Best smooth peanut butter: the battle of the brands, including Batch & Butter, Manilife and Whole Earth

A generous slathering of peanut butter on a slice or two of toast makes for a sustaining start to the day. But which brands offer a satisfying taste and a creamy texture?

To find out, we got together 69 peanut butter lovers at our test lab to blind-taste six brands of premium smooth peanut butter. These included Biona, Manilife and Whole Earth. We chose smooth rather than crunchy for this test, as this gave us more brands to compare.

Our tasters pointed us towards a jar that impressed across the board, so we've made this brand a Best Buy.

Read on to discover how the different peanut butters compared, and what to look for when choosing one.

Best smooth peanut butter

Whole Earth smooth peanut butter was the top scorer, but only just, with Manilife close behind.

Pip & Nut ranked third in the list of top scorers, followed by Batch & Butter.

Best Buy: Whole Earth Smooth Peanut Butter – 70%

£4.75 for 454g (£1.05 per 100g)

Whole Earth was the highest-scoring peanut butter brand on test. 

Our tasters rated it the best peanut butter for both appearance and texture, with the majority rating the creaminess spot on.

While some would have liked a sweeter flavour, the saltiness levels satisfied most tasters.

This is the only peanut butter on test to contain palm oil.

Available from Amazon, Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.

Manilife Original Roast Smooth Peanut Butter – 69%

£4 for 275g (£1.45 per 100g)

It’s one of the pricier products on test, but this peanut butter’s nutty flavour pleased around two-thirds of our testers, while over half said its sweetness hit the spot.

More than half of testers also enjoyed its creaminess and salt levels.

On the downside, two-thirds said its texture was too thin and runny.

Available from Amazon, Asda, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.

Pip & Nut Smooth Peanut Butter – 65%

£3.50 for 300g (£1.17 per 100g)

This peanut butter’s nutty flavour, sweetness and colour suited about half of our tasters. Even more were happy with the salt levels.

Unfortunately, a solid three quarters said the texture was too runny, while less than half said it was creamy enough.

Available from Amazon, Asda, Co-op, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.

Batch & Butter Smooth Peanut Butter – 61%

£3 for 340g (88p per 100g)

The cheapest peanut butter on test had some pluses. Around half of our tasters were fans of its nutty flavour and sweetness. And slightly more than half liked its salt levels and appearance.

Less encouragingly, nearly three quarters found the texture too runny and nearly half wanted it to be creamier.

Available from Asda.

Other peanut butters on test

Meridian Smooth Peanut Butter – 55%

£2.80 for 280g (£1 per 100g)

This is one of the two peanut butters on test with no added salt. While nearly half of our testers were happy with its saltiness, most of the remainder wanted more.

The peanut flavour divided our testers. A little over a third said it was just right, while the rest were evenly divided as to whether it was too weak or too strong.

This peanut butter was darker in colour with a relatively thin texture, and it wasn’t sweet enough for two thirds of our testers. Most also wanted it to be creamier.

Available from Amazon, Asda, Co-op, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.

Biona Organic Smooth Peanut Butter – 51%

£4.80 for 250g (£1.92 per 100g)

A disappointing result for the priciest peanut butter on test. 

A weak nut flavour, combined with a lack of sweetness, made this peanut butter the least popular with our tasters.

It was dark in colour and had a thick texture. Two thirds said it wasn’t creamy enough, while more than half wanted it to be saltier.

It’s one of only two peanut butters on test without added salt, and is the only organic one.

Available from Amazon and Ocado.

Healthiest nut butters – our article explores the relative health benefits of different nut butters, including almond, cashew and hazelnut

Full results from our peanut butter taste test

How we tested peanut butter

All the peanut butters were blind-tasted and rated by a panel of 69 people in August 2026 at our specialist test lab.

We recruited a panel of people who buy and eat peanut butter and who broadly represent the demographic profile of adults in the UK (age range, gender split and more). 

The taste test was blind, so our testers didn’t know which brand they were trying. They tasted the peanut butter in a fully randomised order to avoid bias. Each tester had a private tasting booth so they couldn’t discuss what they were tasting or be influenced by others.

The tasters rated the flavour, texture, appearance and aroma of each peanut butter brand and told us what they liked and disliked.

The overall score was based on:

• 50% flavour
• 25% texture
• 15% appearance
• 10% aroma

These weightings are based on the attributes people ranked as most important when tasting peanut butter. All our results are checked and analysed by our in-house statistical team.

Find out more about our editorial independence policy and see behind the scenes of our taste tests to understand more about how we work.

How healthy is peanut butter?

Charlotte Phillips is a Which? nutritionist and senior researcher

Peanut butter can contribute to a healthy, balanced diet – but it pays to choose your jar carefully. A standard 15g serving provides roughly 3.8g of protein and 1g of fibre. It's also rich in unsaturated fats, though it contains some saturated fat too, and it's energy-dense, so portion size matters.

Nutritional quality can vary considerably between brands. A simple rule of thumb is to look for peanut butter made with 100% peanuts and no added sugar, salt or oils. Some sweetened options contain as much as 20g of sugar per 100g.

Peanut butters made with high-oleic peanuts may offer additional benefits. These are particularly rich in oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat linked to improved LDL ('bad') cholesterol when it replaces saturated fat in the diet. Some research also suggests benefits for insulin sensitivity, although this doesn't mean all peanut butter will have the same effect.

Eating peanut butter with carbohydrate-rich foods, such as toast, may also help moderate the rise in blood glucose after a meal, thanks to its fat, protein and fibre. And brands that retain the peanut skins may provide slightly more fibre and antioxidant compounds.

Overall, peanut butter can be a healthy choice, particularly varieties made from 100% peanuts – just keep portions sensible.

Is there a healthier choice from the products we tested?

Meridian has some of the nutritional profiles you may want to look for in a peanut butter. It's made with a single ingredient – 100% peanuts – with no added sugar, salt or oils. It also retains the peanut skins, which contribute fibre and antioxidant compounds. However, it's still energy-dense, so this doesn't mean you can eat unlimited amounts.

Health? or Hype?

Make the right choice with recommendations you can trust, backed by expert testing.

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Does peanut butter contain palm oil?

Generally, peanut butter doesn’t contain palm oil, but there are some exceptions. 

Whole Earth is the only peanut butter in this taste test to list palm oil in its ingredients. The manufacturer states that this comes from a sustainable source.

For more on palm oil and the products it's found in, head to our article on how to buy sustainable palm oil. 

Price and availability correct as of 15 September 2026