If you’re feeling unenthused about making changes to your favourite spread, we have some good news for you: some of the best tasting peanut butters in our latest test were supermarket own-brand products – so you can save on money, and still savour the flavour. 

Whether you’re team smooth or team crunchy, these are the best peanut butters for your budget and your tastebuds. 

Best supermarket-brand smooth peanut butter

Coles Peanut Butter Smooth

• ÌÇÐÄVlog Expert Rating: 83% (Recommended)
• Price per 100g: $0.70

This is a pretty big deal, people. Not only is Coles’ smooth peanut butter the best supermarket-brand smooth variety, but it’s also the top scoring smooth peanut butter overall! 

It came in well ahead of the heavy hitters of the peanut butter kingdom such as Bega and Sanitarium, and even cult/boutique brands including Pic’s, Byron Bay and Ridiculously Delicious. 

Best supermarket-brand crunchy peanut butter

Aldi Oh So Natural

• ÌÇÐÄVlog Expert Rating: 85% (Recommended)
• Price per 100g: $0.88

Not only did Aldi’s Oh So Natural top the class of supermarket own brands, but it very nearly took out the top spot of all the brands we tested. 

The top scoring product, Bega Simply Nuts Crunchy, scored 87%, while Aldi tied for second place with Sanitarium Natural Crunchy with a score of 85%. 

That’s a big deal for a supermarket own-brand product – although Aldi does tend to punch above its weight in many of our tests. 

At 88 cents per 100g, it’s not the cheapest supermarket peanut butter – but it is the cheapest 100% peanut product we tested. 

Its lack of added sugar and salt means its Health Star Rating is 5 and it’s super low in sugars and sodium too. 

Many peanut butters rely on the addition of sugar, salt, vegetable oil and other additives to make them taste ‘better’, so for a 100% peanut product to taste better than products with added sugar and salt is an impressive feat. 

Although the Oh So Natural crunchy wowed our experts, the smooth version was deemed underwhelming: it scored just 50% for taste. It was redeemed somewhat by its nutrition score (a Health Star Rating of 5), but even that couldn’t save it from a lacklustre overall score of 60%. 

What about Woolworths?

Unfortunately, Woolworths’ peanut butter products couldn’t hold a candle to those from Aldi and Coles. 

Woolworths Peanut Butter Smooth came in at 77%, a fair way behind Coles’ winning product, but just ahead of Aldi’s other smooth peanut butter, Bramwells. And Woolworths’ crunchy peanut butter sits quite a way down the food chain, scoring just 65%. 

Is Woolies’ organic any better?

In a word – no. If you’re planning to go organic, don’t go to Woolies for its house-brand organic peanut butter: our expert taste testers gave it a taste score of just 27%! 

It was second last only to Bega’s Light Peanut Spread, a low-fat peanut butter pretender that’s full of maltodextrin and light on actual peanuts – a very poor reflection on Woolies’ peanut butter, which is 100% peanuts with nothing else added. How did they manage to get it so very wrong?

Our expert testers’ reactions to the Woolies peanut butter were brutal: “This was terrible”, “Smells like plastic”, “Would not be happy with this purchase”.

If you shop at Woolworths and you’re a smooth peanut butter household, switching from a brand-name peanut butter to Woolworths’ house brand isn’t a bad way to go. But you might want to switch supermarket allegiances if you’re a household that prefers the crunchy kind.

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When it comes to quick and easy sandwich fillings, peanut butter is right up there with jam and Vegemite. But due to the prevalence of nut allergies – and much to the despair of peanut butter lovers and last-minute sandwich makers across the country – it’s a no-go for school lunchboxes.

Introducing Wowbutter Peanut Free. This new spread in town is a nut-free alternative to peanut butter that’s lunchbox friendly and claims to taste just like the real deal. We take a closer look.

What is Wowbutter made from?

The main ingredient of Wowbutter is toasted soya (50%). Soy oil, cane sugar, palm oil and sea salt also appear on the ingredients list.

Clearly it’s free from peanuts, but the label also says it’s “Made in a 100% peanut, tree nuts, gluten, dairy, sesame and egg free facility”. 

This covers off the majority of the most common food allergens, meaning it’s suitable for people with a range of food allergies and intolerances – good news all round. People who are allergic to soy, however, obviously need to steer clear.

Like peanut butter, it’s suitable for vegetarians and vegans. And as the label says, it’s definitely safe for school.

What does it taste like?

Wowbutter has the look and feel of peanut butter down pat. 

It’s similar in colour, although on the darker end of the peanut-butter-brown spectrum. The paste spreads like peanut butter, and just like peanut butter, it has a stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth consistency. But does it taste “just like peanut butter!”, as the label exclaims? My family gave it a trial run. 

My husband described the flavour as being more like toasted seeds than peanuts. He told me he’d prefer peanut butter hands down. My peanut butter-loving eight year old wasn’t convinced either. She thought it tasted “like burnt toast”.

I’m allergic to peanut butter, so I can’t compare. But as a standalone spread I thought it tasted OK, if a little sweet. To me, it had notes of slightly overcooked popcorn. 

My other kids, who are also peanut-allergic, were just excited to try it spread on bread with jam (they wanted the experience of an American-style peanut and jelly sandwich!).

Is Wowbutter healthy?

In addition to its peanut-free status, claims on the Wowbutter label include “4g plant protein per serve” and “660mg omega-3 per serve”. They make it sound healthy, but is it?

Like peanuts, soybeans are rich in protein and fibre. Soybeans are also a good source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, a source of antioxidants, low in saturated fat and high in phytoestrogens. 

But soybeans only make up half of what’s in Wowbutter. Once you’ve added salt, sugar and palm oil (which bumps up the saturated fat content), you end up with a product that’s not just higher in kilojoules but is also less healthy – not unlike some popular peanut butters with salt and sugar added.

So while dietary guidelines suggest we should be eating plenty of legumes/beans (including soy), eating Wowbutter regularly by the spoonful is not the way to do it.

Stockists

This Canadian made product is sold through Woolworths stores across Australia. At $9 for a 500g jar ($1.80 per 100g) Wowbutter is considerably more expensive than regular peanut butter. 

You can pick up a 500g jar of Woolworths or Sanitarium peanut butter for $2.40 ($0.48 per 100g) or $4 ($0.80 per 100g) respectively. And even the more expensive brands, such as Mayvers, cost less. Mayvers, for example, is $5 for a 375g jar ($1.33 per 100g) in Woolworths.

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