Labelgrade

← All report cards

The Healthiest Peanut Butter, Graded A to F. The Simplest Label Won.

The healthiest peanut butter is the one with the shortest ingredient list, and the grades make that unusually clean to see. Nut butter is one of the better whole-food choices in the grocery store: real protein, healthy fats, and fiber from a single nut. So when we ran every popular nut and seed butter through the same 6-dimension Labelgrade, the dividing line turned out to be simple, namely what gets added. The jar that won is the one with the shortest label, Crazy Richard’s, which is literally just peanuts, while the household name that finished last adds sugar and palm oil to the same nut. They all grade respectably, because the base ingredient is genuinely good. The order is just a clean lesson in reading the label.

The verdict

We graded 7 nut butters A–F: the category averages 79/100 (B), from 86 (A-) at the top down to 72 (B-) at the bottom.

The simplest jar won: Crazy Richard’s Creamy Natural Peanut Butter, literally just peanuts, took the top at A- (86), while Skippy Creamy, which adds sugar and palm oil, came last at B- (72), dinged on ingredients and added sugar, not protein.

Top of the class A- Crazy Richard's Creamy Natural Peanut Butter 86/100
Bottom of the class B- Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter 72/100

The top picks, with the receipts

#1 Crazy Richard's Creamy Natural Peanut Butter A- 86/100

Pros

  • No sodium
  • 3 g fiber per serving
  • 8 g protein per serving

Cons

No dimension scored poorly.

#2 Justin's Classic Almond Butter B+ 84/100

Pros

  • No sodium
  • 3 g fiber per serving
  • 7 g protein per serving

Cons

  • 2.5 g saturated fat per serving

#3 365 Everyday Value Organic Creamy Peanut Butter B+ 81/100

Pros

  • No sodium
  • Clean, short ingredient list
  • 7 g protein per serving

Cons

  • 3 g saturated fat per serving

#4 MaraNatha Creamy Almond Butter B 79/100

Pros

  • 3 g fiber per serving
  • Clean, short ingredient list
  • Low sodium at 60.2 mg

Cons

No dimension scored poorly.

#5 Justin's Classic Peanut Butter B 77/100

Pros

  • Low sodium at 25 mg
  • No added sugar
  • 7 g protein per serving

Cons

  • 3.5 g saturated fat per serving
  • Only 1 g fiber

Pros and cons come straight from each product’s own label. A dimension is listed only when its sub-score is decisive (78 or above for a pro, 62 or below for a con), so a merely-average number never gets sold as a strength. Every figure is per labeled serving — full panels on each product page.

The full report card — all 7 nut butters, ranked

#Nut butterGradeScoreWeakest link
1 Crazy Richard's — Creamy Natural Peanut Butter A- 86 saturated fat (64/100)
2 Justin's — Classic Almond Butter B+ 84 saturated fat (57/100)
3 365 Everyday Value — Organic Creamy Peanut Butter B+ 81 saturated fat (51/100)
4 MaraNatha — Creamy Almond Butter B 79 saturated fat (64/100)
5 Justin's — Classic Peanut Butter B 77 saturated fat (44/100)
6 Peanut Butter & Co. — Smooth Operator Creamy Peanut Butter B- 74 saturated fat (57/100)
7 Skippy — Creamy Peanut Butter B- 72 saturated fat (39/100)

Worth a closer look

The two ends of the list tell the story. Crazy Richard's Creamy Natural Peanut Butter tops the class at 86/100 (A-); Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter anchors the bottom at 72/100 (B-). Click any product for its full fact sheet — the six dimension sub-scores, the per-serving label, and what would move its grade. Prefer to slice it yourself? Filter every graded product by the dimension you care about.

Check price on Amazon

Buy links are affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The Labelgrade is independent of any affiliate relationship. More.

How we graded these

Each product is scored on six dimensions — protein density, ingredient quality, added sugar, sodium, fiber, and saturated fat — combined into a 0–100 score and a letter grade. Every number comes from the product’s own label, verified against USDA FoodData Central. The grade is absolute (relative to all packaged foods), which is why a whole category can land in the same band. See the full methodology. Last graded 2026-06-04.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which nut butter scored best?

Crazy Richard’s Creamy Natural Peanut Butter took the top spot at A- — its label is a single ingredient, peanuts, with no added sugar or oil. Justin’s Classic Almond and 365 Organic Creamy Peanut Butter followed close behind. See the ranked table above for the full order and each one’s weakest dimension.

Why did Skippy score lowest?

Skippy Creamy starts with the same good peanuts but adds sugar and palm oil — and ingredient quality and added sugar are two of our six dimensions. That’s what drops it to a B- behind the one-ingredient jars. It isn’t a bad product; it’s just out-scored by the simpler labels. The grade reflects what’s actually in the jar.

Are nut butters healthy?

Yes — nut butter is a genuinely good whole-food source of protein and heart-healthy fats, which is why the whole category grades well. The divider isn’t the nut; it’s what gets added to it. The jars with just nuts (and maybe salt) score highest; the ones with added sugar and palm oil score a little lower. Watch the label, not the fat.

How is the grade calculated?

Six dimensions — protein density, ingredient quality, added sugar, sodium, fiber, and saturated fat — into a 0–100 score and a letter grade, from each product’s own label, verified against USDA data. See our methodology page.

More report cards

Related