Is Peanut Butter Gluten-Free? 30 Brands Reviewed!

We reviewed 30 products and found 14 certified gluten-free peanut butter brands. So is peanut butter gluten-free? The answer is not always. And to be honest the safest alternative is the one you make at home. Don’t worry we show you how.

As I have to eat gluten-free, I am always pretty cautious about buying any product off the shelves without properly examining its ingredients list and all disclaimers of super small letters. And I have to say there are usually more surprises than I would like.

Usual ingredients

In short, peanut butter is supposed to be only roasted peanuts ground into a creamy paste. Natural peanut butter needs no other ingredients. I know it can be done, as I am making my own homemade version in 5 minutes. (Hint: no oil separation, no stir is needed.)

Sadly, store-bought brands might not feel the same as I have been seeing ingredients like

• sweeteners of all kinds from brown sugar, cane sugar, and coconut sugar to molasses and honey,
• vegetable oils like palm oil, rapeseed oil, avocado oil, cottonseed oil, and so on,
• emulsifiers like mono and diglycerides,
• flavorings and spices.

So the question is: “Is there any gluten hiding in there?” Let’s see!

Is peanut butter gluten-free?

Supposed to be, but not always!

To answer this question you need to look out for two things:

1. Are there any gluten-containing ingredients? -> The trickiest ones are sweeteners, flavorings, and spices. If they are bold or underlined or highlighted among the ingredients then sadly the peanut butter is NOT gluten-free.
2. Is there any cross-contamination issue? -> If you see a “May contain: gluten or wheat, barley, rye” sentence, then sadly it is a red alert. It means that even if the peanut butter itself should be gluten-free, they produce it in a facility that is contaminated by other gluten-containing products. Hence, the peanut butter may be contaminated too.

What if the peanut butter you’re about to choose is made of 100% peanuts and no cross-contamination issue is indicated, but still no gluten-free label? It means that the peanut butter is supposed to be gluten-free, but the manufacturer has never certified the product. You can read more about USDA’s labeling regulation here and here.

The above is also valid for all kinds of nut butter: almond butter, cashew butter, etc.

The safest option

While you are trying your best to ensure you make no errors of judgment when it comes to branded products, don’t forget that the most trusted food is the one you make from scratch. Why?

• You know exactly what you put in them.
• You can make it any time you want, in any flavor you want, and in any amount you want.
• Especially with peanut butter, it is fun to do it with kids. My daughters love to lick the spatula and the bowl not to get any peanut butter to waste.

Here is our homemade peanut butter recipe with all of our tips, hacks, and everything else you need to know to make them at home. Hint: It is a zero-waste recipe as well because I’ll show you how to make delicious peanut milk from any leftovers sticking to the wall of your blender.

Gluten-free peanut butter brands

Here is a list of brands who confirmed on their website or on the label that their product is indeed gluten-free. This means that none of the ingredients contains gluten and the product is not contaminated with gluten during production.

• Crazy Richard’s – They call it the 1-ingredient peanut butter* and they confirm it on their website that all products are certified gluten-free.
• Earth Balance* – All kinds of peanut butter are labeled as certified gluten-free on the jar.
• Elliot’s – The classic peanut butter* (only 2 ingredients), as well as all flavored versions, are labeled as gluten-free.
• Fatso – All of their products are certified gluten-free as confirmed under FAQ on their website. However, talking about boosted peanut butter* even their classic product has several add-ins like organic coconut oil, tapioca fiber, avocado oil, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, triglycerides oil, and natural coconut flavor.
• Jif – Their peanut butter products are labeled gluten-free on the jar, but most of the products have just so many ingredients. A healthier bet would be their no sugar added* product that has only peanuts, palm oil, and salt.
• Justin’s – Its classic peanut butter* is only 2 ingredients peanuts and palm oil (orangutan friendly they say) and labeled as certified gluten-free.
• MaraNatha – All kinds of peanut butter* are certified gluten-free as confirmed on their website.
• Once Again – Their peanut butter* is 100% peanuts, nothing else. It is also labeled as certified gluten-free.
• Peanut Butter & Co – They confirm under FAQ on their website that none of their products contain gluten, although only 2 products have not been certified: Simply Smooth and Simply Crunchy. However, these two* are now also labeled as gluten-free, so hopefully, only the website info is not yet updated.
• Santa Cruz Organic – They confirm on their website’s FAQ that all of their products are certified gluten-free. Their peanut butter* is made of only peanuts and salt.
• Skippy – The company confirms that all varieties are gluten-free under the FAQ on their website. They also have a no sugar added* product that is using only peanuts, palm oil, and salt.
• Spread the Love – Their naked peanut butter* is 100% peanuts, nothing else. It is also labeled as certified gluten-free.
• Teddie – They also confirm on their website that all of their products are gluten-free and labeled as such. Not to mention the all-natural peanut butter* is only peanuts and salt.
• Yumbutter – They confirm it on their website and also label it super clear that all products are carefully produced in a gluten-free facility. In their organic peanut butter* however, they use coconut sugar, palm oil, and salt as well.

