It wasn’t long ago that crunchy or smooth was the sum total of our nut butter options. Now the humble peanut is jostling for shelf space with almond, cashew and pistachio, alongside jars flavoured with spices, seeds, chocolate and a spoonful of bakery-inspired nostalgia.
Hot cross bun peanut butter (thank you, Mothernutter and Manilife) is the latest salvo in the gooey contest for Britain’s favourite toast topper, underlining just how competitive spreads have become. Jam and marmalade are being edged aside: peanut butter overtook jam in UK sales for the first time in 2020, and sales of jam and marmalade have continued to slide, falling by more than 5 per cent in the year to September 2025. Nut butter is now making a bid to unseat honey from its long-held perch as number one.
According to The Grocer magazine, the nut butter market is fiercely contested “hot territory” and Waitrose confirms the trend. Searches for almond butter on its website have surged 177 per cent over the past year, peanut butter by 64 per cent and cashew butter by 20 per cent. And texture is winning: sales of crunchy peanut butter are 25 per cent higher than smooth. “There’s no doubt we’re going nuts for nut butter,” says Lizzie Haywood, the supermarket’s trend innovation manager.
Full of flavour – and health benefits
In the race for toast dominance, nut butters have joined the trend for flavour mash-ups. Last year, ManiLife launched a limited-edition chocolate peanut butter, hot on the heels of its almond and hot milk chocolate version. At Christmas, the brand’s mince pie peanut butter had fans calling for it all-year round, and its hot cross bun jar, available now, is the latest twist.
At the same time, we’re turning to nut butter for its health credentials, too. An excellent source of protein (almost 30g per 100g in some jars), nut-based spreads are also a good source of fibre, healthy fats, minerals and vitamins. That’s why there’s been a “massive surge”, according to Waitrose, in sales of its 100 per cent nuts range that contains no palm oil, added sugar or other additives. Elsewhere, seeds and spices are increasingly used by producers to tempt customers, both for flavour and health reasons.
Not just for toast
Beyond the morning slice, we’re getting creative with nut butters at home. “It’s no longer just a humble toast topper, it’s evolved into the star of the show,” Haywood says. Brands such as Pip & Nut are stuffing nut butters into cereal bars and granola, while shoppers are spooning it onto ice cream and into dates for a quick snack.
Chefs are fully behind it too. Restaurateur Nam Parama Raiva, of London’s Platapian restaurant, says nut butters deliver similar results to freshly ground nuts widely used in Thai cooking. “Nut butter brings richness, body and aromatic depth to a dish,” she says, adding that darker roasts can make a sauce feel “fuller and more rounded”.
She suggests stirring a spoonful of peanut or cashew butter into curries for “extra body and a deeper nutty aroma”. Nut butter can also soften sharper flavours such as lime or vinegar, while complementing chilli and spices. Nam loves a dollop of nut butter on coconut milk ice cream.
Edd Kimber, baker, food writer and author of Chocolate Baking: The Ultimate Guide to Cakes, Cookies, Desserts and Pastries (Quadrille, £28), adores peanut butter stirred through noodles for a quick dinner and adds it to his homemade granola. But bakes are where nut butters really shine, he says. “It’s a source of fat, which is foundational to most baking recipes but more importantly it can add a world of flavour and texture.”
How to use nut butters
- Add to smoothies and shakes, melt into hot porridge or swirl through pancake batter.
- Bake into chocolate cakes and brownies: almond or cashew butter can usually replace peanut butter in recipes, says Kimber, though their flavour is not as pronounced.
- Use up a near-empty jar by adding vinaigrette ingredients and shaking well to make a nutty salad dressing.
- Make a cheat’s satay sauce: stir peanut butter with sweet chilli sauce, soy or fish sauce, lime juice and a splash of water.
- And a hand tip: stop oil separation by storing the jar upside down, recommends Waitrose development chef Stephen Parkins-Knight. Gravity pulls the oil back through the solids, leaving a creamier texture.