‘I had to spit it out’: the best (and worst) supermarket crunchy peanut butter, tried and tested

We try 25 jars of peanut butter in search of the best brand to slather on toast

“Well that’s not true,” says the Good Doctor grumpily, eyeing a jar of peanut butter, one of the 25 lined up on our kitchen table. It’s the label he has a problem with: ‘100 per cent nuts’. “Peanuts aren’t nuts.” 
Pedantic, yes, irritating, a bit, but also right. Peanuts are legumes, like peas and beans, growing in pods. Nuts grow singly, in hard shells with a protective husk, like almonds and walnuts. We treat peanuts as nuts, and in many ways they are more like nuts than beans. In particular, they are high in oil, nearly half their weight. This is less than hazelnuts and walnuts, but on a par with almonds, and around 20 times higher than peas or haricot beans. Even soybeans are only around one fifth oil. 
Peanuts are also higher in protein than nuts, and all the legumes except soybeans, at 26g per 100g. This has made them popular with the health food brigade, and having tasted my way through 25 peanut butters I can vouch for their reputation as a filling snack. 
That protein is also part of the peanut’s problem. Peanuts are the most common cause of food allergy, and like almost all serious allergies (as opposed to intolerances) it’s caused by the protein. It’s a mystery why peanut protein is such an issue, but certainly they have both a lot of protein, and a wide variety of kinds. 
If you can eat peanuts, though, there’s a lot to be said for them, as well as protein and fibre, they contain lots of vitamin E as well as other valuable minerals. The recent PURE study, a global examination of the relationship of health and diet, recommends that we all eat a handful of nuts (30g) every day. Happily, that’s not just tree nuts (as true nuts are called, to differentiate them from groundnuts, another name for peanuts), but peanuts as well. 
Just as well, as peanuts are far cheaper than tree nuts. Almonds cost around £2 for 200g, while Asda has a 200g bag of raw peanuts for 80p. Not only that, but peanuts have a lower water footprint than water guzzling almonds, or even hazelnuts, cashews and walnuts, according to waterfootprint.org. 
Yes (no crop is without its issues), that has to be balanced with the nature of groundnuts – they don’t grow on trees, and trees suck carbon out of the atmosphere. Nonetheless, they still produce less carbon than grains or soybeans. But in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, peanuts are among the most efficient producers of protein out there. 
So, happy with peanuts? Then peanut butter is a good way to boost your nut intake, and protein count, especially if you are cutting back on meat, fish and dairy. It’s also even cheaper than those raw peanuts, with the least expensive peanut butter I tried, Sainsburys Stamford St Co, coming in at 29p per 100g – although that had one of the lowest peanut contents, at 87 per cent, and included added ingredients, rapeseed oil, palm oil, sugar and salt, none of which has any nutritional benefit to speak of. 
Prices did vary enormously, rising to £1.64/100g for the most expensive, ManiLife organic peanut butter. ManiLife at least did give a source of the peanuts – Argentina. Marks and Spencer and Pip & Nut also use Argentinian peanuts, as apparently these are higher in monounsaturated fats and oleic acid, a fatty acid also abundant in olive oil that’s an antioxidant. 
But none of the other brands deigned to share where their peanuts come from, perhaps because the provenance changes all the time as prices on the world market shift. Me, I’d like to know: does it bother you? Let me know in the comments online. 
How you feel about the added salt and sugar is very personal – and also depends how you’re going to use it. I love peanut butter in Indonesian-style dressings, for gado-gado salads of crunchy vegetables, and to cook into West African-inspired stews. For that I’d want peanut butter without sugar. Equally, for a cheesecake or ice cream, a salt-free one might be better. 
With the notable exception of Sun-Pat, which includes stabiliser E471, there was nothing too alarming in the ingredients of any of the peanut butters except palm oil, which has question marks over its sustainability and edges those jars into the Ultra-processed Food category. It makes for a stiffer texture (the less adulterated ones tended to be oilier) as well as dampening the flavour and nutrition levels a bit. 
It seems churlish to quibble about something so nutritious and good value, though. After all, the best cheap ones weren’t bad at all, and if you’re worried about cost (who isn’t these days?) they are still good to eat and loaded with protein. And that is definitely true. 
£1.99 for 340g (58p/100g)
Soil Association certified (good) and containing just peanuts and salt, with a runny, shiny consistency. Sadly it tastes rancid (despite having a sell-by date of October 24). I had to spit it out. Awful.
No stars 
£2.50 for 340g (73p/100g)
Very separated and runny. Tastes faintly rancid, with a lingering bitterness. This would be a disaster on a PBJ sandwich. I’m disappointed in you, Waitrose.
