Cashew Butter vs. Peanut Butter - What's the difference?

Peanut butter is a household favorite and has been for a long time. However, there is a new contender: cashew butter. Cashew butter is quickly becoming popular among vegans and vegetarians, and is considered by many to be the healthier and more nutritious counterpart to peanut butter.

Cashew butter and peanut butter are often compared, either for nutritional value or taste.

What is the difference between cashew and peanut butter?

Cashew butter is made from cashews, and peanut butter from peanuts. Both types contain a healthy amount of fat, but peanut butter contains more protein and fiber, while cashew butter contains more carbohydrates.

Knowing the differences between cashew and peanut butter can help you choose the one that best suits your diet, but it will also largely depend on which one you prefer to have more flavor!

Cashew Butter vs. peanut butter - What you should know

Read on to learn how peanut butter and cashew butter differ in terms of nutrition, how they’re made, and what they taste like.

What is peanut butter?

Peanut butter may be one of the most popular spreads around, loved by kids and adults alike for its creamy texture and delicious taste, but for many it’s more than just a tasty spread.

Peanut butter contains many nutritional benefits, and in addition to being a tasty spread, it’s a great food for your diet that you don’t have to feel guilty about eating.

Nutritional benefits of peanut butter

Peanut butter is popular for both its flavor and its health benefits.  It has good nutritional benefits, and even a slice of toast spread with peanut butter is enough of a boost to your day.

Peanut butter is also popular with those who follow a plant-based diet, as it contains healthy unsaturated fats , necessary in a well-balanced vegetarian or vegan diet.

In addition to unsaturated fats, peanut butter also contains protein, potassium, and minerals.

Peanut butter also contains a good amount of iron and vitamin B6.

Taken together, the nutritional content makes peanut butter a great choice for the health conscious and those who want a healthy, yet delicious spread.

It must be borne in mind that, since there are so many brands of peanut butter on the market, you must be careful with which one you consume.

There are some that contain artificial additives, sweeteners and emulsifiers. These end up taking away from the natural health benefits of peanut butter.

What can peanut butter be used for?

For most of us, when we think of peanut butter we think of serving it on a slice of toast or in a sandwich.

For heavy peanut butter eaters, especially those on a plant-based diet, just eating it on bread can be a bit boring.

There are numerous ways to use peanut butter in the kitchen. Peanut butter can be used to make cookies, biscuits, frostings, and dips.

You can choose between unsweetened, smooth, or crunchy peanut butter, depending on how you use it in the kitchen.

What is cashew butter?

Cashew butter, while becoming popular among those who follow a plant-based diet, is not as well known as peanut butter, and it doesn’t have a place as a must-have in most households’ pantries, as it does. does its counterpart.

However, this does not mean that it is in any way inferior to peanut butter, and cashew butter actually outshines peanut butter with certain nutritional benefits.

Cashew Butter Nutritional Benefits

Cashew butter offers many great nutritional benefits.

Like peanut butter, cashew butter contains a high dose of healthy fats and has a higher concentration of monounsaturated fats compared to peanut butter.

Cashew and peanut butter have fairly similar overall fat and caloric content, so there isn’t much to compare between these two categories.

Cashew butter contains less protein than peanut butter, but it also contains more carbohydrates than peanut butter. Contains a high concentration of magnesium, iron, vitamin B6 and calcium.

You should be aware of the cashew butter you buy, as cashews can be raw or roasted. Although both are considered healthy, it is better to choose raw cashew butter as it contains more of its nutritional properties after processing.

However, either is fine and if you prefer the roasted flavor, you will still benefit from its great nutritional properties.

What can cashew butter be used for?

Cashew butter is creamy and rich, and while it can also be used as a spread on sandwiches and toast, it can be used in a number of meals in the kitchen.

Cashew butter can be used to prepare sauces, soups, and other recipes. Adds a delicious buttery consistency to meals, along with a rich, creamy flavor.

Since most cashew butter is unsweetened, it works well in a variety of savory dishes and recipes.

Peanut vs. Cashew Butter Nutrition Facts

How to make cashew butter and peanut butter at home

One similarity between cashew and peanut butter is that you can make both at home in about 20 minutes if you don’t want to buy them at the store.

In fact, you can use the same recipe and ingredients for both, apart from the obvious change of cashews or peanuts.

Aside from peanuts or cashews, you’ll need a reliable baking pan and nut grinder like this one.

The process of making cashew butter and peanut butter at home is almost identical and shows that there isn’t much difference between the two, other than the nutritional benefits of either nut.

Again, you just have to be careful which brand of nut butter you buy to make sure it doesn’t have too many artificial additives.

Cashew butter and peanut butter allergies

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to enjoy peanut butter if you are allergic to it.

If you are allergic to peanuts, and therefore peanut butter, you may also be allergic to cashews.

Always check with your doctor before switching from cashew butter to peanut butter if you are allergic.

Where is almond butter found?

Almond butter, just like cashew butter, is quickly becoming more popular.

Obviously, it’s made from almonds and contains more total fat than peanut butter, but peanut butter is made up of more monounsaturated fat and half as much saturated fat.

Almond butter contains more fiber and fewer carbohydrates than peanut butter, but has the same number of calories.

It also contains more minerals than peanut butter, except for the selenium content.

Related questions

What are the benefits of nut butter in the diet?

Peanut butter, cashew butter, and almond butter contain phytosterols, which are plant versions of animal cholesterol.

Phytosterols, unlike cholesterol, can help lower cholesterol levels in humans. Nut butter is also a good source of minerals, protein, and healthy fats.

They are easy to include in your diet and their nutritional benefits are undeniable.

Should I spend the extra money on almond or cashew butter?

Almond or cashew butter can cost up to almost twice as much as peanut butter, sometimes even more.

If you really want to spend this extra money then of course it’s worth it, however there isn’t much added nutritional value you’d be getting for the huge difference in price.

You just have to make sure that the peanut butter you choose doesn’t have too many unwanted additives.

Does the nut butter separate?

When stored, it is common for the oils and solids in cashew butter to separate. However, peanut butter usually remains unseparated and in the same state.

Cashew butter is made with a variety of oils, including safflower, while hydrogenated vegetable oils are used to make peanut butter.

Cashew vs. Peanut Butter Summary

The obvious difference between the two types of nut butter is that cashew butter is made from cashews, and peanut butter is made from peanuts.

This then means that the two nuts provide the nut butter with different nutritional benefits and unique properties.

On balance, though, there isn’t a huge difference between the two types of nut butters, and both make great inclusions in a diet, just make sure the nut butter you choose doesn’t contain any additives or sweeteners. unwanted, to ensure it is as healthy as possible.