This Is the Best Almond Butter Money Can Buy

Lauren Masur
Lauren Masur
Lauren was the Groceries Editor for Kitchn.
updated May 1, 2019
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
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(Image credit: Megan Gordon)

When we rounded up a list of our 100 most essential grocery items for Kitchn 100, I knew that Justin’s Maple Almond Butter just had to make the cut. (After all, it’s always on my personal grocery shopping list.) Any kind of nut butter earns a gold star in our book, but this nut butter is different. Justin’s Maple Almond Butter is so good, you’re going to end up eating most of it just straight out of the container.

(Image credit: Justins)

Buy: Justin’s Maple Almond Butter, $10 for 16 ounces

I tend to shy away from nut butters that are over-the-top oily (like Whole Foods’ 365 version or Target’s Simply Balanced) because they just make too much of a mess. Seriously, there are few things more annoying than trying to throw together a quick almond butter and jelly sandwich and splashing a 1/4 cup of nut butter oil all over the counter (and your shirt) when you try to stir the layers together.

When I purchased my first jar of Justin’s, I realized that everything negative I had thought to be universally true about almond butter was wrong. Justin’s is just the right amount of gritty (but not in a gross way), sweet (but not cloyingly so), and spreadable (but not messy because the oil is evenly distributed throughout).

What I love most about this particular almond butter is the hint of sweetness that it gets from the maple syrup. Yes, regular Justin’s is delicious, but the maple version is next level. It’s perfect baked in brownies (like my roommate’s famous gluten-free brownie bites), swiped on frozen waffles (sue me, I love Eggo waffles), sandwiched in between pieces of French toast, and, my personal favorite, spooned over frozen banana bites or blueberries.

See what else made our list of grocery essentials: Kitchn 100

What do you think? Have you had this almond butter? Do you prefer another brand?