Peanut Butter

Why peanut butter is rated low

Peanut butter is ground peanuts, and peanuts lean heavily on protein and fat rather than on fermentable carbohydrate. It is low at any typical portion, and no FODMAP group reaches a meaningful level in it, so an ordinary spread on toast or rice cakes is comfortable. The real content of this page is that peanut butter is one of the easiest foods to eat past the point you meant to. Spread on toast it stays a typical portion. Eaten from the jar, stirred into a satay sauce and spooned onto a smoothie in the same day, the total moves well past one.

What changes your risk

• Serving size Any typical portion is low. That covers a spread, not a jar, so how much ends up on the plate is still the lever that matters most.
• Straight from the jar A spread eaten with a knife standing at the counter is the classic way a portioned serve becomes an unportioned one without anyone noticing. Put it on something and sit down with it.
• What else is in the jar Plain peanut butters keep things simple, but some add honey or corn syrup sweeteners, which bring their own FODMAP load. Look for a list that is peanuts, and maybe salt and oil.
• Spreading servings out The same day's total is easier to manage across breakfast and an afternoon snack than concentrated into one sitting.
• The rest of the meal A low rating is per serving, not per meal. Peanut butter usually arrives on bread, in a sauce or in a smoothie, and those companions are often doing more to the meal's FODMAP load than the spread itself.

What else works

If peanut butter is being used for the nutty, creamy role, walnuts, macadamias, pecans, pumpkin seeds and plain peanuts all fill it and are low in their own right. Firm tofu blended smooth, or lactose free yoghurt, will carry a satay style sauce when peanut butter alone would push past a typical portion. The important lookalikes are the other nut butters: cashew butter and pistachio butter are not low FODMAP swaps at ordinary servings, so a jar of mixed nut butter is worth reading carefully. Chocolate and hazelnut spreads are a different food with their own ingredient list rather than a substitute. Sweetened peanut butters with honey stirred through are also not equivalent to the plain kind.

How to keep it low

Buy the plainest jar on the shelf, ideally one where the ingredient list is peanuts and salt, and check for honey or corn syrup in anything labelled smooth and sweet. Natural peanut butter separates, so stir the oil back in when the jar is opened and keep it in the fridge afterwards, which makes it firmer and much harder to over spread. Portioning works better by vehicle than by eye: spread it on rice cakes, gluten free toast or a firm just yellow banana, and let the surface set the amount rather than the knife. In cooking, thin it out with water, lime juice and garlic infused oil so a typical portion flavours a whole pan of satay rather than sitting on one plate. Restaurant satay and peanut sauces usually contain garlic and onion, so treat them as a separate question from the jar at home.

Common questions

is peanut butter low fodmap

Yes. Peanut butter is low at any typical portion, and no FODMAP group reaches a meaningful level in it.

how much peanut butter can i eat

Any typical portion is low, which covers an ordinary spread. In practice that means spreading it rather than eating it by the spoonful from the jar.

is cashew butter low fodmap like peanut butter

No. Cashews are high FODMAP at ordinary servings, so cashew butter is not a swap for peanut butter. Stay with plain peanut butter, or use walnuts, macadamias, pecans or pumpkin seeds for a nutty note.

does crunchy or smooth peanut butter make a difference

No, they are the same food ground to a different texture and the same rating applies to both. What does make a difference is added honey or corn syrup, so check the ingredient list.