Nut-Free Alternatives to Peanut Butter

You may want to try some nut-free alternatives to peanut butter when you can’t eat peanut butter due to a peanut allergy. Here are some of my favorite peanut- and tree nut free spreads.

This post was originally about Sneaky Chef’s No Nut Butter made from pea protein which is no longer available to buy. So I overhauled the post to talk about nut-free alternatives to peanut butter. This is a great food allergy resource for people with a peanut allergy as well as their friends, family, and community who wish to be supportive. The post is not sponsored by any of the companies mentioned and is based on what I buy and like.

Disclaimer: Please check that all ingredients are suitable for your allergies and be sure to ask your medical care team regarding any allergy related questions (I do not share medical advice). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nut-Free Butters and Safety

Nut-free spreads could be made from a variety of ingredients such as roasted soy, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and even garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas). It’s important to contact the manufacturer about any potential risk of allergen cross-contact. If you are not sure what questions to ask, your allergist can give you guidance about what you should ask based on your allergy history and needs.

If you are visiting this page because you know someone in your family, at school or work who has a peanut and/or a tree nut allergy and you’re wondering what’s safe to serve to them or eat around them, thank you for caring!

Under certain conditions, peanut proteins persist on surfaces over 110 days due to its stickiness and difficulty to clean effectively. When you choose a nut-free spread, you help keep people with peanut and tree nut allergy safe. Someone can unknowningly touch a peanut butter contaminated surface and then touch their eyes or mouth and trigger an allergic reaction.

Keep in mind that some times people with a peanut allergy might also have other allergies to nut-free butter ingredients also. Be aware that some peanut allergic people are also allergic to tree-nuts, seeds, and/or beans, so it’s important to ask the person or their caregiver which ingredients they can safely eat or be around.

Nut-Free Sunflower Seed Spread

I like sunflower seed butter spreads, they look and taste a lot like peanut butter. According to a USDA study, sunflower seed butter has significantly more monounsaturated fat, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, and selenium than either almond or peanut butter.

SunButter is a great allergy-friendly brand that is free to the top 9 allergens with lots of varieties, including no-added sugar, natural crunch, and organic. I like that their sunflower butter does not separate and stays homegenized for easy spreading.

I also buy Trader Joe’s Sunflower Seed Spread (call them to verify allergen cross-contact). They also have a no-sugar option which I haven’t tried nor called about yet. Their sunflower seed spread needs to be stirred a little bit (or a lot) with a knife for a few minutes, get an arm mini-workout, and then the spread is creamy and perfect for spreading and dipping.

88 Acres also makes sunflower seed spreads but I listed them below under the pumpkin butter section.

Sunflower Seed Butter as a Sesame Oil Substitute

My favorite use of sunflower seed butter is using it as a sesame seed oil substitute. Sometimes sunflower seed butter separates or is a little bit runny at the top when you first open the jar. That’s perfect for Asian recipes which call for sesame oil in a marinade, dressing, dip, or sauce. I normally do not use sesame oil for stir frying so I wouldn’t use runny sunflower seed spreads either.

Some jars of the Trader Joe’s sunflower seed spread will have oil that has separated from the paste and that will work in a pinch as a sesame oil sub. The resulting sunflower seed paste can be diluted with other cooking ingredients in sauces and soups where the spreadable texture is not as critical.

Nut-Free Pumpkin Seed Spread

88 Acres is also an allergy-friendly brand that is free of top allergens. They make a delicious nut-free pumpkin seed butter as well as various flavors of sunflower seed butters. Their chocolate sunflower seed butter is a great nut-free alternative to Nutella or other similar chocolate hazelnut spreads.

My favorite is their pumpkin butter. Pumpkin butter is made from pumpkin seeds and has a green appearance. It has a lot of health benefits including being a high protein food that is also high in magnesium and tryptophan, which help with sleep.

Nut Free Soy Butter

My favorite brand of soy butter is Wowbutter, it looks and spreads just like peanut butter, and is made from roasted soy “nuts.” The company has been a huge supporter and sponsor of food allergy events in the past.

One of the many benefits of soy is that it’s almost a complete protein, which is great for people who are more plant-based or don’t eat a lot of meat.

Other Nut-Free Spreads

Over the years I have met some manufacturers of nut-free spreads made from chickpeas, also called garbanzo beans. That was 5-6 years ago and the brands couldn’t convince me that they were allergy-safe so I never mentioned them. Also they didn’t taste good as some of the other options mentioned above so I wasn’t convinced that chickpea spreads would make great peanut butter alternatives. To be fair, it has been many years since I last tasted a chickpea butter sample so there might be better options by now.

I’ve also seen sesame butter spreads and coconut butter spreads but haven’t tried or vetted them to make any recommendations regarding taste or allergen safety. Just know that they exist and if someone is allergic to sesame or coconut, they need to clarify about what kind of nut-free butter before eating or touching.

Lastly, some people also like Biscoff spreads. Biscoff biscuits are nut-free and delicious treat and apparently they are made into a sweet spreadable butter. I haven’t tried it but it’s an option for those who can’t have nuts, soy, beans, and seeds to verify whether the Biscoff spread is also nut-free.

Peanut-Free Tree Nut Butters

Peanut-free tree nut butters are not nut-free and we should be aware of them. Tree nut butters are made from tree nuts such as almonds, cashews, pistachios, or mixed nuts. People who are allergic to peanuts and tree nuts could get sick from eating tree nut butters even though they don’t contain peanuts.

Some individuals might only be allergic to peanuts and not allergic to tree nuts such as almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, etc.. Or they might be outgrowing certain tree nuts and need a nut butter for an oral food challenge, which is exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time.

In those situations where you and your allergist decide that it would be worthwhile to have an oral food challenge under medical supervision at the doctor’s office with a tree nut or tree nut butter, then you will want to find a tree nut butter that is manufactured in a [insert tree nut] only facility with no potential cross-contact with peanuts or other tree nuts that you may be allergic to.

For example Barney Butter makes almond butter in an almonds-only facility. They recently added a peanut butter line that is manufactured in separate facilities so that the almond butter continues to be safe for people who are allergic to peanuts.

Be Vigilant

For some people the sight, smell, and/or texture of nutty or even nut-free butters might make them feel anxious so they might not want to try these nut-free alternatives, which is understandable.

However, it is a reasonable goal to learn to find the right balance between vigilance and confidence around foods that might look like an allergen but isn’t. It’s important to watch out for hidden peanut butter and nut butter in desserts, sauces, and other recipes which was on my mind when I shared a recipe for Nut-Free Brownies with Sunflower Butter Cups.

On the other hand, knowing that there are nut-free butter spreads helps everyone to enjoy a greater variety of foods, recipes, and health benefits from eating no-nut butters when they can’t eat nuts. I often snack on apples or cut veggies with a no-nut butter or use it to make a dip for spring rolls and cut veggies, so good! Are there other nut-free butters that you enjoy that we should try? Please share in the comments.

Related Posts

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Nut Free Wok’s “10 Giveaways in 10 Days” – an overview of some of the best allergy-safe brands that I love.

Nut-Free Food Finds At WFFS20 (2023 Update) – I attended this food show for years. You can read about the last one I attended and then at the bottom there’s a list of posts from the previous years.

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I may mention the names of stores and/or brand names of products that I use because readers ask and I share products and sources which I use and think may be helpful to readers, all opinions are my own. Please note that manufacturing practices and ingredients can change at anytime without notice and readers are always responsible for assuring allergen safety before buying or consuming foods. NutFreeWok.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Thank you for reading!