Not certified gluten-free brands

• 365 (Whole Foods brand)* – They clearly label their peanut butter as certified vegan and GMO, but not one word about being gluten-free or not. I also couldn’t find any information about it on their website.
• Adams – They have 2-ingredient peanut butter* and claim on their website that all products are gluten-free, but not certified.
• Better’n Peanut Butter – They confirm on their website that their peanut spread* is gluten-free, but no certified GF label is added to the jar. It is also very interesting that the ingredient list starts with peanut flour and “peanut butter” is also among the many ingredients.
• Fix and Fogg* – It is labeled on the PB jar that “it may contain gluten”, which usually means that it may be contaminated during production.
• Good & Gather (Target brand)* – Not labeled as gluten-free.
• Happy Belly (Amazon brand)* – It is not labeled as gluten-free.
• HomePlate – They confirm under FAQ on their website that all products are gluten-free although not certified. Their peanut butter* has peanuts, cane sugar, palm fruit oil, and salt as ingredients.
• Laura Scudder’s – Their 2-ingredient peanut butter* is labeled as gluten-free, but they claim on their website that all products are gluten-free, but not certified.
• Legendary Foods – They only produce flavored nut butter*. However, they confirm under the FAQ on their website that all kinds of nut butter do no have any gluten-containing ingredients albeit not certified.
• Kirkland (Costco)* – The organic creamy peanut butter has only peanuts and salt, but I haven’t found any information on whether the product is gluten-free or not. It is definitely not labeled as such.
• Nuts’n More – They only have flavored nut butter*. However, they confirm under the FAQ on their website that all kinds of peanut spreads are gluten-free, but they do not mention being certified or not.
• Peter Pan – Not labeled gluten-free, although the”Smart label” application via their website says so. There is no FAQ section to get more information.
• Reese’s (Hershey) – Not labeled gluten-free, and neither their website lists peanut butter* on the certified GF product list.
• Smucker’s – Only 2 ingredients, but not labeled as gluten-free. However, in the product info displayed on their website, they claim their peanut butter* products to be gluten-free.
• Trader Joe’s – Both their No Salt Valencia Peanut Butter* and their Creamy Unsalted Peanut Butter* have 100% peanuts, but still, they aren’t labeled as gluten-free. They have a gluten-free product list on their website and there is no peanut butter currently on the list.
• Vör* – The only ingredient is peanuts, but not labeled as gluten-free. The website doesn’t have any further information on it.

Non-vegan products

Unflavored peanut butter should be vegan as no animal products are needed to make it. Theoretically, I mean. As we are a plant-based/vegan blog we would like to highlight some products that sadly have animal-related ingredients:

• Jif Omega 3 Peanut Butter* – It contains anchovy oil, sardine oil, and tilapia gelatin.
• RX Peanut Butter* – It contains egg whites.
• Honey sweetened – You can read more about why honey is not vegan here.
• Flavored – They may contain dairy (like chocolate).

Our recipes using peanut butter

I think there are endless possibilities to enjoy peanut butter apart from the good old pb&j sandwiches. Here are some of our favorite recipes: