Best Peanut Butter of the Month Clubs

Peanut-butter-maker-turned-entrepreneur Matthew Mulvihill started Pacific Beach Peanut Butter after he discovered the humble grocery store peanut grinder.

Delighted with the flavor and warmth of fresh peanut butter, he soon acquired a machine for his home kitchen. One thing led to another, and pretty soon, Mulvihill quit his job and moved back in with his parents so that he could focus on making peanut butter full-time. Luckily, Mulvihill's mother got involved, they found an investor, and Pacific Beach Peanut Butter was born.

The company offers five flavors, although some may be out of stock at any given time. Rotating in pairs for Pacific's Peanut Butter of the Month Club is organic valencia (unsalted or salted), "our signature" peanut butter, cinnayum, white chocolate, and a flavor called "child's play," which is chocolate peanut butter with M&Ms mixed in.

Six- and 12-month memberships are available, and both involve receiving two jars of peanut butter every month. The former costs around $129 and the latter is about $229. Items can also be purchased a la carte, and orders over $50 include free shipping.

Rated consistently among the top gourmet gifting sites, Amazing Clubs has had a lot of success putting power in its customers' hands. Unlikely though it may seem, your peanut butter-loving loved one might not like one of the monthly selections.

Not to worry; delivery is under their control. Reps from Amazing Clubs will email the recipient in advance of upcoming shipments and allow them to skip them. Each shipment, therefore, is guaranteed to please.

Delivering a wide variety of flavors, Amazing Clubs sends out two different jars of peanut butter every month. Previous months' flavors include vanilla, banana bread, white chocolate pretzel, butter toffee, sea salt and honey, coconut, maple, and cherry butter toffee. Of the two monthly selections, one will be in the style of the preceding flavors, and the other will be traditional peanut butter, so your loved one will get the best of both worlds.

Like many monthly clubs, this one is offered for three-, six-, or 12-month periods, plus a seasonal option, a delivery every quarter for one year. A three-month membership is around $105; a six-month one is about $205; 12 months costs roughly $395, and the seasonal membership is around $140—remit payment monthly or all upfront. Shipping is included.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Eliot's is an award-winning nut butter company with a savory line of grown-up flavors. Unexpectedly, Eliot's was not founded by a guy named Eliot. Rather, the company is named for the Portland neighborhood where it is located.

Eliot's entire collection of nut butter includes spicy Thai peanut butter, honey-chipotle peanut butter, classic salted peanut butter, espresso nib peanut butter, Oregon hazelnut chocolate spread, and pistachio dates almond butter. Unique flavors, as you can see, are Eliot's specialty.

Eliot's offers a monthly, every three months, or every six months subscription option. Monthly deliveries of one flavor start at $10.99, while Nut butters in development are distributed to subscribers first, so you may get to try new flavors before anyone else. Shipments of three jars per month start at $29.99 with a subscription. Shipping is around $5 per delivery, making Eliot's the best value in our roundup.

No matter how much you love peanut butter, at some point, you've got to branch out. Let Big Spoon Roasters show you the way.

Roasting and grinding peanuts as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zimbabwe, Mark Overbay experienced the flavor of fresh, handcrafted peanut butter for the first time in 1999. Salty, sweet, and spreadable, Overbay carried the memory of that peanut butter with him after returning to the United States. In 2010, he set to work in his kitchen to recreate his Zimbabwe experience. Less than six months later, Overbay and his wife Megan founded Big Spoon Roasters.

Roasting a lot more than just peanuts, Big Spoon also makes pecan, almond, cashew, and sorghum-based nut butter. A partial list of their creations includes peanut butter, peanut pecan butter, chai spice peanut and almond, almond butter, maple cinnamon peanut and pecan butter, Fiji ginger almond butter, and wag butter. A wag isn't a type of nut; dogs love this concoction of peanuts, chia seeds, and coconut oil, so the company markets this blend for canine companions.

Remixing the typical peanut butter club, Big Spoon offers several subscription options. Each month you'll get one jar of either your choice or the roaster's choice.

Depending on which nut butter you receive, the cost will vary from around $13 to $23, plus shipping. Nut butter and jam pairing subscriptions start at about $24 per month. And be sure to check out Big Spoon's PB&J of the month club.