No stars 
£1.25 for 340g (37p/100g)
Thick gleaming paste, large chunks of nuts. Faintly vegetal, off flavour, and slightly bitter. The stuff of the school sports pavilion.
99p for 340g (29p/100g)
Looks smoother than the others – like a toffee spread. It tastes sweet, rather than confected, but the peanut flavour isn’t strong. 
£1.09 for 340g (32p/100g)
Pale in colour with a satin-y, thick paste. It’s quite salty and tastes slightly cabbagey – I don’t love it. 
£1.25 for 280g (45p/100g)
Very separated, dark and shiny. I can see flecks of skin, which I like, as well as the chunks of nut. However, there’s no salt and the flavour that comes through is oil, not peanuts.
£1.22 for 340g (36p/100g) 
There’s nothing objectionable about this one. It looks creamy and thick with rough chunks of nuts. It’s got a mild flavour and is a bit sweet.
£1.80 for 340g (53p/100g)
A very runny and shiny texture with small bits of nuts. It sticks to my mouth and has a vegetal taste where I could do with a more peanut flavour.  
£3.99 for 1kg (40p/100g) 
Another runny and shiny one, but the nuts are chunky this time. It’s got a bland taste that’s oily and sweet, although a bit of peanut comes through later. 
£1.49 for 340g (44p/100g) 
Thick paste that’s pale in colour. Feels dry and claggy – how it looks. There’s a biscuity flavour that’s almost nutty rather than peanutty.
£1.25 for 340g (37p/100g)
Another pale and thick peanut butter that’s biscuity in flavour. It’s quite salty and overall just fine. 
£2.20 for 300g (73p/100g)
Thick, matte paste that’s got quite a confected flavour. It’s sweet and salty and is as if you’re eating peanut butter-flavour ice cream rather than the real deal.
£1.09 for 340g (32p/100g)
Shiny and pale, toffee-coloured butter that almost tastes like it, too. The nuts are very crunchy so you really feel like you’re getting a snack. Tastes fresh, but not heavily roasted – good if you like your peanut butter on the sweet side.  
£1.80 for 340g (53p/100g) 
Shiny and a bit split looking. This one really sticks to my lips and the nuts are nice and crunchy. It’s got a mild flavour with a gentle sweetness and feels pleasingly fresh. 
£1.80 for 340g (53p/100g)
Looks like Marmite butter with its deep tan colour and it’s got a salty, toasty and caramelised flavour, too. Very distinctive.
£2.35 for 340g at Tesco (69p/100g) 
Dark coloured butter with large pieces of peanut. It seizes and dries in the mouth the same way tahini does. However, it has a nice, toasty peanut flavour that’s also very sweet. 
£4.49 for 275g at Waitrose (£1.64/100g)
Inside this dark, runny gloop lies huge, whole nuts. Another one that seizes in the mouth but it has quite a nice, sweet and savoury flavour. It’d be good as a satay sauce. 
£4.50 for 454g at Tesco (99p/100g)
Thick paste with large nut chunks. Savoury, but not very toasty.
£2.80 for 280g at Sainsbury’s (£1/100g)
If you like dark-roasted nuts then this one’s for you. Runny, dark and glossy with small chunks of peanuts and flecks of skin. However, it is rather oily and there’s not much salt. 
£3.10 for 300g (£1.03/100g)
Soft texture, medium colour. Not claggy, with a reasonable flavour. Very middle of the road. Won’t fight with the jelly in your PBJ sandwich.
£1.09 for 340g (32p/100g)
Thick and matte texture. Not at all oily so it’s a bit drying but it warms up in the mouth and  tastes nicer and natural with the lovely crunchy nuts. However, some may find this a bit too salty. 
£3.80 for 340g at Waitrose (£1.12/100g)
One of the palest in colour that we tried – aside from the brown-flecked paste. There’s an earthy, unprocessed taste and a raw, rather than roasted peanut flavour comes through. A bit on the dry side. 
£1.09 for 340g (32p/100g)
Glistening and thick. Nice texture, not claggy, good upfront peanut taste. Balanced salt, but it’s a shame about the added palm oil. 
£1.09 for 340g (32p/100g)
Very pasty, but lovely savoury peanut flavour. Intensely peanut, despite containing palm oil. It is a bit dry though. This one would be great for cooking. 
£2 for 340g at Ocado (59p/100g)
Shiny, grainy looking and runny. Nice savouriness. A bit oily but well-balanced – not obviously sweet or salty. An excellent all-rounder.