Nut Butters, Bars
The Case for Peanut Butter
July 1, 2017
Big Spoon Roasters Peanut Butter: Small batch, made-to-order peanut butter made with roasted heirloom peanuts and wildflower honey.
Hot Peanut Butter: 2017 Southern Living Food Award Winner
May 30, 2017
Inspired by his experience with spicy peanut butter in Haiti, Mark Overbay adds ancho, guajillo, and habanero chiles to this signature Hot Peanut Butter. Smear with strawberry jam on crusty bread for a grown-up PB&J, or warm it up and drizzle over a noodle bowl.
Energy Bar Review: Big Spoon Roasters Apricot Pepita Bar
May 17, 2017
As soon as you tear open Big Spoon Roasters’ Apricot Pepita bar, the aroma of the hand-roasted nut butter fills the air. The roasting concentrates the flavors, giving it complexity and body beyond that of other peanut butter flavors we’ve tasted. The bar itself is very soft, but with each bite, you notice the coarseness of the peanuts, roasted pumpkin seeds, and quinoa.
New Healthy Energy Bars We Love
March 11, 2017
The eco-chic compostable packaging is what caught our eye at first, before being drawn in by the bars’ two unique flavors: Apricot Pepita and Cherry Pecan. Even the nut-butter base of these bars is homemade. We love their texture; it’s a combo of melt-in-your mouth creamy with a bit of crunch from puffed quinoa and cacao nibs. They’re great snacks on their own, of course, but we also love crumbling a bar over yogurt or a smoothie bowl.
Big Spoon Roasters is Changing the Nut Butter Scene with Artisanship in Mind
March 6, 2017
Mark Overbay, founder of Durham-based Big Spoon Roasters, speaks to not only the texture of his nut butters, but also what his company stands for as a whole. Last month, Meredith Davin and I visited Big Spoon Roasters' facility, met Mark, and fell further in love with this company.
Cook This: Big Spoon's Latest Peanut Butter Spices Up Sweet and Savory Recipes
February 15, 2017
Mark Overbay has been thinking about Hot Peanut since he started Big Spoon Roasters in 2011. He stumbled upon the flavor more than a decade before that—in 1999 in Zimbabwe, where he lived and worked as a Peace Corps volunteer. There, his local neighbors roasted peanuts over an open fire, smashed them into butter by hand, and stirred in any number of ingredients. Some went the sweet route with coconut oil or meat. Others, savory with avocado. And others still, fiery with bird's eye chili. The last, especially, had Overbay wide-eyed.
12 Foods That Will Help You Be at Least a Little Healthier in 2017
January 5, 2017
Noted nut-butter producer Big Spoon is behind these apricot-pepita bars, made with roasted peanuts plus oats, quinoa, cocoa, and wildflower honey. It’s certainly a better way to start your day than a bacon-egg-and-cheese or a Clif bar.
The Best Artisanal Food Gifts of 2016
December 31, 2016
Based out of Durham, North Carolina, Big Spoon Roasters makes a mean nut butter. Made with all-natural ingredients and none of those fillers and preservatives that you'll find in the grocery store, these nut butters are no joke. With nontraditional flavors like hot peanut, almond cocoa, and chai spice, this variety pack is sure to make your loved ones go nuts!
How to Cook a Nut: Grind Them
November 1, 2016
There's no comparison between homemade nut butter and store-bought for Mark Overbay, founder of the handcrafted nut butter company Big Spoon Roasters, as long as you follow his rules of the road.
Southern Living 2016 Food Awards
May 13, 2016
Over the past year, our editors have canvassed the South, from Atlanta to Austin, sipping and sampling hundreds of artisan-made products; we've finally narrowed it down to one delicious list. Here are our favorites: Big Spoon Roasters' Vanilla Peanut Sorghum Butter. Coarsely ground with rum-like sorghum syrup, this is grown-up peanut butter.
An Actually Useful Guide to Raleigh, North Carolina
March 24, 2016
My favorite vendor, Big Spoon Roasters, based out of Durham, sells peanut and nut butters. I love the almond cashew and cashew peanut butters. They also have these neat little protein bars—in flavors like Apricot Pepita—that I order by the case.
12 Energy Bars That Are Better Than Starbucks
February 23, 2016
Most commercial nut butters are made with hydrogenated vegetable oils, which is why it’s best to go with brands like Big Spoon Roasters, whose products not only taste fantastic, but are actually good for you. They’re handmade Nut Butter Bars are made in small batches with their own fresh-roasted nut butter, are naturally sweet, and loaded with fiber and protein to keep you full longer.
