I frequently hear people boasting that they “only eat almond butter” or “only eat raw cashew butter,” which leaves me wondering, what’s so wrong with good old peanut butter or all the other nut butters available these days? So I decided to do a nutritional comparison of the most popular nut butters. They’re more similar than different, but each kind of nut offers different benefits, so it’s best to eat a variety of the nut butters you enjoy. The only kinds I’d recommend avoiding are conventional peanut butters (the kind you don’t have to stir or refrigerate), as these types contain “partially hydrogenated oils,” which is code for “trans fats” (even if there is no trans fat listed per serving). And with the higher sugar flavored nut butters (like Nutella), think of them as more of a treat than a daily breakfast or lunch food.
| Type | Calories | Fat | Fiber | Protein | Sugar |
| Natural Peanut Butter
(the kind that separates) |
200 | 15g | 2g | 9g | 2g |
| Conventional Peanut Butter
(like Skippy, Jif, etc) |
190 | 16g | 2g | 8g | 3g |
| Reduced Fat Conventional Peanut Butter (like Reduced Fat Skippy, Jif, etc) | 190 | 12g | 1g | 8g | 4g |
| Almond Butter | 190 | 17g | 3g | 8g | 2g |
| Sunflower Seed Butter | 200 | 16g | 4g | 7g | 3g |
| Sesame Butter (Tahini) | 180 | 17g | 4g | 6g | 0g |
| Cashew Butter | 180 | 15g | 1g | 4g | 2g |
| Peanut Butter & Co Dark Chocolate Dreams (chocolate natural peanut butter) | 170 | 13g | 2g | 6g | 7g |
| Chocolate Hazelnut Butter (like Nutella) | 195 | 12g | 2g | 2g | 19g |
Great info! Any comment on the advice from Dr. Weil to avoid peanut butter because of the toxins found on peanuts?
I would just recommend buying organic peanut butter made from U.S. grown peanuts. As long as you’re buying organic, natural peanut butter, you can feel confident trusting the source. The toxic peanuts, and peanuts associated with the E.Coli outbreak were all in the cheap/processed PB and PB-containing products.
I’ve always heard that the main issue with peanut butter is the mold, and the tree/flower nuts don’t have that.
But some times a girl just needs a straight up PB&J on multi grain bread of course.
As long as you’re buying peanuts from a trusted source (look for organic and USA-grown peanuts) you can feel confident that your peanut butter is mold-free. Amen to PB&J’s!
so just to clarify…i really should give up the beloved JIF of my childhood for an organic peanut butter? i have never found another peanut butter that is as creamy and dreamy as JIF. hmmm, maybe i will (begrudgingly) take on a taste testing project and report back. this is going to be a difficult task but i think i’m up for the challenge!
If you can stand to make JIF a very occasional treat, that’d be best!