This is part 2 of my Ninja Ultima blender review, so, if you haven’t read part 1, you can check that out here. However, this review is more of a story than a review, and it could also be titled, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Because, on the first attempt at this, I completely failed. Don’t worry, it has a happy ending, so keep reading!
Generally, I recommend soaking, rinsing, and drying nuts prior to making nut butter (except peanuts – they are not nuts, and if you soak them you could grow toxic mold – bad idea). This method of soaking, rinsing, and drying, softens the nuts and also removes the natural enzyme inhibitors on the nuts, making them easier to digest.
What it doesn’t do, apparently, is let almonds blend smoothly in the Ninja Ultima blender. (I have only ever made almond butter in the Ninja Mega with the food processor bowl). To cut the story short, on my first try, I achieved a great big F. Failboat with a capital F!
But, determined to not be beaten by a machine, I took another stab at making almond butter, this time, with a slightly different tact: Roasted almonds. Fresh out of almonds, I marched on down to the local Albertson’s in search of bag of almonds to try again.
Standing in the nut aisle, taking stock of the situation, I saw there was only one bag of plain roasted almonds left on the shelf. The top shelf. As I went to reach for it, a small elderly woman, not 5’5” tall whipped her arm up and snatched the almonds! Argh! What to do?!
Luckily, there was another variety of almonds at the ready: Toasted coconut almonds. I had never heard of or seen toasted coconut almonds, but I am hear to tell you –. they are incredible. This goes against everything I have said for years: Soak the nuts! Rinse the nuts! Or even better, sprout the nuts!
Sometimes, you just have to go nuts and have the flavored almonds.
Anyway, moving along to the point of this post, when it comes to almond butter, there are really two camps: Those that love it and those that hate it. Nary a person falls in between, it seems.
Almond butter haters, I really can’t help you!
But, almond butter lovers, this post is going to change your world!
One main drawback to almond butter over peanut butter can be a simple matter of economics. Almond butter is generally quite a bit more expensive than peanut butter. While you can find it at Trader Joe’s for a decent price, you might have to take out a loan to buy a jar of almond butter just about anywhere else.
Therefore, I thought a good demo to show the prowess of the Ninja Ultima blender would be how to make one’s own almond butter from scratch.
After my first attempt failed, I did a little homework on the Ninja site, and saw that in addition to using roasted/toasted almonds, they recommend not using the quad blade for making almond butter, so, I tried just using the bottom blade at first. That didn’t really work that well either, as a lot of almond dust clumped on top of a layer of almond butter on the bottom, so, I put in the quad blade and that worked great. It just took a little trial and error to sort this out, and it was worth the effort.
Bottom line: Can you make almond butter in the Ninja Ultima? Absolutely. Should you? Absolutely.
Making Almond Butter in the Ninja Ultima Blender
Ingredients:
Scale as desired!
- 1 cup roasted or toasted almonds
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- Dash of salt, if desired
Method:
Add almonds to the blender jar
Pulse until finely chopped – 8-10 times
Add oil to blender jar. Note that I didn’t bother melting it.
Turn the speed dial to “low” for BL800 or “3” for all other models and blend for about a minute. You will notice that the motor will rev and seem like it slows down and speeds up. This is totally fine. This picture was taken after about one minute of blending. You can see that there is a creamy texture on the bottom, and almond dust sitting on top. (I took out the quad blade so you could see it better.)
Begin to increase the speed. Move to medium for BL800 and about 4-5 for other models, and blend for 30-45 seconds. You will start to see an almond butter consistency form inside the jar.
Increase the speed to “high” on BL800 or 8-9 on other models and finish blending for about 30 seconds, or until you reach a consistency you like. (Again, I took the quad blade out for this picture).
Store in an airtight container in the fridge. I just happened to have an old almond butter jar (I save them all), so, into a jar it went. Note that the almond butter will come out fairly warm, so you will want to let it cool a bit before putting on the lid.
Try to keep yourself from eating it all immediately. Seriously. This is a legitimate concern with how good this is. One cup of almonds after blending:
One cup worked so well, that I went ahead and did another cup for good measure, so this is two cups of almonds after blending:
And with that, I bid you adieu. I’m off to inhale enjoy some almond butter.
View Comments (23)
Hi Angela,
This went from a review, to a story, to a tutorial ?
Still have not purchased my Ninja, but i am saving up for it as the model I want is a little pricy. (BL820)
The best price I found was at “Bed Bath & Beyond” & although they offer free shipping, there happens to be one 5 miles away from me.
With all the reading & research I have been doing, I am going to be a professional before I take it out of the box.
I have never tasted almond butter before so this may be the first recipe I try after purchase. (hopefully, next month)
Tnkx for the tut !!
