As one of the top dogs in the nut butter world, almond butter shows its strength in taste, nutritional benefits, and much more! So, can Nutella, one of the most popular spreads in the entire world, defeat it?
Well, that’s not an easy question – there are many things we need to look at that show how good or bad a nut butter really is, including flavor and nutritional profiles, culinary versatility, and several other important factors!
That’s why I’ve gone ahead and done a deep dive into these two amazing spreads, unboxing everything you possibly need to make the decision: is almond butter or Nutella the better spread?
Let’s jump in!
Comparing almond butter vs Nutella
Almond butter is made from almonds (what a surprise), and Nutella is essentially a flavored hazelnut butter – meaning that hazelnuts are its base! That gives both of these spreads tree nuts as an allergen, but Nutella also lists milk and soy.
You can use almond butter for vegan, paleo, and keto diets, but unfortunately none of those work for Nutella. The glycemic index of almond butter is 0, making it great if you’re watching your blood sugar levels. Nutella’s glycemic index is unknown, but it’s likely high due to the massive amount of sugar in it – please talk to your physician if you’re worried about your blood sugar levels spiking!
| Almond butter | Nutella (flavored hazelnut butter) | |
| Taste | Nutty, rich, slightly sweet | Sweet, chocolatey |
| Texture | Slightly grainy and runny (or crunchy) | Smooth, creamy |
| Allergens | Tree nuts | Tree nuts, milk, soy |
| Vegan? | Yes | No |
| Paleo? | Yes | No |
| Keto? | Yes | No |
| Glycemic index (GI) | 0 | Unknown (likely high due to added sugar content) |
What is almond butter?
Almond butter is amazingly simple – it’s just blended almonds! This creates a delicious spread that offers some amazing and healthy characteristics (which we’ll discuss later).
It’s massively popular, and has also made a name for itself as being a great alternative to peanut butter. The rich, nutty taste is the perfect package in a runny and slightly grainy texture that you can spread or drizzle – you can even get crunchy versions similar to peanut butter!
What is Nutella?
Nutella is pretty much flavored hazelnut butter, and is sold all around the world!
It contains cocoa powder, which gives the chocolatey taste – however, be aware of the massive amount of sugar that’s added, along with palm oil and other unhealthy ingredients that you might want to check out first…
If you’re OK with a slightly different tasting Nutella that leaves out a lot of those harmful ingredients, we have a homemade Nutella recipe and a keto Nutella recipe perfect for you!
Differences between almond butter and Nutella
The biggest differences between almond butter and Nutella are their flavors and textures.
Almond butter boasts a rich, nutty, and slightly sweet taste that portrays almonds very well. Nutella has that distinct chocolate and very sweet flavor that you can’t mistake for any other chocolate spread!
Their textures differ in that almond butter is runny and slightly grainy (unless you get a crunchy version) while Nutella is smooth and creamy – perfect for spreading.
These spreads also differ massively in their nutritional profiles, but we’ll check that out in just a bit!
How to use almond butter vs Nutella
These spreads are both super versatile, and can be used in essentially all the same ways.
They go great conventionally as a spread for toast, pancakes, and waffles, but are also delicious mixed into your oatmeal and yogurt. I also recommend dipping fruits and vegetables into them, or adding them to your bakes – almond butter is really nice in muffins and cookies, while Nutella is delicious added to brownie batter!
You can even make almond body butter to combat dry skin, but you should also try a tasty recipe like almond butter freezer bars!
Both of these have a consistency that you can drizzle, so try drizzling either over different dishes and desserts!
Just remember that the different flavors will change the dishes you pair it with when you use them interchangeably.
Nutrition: Almond butter vs Nutella
Almond butter has a reputation of being one of the healthiest nut butters. That’s because it contains a bunch of vitamins (like vitamin E), minerals, fiber, protein, and healthy fats! It’s a really good package when it comes to promoting overall health in the body!
Nutella, on the other hand, contains 19 added grams of sugar, adding up to a total of 21 grams of sugar per serving…ouch.
It also has a lot of carbs, coming in at 22 grams of net carbs per serving – that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s far from ideal if you’re trying to limit carbs or participate in a keto diet.
It’s also not great in protein and fiber, being much lower than almond butter in both of those.
| Serving size: 2 tbsp | Almond butter | Nutella (flavored hazelnut butter) |
| Calories | 190 | 200 |
| Total fat (saturated) | 17 g (2 g) | 12 g (4 g) |
| Total carbs | 7 g | 23 g |
| Net carbs (fiber) | 3 g (4 g) | 22 g (1 g) |
| Total sugars (incl. added) | 1 g (0 g) | 21 g (19 g) |
| Protein | 7 g | 2 g |
How to store almond butter and Nutella
Almond butter, especially the natural stuff, usually doesn’t contain any added oils or preservatives, so you should definitely store it in the fridge to lengthen its shelf-life. It’ll also thicken up a little in the fridge, which might make it easier to handle.
Nutella is completely fine at room temperature, and should last you up to 12 months after opening (according to Ferrero, the company that makes Nutella). You can also put it in the fridge to thicken up if you want!
Check the labels for best-before dates and specific storage instructions!
Almond butter vs Nutella: The ultimate verdict
The final showdown…
Almond butter is popular for a reason, providing a great tasting spread with a fun consistency, while also boasting awesome health benefits.
Nutella offers a sweet and chocolatey spread that’s hard to beat, and it’s a household name at this point – that’s how popular it is! However, it has a terrible nutritional profile that’s hard to look past…
So, looking at everything, almond butter takes the win for its amazing nutritional profile, delicious taste, and dietary versatility!
FAQs
Almond butter is said to be the healthiest nut butter because it has a lot of awesome vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats! I also recommend checking out walnut butter for another healthy nut butter.
Nutella has a lot of ingredients in it, but it’s made from hazelnuts – it’s basically a flavored hazelnut butter!
Almond butter provides a deliciously rich and nutty taste that’ll bring out some awesome flavor profiles in your bakes. So yes, I definitely recommend it!
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