Nut butter usually isn’t a significant source of carbs, but there are always exceptions! Which nut butter contains the most carbs?
Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread), reduced-fat peanut butter, and granola butter (not really nut butter – but we’ll explain why it’s on this list) have the most carbs compared to many other types of nut and seed butters.
We’ll review a total of seven nut and seed butters with the most carbs below!
Carbs in nut butter
Nut butter (and seed butter) is generally low in carbs because they consist primarily of fat and protein. However, some types of nut butter are higher in carbs, which means they might not be the best choices for low-carb diets like keto.
7 high-carb nut butters
While some of these nut and seed butters might not be considered high in carbs compared to other foods, they’re the highest among our list of 24 nut and seed butters!
Also, we’re basing this list on the total carbs, not the net carbs (which we’ll explain next).
Flaxseed butter – 9 grams of carbs
Keep in mind that flaxseed butter is higher in total carbs, but it contains zero grams of net carbs per serving because all of the carbs come from fiber! Net carbs are more useful to people on very low-carb diets or who count carbs for other reasons, like diabetes. (To calculate net carbs you subtract the grams of fiber from the total carbs.)
Cashew butter – 10 grams of carbs
Cashews are a higher-carb nut compared to many, making cashew butter one of the higher-carb nut butters on our list. Cashew butter doesn’t contain much fiber, so the net carbs are only slightly lower at 9 grams per serving.
Chia seed butter – 12 grams of carbs
Like flaxseed butter, chia seed butter is quite low in net carbs with two grams per serving. Chia seeds are loaded with fiber, so this seed butter is very keto-friendly thanks to the low net carb content.
Tiger nut butter – 14 grams of carbs
Tiger nut butter is made from a plant called the yellow nutsedge. It’s also lower in net carbs (7 grams per serving) because of its fiber content.
Granola butter – 14 grams of carbs
Okay, so granola butter isn’t technically a nut or seed butter, which is part of the reason it’s higher in carbs. We included it in our list because you’ll find it next to true nut and seed butters at the grocery store, so we wanted to be sure to explain what it is!
Granola butter is a combination of ingredients like oats, oil, and spices, and is typically sweetened with maple syrup or another sweetener. Granola butter has a texture similar to nut and seed butters, but doesn’t usually contain nuts or seeds.
Because it contains oats and a sweetener, granola butter is one of the higher-carb “nut butters” on this list.
Reduced-fat peanut butter – 15 grams of carbs
What makes reduced-fat peanut butter higher in carbs than regular peanut butter? The addition of ingredients like sugar (sometimes multiple types are used) and corn syrup solids helps offset the lower fat content, but it raises the carbs. (Fat tastes good, so when fat is reduced, it’s replaced with sugar to improve the taste!)
Nutella – 23 grams of carbs
The highest-carb nut butter on our entire list is Nutella, which is a chocolate-flavored hazelnut spread. Of course, it’s delicious, but that deliciousness comes from all of the added sugar. The first ingredient in Nutella is sugar, which means by weight, Nutella contains more sugar than hazelnuts!
One serving of Nutella contains 21 grams of sugar, 19 of which are added sugars – thus raising the total carb content.
Nutritional comparison of high-carb nut butters
| Serving size: 2 tbsp. | Calories | Total fat (saturated) | Total carbs | Net carbs (fiber) | Total sugars (incl. added) | Protein |
| Flaxseed butter | 190 | 13 g (1.5 g) | 9 g | 0 g (9 g) | 0 g | 8 g |
| Cashew butter | 190 | 16 g (3 g) | 10 g | 9 g (1 g) | 3 g (1 g) | 4 g |
| Chia seed butter | 164 | 14 g (0 g) | 12 g | 2 g (10 g) | 0 g | 2 g |
| Tiger nut butter | 180 | 13 g (5 g) | 14 g | 7 g (7 g) | 4 g (0 g) | 1 g |
| Granola butter | 170 | 12 g (4 g) | 14 g | 13 (1 g) | 4 g (4 g) | 3 g |
| Reduced-fat peanut butter | 190 | 12 g (2.5 g) | 15 g | 13 g (2 g) | 4 g (3 g) | 7 g |
| Nutella | 200 | 12 g (4 g) | 23 g | 22 g (1 g) | 21 g (19 g) | 2 g |
FAQs:
Nut and seed butters are generally low in carbs, but the carb content of them varies. Unsweetened nut and seed butters are generally low in carbs while sweetened versions can be higher in carbs.
Unsweetened almond butter is low in carbs with 7 grams of total carbs and 3 grams of net carbs per serving. Almond butter is a keto favorite because of its high fat content and low net carb content. Another bonus is that almond butter is Paleo-friendly, unlike peanut butter.
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