What Nut Butters Are Paleo? (2024)

What Nut Butters Are Paleo? (1)

Is nut butter paleofriendly?

Nut butter is a tasty way to getan extra dose of healthy fats and protein in your meals and snacks - but is nut butter allowed on a Paleo diet? In short, it depends.

The basic premise of the paleo diet is to eat foods that prehistoric humans would have eaten during the Paleolithic era. That means lean meats and fish, vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds, and anything else that our early ancestors could have hunted or gathered. While your great-great-great-great-great grandma probably wasn't grinding up almonds on a rock to spread on her paleopancakes, the paleo diet does encourage consumption of nuts and seeds with one caveat - no peanuts.Peanuts are technically legumes, which are not paleo compliant, and that means peanut butter is off limits for paleo eaters. All other nuts and seeds are fair game, so if nuts and seeds are the only ingredients, snack away!

However, many big name nut butters you find on grocery store shelves include other ingredients thatmay or may not be paleo, so you'll have to take a closer look at the ingredient label.

What Nut Butters Are Paleo? (2)

Paleo Compliant Nut Butter Ingredients

Manynut butters include extra ingredients like sweeteners, oils, and flavors that can make shopping for a suitable nut butter more confusing. While it's not an exhaustive list, here are some common nut butter ingredients that are paleo approved:

Approved Nuts & Seeds

  • Almonds
  • Cashews
  • Hazelnuts
  • Pistachios
  • Macadamia nuts
  • Pecans
  • Brazil nuts
  • Hazelnuts
  • Coconut
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Chia seeds
  • Hemp seeds
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Flax seeds

ApprovedOils

  • Coconut oil
  • Palm oil
  • Almond oil
  • MCT oil
  • Pumpkin seed oil
  • Macadamia nut oil
  • Walnut oil
  • Flaxseed oil

Approved Sweeteners

  • Coconut sugar
  • Honey
  • Maple syrup
  • Monk fruit
  • Lucuma
  • Stevia
  • Erythritol
  • Xylitol (but it'shotly debated, so many paleo eaters choose to avoid it)

Other Ingredients

  • Salt
  • Cinnamon
  • Flavorings from natural sources (like real vanilla extract, unsweetened cocoa powder, cacao, or berries)

What Nut Butters Are Paleo? (3)

Nut Butter Ingredients to Avoid on a Paleo Diet

While there are many paleo nut butter options out there, most conventional nut butters you see on store shelves include ingredients that are not allowed on a paleo diet.Steer clear of these non-paleo nut butter ingredients:

Non-CompliantOils

  • Anything hydrogenated
  • Canola oil
  • Sunflower seed oil (the seeds themselves are fine, but not the oil on its own)
  • Peanut oil
  • Soybean oil
  • Rapeseed oil
  • Vegetable oil
  • Cottonseed oil

Non-CompliantSweeteners

  • Sugar
  • High fructose corn syrup
  • Corn syrup solids
  • Artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, etc.)
  • Brown rice syrup
  • Agave

Other Non-Paleo Ingredients

  • Artificial flavors of any kind
  • Artificial preservatives
  • Dairy, including in chocolate ingredients

Which nut butters are paleo friendly?

If you're a nut butter lover, you're in luck! If approved nuts and seeds are the only ingredients, or if the ingredients are on the approved list above, you're ready to get snackin'.

Most Yumbutter flavors (excluding our Peanut Butter and Peanut Keto) include paleo friendly ingredients, so all these options are safe:

  1. Creamy Almond Butter, Superfood Almond Butter, Inergy Almond Butter Minis, No Sugar Added Almond Butter, and Plant Protein + Probiotic Almond Butter
  2. Cashew Butter
  3. Sunflower Seed Butter
  4. Keto Nut Butters - Pecan, Chocolate Almond, and Macadamia

What Nut Butters Are Paleo? (4)

SHOP YUMBUTTER

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What Nut Butters Are Paleo? (2024)

FAQs

What Nut Butters Are Paleo? ›

The short answer is yes. Nut butters made from cashews, macadamias, hazelnuts, and almonds are all Paleo, but there's a stipulation: they must only contain nuts. If additives, preservatives, or flavorings are included on the label, it isn't Paleo.

Which nut butters are paleo? ›

The short answer is yes. Nut butters made from cashews, macadamias, hazelnuts, and almonds are all Paleo, but there's a stipulation: they must only contain nuts. If additives, preservatives, or flavorings are included on the label, it isn't Paleo.

