Cashew Butter vs. Peanut Butter - What's the Difference?

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Nut butter is a spreadable foodstuff and is made by forming a paste by grinding nuts. These are delicious replacements for jams, plain butter, or margarine on toast. Nut butters are quite nutritious and contain plenty of fiber, protein, essential fatty acids, and carbohydrates. Kinda the whole package! They’re also used in smoothies, protein shakes, sauces and dips as well.

Amongst all nut butter, the most popular ones are cashew butter and none other than peanut butter, along with soybean butter, pumpkin seed butter, and sunflower seed butter. However, in this article, we will discuss what exactly the difference between peanut butter and cashew butter is so that the two aren’t confused with each other. So, without further delay, let’s get right into it.

Table of Contents

What’s Peanut Butter?

As the name suggests, peanut butter is made by grinding peanuts and forming a paste. It’s one of the most popular spreads all around the world and is a favorite of both kids and adults as it has a nice, creamy texture, delicious taste, and many nutritional benefits. People who go to the gym benefit greatly from peanut butter milkshakes or smoothies because it gives them the boost they need to improve endurance. Similarly, people on a fat-loss program can also make peanut butter an essential part of their diet because of the presence of healthy fats and fiber.

Nutritional Information

According to USDA (US Department of Agriculture), 1 serving (2 tablespoons) peanut butter contains:

188 calories or 789 kilojoule energy
8 g protein
6 g carbohydrate
16 g total fat (3.3 g of which is saturated)
9 g dietary fiber
4 mg sodium
0 mg cholesterol

Benefits

Peanut butter is good for people on a vegetarian diet because it contains a healthy amount of proteins and unsaturated “good” fats.
Research findings indicate that peanut butter contains iron, Vitamin b6 and Magnesium. Vitamin B6 is responsible for protein and amino acid metabolism and for making red blood cells. In addition, iron is involved in the formation of hemoglobin (which transports oxygen in the blood) and myoglobin (which transports oxygen in the muscle cells). Magnesium is essential for regulating fluid/electrolyte balance, muscle contraction, regulating blood pressure, and helping prevent bone and joint problems and kidney stones.
Peanut butter can be used to make cookies, sauces, dips, and cookies.
It is an excellent snack to consume with fruits such as apples and bananas to add more flavor.
Peanut butter contains large amounts of antioxidants that help neutralize free radicals and protect cells from damage.
It is good for skin as well as cardiovascular health.
Since peanut butter is rich in protein and dietary fiber, it helps to promote a feeling of fullness. Therefore, one consumes lesser calories and stays energetic because of the full nutritional profile.

What actually is Cashew Butter?

Cashew butter is made by grinding cashew nuts and forming a paste. For those who follow a plant based diet, cashew butter is a household name. It is not as popular if we compare it with peanut butter, but that surely doesn’t mean cashew butter is any lesser than peanut butter. It may be surprising, but cashew butter is actually way ahead in terms of the nutritional benefits it provides, as compared with peanut butter.

Cashews can be raw or roasted, so it is important to keep in mind which cashew butter one wants to buy. Also, it is noteworthy that raw cashew butter comprises more nutritional properties even after processing.

Nutritional Benefits

According to USDA (US Department of Agriculture), 1 serving (1 tablespoon) of cashew butter contains:

94 calories or 395 kilojoule energy
8 g protein
4 g carbohydrate
8 g total fat (1.6 g of which is saturated)
3 g dietary fiber
65 mg sodium
4 mg potassium
0 mg cholesterol

Benefits

Cashew butter can be used to add a nice, creamy, and buttery flavor to different meals.
It can also be used to prepare sauces, dips, and soups.
The creamy texture of cashew butter makes it a fantastic spread on toast.
It can be added in milkshakes for quick boosts of energy as well.
It contains important minerals such as calcium, potassium, and Magnesium. Calcium, as we know, is essential for bone and tooth health, muscle growth, nerve transmission, and muscle contraction.
Potassium and Magnesium are essential for regulating fluid/electrolyte balance, muscle contraction, regulating blood pressure, and helping prevent bone and joint problems as well as kidney stones.
Cashew butter also contains important vitamins such as vitamin E, vitamin B6, and vitamin B2 (Riboflavin). Vitamin E has cytoprotective (protection against gastric mucosal injury) qualities and is a powerful antioxidant that prevents the oxidation of fatty acids and protects cells from damage.
Vitamin B6 is involved in protein and amino acid metabolism and helps make new proteins and red blood cells. Vitamin B2 is involved in energy production from food. It acts as a coenzyme in order to release energy.
Cashew butter also makes for an interesting and delicious salad dressing.
It is also used as a spread on crackers. So, in case you get bored of toast and nut butter, try cracker and nut butter… you won’t be disappointed!

What’s the Difference Between Cashew Butter and Peanut Butter?

To summarize, peanut butter and cashew butter are almost even in terms of calories and deliciousness. As aforementioned, the protein content is lower in cashew butter and more in peanut butter, unsaturated fats are more in cashew butter than in peanut butter, and more carbohydrates are present in cashew butter than in peanut butter. Also, peanut butter has more dietary fiber than cashew butter.

Allergies

Nut allergies are pretty common nowadays. It is important to realize that it is not exactly the nut but the protein present inside the nut that causes the allergy. So, it is not recommended to choose one over the other to avoid allergic reactions. Because more often than not, people who show an allergic reaction to peanut show an allergic reaction to cashews as well.