Homemade Baklava Nut Butter
Made of honey-roasted cashews and almonds, this crunchy baklava nut butter is swirled with a mix of toasted pistachios and walnuts with a hint of cardamom to finish it off—it’s the perfect topping to your morning toast and oatmeal!
If you’ve been following me for a while, it’s no secret that I love nut butter, whether it be peanut, almond cashew—you name it. But after discovering the endless flavor combinations of homemade nut butter, I’ve spent a lot of time developing my own recipes. And aside from my Thin Mint Cashew Butter, this baklava butter is one of my all-time favorites!
A lot of my inspiration for nut butter recipes like this one comes from the Ground Up Nut Butter company, but their famed Walnut + Pistachio Baklava Nut Butter is a limited time flavor that’s priced at $18 per jar! Now, even though I love and support their cause, I don’t have the kind of dough to shell out that much money on nut butter (especially when you run through it as fast as I do)!
Luckily, this recipe is a bit easier on the pockets while tasting incredible and hitting all the right notes in the flavor department. Once you make it, I doubt you’ll be able to go back to regular, store-bought peanut butter!
What You’ll Need
Most nut butter recipes have a pretty short ingredient list—here’s what you’ll need for this one!
- Cashews. Cashews don’t add much in terms of taste, but they’ll create an ultra smooth and creamy nut butter base.
- Almonds. For a more traditional “baklava” vibe, you can substitute the almonds for walnuts.
- Honey. Of course, it’s not baklava without honey! For this recipe, we’ll roast the nuts with honey first to get rid of some of its water content and to deepen its flavor.
- Unsweetened shredded coconut. The nut butter won’t taste like coconut, I promise! Adding a small amount of toasted coconut adds a perfect buttery note that’s reminiscent of baklava.
- Cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, and salt. Traditional warming spices that pair perfectly with the honey. If you like, you can also experiment by adding ground cloves, nutmeg, or allspice.
- Chopped walnuts and pistachios. Instead of making pistachios and walnuts the base of this nut butter, I stir them in at the end to preserve their flavor, add some crunch, and mimic that nutty layer in baklava!
Baklava Butter Top Tips and Tricks
Making nut butter from scratch may seem intimidating, but I promise it’s easier than you think. Here are some of my best tips and tricks when it comes to making your own:
- Do NOT skip toasting the coconut flakes. To emulate those buttery notes in baklava, you really need the nutty flavor profile of toasted coconut flakes.
- Use a food processor to make the nut butter. Blenders are much more difficult to manage, plus they require you to constantly scrape down the sides and can easily overheat.
- Let the processor run. The nut butter goes through several stages before turning into a spreadable consistency. This process can take up to 10 minutes, but don’t panic! Just keep the processor running and the mixture will thin out.
- Avoid adding any water or liquid. Fat and water don’t mix, so if you add any liquid to the nut butter—even too much vanilla extract—it will seize into a lumpy mixture (that’s why we toast the nuts and honey first to remove the water content). If you want a runnier nut butter, let the processor run longer or add some neutral oil to thin it out.
How to Store Homemade Nut Butter
If stored in an airtight jar or container, homemade nut butter will last up to 1 month at room temperature—for a longer shelf life, refrigerate it for 2 to 3 months, but keep an eye out for any off smells and tastes, which indicate it’s gone bad.
If stored in the fridge, the nut butter will firm up due to the natural fats solidifying, but this is completely normal.
Serving Suggestions
Aside from eating it out of the jar, here are some of my favorite ways to enjoy homemade baklava butter!
- Swirled into your overnight oats, oatmeal, or yogurt. Add a handful of granola for some extra crunch, and breakfast is done!
- With dates and dark chocolate. I love these as a quick sweet treat before bed—for a full recipe, check out my Snickers Stuffed Dates and substitute the peanut butter with baklava butter!
- On top of banana bread. Pro tip: toast the banana bread first.
- In crepes, pancakes or French toast. I love to top mine with sliced strawberries or banana.
check out my other nut butter recipes!
Homemade Baklava Nut Butter
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped from the pod (or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste)
- ¼ cup chopped toasted walnuts
- ¼ cup chopped toasted pistachios
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scatter the cashews and almonds onto the baking sheet, then pour over the honey, tossing to coat evenly.
- Bake the cashews for 10-15 minutes, using a spatula to toss the nuts every 5 minutes so they toast evenly.
- In the meantime, toast the shredded coconut in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until evenly golden brown and a nutty aroma is released, about 3-5 minutes. This step can also be done by toasting the coconut on a sheet pan in the oven for 5-10 minutes, stirring once or twice midway through.
- Immediately scrape the coconut into a bowl to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
- Once the nuts are browned, remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool slightly (about 5 minutes).
- Place the toasted nuts along with the toasted shredded coconut into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Make sure that any steam from the cashews can release through the feeding tube, otherwise the condensation can drip into the nut butter and cause it to seize.
- Allow the machine to run until a nut butter forms, scraping down the sides every few minutes. It will turn from a crumbly flour to a thick paste then nut butter (this could take up to 10 minutes). The longer you process it, the runnier the butter will be.
- Once a nut butter forms, add the spices, vanilla, and salt, then process until evenly incorporated. Taste and adjust the salt levels, if needed. Scrape the nut butter into an airtight container or jar, then stir in the chopped walnuts and pistachios.
- Store at room temperature (or in the fridge) for around a month.
