The short answer
Every jar we compared had between about 2 and 3.5g of saturated fat per 2 tablespoons, under a quarter of a 13g daily limit, because most of the fat in peanuts is unsaturated. So pick a jar whose ingredients are just peanuts (or peanuts and salt), and measure your portion.
Lowest in saturated fat in our table:
- PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter (US): about 0g per 2 tbsp of powder
- Pip & Nut Crunchy and Smooth (UK): 1.9 to 2g per 2 tbsp
- Meridian Crunchy (UK): 2g
- Sun-Pat No Added Sugar Crunchy (UK): 2.2g
The US jars, including Jif, Skippy, Smucker's Natural and Justin's, came in at 3 to 3.5g.
Label data only, not medical advice
This ranking compares what each jar's nutrition label says about saturated fat and sugar. It isn't a health rating of any brand, and no peanut butter here is a cholesterol-lowering food. Recipes change, so check the label on the jar you buy. If your doctor or dietitian has given you specific limits, follow those.
14 peanut butters ranked by saturated fat
Every jar is compared on the same 2 tablespoon (32g) serving, the standard US label serving. Powdered peanut butter uses its own 2 tablespoon serving of powder (13g). Bands: Better 2g or less, Occasional over 2g up to 4.5g, Treat over 4.5g. No peanut butter came close to the Treat band.
| PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter | 0g | 0% | Better |
| Pip & Nut Crunchy | 1.9g | 15% | Better |
| Pip & Nut Smooth | 2g | 15% | Better |
| Meridian Crunchy (100% nuts) | 2g | 15% | Better |
| Sun-Pat No Added Sugar Crunchy | 2.2g | 17% | Occasional |
| Whole Earth Crunchy | 2.5g | 19% | Occasional |
| Sun-Pat Crunchy | 2.9g | 22% | Occasional |
| Skippy Creamy | 3g | 23% | Occasional |
| Smucker's Natural Chunky | 3g | 23% | Occasional |
| Justin's Classic Peanut Butter | 3g | 23% | Occasional |
| Sun-Pat Smooth | 3.1g | 24% | Occasional |
| Jif Creamy | 3.4g | 26% | Occasional |
| Skippy Natural Creamy | 3.5g | 27% | Occasional |
| Peter Pan Creamy | 3.5g | 27% | Occasional |
Nutrition data from Open Food Facts, available under the Open Database License (ODbL). Product names link to each product's Open Food Facts page.
What the ranking shows
- The spread is small. From the lowest jar to the highest is about 1.5g of saturated fat per serving. For peanut butter, the portion matters more than the brand: a heaped spoon can easily be twice the 16g of a level tablespoon.
- In the UK, jars of just peanuts were lowest. Pip & Nut (peanuts and sea salt) and Meridian (100% peanuts) were labelled at about 6g of saturated fat per 100g, against 7 to 10g for jars with added palm oil or stabilisers. In the US, Smucker's Natural (peanuts and salt) showed the same 3g per serving as Skippy, partly because US labels round (see below). Jif adds fully hydrogenated vegetable oil and Skippy Natural adds palm oil, both to stop the oil separating.
- US labels round. US Nutrition Facts round saturated fat to the nearest 0.5g per serving, so jars showing 3g and 3.5g may differ by less than that. UK labels give per 100g figures to one decimal place.
- Powdered peanut butter is in its own league. Most of the oil is pressed out, so a serving has almost no saturated fat. It also has much less of the unsaturated fat that makes peanuts filling.
- Sugar is low across the board. All the jars had about 1 to 3g of sugar per serving, so "no added sugar" makes a small difference here.
How to choose a peanut butter
- Read the ingredients first. The simplest jars list only peanuts, or peanuts and salt. Palm oil and "fully hydrogenated vegetable oil" are added for texture and bring a little extra saturated fat.
- Then check the saturated fat line. In the US it's "Saturated Fat" per 2 tbsp serving; in the UK it's "of which saturates", per 100g and usually per 15 or 20g portion. Around 2 to 3g per 2 tbsp is typical; much more suggests added fat.
- Skip "reduced fat" versions. They often replace some peanuts with sugars and starches, and save very little saturated fat.
- Measure it. Two level tablespoons is about 190 kcal. Spreading it thinly or mixing it into porridge makes a little go further.
- Use it as a swap. Peanut butter on toast instead of butter, or with apple slices instead of a pastry, replaces saturated fat rather than adding to it.
Use it in a snack instead
Our no-bake oat and peanut butter bites stretch a jar across a week of snacks and add oat fibre, and chocolate peanut butter nice cream turns a tablespoon into a dessert. Find the recipes in our low-cholesterol snacks guide and our ice cream guide.
Check any jar before you buy it
Scan any product's barcode in Heart Tracker to see its saturated fat per serving, then log your portion to see how it fits into your day alongside your cholesterol results.
Download Heart Tracker FreeHow we ranked them
We picked best-selling peanut butters in the US and UK, from mainstream creamy jars to 100% nut brands and a powdered peanut butter, and took each one's nutrition data from Open Food Facts, an open database built from product labels. To catch mistakes, we compared each product's current record with an earlier copy and left out any where the saturated fat, fat or sugar didn't match. That excluded three jars, including Jif Natural, whose current record no longer matched its earlier one.
All jars are compared on a 2 tablespoon (32g) serving, calculated from the per 100g values. UK jars often list a smaller 15 or 20g portion, so their per-serving figure here is higher than on the jar. Percentages are of 13g, the American Heart Association's suggested daily limit for saturated fat on a 2,000 calorie diet. The NHS upper limit is 20g a day for women and 30g for men. The full dataset and the script that builds it are kept with this page and refreshed periodically.
Peanut butter and cholesterol: quick answers
What peanut butter brand is good for cholesterol?
By saturated fat on the label, the jars made from just peanuts (and sometimes salt), such as Pip & Nut and Meridian in the UK, were lowest in our comparison at about 2g per 2 tablespoons, and powdered peanut butter (PB2) had almost none. But every jar we compared was between about 2 and 3.5g, so the brand matters less than the portion and the ingredients list.
Is peanut butter good for high cholesterol?
In sensible portions, it can fit well. Most of the fat in peanut butter is unsaturated, and it adds some fibre and plant protein. Two tablespoons has about 2 to 3.5g of saturated fat, under a quarter of a 13g daily limit. It is high in calories, though, at around 190 kcal per 2 tablespoons, so measure it rather than scooping from the jar.
Is natural peanut butter better for cholesterol?
"Natural" isn't a guarantee. Some natural-style jars add palm oil to stop the oil separating, which adds a little saturated fat. Look for an ingredients list of just peanuts, or peanuts and salt. In our table, the difference between jars was at most about 1.5g of saturated fat per 2 tablespoons.
Is powdered peanut butter better for cholesterol?
Powdered peanut butter has had most of the oil pressed out, so a 2 tablespoon serving of PB2 has about 1.5g of fat and essentially no saturated fat. It's useful in smoothies, porridge and sauces. It also has fewer calories, but less of the unsaturated fat that makes peanuts filling.
Does peanut butter lower cholesterol?
No peanut butter here is a cholesterol-lowering food in its own right. Eating nuts regularly in place of foods high in saturated fat is linked with lower LDL, and peanut butter can be part of that swap, for example instead of butter on toast.
Sources
- Open Food Facts (product nutrition data, ODbL)
- American Heart Association: Saturated fat
- NHS: Fat, the facts
- FDA: Serving size on the Nutrition Facts label
- USDA FoodData Central (calories for peanut butter)