Almond Butter in One Minute Using a Vitamix

Almost all the recipes I read online require a food processor to make nut butters. Not only that, it takes 15 minutes to turn almond nuts to butter. 15 minutes!!! 15 minutes of blending to me sounds like a frustrating, discouraging, a definite fail project. Plus it requires patience. Something I selectively have. Besides, more importantly, I don’t own a food processor. Heh..

However, I do have a Vitamix on hand. Wanting to find out if the Vitamix could make almond butter too, I went to their website and came across an almond butter recipe. Awesome! But we can never be too sure about anything, so I continued to look further into making nut butters.

First off, some questions:

#1: Dry or Wet container? Most people who has made nut butters using the Vitamix uses the dry blender (difference is in the blades). Vitamix website doesn’t specify the type.

#2: Raw or Roasted? 100% of the videos online show almond butter using Vitamix made in 1 minute for roasted almonds and a couple minutes more for raw.

#3: Oil or no oil? About 50/50 on whether or not to add oil.

#4: Nut temperature: The most confusing fact is whether to use room temperature, warm, hot, soaked or frozen nuts.

Let me tell you.. I was SO sold on the fact that it would only take me 1 minute to make almond butter. 1 minute guys. Nothing in the world takes 1 minute to complete. But… a BIG but.. I only had the wet container instead of the dry one. I wasn’t ready to bury my Vitamix just yet. Also, I wasn’t sure whether to use raw or roasted nuts. With all the confusion in mind, I geared up and took the plunge. I got myself a store bought almond butter and never looked back.

Whoa, what? I’m kidding!

No, really. I took the plunge. To make almond butter from scratch. To put the Vitamix on the line. That takes guts.

I’m happy to tell you that both the raw and roasted nuts worked using the wet container. Making almond butter using the Vitamix was probably the only reason why my first homemade almond butter was a success. (Pats own back for job well done).

Observations:

1. Raw nuts take longer than 1 minute to turn to butter.
2. The nuts have to be roasted really well (like store bought super crunchy types) in order to make almond butter in one minute, or they’ll take longer to turn to a creamy consistency and you might even need to add oil.
3. Made from perfectly roasted nuts, no oil is needed and they are very creamy even after refrigeration.
4. I don’t recommend using frozen nuts as they tend to make the oils come out slower thereby making the whole process slower and is taxing to the Vitamix motor.
5. I don’t recommend using freshly toasted nuts that are hot or even just warm to the touch as blending would make them even hotter and may cause the blender to overheat. Cool the nuts first.
6. You can use sprouted almond nuts but either roast them after or use a dehydrator to take the moisture out.
7. The sky is the limit and you can combine almond with other nuts or seeds or chocolate to make your favorite butter.

If you don’t have a Vitamix, get one. Seriously. It blitzes everything in less than ONE freakin’ minute. I mean, how much does almond butter cost? Not to mention the other myriad of things it can make – smoothies, ice cream, sorbet, soup and so many other things. As long as you use it, it’ll pay for itself in no time. I own and love this Vitamix 5200 set. But if you had to choose just one container, choose this Vitamix 5200 wet container as it’s more versatile.

Why make your own almond butter? There’s nothing wrong with buying it. But trust me on this, once that butter sort of magically appears, you actually feel kind of ‘high’ because you just can’t believe you made that.. did I mention in ONE MINUTE? Now if only nuts could grow in one minute.

If you love almond butter, you’re going to love this almond milk… made from this very almond butter. Done in 1 minute. No squeezing and dealing with pulp. Want to take it even further? Then this Vanilla Cashew Almond Milk Tea is definitely for you. Creamy and so addictive. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.

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Almond Butter  

what you need:

Roasted almond nuts (or raw), room temperature
– 2 1/2 cups nuts in a 48 oz container, makes 3/4 cup butter
– 4 cups nuts in a 64 oz container, makes 1 1/2 cup butter

directions:

1. Set your Vitamix to LOW and speed ‘1’.
2. Pour the nuts in.
3. Secure the lid along with the tamper. Turn on the blender and immediately increase the speed to ‘10’ and change to HIGH. It’s going to be very loud but relax.
4. Use the tamper to press the nuts down uniformly. Do so for 1 minute (raw takes a few minutes more) until the butter becomes creamy and starts to flow. Do not let the Vitamix run continuously for more than 1 minute without resting in between especially once it reaches the state where it starts to flow or you’ll risk overheating your motor.
5. To turn off, switch to LOW and decrease the speed to ‘1’. Transfer almond butter to an airtight glass jar/bottle, let cool and refrigerate. (It should keep for up to 6 months even though it usually finishes within weeks).
6. Spread on toast or use as a dip.

Notes:

1. Capacity: Don’t put more than 2 1/2 cups or 4 cups of nuts for each container size so as to not overwork the blender.

2. Consistency: This yields a fairly thick but creamy butter. If you like yours thinner, add 2-4 tbs of a neutral tasting oil like grape seed or vegetable oil at the 30 second mark.

3. Cleanup: Very easy. After scraping most of the butter out, make sure there’s about 1 tablespoon left in the blender. Pour 1 cup of warm water in, add a little sweetener and blend on variable 10 (low or high). There you have your very own almond milk with no waste.

4. Additional ingredients: You can add salt, vanilla, cinnamon, honey, cocoa powder or any darn thing you please. Add them right when it turns creamy (in 1 minute) and blend on high for 30 seconds to incorporate everything. Additional oil is needed (2-4 tablespoons).

5. Oil: This only applies to raw nuts or not well roasted nuts. If it’s struggling to turn creamy even after several minutes of blending with rests in between, add 2-4 tablespoons of oil.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

What is your favorite homemade butter?