Can You Make Nut Butter With An Immersion Blender?
No. Immersion blenders are used for something else entirely – they’re used for emulsifying things. If you want to make nut butter, you need a food processor or heavy-duty blenders like Vitamix or Blendtec so that it’s possible to grind the nuts into small pieces before blending them up.
Immersion blenders will just liquify everything without any real grinding.
If you have an immersion blender that has double attachments and looks like this, then it may be able to do what you need (though with variable results).
A standard wand-style handheld immersion blender should work as well but may not be as effective at grinding through the nuts. But check your manual first because I’m judging based on an assumption here.
(*You can’t make nut butter with an immersion blender because they don’t work to grind up the nuts enough.)
Why Are Immersion Blenders Not The Best Choice For Making Nut Butters?
An immersion blender’s blades are too close to the bottom of the food, and they’re not long enough to generate a lot of air for shearing. This makes immersion blenders not a great choice for making nut butter.
Apparently it’s not a good idea to use an immersion blender to make pistachio nut butter. May she rest in peace. ;(
— Diana Hossfeld (@DianaTakesaBite) January 9, 2011
Air bubbles or whipped constituents in liquid won’t transfer from one part of the dish to another without the incorporation of some air bubbles, which causes lumps.
This is why when you whip egg whites with an immersion blender, they stay whisked instead of becoming frothy as normal whipping cream does – there’s no way to incorporate air through swirling or by lifting up into structurally active foam.
The only way nut butter could be made with an immersion blender would be if you use something like hand-held milk frothers, which are more like whisking devices than anything else.
What Should I Use Then?
But if you can’t use an immersion blender to make nut butter, what can you do?Â
In a food processor or high-powered blender to make nut butter that has variable speeds and is able to mix both wet and dry ingredients without clumping, the answer is yes!
Using a machine with those features will save so much time in preparation: no need for waiting around while your oven heats up (or cooling down) or worrying about temperature management when using hot liquid because the blades stay away from it.
If this sounds great but not realistic then there’s another option – buy something like Nuts On The Go packs at Trader Joe’s. These contain raw almonds ground into a creamy paste ready to be eaten or used in recipes.
Conclusion
If you’re going for a nut butter consistency, it’s not a good idea to use an immersion blender for making nut butter.
Any immersion blender will work just for some things that need to be done fast, but if you really want to create something like nut butter or mayonnaise, then no.
The reason is immersion blenders use rotating arms and the blades are on the center of arm rotation instead of at corners which can’t cut solid foods well enough to create that kind of effect.
It’s only good for whipping up egg whites and a few other liquid concoctions.
