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Is almond butter high in sugar? If you are reading this then it is likely you always pick “team almond butter” over “team peanut butter”. Richer in flavor almond butter is a great alternative to peanut butter. However, if you are on a lower sugar diet how sugar-friendly is almond butter and what are some of the lower sugar almond butter brands available? In this post, I go through 10 different brands of almond butter and rank them based on sugar content. I also answer some frequently asked questions when it comes to sugar and almond butter.
How Much Sugar is in Almond Butter?
As a general rule, most plain almond butters do not contain added sugar and contain 1g-2g of naturally occurring sugar per 2-tablespoon serving. Flavored almond butters such as honey, vanilla, or chocolate almond butters do tend to contain added sugar and tend to contain 3g-6g of total sugar per 2 tablespoon serving.
Is Almond Butter High in Sugar?
Is almond butter high in sugar? To answer this question, I have selected 10 almond butters at random and looked at whether they contain added sugar as well as what their total sugar content is per 2-tablespoon serving. So, let’s dig in – is almond butter high in sugar?
Summary Table – Sugar Content of Almond Butters Ranked
Below is a summary table of 10 different brands of almond butter ranked based on sugar content. For each entry, I list the total sugar content per serving and whether it contains added sugar or not.
Almond Butter | Total Sugar Content Per 2 Tablespoon Serving | Does It Contain Added Sugar? |
---|---|---|
1. Happy Belly Almond Butter | 1g | No |
2. Justin’s Classic Almond Butter | 1g | No |
3. Barney Almond Butter Bare Crunchy | 1g | No |
4. Once Again Natural Creamy Roasted Almond Butter | 1g | No |
5. 365 by Whole Foods Market Almond Butter Creamy | 2g | No |
6. Kirkland Signature Creamy Almond Butter | 2g | No |
7. Barney Smooth Almond Butter | 3g | Yes |
8. Barney Chocolate Almond Butter | 3g | Yes |
9. Justin’s Honey Almond Butter | 4g | Yes |
10. Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter | 6g | Yes |
What About Other Types of Nut Butters?
Before I continue, if you are interested in reading about the sugar content of cashew and peanut butter you can here in the posts I wrote on the topic:
- Is Cashew Butter High in Sugar?
- Which Peanut Butters have the Least Sugar?
- Which Nut Butters Contain the Least Sugar?
Sugar Content of Almond Butters – Ranked – item-by-item
In this section, I will go through each of my 10 entries in the table above item by item.
1. Happy Belly Almond Butter – 1g of Total Sugar
Amazon’s brand of almond butter (Happy Belly) has a super simple ingredient list of “dry roasted almonds.” The almonds are USA-grown almonds and this almond butter is the creamy variety. There is 0g of added sugar and 1g of total sugar content per 2-tablespoon serving.
You can find Happy Belly creamy almond butter on Amazon here.
2. Justin’s Classic Almond Butter – 1g of Total Sugar
Another added sugar free almond butter is from Justin’s. Justin’s is a huge name in the nut butter world and their classic almond butter is made from two ingredients – dry roasted almonds and palm oil. You can find Justin’s classic almond butter on Amazon here.
3. Barney Almond Butter Bare Crunchy – 1g of Total Sugar
If you are looking for a crunchy added sugar free almond butter, then check out Barney’s bare crunchy almond butter on Amazon here. This crunchy almond butter is made from almonds and palm fruit oil. There is no added sugar and 1g of total sugar per 2-tablespoon serving.
It is important to pick up the bare version which is marked as being sugar and salt-free on the front of the packaging – Barney’s regular ‘non-Bare’ almond butters do contain added sugar (see below).
4. Once Again Natural Creamy Roasted Almond Butter – 1g of Total Sugar
The final 1g of total sugar almond butter on this list comes from Once Again. Once Again creamy almond butter is added sugar free and is simply made from dry roasted unblanched almonds. You can find this awesome almond butter on Amazon here.
5. 365 by Whole Foods Market Almond Butter Creamy – 2g of Total Sugar
This creamy almond butter by 365 by Whole Foods Market is the only unsweetened almond butter in this list that is also organic. This almond butter is just made from organic dry roasted almonds. There are 0g of added sugar and 2g of total sugar content per 2 tablespoon serving.
If you are looking for unsweetened organic almond butter this made be the one! You can find 365 organic unsweetened almond butter on Amazon here.
6. Kirkland Signature Creamy Almond Butter – 2g of Total Sugar
Costco’s Kirkland brand almond butter is simply made from one ingredient – roasted almonds. There is no added sugar and 2g of total sugar content per 2-tablespoon serving of this almond butter.
7. Barney Smooth Almond Butter – 3g of Total Sugar
Barney’s smooth almond butter is paleo and keto friendly. Unlike most plain almond butters, this almond butter is, however, sweetened with organic fair-trade cane sugar. There are 3g of total sugar per 2-tablespoon serving. If you want to try an unsweetened version of Barney’s almond butter, try their bare no sugar added version (see entry 3 above).
8. Barney Chocolate Almond Butter – 3g of Total Sugar
Barney also makes a chocolate version of their almond butter. It’s not a huge surprise that this chocolate almond butter contains sugar. It contains 3g of total sugar – 2g of which are added. To be honest, this isn’t so bad for an indulgent feeling almond butter.
9. Justin’s Honey Almond Butter – 4g of Total Sugar
Next up is Justin’s honey almond butter. Not unsurprisingly this almond butter is slightly higher in sugar content as it contains honey and sugar. It contains 4g of total sugar per 2 tablespoon serving, all 4g of which is added.
10. Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter – 6g of total Sugar
The highest-sugar almond butter I came across is Justin’s vanilla almond butter. This vanilla almond butter contains added sugar and there are 6g of total sugar per 2 tablespoon serving, all 6g of which are added.
My Personal Recommendations?
My personal recommendations for low sugar almond butters are Happy Belly Almond butter and Once Again almond butter. Both almond butters are added sugar free and only contain 1g of total sugar per 2-tablespoon serving. They also have the added benefit of being plan oil free.
Sugar In Almond Butter F&Q
Which Almond Butters Are Lowest in Sugar?
The following 4 almond butters are added sugar free and only contain 1g of total sugar content per 2-tablespoon serving.
- Happy Belly Almond Butter (entry no.1)
- Justin’s Classic Almond Butter (entry no.2)
- Barney Almond Butter Bare Crunchy (entry no.3)
- Once Again Natural Creamy Roasted Almond Butter (entry no.4)
Is Almond Butter High in Sugar? – The Final Bite
Is Almond Butter high in sugar? Well, to be honest, if you are choosing unsweetened almond butters, they are not high in sugar. The lowest sugar options on the list all contain just 1g of sugar per serving – all of which are naturally occurring from the ingredients themselves. In fact, having written about peanut butter as well I have found there are more 1g of total sugar almond butter brands available than in comparison to peanut butter brands. Great news if you prefer almond butter.
And Remember…
Ingredients and/or manufacturing processes may change. Always double-check ingredient lists and nutritional information before purchasing any food items.
WANT TO FIND MORE LOW SUGAR OPTIONS?
Do you want to learn about some other low-sugar options at your favorite coffee chains, fast food, or restaurant joints, or just while you are shopping for groceries? If you do, then check out some of my other articles below: