Koy Pantry Antep Pistachio Butter
There are only two ingredients in Koy Pantry’s Pistachio Butter, but this textured nut spread is packed with intense flavor. Unlike other nut butters on the market that are dense and artificial-tasting, Koy Pantry’s rendition tastes only of pure pistachios, nothing else. Made from Antep pistachios, a Türkiye-grown nut renowned for its vibrant green color and creamy, buttery flavor, it’s sweet, nutty and bright—and perfectly spreadable, with a consistency similar to almond butter. All pistachios are carefully sourced and selected from local Turkish farms, then air-dried, cracked and ground with a bit of sugar for a flavorful—not cloying—result. Slather it on toast, cakes, cookies and pastries, whip into frosting, fold into batters or ice cream base, blend into a smoothie, stir into yogurt or eat it straight off the spoon. The possibilities are endless.
Pic's Smooth Peanut Butter
Pic’s Peanut Butter works equally well for classic peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as it does for baking and cooking. Choose between salted or unsalted—even the salted version has only half the salt of comparable brands. And while not impervious to separating, we find the peanut butter comes together quickly with just a stir or two, as opposed to the vigorous blending required with other versions. It also boasts a shelf stability up to 10 times greater than regular peanut butter. And the peanut butter itself is always made without any added sugar, oil or emulsifiers, so the peanut flavor comes through clearly in both sweet and savory recipes.
Dong He Oil Sesame and Peanut Paste, Stone Ground
Create a nearly instant peanut sauce with Yun Hai’s rich and heady paste, which is made from peanuts and white sesame seeds that are stone ground to maintain the most pure flavor and texture. Thick but still pourable, we like it mixed into a salad dressing or sauce, but it’s also great combined into desserts, like tahini would. The combination of sweet and slightly bitter, with a toasty nuttiness and smooth consistency, is perfect for clinging to noodles. Use it for a complementary flavor in recipes that call for peanut butter or sesame paste.
Martin Picard Maple Dulce de Leche
Creamy and sweet with a hit of toasty maple, this Dulce de Leche made our kitchen testers swoon. It’s made by a French-Canadian chef, Martin Picard, who operates a sugar shack and maple grove, as well as the renowned Quebec restaurant, Au Pied de Cochon. This rendition starts with the familiar rich, caramel-y flavors that are essential to dulce de leche, but adds a twist of nutty, homemade maple syrup for a more complex and luxurious result. Serve drizzled over pastry and desserts like waffles, sandwich cookies and cakes, use as a spread for toast, as a filling for croissants, or as a dip for cut fruit.
Il Colle Del Gusto Sicilian Pistachio Spread
Made from Sicilian pistachios and extra-virgin olive oil, Pistacchiosa is a creamy, aromatic spread you will want to put on all your desserts and, yes, eat straight out of the jar.
Pic's Crunchy Peanut Butter
Fans of chunky peanut butter will love this version from New Zealand. Whereas many chunky peanut butters are just smooth peanut butter with occasional nut pieces, the New Zealand brand has a full mouthfeel, with the right ratio of plentiful crunchy bits to smooth butter for a satisfying consistency with every bite. It also boasts a shelf stability up to 10 times greater than regular peanut butter. And the peanut butter itself is always made without any added sugar, oil or emulsifiers, so the peanut flavor comes through clearly in both sweet and savory recipes.
Il Colle del Gusto Granellona Crunchy Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
Il Colle del Gusto's Granellona Brut crunchy hazelnut spread is a lighter, glossier and more aromatic version of Nutella. With a high hazelnut content of up to 42%, it is made using local, high-quality roasted nuts from Italy, which have a toasty, buttery flavor, light sweetness and earthy depth. The fruity notes of extra-virgin olive oil enhance the chocolate and round out the floral-scented vanilla, while the chopped hazelnut pieces add a bit of crunch to the silky spread. Add to ice cream, pancakes, pastries and more.
Castillo de Jijona Marcona Almond Butter
Castillo de Jijona’s Spanish Marcona Almond Butter is the only one we’ve found of its kind—it’s made from 100 percent Spanish Marcona almonds, a prized, slightly sweeter, smoother alternative to a conventional almond. The flavor is buttery, rich and neutral, with its only sweetness coming naturally from the almonds. It has a velvety, pourable consistency, much different than the grainier, drier versions made from standard almonds; we found that very little stirring was required upon opening to reincorporate any natural separation of the oils. Try it as an ingredient or a topping for desserts, smoothies, oatmeal, vinaigrettes or vegetables. The butter’s creamy consistency incorporates easily into other ingredients.
Il Colle Del Gusto Noccioliva Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
Il Colle del Gusto's Noccioliva smooth hazelnut spread is a lighter, glossier and more aromatic version of Nutella. With a high hazelnut content of up to 42%, it is made using local, high-quality roasted nuts from Italy, which are ground down into a silky-smooth texture. This spread makes a wonderful addition to almost any dessert—the olive oil makes it easy to incorporate into pastry cream or any custard base. We also love it for breakfast: Spread it on a crêpe as the French do, slather on toast, or top with fresh sliced fruit.
Soom Chocolate Sweet Tahini Spread
You can think of this chocolate tahini spread as the bittersweet, dark-chocolate sister of Nutella. Similar to how adding espresso powder to brownies brings out the chocolate flavor, the nutty and pleasantly bitter notes of toasted sesame are a wonderful counterpoint to the chocolate in this spreadable halva. Soom's tahini is made from roasted and pressed premium white sesame seeds that have an ideal oil-to-protein ratio and result in a creamy, pourable texture.
Il Colle Del Gusto Arachidella Peanut Spread
Not to be confused with your run-of-the-mill peanut butter, Il Colle del Gusto’s Arachidella Peanut Spread is decadently sweet—elevating the beloved taste of the childhood favorite with the molasses-y depth of caramelized brown sugar. Petite flecks of candied peanut add a toffee-like crunch to every spoonful, while a silken base of extra-virgin olive oil yields a luscious, caramel-like texture. And as we learned from the ever-popular “Nutella,” the Italian suffix “ella” is tacked onto a word to show affection, so there’s no question why it’s used in the name of this divine spread.
Soom Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Sweet Tahini Spread
This sweet spread is made with Soom’s incredible tahini—a Milk Street bestseller—and we can’t get enough. Creamy and thick, the tahini adds a lovely nuttiness when blended with dark chocolate and balanced out with a bite of sea salt. And it’s not so sweet that you can’t taste the medley of flavors, which is an issue we have with other popular chocolate nut spreads. Soom's tahini is made from roasted and pressed white sesame seeds that have an ideal oil-to-protein ratio and result in a creamy, pourable texture.