Nuts, seeds and grains
Almond butter on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 21 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), no added sugar, for around 610 calories. Two tablespoons, about 30 g (1.1 oz), give roughly 6 g of protein for 183 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from almond butter alone you would need about 143 g (5.0 oz). On a small appetite that is often more than one sitting allows, which is why we pair it rather than chase the whole target from one food.
How almond butter sits on a GLP-1
Almond butter is milder and a little runnier than peanut butter, with about 21 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz) and 610 calories in the same weight, so two tablespoons is 6 g of protein for around 180 calories. On a GLP-1 it has the same problem as any nut butter: it is sticky, rich and slow, and a thick spread of it on bread is hard to get down on a dry mouthed morning. Stirred into something wet it keeps its flavour and loses the stickiness.
When your appetite is small
One tablespoon, about 15 g (0.5 oz), stirred into a bowl of Greek yoghurt or a protein pot makes a fat free tub taste rich and adds 3 g. In a milk and whey smoothie it does the same. Counting it as the protein is the mistake; using it to get a dairy protein eaten is the point.
Three ways to prepare it
Stirred into a protein pot or Greek yoghurt
A spoon swirled through. It makes the pot taste like dessert and the pot is doing the protein work.
Blended into a smoothie with milk and whey
Milk, a scoop of whey, a tablespoon of almond butter and a few frozen berries. About 34 g and it goes down like a milkshake.
A thin smear on apple or a rice cake
A snack that is crunchy and small, with a little fat to make it satisfying. Better than a thick spread on bread, which is a filling 8 g.
What to eat it with
Greek yoghurt, milk, whey, apple, banana, dark chocolate, porridge. It is the flavour that gets a protein food finished, so pair it with dairy or whey and let them carry the grams.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Almond butter | about 21 g | 610 kcal | this page |
| Peanut butter | about 24 g | 590 kcal | See the page |
| Almonds | about 21 g | 580 kcal | See the page |
| Greek yoghurt | about 9 g | 95 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, no added sugar, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Almond butter in all three countries, sometimes almond spread in Australia. Natural versions separate and need stirring; the no added sugar versions are the ones to buy. It is roughly twice the price of peanut butter everywhere for about the same protein.
Questions people ask
Is almond butter healthier than peanut butter?
They are close. Almond butter has a little less protein, more vitamin E and magnesium, and costs about twice as much; peanut butter has slightly more protein per spoon. Either one is a flavour to put with milk or yoghurt, not a protein source on its own.
Your number comes first
Knowing what is in a food only helps once you know how much you are aiming for. The target is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of your goal weight, not your current weight, which for most people is 90 to 140 g a day.
Work out your protein targetMore on eating well when your appetite is small: high protein foods for a small appetite, how much protein on a GLP-1, and every food we have written up. The whole system in five documents is the Keep Muscle Kit, A$47 / US$29 / £23.
EverStrong provides nutrition and strength coaching and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace your prescribing doctor.