First of all, a peanut is a legume, not a nut.
I love raw almond butter. Sunflower seed butter is about as close of a substitution as you can get.

I wish I had the words to make this better for you. So many of us have been devastated by the same realization. Much like you will never forget your first love ( try as you may) you will never forget peanut butter. If you are like many of us you will still crave its crunchy salty goodness and whimper softly as you pass the selection at the grocery store. However, over time you will find new loves in the world of nut butters and while they will never be the same as peanut butter you will find they too can have a special place in your cupboard and heart.

Start slowly, making hasty decisions while you are in this type of emotional state is no good for anyone. Be wise in your choices and realize that you do not have to commit for life, enjoy your new freedom. Once you start to feel like you are on solid ground again, try making your own nut butters at home. If you have a food processor the possibilities are endless.

Be strong, this too shall pass.

In an environment where we are prone to be flooded with n6, most nuts are essentially to be eaten sparingly - so be wary of advice recommending almonds and other true nuts as substitutes.

Exceptions are macadamia (low in PUFA), and walnuts (4.5:1 n6:n3 ratio).

Practical advice is to follow the paleo code - no legumes! .... and maybe be wary of all nuts and seeds. Get your fats from animals and fish, rather than vegetable sources, with a few exceptions, eg the above, and olives.

I love cow butter!

(With apologies for a slight tongue in cheek tone..)

Almond butter takes a little getting used to, but it's pretty damn tasty once you get used to it. Most natural almond butters are free of the binders found in peanut butter, so they have a tendency to separate, leaving you with a little oil on top (not a huge deal). Cashew butter is another popular one, but I've never tried it.

Almond butter (as with all nut butters) is really calorie-dense, which isn't bad in and of itself, but is worth considering. Nuts also have phytic acid, which is indigestible, but many people (myself included) enjoy nuts anyway.

I agree with the others that almond butter is a great substitute. It's not the exact same, but that's because most peanut butter is loaded with white sugar. So, aside from the whole legume / phytic acid problem, you'll be avoiding all of that sugar too. :-)

My family and I (especially my 2-year old daughter!) LOVE Trader Joe's brand of almond butter. It's crunchy and has flaxseeds in it, but as others have eluded to, it's not the same consistency as peanut butter. The oil separates in the container, so you have to spend a good 5 minutes mixing it up really well.

I've tried other almond butters and they're okay, but my other recommendation is found on http://www.amminnut.com/ They sell "naked" almond butter which is made from blanched almonds. This is a great thing because blanched almonds aren't as rough on the stomach and are actually tolerable for people with nut intolerances (I'm no doctor and I've never dealt with people who have nut ALLERGIES, so I can't speak towards that).

One last comment - name brand peanut butter is way cheaper than almond butter, but that's to be expected. Sugar is cheap. And you get what you pay for. Don't forget that!

Tahini is not crunchy at all.

You can sometimes find crunchy almond butter, but it's usually nowhere as crunchy as PB. If you make your own, it probably will be, depending on how long you let the food processor go. (I think both Whole Foods and Trader Joe's sell crunchy almond butter but I could be wrong. If you can find a WF that has the machine that lets you grind it fresh, it won't be crunchy, but it'll have a better texture than the super smooth.) Overall, probably not finding a substitution is a better idea. People tend to overdo it on nut butters. If you have a good handle on portion control with it, though, I'd say to keep some around.

I love sunflower seed butter. Sunbutter is the only brand I have tried. It is smooth but I did find one with flax seeds in it that had good crunch - whole foods might have it. Also, trader Joe's has their own brand the next time I need a new bottle. Good luck on your search!

I've been experimenting mixing different nut butters to try and adjust the taste, almond butter is too boring for me. anyone else have a blend they like? (I've got walnut, almond, hazelnut but can't seem to get the right proportion...I'm dreaming of a PB & J on paleo'ish bread....lol....)

I like Justin's Almond Butter (they have a maple one, too). The best thing about thy brand is you can buy it in one oz portable packs. 190 calories, just right for a snack if you need one. I travel a lot, and these have saved my bacon many times. If you have a great tasting, healthy snack on you, it's not so tempting to grab whatever crap they are selling at the local watering hole.

Also, you can buy multipacks on Amazon for a reasonable price.

Good luck! I love the almond butter, but can't seem to wean my daughter off the peanut butter. But I'm not pushing it. Take a look on Mark's Daily Apple. He did a blog on peanut butter a couple of weeks ago. If you're otherwise eating healthy, a good quality peanut butter may not be the worst thing in the world. Just don't make it the basis of your diet!

I'd avoid the Tahini if you can find raw almond butter. Anymore, even the chain stores all carry at least one brand of almond butter. Check the labels though. The raw, organic stuff is rather expensive. I usually try to get the raw, traditional stuff from Trader Joe's or even a "grind it yourself" station that I've seen recently in some stores. Anything without added sugars or additives is good stuff. It's dangerous, I can eat a whole jar with a spoon!

A good article on aflatoxins by Mark Sisson at Mark's Daily Apple... http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-bad-is-peanut-butter-really/#axzz1wY69d6P3

Here is my take on peanut butter (from another thread)