crazy Go Nuts. If you just want a jar or two, Amazon tends to be your best bet.
Wellnut Farms Rich and Creamy Walnut Butter
- Type and Source of Walnut: Califonia, unknown type
- Organic or non-GMO: non-GMO
- Raw or Roasted: roasted
- Additional Ingredients: powdered raw cane sugar, palm oil, sea salt, natural flavors, water
Wellnut Farms grows the walnuts that they make their walnut butter from. This allows Wellnut Farms full control over the walnuts that go into their walnut butter.
Wellnut Farms Walnut Butter is not 100% walnuts. Walnuts make up ~90% of the butter. The additional of sustainably farmed palm oil allows for a smoother and creamer butter than is possible with a 100% walnut butter. The oil can still separate, but some moderate mixing can homogenize it. The cane sugar balances the natural bitterness of the walnuts and the salt adds a little flavor enhancement. I like that I can understand why all the additional ingredients are added. I really like this walnut butter, it is not too thick or thin (if it is too thin, mix more). The additives make the flavor more “smooth” and less bitter. If you are looking for a butter to replace peanut butter, this is a good option.
Wellnut Farms also makes two types of flavored walnut butter, maple, and salted caramel. Both of the flavors add an additional flavor of sweetness that really blends well with the slightly bitter natural walnut flavor.
Wellnut Farms has some store distribution and you can also purchase their products under a single listing at Amazon.
Vör All Natural Walnut Butter
- Type and Source of Walnut: unknown
- Organic or non-GMO: neither
- Raw or Roasted: roasted
- Additional Ingredients: none
Vör sells nine types of nut butter and specializes in 100% nut butter without any additional ingredients. Vör Walnut Butter does not list any information about the walnuts that are used.
Vör Walnut Butter has a slightly gritty texture. Since it is a 100% walnut butter, the oil can separate and it can require a good amount of mixing to get it homogenized. The flavor of Vör Walnut Butter is slightly bitter, without sweetness. I think that the flavor is great to accompany other flavors, especially when mixed with something sweet.
Vör also makes a chocolate walnut butter. The texture like the walnut butter is slightly gritty and it has a strong chocolate and walnut flavor. The sugar and chocolate combination does a great job of muting the bitterness of the normal product. If you are a fan of dark chocolate and bold flavors the Vör Chocolate Walnut Butter will be right up your alley.
Vör has limited store distribution, but Vör Walnut Butter and Vör Chocolate Walnut Butter are available on Amazon.
Sun & Seed Raw Organic Walnut Butter
- Type and Source of Walnut: unknown type
- Organic or non-GMO: Organic
- Raw or Roasted: raw
- Additional Ingredients: none listed
Sun & Seed is a UK company that makes many types of raw organic nut butter. Sun & Seed Raw Organic Walnut Butter is just one of their many types of nut butter. They are careful not to overheat the walnuts which prevents many of the enzymes in the walnuts from denaturing.
Sun & Seed Raw Organic Walnut Butter is slightly bitter and has a moderate gritty texture. The consistency is pretty thick and it can require a lot of stirring to get it smooth enough to spread.
Sun & Seed does not distribute to many stores in the USA. Amazon does most of their US distribution.
The Nutty Gourmet Walnut Butter – Roasted
- Type and Source of Walnut: Califonia, unknown type
- Organic or non-GMO: non-GMO
- Raw or Roasted: roasted
- Additional Ingredients: palm oil
The Nutty Gourmet is owned by the Martella family and uses walnuts from their farms to create their walnut butter. The Nutty Gourmet Walnut Butter contains 1.5%-2% sustainably harvested palm oil. The palm oil prevents the butter from drying out. I think that this butter is pretty oily and has the consistency of a thick liquid after being mixed. Storing the butter in the refrigerator or even the freezer can thicken it up. Many people like the consistency, but I prefer a slightly thicker walnut butter. Like most walnut butter, it is not completely smooth and does have some grittiness to it.
The Nutty Gourmet makes their walnut butter in five flavors: Roasted, Sea Salt, Honey, Maple Cinnamon, and Chocolate. The first three flavors allow for you to titrate what you want in your walnut butter, walnuts, walnuts and salt, and walnuts, salt, and sweetness. I think that honey is a great sweetener to go with the walnut bitterness. The maple cinnamon and chocolate flavors also do a good job counteracting the bitterness of just the walnuts.
The Nutty Gourmet has limited grocery store distribution, but Walmart does stock them. Their entire line is available at Amazon.
The 5 Best Walnut Butters
There are very few brands of walnut butter on the market and each one is rather different. Purchasing walnut butter is not like purchasing peanut butter where you might not even notice a difference between brands. What do you think is the best walnut butter?
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