6 of the Healthiest Peanut Butters

Countless options of peanut butter are available on grocery store shelves today, but not all of them are created equal when it comes to healthiness.

Certain types are rich in unsaturated fats, protein, and fiber with minimal additives, while others are high in added sugar and ingredients that make them less healthy.

You may wonder what the healthiest choices are when it comes to peanut butter.

This article explains how to choose a healthy peanut butter and lists 6 of the healthiest options.

What makes a healthy peanut butter?

Share on Pinterest

A good rule of thumb for choosing a healthy peanut butter is to look for one with the fewest ingredients.

Peanut butter is a relatively unprocessed food that only requires one ingredient — peanuts. They’re typically roasted and ground into a paste to make the final product.

However, one-ingredient peanut butter can be difficult to find unless you grind it yourself. Most commercial peanut butters contain at least peanuts and salt — and oftentimes a slew of other ingredients.

Less healthy products may contain added sugar and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, which offer extra calories and potentially adverse health effects. For example, eating too much added sugar or hydrogenated fats may increase your risk of heart disease (1, 2).

Even some natural and organic peanut butters include these unhealthy ingredients, making it important to read the ingredient panel.

SUMMARY

The healthiest commercial peanut butters contain minimal ingredients, starting with peanuts and sometimes salt. Less healthy varieties often contain hydrogenated vegetable oils and added sugar.

6 of the healthiest options

Below are 6 healthy traditional peanut butter brands, in no particular order.

SUMMARY

6 healthy peanut butters are listed above. They contain minimal ingredients and are made without extra additives that offer no health benefits.

Peanut butters with palm oil

Some peanut butters — including ones with otherwise minimal ingredients — contain palm oil.

Palm oil has a neutral flavor, and its main purpose is to prevent the natural separation of oils in the product. Although palm oil isn’t a hydrogenated trans fat, there may be other concerns associated with its use and consumption.

Palm oil may increase your risk of heart disease if you’re limiting saturated fat in your diet (3, 4).

There are also some indirect public health effects of palm oil. Clearing forests for palm oil production causes air pollution that increases instances of skin, eye, and respiratory disease among nearby populations. It also releases greenhouse gases and destroys the habitats of at-risk species (5).

Peanut butters that contain palm oil may not be quite as healthy as those that only contain peanuts and salt, but here are some options if you prefer a no-stir variety.

These peanut butters use a small amount of palm oil, which may be worth your consideration, but still offer many health benefits.

SUMMARY

Palm oil is used as the second ingredient in several healthier peanut butter brands. Although research is mixed around the heart-health effects of palm oil, its production has indirect consequences that may be worth considering.

Powdered peanut butters

Powdered peanut butter is a newer category. It’s made by removing most of the natural oils from peanuts — a process called defatting — and then grinding the peanuts into a powder. You can then rehydrate the powder with water.

This results in a peanut butter with fewer calories, fat, and carbs, despite a small amount of added sugar in some products. However, powdered peanut butter also offers a bit less protein and a lot less unsaturated fat than traditional peanut butter.

Here are two powdered peanut butter brands that can be a healthy part of your diet.

Powdered peanut butter can still be a healthy option despite having a slightly different nutritional profile than traditional peanut butter.

SUMMARY

Powdered peanut butters can be a healthy option if you’re looking for a peanut butter with fewer calories. However, they also have lower amounts of other healthy nutrients like protein or unsaturated fat, and some contain a small amount of added sugar.

The bottom line

Some peanut butter varieties are healthier than others.

Look for peanut butter that contains minimal ingredients, ideally just peanuts and possibly salt. Avoid peanut butter that contains added sugar or hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Peanut butters that contain palm oil and powdered peanut butters can still be a part of a healthy diet, but they come with some other health considerations when choosing which peanut butter is best for you.

Be sure to look at the ingredient list and nutrition panel on the peanut butter jar to identify exactly what it contains.

Whichever peanut butter you choose, remember to eat it in moderation as part of an overall balanced diet that’s full of nutritious whole foods.