What nut butters are not inflammatory? ›

We chose the following ingredients that have anti-inflammatory properties to combine into delicious healthy nut & seed butters:
  • Walnuts: Have the highest amount of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) than any other nut. ...
  • Hemp seeds: ...
  • Brazil Nuts: ...
  • Cashews: ...
  • Ginger: ...
  • Curry powder or turmeric: ...
  • Dried apricots: ...
  • Cacao:
Jan 12, 2019

What butter is OK on paleo? ›

In short, if your body can tolerate it, grass-fed butter can be consumed (in moderation, of course) on the Paleo diet. And it's actually a staple on the keto, or any low carb, diet.

Is peanut butter ok on a paleo diet? ›

Grains (including whole grains and those that are gluten-free), dairy, and legumes are banned from the paleo diet. That means no peanut butter or peanuts because followers of the paleo diet consider peanuts a legume rather than a nut.

Which nut butters to avoid? ›

12 Peanut Butter Brands To Absolutely Avoid
  • Peter Pan Creamy Original Peanut Butter. ...
  • Smucker's Reduced Fat Natural Style Creamy Peanut Butter. ...
  • Jif Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter Spread. ...
  • Great Value Creamy Peanut Butter. ...
  • Peanut Butter & Co. ...
  • Trader Joe's Creamy Salted Peanut Butter. ...
  • Smucker's Goober Peanut Butter.
Feb 7, 2024

What is a paleo alternative to peanut butter? ›

Cashew Butter. Sunflower Seed Butter. Keto Nut Butters - Pecan, Chocolate Almond, and Macadamia.

What is the healthiest nut butter you can eat? ›

"Of all the nut butters, walnut butter has the most omega-3 fatty acids," Andrea says. The healthful fat ratio helps lower LDL cholesterol, increase HDL cholesterol, and reduce inflammation.

Are nut butters bad for your gut? ›

The Bottom Line

Almond butter is a nutritious food to add to your routine. It is rich in vitamins and minerals, specifically vitamin E, fiber and heart-healthy fats. As a result, it can boost your heart health and gut health and help with blood sugar management.

Why is ghee paleo but not butter? ›

That's why ghee is a better Paleo oil than butter. Ghee is lactose and casein-free dairy, whereas butter contains lactose and casein. The risk of dairy allergy is more with butter, and ghee is allergy risk-free. Food sensitivity is the reason Why is ghee paleo and not butter.

What dairy is best for paleo diet? ›

Butter. A lot of people following Paleo won't consume regular milk, cheese or yogurt, but will enjoy generous amounts of butter. I think it's a sensible choice because it's almost all fat and especially saturated fat with usually too little lactose to cause a problem.

What cheese can you eat on paleo? ›

A strict paleo diet does not allow dairy products because hunter-gatherers did not milk cows. This includes milk, butter, yogurt, sour cream and cheese.

What nut butters are paleo? ›

First of all, a clarification: “nu*t butters” in the Paleo sense of the term doesn't include peanut butter. Peanuts aren't actually nuts; they're legumes. So when people in the Paleo world talk about “nu*t butters,” they're talking about almond butter, cashew butter, and other foods made from actual nuts.

Can you eat bananas on a paleo diet? ›

If you're Paleo because you're a Crossfitter or you're restoring your gut health, bananas are an excellent part of your diet. Athletes can benefit from several bananas daily, especially long distance runners as bananas have been found to be as effective at replacing electrolytes as non-Paleo sports drinks.

Can you eat too many nuts on paleo? ›

If you're on a Paleo diet you're already avoiding some of the higher sources of phytic acid: grains and legumes like soy. But if you're eating a lot of nuts and seeds – which a lot of Paleo folks do – you still might be exceeding the safe amount of phytic acid.

What nut milks are paleo? ›

If you want a better choice, it's actually very easy to make nut milks by yourself at home. Here's a collection of nut milk recipes for almond, cashew, hazelnut, and pistachio milk. If you make a DIY nut milk at home with Paleo ingredients, then it's completely Paleo-friendly and you can go to town with it.

What nut butters are Whole30 compliant? ›

Whole30 Approved
  • Almond Butter.
  • Cashew Butter.
  • Hazelnut Butter.
  • Pecan Butter.
  • Pouches.
  • size-64 oz.
  • Whole30.

What nuts are paleo friendly? ›

Nuts and seeds such as macadamia nuts, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds play an important role on the paleo diet. As do healthy fats and oils from fruits or nuts (extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil coconut oil, walnut oil, etc.).

What are some nut free butters? ›

5 Nut-Free Alternatives to Peanut Butter
  • Sunflower Seed Butter. The closest spread to peanut butter I've found in terms of flavor and texture is sunflower seed butter. ...
  • Tahini. I love how sesame seeds give this Middle Eastern staple toasty, nutty flavors. ...
  • Cookie Butter. I know, I know. ...
  • Soynut Butter. ...
  • Coconut Butter.

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