If you are looking for an alternative to peanut butter with a sweet taste and creamy texture, consider trying cashew butter. Made from ground cashew nuts, cashew butter can be used on toasts, in dips and sauces, mixed into oatmeal or in desserts. Many brands contain only cashews, but some may add additional oils, salt or sugar. Cashew butter provides a number of vitamins and minerals, along with heart-healthy fats and protein.
Fat
A 1 tbsp. serving of cashew butter contains 8 g of fat, just 2 g of which is the unhealthy saturated variety. Compare this with 1 tbsp. of dairy butter, which contains 11 g of fat, 7 g of which are saturated. The American Heart Association recommends replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats to help you keep your cholesterol in check, so consider using cashew butter as an alternative to butter on toast, pancakes and muffins.
Vitamins and Minerals
Cashew butter is a source of most of the B vitamins, which are essential to red blood cell health and metabolism. It also provides 41.3 mg of magnesium, which is essential to bone health, and it has 0.8 mg of iron and 0.4 mg of the trace mineral copper per tablespoon. Cashew butter offers small amounts of phosphorus, calcium, selenium, potassium, zinc and manganese -- all minerals that help support strong bones, nervous system function, red blood cell health and immunity.
Protein and Carbs
Cashew butter is a vegetarian source of protein with 3 g per 1 tbsp. serving. Cashew butter is also low in carbohydrates, with just 4 g per tbsp. People on a low-carb diet typically limit their intake of carbs to about 50 to 150 g daily. Cashew butter would not make a significant dent into those carb restrictions.
Peanut Allergies
Peanuts are actually not a nut, but a legume -- so your allergy may extend to other foods in the legume family. Cashews are tree nuts, not legumes. So, even if you are allergic to peanuts, you may be able to enjoy true nut butters without a reaction. Talk to your physician about possibly using cashew butter as a substitute for peanut butter in sandwiches, salad dressings and peanut butter cookies and bars.
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