Pistachio Butter vs Cashew Butter: Which is Better?

Today we have a clash of nut butters!

Let’s introduce the warriors in today’s showdown: pistachio butter is an old soul, with pistachio nuts being snacked on for over 9000 years! It’s a great spread that has a delicious taste with a wonderfully smooth and creamy texture, and is a heavy hitter in certain nutritional qualities!

Cashew butter, on the other hand, has one of the greatest textures out of all nut butters! It’s thick and creamy, complemented by a mildly nutty taste that you’ll want to reach for over and over again!

The spreads will compete in things like nutritional profiles, culinary uses, dietary versatility, flavors, and more to determine which nut butter is the better one!

Let’s begin!

Comparing pistachio butter vs cashew butter

Pistachio butter and cashew butter are both made from nuts, giving each spread tree nuts as allergens. They also share creamy consistencies, with nutty and sweet flavorings – although they still have differences in their flavor profiles that we’ll check out later. 

Both spreads can be used for vegan and paleo diets (if cashew butter is unsweetened), and they also have low glycemic indexes – but talk to your physician if you have concerns of your blood sugar levels spiking with these despite the low scores!

	Pistachio butter	Cashew butter
Taste	Nutty, earthy, slightly sweet	Mild, nutty, sweet
Texture	Smooth, creamy	Thick, creamy
Allergens	Tree nuts	Tree nuts
Vegan?	Yes	Yes
Paleo?	Yes	Yes (if unsweetened)
Keto?	No	No
Glycemic index (GI)	Pistachio nuts=15	1 oz cashews= 25

What is pistachio butter?

Pistachio butter is a delicious spread made by blending pistachios down into a smooth and creamy paste. You can easily make pistachio butter at home, only needing some sea salt and nut-based oils to create this nutty, earthy, and slightly sweet delight!

Most pistachio butters use roasted pistachios as that enhances the flavor, but you can use raw ones if you want – it’ll still taste good!

What is cashew butter?

Cashew butter is a thick and creamy nut butter that’s made by grinding roasted or raw cashew nuts down into a paste. Like in pistachio butter, using roasted cashews enhances the overall flavor, but you can also use raw ones if you want to make cashew butter at home!

It boasts a mild, nutty, and sweet flavor, and some brands will add sugar to further enhance the taste – keep an eye on the label, as added sugar will make it unsuitable for paleo diets.

Differences between pistachio butter and cashew butter

The biggest differences between pistachio butter and cashew butter are their textures and flavors.

Pistachio butter has a smooth and creamy texture that’s slightly thin, which you can drizzle over things. Cashew butter is the opposite, sharing a creamy and smooth consistency but being much thicker!

Taste-wise, pistachio butter tastes how you would expect ground up pistachios to taste, with a nutty, earthy, and slightly sweet flavor. Cashew butter has a milder taste, also being nutty but usually a bit sweeter.

How to use pistachio butter vs cashew butter

Although they have differing textures and flavor profiles, both spreads can be used in many of the same ways!

Pistachio butter is definitely better if you want to drizzle it, and cashew butter has a better spreading experience, but either nut butter is good for pairing with toast, smoothies, oatmeal, pancakes, salads, pastas, and more!

You can also use them as ingredients in your bakes, giving your baked creations a twist of flavor! Try dipping fruits and vegetables into them for a healthy snack, or even spoon them straight out of the jar!

Let yourself get creative with these, as they’re both great and provide some awesome qualities!

Nutrition: Pistachio butter vs cashew butter 

Pistachio butter has an awesome healthy fats content, and also has 3 grams of fiber. It has 0 added sugar, with a total of 2 grams of sugar per serving. Pistachio butter has a really great protein content of 6 grams per serving, so add it to your protein smoothies! 

Cashew butter is also a solid source of healthy fats, and boasts 4 grams of protein per serving. It is high in carbs, with 9 grams of net carbs per serving, and has 1 gram of fiber. It has 3 grams of sugar per serving, but often includes added sugar – so check the label before you buy!

Both spreads have similar calorie contents, and are also both unsuitable for keto diets due to their higher carb contents. 

Serving size: 2 tbsp	Pistachio butter	Cashew butter
Calories	180	190
Total fat (saturated)	14 g (2 g)	16 g (3 g)
Total carbs	8 g	10 g
Net carbs (fiber)	5 g (3 g)	9 g (1 g)
Total sugars (incl. added)	2 (0) g	3 g (4 g)
Protein	6 g	4 g

How to store pistachio butter and cashew butter

Store pistachio butter and cashew butter in the fridge to prevent them from going rancid too quickly. For pistachio butter, the fridge will thicken up the texture a bit too, making it easier to handle for spreading!

Nut butters generally last between 2-3 months after opening, but that can change from brand-to-brand, so check the labels for specific storage instructions and best-before dates with both of these!

Pistachio butter vs cashew butter: Which is better?

So, which spread takes the victory?

Pistachio butter boasts a delicious smooth and creamy texture that’s perfect for drizzling, and also provides an awesome taste!

Cashew butter is similar, providing a great texture (although different from pistachio butter) with a delicious taste and similar dietary versatility.

Overall, it’ll come down to your preferences, but pistachio butter takes the win for having a slightly better nutritional profile, and providing a more versatile texture with the benefit of both being able to thicken it up or being able to use it for drizzling.

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