If you are looking for new dishes and ingredients to add to your restaurant’s holiday menu, think “nut butters.” Rising to the top of the popularity charts among professional chefs and bakers alike, your customers are in for a New Year’s treat as you introduce their pallets to the likes of walnut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, pecan butter, soy nut butter, and even seed butters for those with nut allergies.
Moreover, these specialty items are appearing in more that just bread and dessert recipes. From soups and sauces to salad dressings, dips, and main dishes, you can cook up a storm with nut butters, creating dishes guaranteed to satisfy customers during the holiday season and keep them coming back for more in the year to come.
Decadent Nut Butter Combinations
And here are some more ways to enhance your 2021 restaurant menu. Nut butters can be combined with other flavors in mouth-watering ways, giving rise to rich chocolate-hazelnut butter, coffee-almond butter, vegan chocolate avocado peanut butter, chocolate-sunflower seed butter, and other novel combinations.
Peanut Butter Mania Lives On
If you’re wondering where classic peanut butter fits into the mix, you’ll find the age-old popular spread is still near the top of the list! Not only does it continue to be many consumers’ go-to dollop on top of toast, apples, rice cakes, oatmeal, and more, but peanut butter is increasingly being used as a secret ingredient in breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes.
Also fueling peanut butter’s dominance has been the advent of the corona pandemic. During the global upheaval, peanut butter emerged as a leading staple in the food industry, earning top scores (and top dollars) for being an affordable, dependable, and beloved comfort food for customers of all ages. According to market reports, sales of peanut butter surged by 163% during the pandemic, while social media, Instagram and Pinterest searches for ‘pb recipes’ proliferated. Many recipes went viral on video-sharing platforms, while whipped peanut butter milk has also been enjoying the limelight in what is being hailed as ‘the peanut butter phenomenon”.
Getting a Taste for Nut Butters
To help your ‘biz cash in on the current trends and entice diners to choose your eatery over the competition, grab a large tablespoon, take a swirl, and we’ll get a taste for some the most popular types of nut butters and what they have to offer. Then, we’ll get into the holiday mood with an irresistible Cashew Butter Gingerbread recipe.
Nut Butter Benefits
Across the board, nut butters boast the following benefits:
- Energy boosters
- Excellent source of plant protein
- Full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats
- High in fiber (aiding in digestion and bowel function)
- Satiating, helping support weight loss efforts
- Contain a variety of nutrients, including B vitamins, zinc, phosphorous, potassium, iron, magnesium, and vitamin E
- All-natural (no added sugar, salt, or oils)
- Vegan
- Enjoy a long shelf life
Types of Nut Butters
In a nutshell (pun intended), here are some of the key features of popular nut butters:
Almond Butter: Lower in sugar than peanut butter but similar in thickness and texture. Particularly high in monounsaturated fats and protein. Helps ward off hunger between meals and provides calcium, vitamin E, and magnesium. Consider adding almond butter to hot oatmeal, to cookie and cake batter, or use as a dip with fruit and vegetables.
Cashew Butter: Higher in sugar and slightly lower in protein and fat than other nut butters. Provides 10% of the daily recommended intake of iron per serving (two tablespoons). The creamiest nut butter available, it is often used to replace dairy in recipes that call for milk or cream. Experiment with cashew butter in baking recipes, stir into cooked noodles, use to make non-dairy ice cream, or dab on top of chicken and vegetables for added flavor.
Walnut Butter: Boasting the greatest number of omega-3 fatty acids, walnut butter helps lower ‘bad’ (LDL) cholesterol, increase ‘good’ (HDL) cholesterol, and may help reduce inflammation. Slightly lower in protein and fiber than its counterparts. Perfect as a base for smoothies or as a tasty spread on top of toast or muffins.
Hazelnut Butter: Particularly high in sugar, this popular variety is often used to top off rich, calorie-laden desserts. If you are not making the butter from scratch, buyer beware: Some commercial varieties add sugar and oil, so be sure to read the label.
Soy Nut Butter: A welcome alternative for people with peanut/nut allergies. Similar in taste and texture to peanut butter. Provides 7 grams of soy protein per serving and contains significantly less saturated fat than most nut butters.
Peanut Butter: Rich in antioxidants, it also provides the highest amount of protein among all nut butters (approx. 8 grams per serving). Super versatile and affordable. Spread it on toast, pancakes or waffles, pair it with bananas and apples, use as a dip with celery and carrot sticks, stir into sauces for added thickness, use as a base for soups, as a marinade for grilled chicken and tofu, or add a spoonful to smoothies for a nutritional boost. And for your PB-loving customers with a sweet tooth, be sure to satisfy their cravings with recipes such as peanut butter eggnog, chocolate avocado peanut butter pudding, no bake PB brownies, peanut butter cheesecake, pb caramel trifles, and more.
Nut Butter Dish Ideas
To take your customers’ favorite recipes to the next level while providing a nutritious boost of energizing protein and fiber, consider some of these practical uses of nut butters in cooking and baking.
- Add to soups for a creamy richness
- Use to flavor croutons for soups and salads
- Drizzle on cooked vegetables
- Use in sauces to top pasta and fish
- Slather on baked potatoes and sweet potatoes
- Experiment with ‘out of the box’ recipes such as Avocado-Cashew Pene and Macadamia Rum Tropical Fruit Salad
- Kick off your breakfast menu with nut butter protein shakes and smoothies. Consider flavors such as almond-butter-banana, cashew-pineapple, and apple walnut
- Add pecan maple pancakes and waffles topped with pecan maple syrup
- Main dishes will never be the same when you don your creative chef’s hat and conjure up recipes such as walnut vegetable pot pie, Brazilian nut stew, vegan-cashew cream cheese, and more
Finally, don’t forget to update your restaurant’s sandwich menu! Moving beyond classic PB&J, expand your eatery’s repertoire to include newcomers such as hazelnut-drizzled quesadillas, vegetable tacos with peach-almond sauce, or baked garlic eggplant in a pita pocket, covered in lemon-walnut sauce….
Nut Butter Holiday Recipes
With Christmas and New Year’s around the corner, it’s time to think gingerbread – and not just any gingerbread. This year, you can pamper your patrons with delicious plant-based, gluten-free, and Paleo friendly Cashew Butter Gingerbread.
Not only are cashews naturally creamy with a light flavor that contrasts well the bold gingerbread spices, but they are a rich source of magnesium and monounsaturated fats with10% of the daily recommended value of iron. Gingerbread is also the perfect holiday gift and party food.
Here is a winning recipe yielding about one cup of cashew nut butter. Simply add to your favorite gingerbread recipe, wrap in a bow, and enjoy!
Cashew Nut Butter Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw, unsalted cashews
- 2-3 tsp. gingerbread spice mix (make from a combination of ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and all-spice)
- 1-2 tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 tbsp. coconut sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Add cashews to a food processor and grind for several minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides and bottom. The cashews should turn to crumbs and then turn into a thick paste.
- Add spices. Start with two teaspoons. Add more for a stronger flavor.
- Add optional coconut sugar by pulsing a few times to combine.
- Drizzle in the coconut oil to smooth out the texture. Start with 1 tablespoon and add more for a creamier result.
- Store at room temperature in a covered jar until ready to use.
Note: You can substitute cashews with other types of nuts, varying the amount of coconut oil used. You can also mix in other spices or add cocoa powder for a chocolate gingerbread flavor.
Happy Holidays!