Nuttiness: How nutty is the peanut butter? Is the flavor strong, balanced, or faint? Does it taste roasted and rich, or lean and plain? Does it taste natural?
Saltiness / Sweetness: Is the peanut butter salty, sweet, or in between? Does the flavor lean saltier or sweeter? Does it enhance or detract from the flavor?
Consistency - What is the texture of the peanut butter? Is it thick and creamy or loose and oily? Smooth or grainy? Does it affect spreadability?
Fine Print
The Lineup: We tested 17 peanut butter brands from the grocery. We picked both local and international brands, focusing on the creamy variants. We skipped the chunky variants for next time.
Why We’re Doing This: Peanut butter is not just a spread—it’s a versatile ingredient for kare-kare sauce, savory dressings, and nutty desserts. Your typical grocery selection ranges from the deeply roasted, salted American-style peanut butters like Skippy to the sweeter, coarser, oil-capped Filipino-style spreads like Lily’s. We set aside childhood nostalgia and brand recall to find which peanut butters tasted the best.
How We Tasted: Each brand was sampled at room temperature, tasted as is right off a spoon, then spread on toasted bread.
Blind Taste Test: All products were removed from their packaging, labeled, and tasted blind to prevent brand bias.
How We Scored: Each product was evaluated across 3 criteria. Final placements reflect the Pepper team’s averaged impressions.
Transparency: No brand paid for inclusion in this taste test.
