Almond, peanut or cashew: Which nut butter is best for your health?

Telegraph

01-07-2025

Britain has gone nuts for nut butters. Back in 2020, sales of peanut butter in this country even outstripped those of jam. Gone are the days where you'd most likely find peanut butter slathered in a sandwich to make up a quick and easy lunch, however. This cheap staple has had a upgrade and is now the star of many trendy dishes, heaped atop acai bowls or mixed into tasty noodle dressings.
Muscling in on its territory are butters made from other, more glamorous nuts: almond, pecan, macadamia and the now popular pistachio. A tiny tub of walnut or cashew nut butter in Waitrose or Holland and Barrett might set you back £10, and in Wholefoods in Chelsea, London, you can make your own customised nut butter blend in a hand-churned machine for the small price of £1.19 for 100g.
Packed with protein, fibre and healthy fats, it's easy to see why nut butters appeal to the health-conscious among us. But is there really any difference between these stylish new spreads and the good old-fashioned peanut butter in the back of your cupboard? We asked the experts.
On the whole, nut butters are very healthy. 'I tend to recommend them a lot to clients,' says nutritionist Jenna Hope. 'They can be a really convenient way to get more nutrients into your diet.' Nut butters are a good source of protein, 'especially for people who are following plant-based or vegan diets,' Hope adds. A 30g serving of peanut butter contains around 8g of protein, roughly the same as that in a large egg. A spoonful this big would also contain nearly three whole grams of fibre.
There are many benefits to including a lot of nuts in your diet. Some research indicates that doing so can protect against cancer, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and they are a core part of the MIND diet, which was developed to help stave off dementia.
The advantage of nut butters over whole nuts is that 'the blending done to make nut butters means that some of the digestion is done for your system before you actually eat, making those nutrients more readily available,' Hope says. That said, this also makes them more calorific, 'as your body is doing less work to break it down'.
The health risks
'You need to be mindful of serving sizes when it comes to nut butters, as they contain a significant amount of fat, even though it's healthy fat for the most part,' she adds. 'Moderation is key. If you're having a nut butter on toast or to make a sauce for a noodle dish, I'd use no more than a tablespoon, and if it's going in a curry or on top of a yogurt bowl with lots of other toppings, then a teaspoon is ample.'
On that note: not all nut butters are made equal. Some nut butters come with added oils, like palm oil, 'which is high in unhealthy saturated fats,' Hope explains. Others can be heavily salted, with salty foods contributing to high blood pressure.
For this reason, 'try to find a nut butter that is a 100 per cent nut, or that only has a small amount of added salt, which I would count as less than 0.08 per cent on the ingredients' list,' Hope advises. Sugary or other flavoured nut butters are best avoided, as they will likely be high in sugar – 'even where they've used agave syrup or coconut sugar, which both sound healthier but aren't necessarily' – and contain added flavourings.
The health benefits of different nut butters per tablespoon
Peanut
Almond
Cashew
Hazelnut
Walnut
Macadamia
Pistachio
Pecan
Peanut
Best for protein
91 calories, 7g fat, 4g protein, 1.3g fibre
When it comes to protein, peanut butter comes out top, making it 'especially good for people who don't eat meat,' says Hope. It also contains vitamin E, 'which is great for your skin health', as well as a good amount of folate and copper, which help with the production of red blood cells. Though peanut butter is high in fat, 'most of them in an peanut butter free from added oils will be monounsaturated or heart-healthy fats,' Hope says. 'Just be aware of how much you're adding to your meals.'
Almond
Best for fibre
87 calories, 7.8g fat, 3.1g protein, 1.6g fibre
Almond butter has the most fibre of any nut butter, and also has fewer calories, making it a good option for people looking to eat well while restricting their calorie intake. It is also a good source of protein, though it contains marginally less of it than peanut butter, and it's packed with magnesium and calcium. It is more costly than peanut butter, however, and Hope would recommend having whole almonds rather than almond butter, as these contain even more fibre to 'nourish your gut bacteria'.