There are a bunch of nut (and seed) butter companies making more than just your average nut butters. Some are blended with a mix of different nuts and seeds, coconut oil or MCT oil for a different fatty acid profile, cacao or chocolate, and other ‘superfoods’ such as chia, matcha, or goji. Unfortunately, there comes a pretty price tag penny with these store bought blends, upwards of $20 per small container.
If you have the cash for that, hey, that’s cool. But, if you have the time and interest AND want to make your own deelish combos, it’s super easy. Plus, you can save some of those pennies.
One of my local food markets had organic raw cashews on sale for $6.99 a pound, so I snatched up some and got psyched to make a cashew butter. I’ve done this before plenty of times, but wanted to try a new batch for ya’ll.
I was thinking C’s…. coffee, cinnamon, cocoa… and cashews.
If you know this reference, well, thank you.
and did I mention sea salt? Oh, people. I love, love, the taste of a good sea salt in nut butter.
So, here’s the simple list of ingredients:
2 cups organic raw cashews
1 Tbsp organic raw cocoa powder
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp instant espresso (I used the Medaglia d’Oro brand)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp celtic sea salt (I imagine you can use any quality sea salt, but I love this one)
Preparation steps:
Set the oven to 325F and once it’s ready to go, put the cashews on a baking sheet in the oven to roast for 10-20 minutes until they start to turn brown. You don’t have to do this step, but the flavor of roasted cashews is so much better. Let them cool for 5 minutes or so.
Use a good food processor or blender that has some muscle. Add the cashews and let it rip for 3-5 minutes depending on the level of ‘oopmh’ your kitchen gadget has. The cashews will turn to a powder and then give them a stir with a spatula. Repeat the mixing process so that the cashew powder starts to form its ‘butter.’ Oh la la.
Once you see the butter forming, you can pause the mixing process and add the other ingredients, and… you guessed it, resume mixing. You’ll have to stop a handful of times to use your spatula and wipe down the sides of the container to get all the goodies mixed well.
You can experiment with the ingredient amounts if you want one of the flavors to stand out more. For me, I could taste everything ‘lightly,’ which was perfect for what I was seeking. But if you like cinnamon, then add more! Play around.
Spoon or spatula the cashew butter into a mason jar or glass jar (after tasting, of course) and keep in the refrigerator or in a dry, cool area. Consider hiding the jar from other household residents. Just kidding. Kind of.
This is less than $5 to make for just shy of 1.5 cups of nut butter. Not too shabby.
Per tablespoon, the basic nutrition info is:
110 calories
6 grams carbohydrate
3.5 grams protein
8 grams fat
2:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein
Mash into yogurt, overnight oats, use in homemade energy balls, enjoy with your favorite bread-like item, or use as a dip for veggies.
Did you know cashews are a good source of magnesium? This is an important mineral involved in muscle function and bone health, but it also has anti-inflammatory benefits. All good for us athletes and active folk!
Let me know what you try by leaving a comment here or tagging me over on Instagram.
Happy nut butter making,
Dina