Ha, well, yes I guess I aimed to cover all my bases! Or, I was all over the map. ?
If you like coconut and almonds, this almond butter will be a huge hit! (I also did a recipe for coconut peanut butter a couple years ago, so you can find that one in the archives).
Good luck and thanks for your note!
I just loved your story especially the lady that took the last almond pouch. Lol
And it’s great to know the details of making almond butter in the ninja. I think when I made it in the processor I soaked them first. I might have to try this again.
Thanks for all your work.
Ha, Debby. I actually thought to myself, “now this is a first world problem” when “my” pack of almonds went home with someone else!
I have always soaked them in the past, but, this worked super well. I suppose someone could soak, rinse, dry, and then toast to achieve the same effect with the benefits of soaking. But, for convenience, this was admittedly super simple.
Thanks for your note!
Hi! Thanks for this. But my almonds just powder up and go to the four corners of the container, out of reach of the blades. I could leave it on for longer but it wouldn’t make a difference. I tried scraping down the sides, but I end up needing to do it every 20 seconds. I tried adding water and it helps some but it becomes pasty. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Greg
Hi Greg,
Did you add any oil? I found that I had to use the combo of roasted almonds and about a tablespoon of coconut oil, and that did the trick, otherwise, it just powders up like you mentioned. Also, are you using the quad blade in addition to the normal blade?
Angela
Good idea with the coconut oil! You could probably use almond or other oil, too. I don’t have this version Ninja blender. Can this be done with the Ninja Pulse? The blades are different.
Hi Samantha,
I’m sorry to say that I don’t think this will work in the Ninja Pulse. Almonds are so dense and the motor on the Pulse is just not as strong. You won’t get the same creamy consistency with the Pulse, I’m afraid. Don’t get me wrong, it is perfectly fine for most things, but almond butter is not going to be its strong suit.
Angela
Thank you for your reply. I guess I’ll just have to experiment… I just purchased the Ninja Pulse this week. It takes a little getting used to it to figure out what to do with it. The blades are configured differently than a regular blender. I wonder if I put the nuts in my food chopper first if there would be a way to cream them…? I never used a blender to make anything like tahini, almond or peanut butter before.
Hi Samantha,
You may want to check out my Ninja Pulse review over here. It is a great little blender and can do more than a traditional blender, including make peanut butter. I just don’t think it has the power to make almond butter! I use it quite often when I don’t want to dirty up my larger blenders (I have way too many because of all the reviews I’ve done).
Hi Angela-
I checked & I have the Master Prep. My Cuisinart broke – I think I had the one you compared the Pulse to. I think it was refurbished & it was never quite right. I did use it for a bit & I liked chopping nuts with it. Also made smoothies – of course. The Master Prep is a really different sort of animal, though.
You have ALOT of great recipes here! Do you think the Master Prep can make almond butter? I’m going to try the almond milk recipe when I get some almonds.
Hi Samantha,
I would be surprised if the Master Prep can make almond butter. You can probably make peanut butter or cashew butter, but almonds are so tough that they might be hard. However, if you want to give it a try, be sure to use roasted almonds. I learned from experience that for almonds, they have to be roasted to blend. The raw ones just make a big paste. Good luck and let me know if you try it!
Thanks again! I was wondering that exact question – raw or roasted. Next time I go to the health food store I’ll get some almonds. How about for almond milk – or cashew milk? Raw or roasted?
For almond milk or cashew milk, raw works just fine! (I have how two posts on both of those items, in case you haven’t seen them. Your Ninja will be fine for those…) Have fun!
I just made this with my ninja pulse and it did beautifully! Adding the coconut oil was key. And it took less than 5 minutes. I’ve often thought I would have to buy an actual food processor or kitchen-aid type mixer to do this kind of stuff. But the Ninja has turned out to be a handy and powerful kitchen tool. For about a year, we’ve made butter with it every week in about as much time as it took to make the almond butter. Thank you for the wonderful tutorial!
That’s awesome, Amanda! Thank you for letting me know!
The almond butter worked with the Master Prep! It was very easy. I added a little coconut oil & it’s great. It might even work with raw almonds…? Maybe I’ll try that some time in the future? So far I’ve made hummus, babagonoush, a kind of “ice cream” with frozen fruit & greek yougurt, I put a fresh apple into a smoothie – it’s great! Not bad for about $40.
Nice, Samantha! That is great – thanks for letting me know!
Angela
Hi Angela,
I have the Ninja professional, and wondering how to get the butter since it only has 4 settings. Do you think an initial pulsing, then crushing and finally blending would do the trick?
Thanks,
Cathy
Cathy – I watched this video to learn how to make butter in my Ninja Pulse. I’ve been doing it for a year now and it is amazing!
Thank you for chiming in Amanda! Good luck Cathy!