11 Questions with Mark Overbay of Big Spoon Roasters
February 22, 2016
To say that Big Spoon Roasters‘ nut butter is better than the smooth or chunky peanut butters found on the shelf of most super markets is not only an understatement in flavor, but an epic understatement in inspiration.
20 Unique Nut Butters That Will Put Skippy to Shame
February 5, 2016
No. 1: Big Spoon Chai Spice
Big Spoon’s handcrafted nut butters like Chai Spice and Almond Ginger have some zing. The strong cinnamon and cardamom spices in chai make this an awesome butter to pair with anything apple, like this delicious cinnamon apple quinoa breakfast bowl.
Tasting Table 2015 Holiday Pantry
December 14, 2015
Keep the chai spices out of mulled wine this winter and try them spun into nut butter instead. Every batch of this textured peanut-and-almond spread is hand-roasted and packaged in Durham, North Carolina. Pro tip: While you're at it, tack a cherry pecan nut butter bar (or five) onto your order. Go nuts.
With New Jars & Bars, Big Spoon Roasters Readies for Nut Butter Empire Expansion
August 28, 2015
“We’ll never compromise quality for any reason, as doing so would defeat the whole purpose of our business, which is to create the best possible version of every food we make,” Overbay wrote. That mission is so unique and inspiring, that the national Good Food Awards added its first “Pantry” category this year just to include Overbay and entrepreneurs like him.
Try Big Spoon Roasters' new energy bar
August 26, 2015
"It’s soft and chewy, with pockets of crunch. It’s sweet, with the apricots sitting alongside bits of chocolate, and a little spicy, as though a dab of pepper had been dropped into the mixer. I wanted to keep working out just so I could have another."
Need in Your Pantry: Big Spoon Roasters Espresso Nut Butter
August 11, 2015
A partnership with Counter Culture Coffee gave rise to this not-too-sweet offering made from espresso, fresh-roasted almonds, raw wildflower honey, and sea salt. Slather on a toasted English muffin to get a jump on your daily grind.
Good Food: Big Spoon Roasters Almond Cocoa Butter
August 13, 2015
Amongst recipes like Peanut Cashew and Chai Spice Nut Butter, the Almond Cocoa Butter stands out as a mix of Mission almonds and roasted cacao nibs, with a touch of North Carolina wildflower honey, organic dark chocolate and sea salt.
The Best All-Natural Peanut Butters
May 26, 2015
Perhaps the current king of small batch nut roasters, Durham, NC’s Big Spoon makes a peanut butter that is heavy on the roast and just about perfect on the honey and sea salt. The small, charmingly designed jars of must-stir butters are packed with a butter the consistency of brownie batter, crunchy and sweet but with the spotlight shining straight on a perfectly roasted peanut.
Pairing Nut Butter and Cheese
June 2, 2015
Big Spoon Roasters’ Chai Spice Nut Butter: Ready to take your pairing prowess to the next level? A variety of nut butters featuring the piquant notes of ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, and cloves make a playful bite alongside especially fruity and creamy cheeses.
The Southern Living Food Awards
June 1, 2015
Mission Almond Butter: A three-ingredient nut butter that blends wildflower honey and sea salt with heirloom Mission almonds, which are creamier and richer than regular almonds.
Five Toast Toppings to Try Now
March 30, 2015
Big Spoon Roasters Chai Nut Butter: Adding the warm spices of chai (cardamom, clove, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla) to hearty peanut and almond butter may seem like it’s going to be overkill, but it works: Each of the components is present in each bite, but they don’t overpower one another. Every jar is made to order, so give the Durham roasters a week to send yours to your door.
Holiday Gift Guide
November 1, 2014
Coffee Nut Butter: The classic PB&J gets a caffeine boost with this Counter Culture bean-infused butter from North Carolina-based Big Spoon Roasters.
How Big Spoon Roasters Makes Some of the Country’s Best Nut Butter
November 11, 2014
Welcome to Out of the Kitchen, our ongoing exploration of America’s coolest food artisans. Over the next few months, we’re apprenticing with the best knife forgers, cider brewers, and spice blenders, then bringing their knowledge and expertise back to our home kitchens—and to yours. Our first profile is Durham, NC’s Mark Overbay and his Big Spoon Roasters.
ALL-STAR ALMOND
November 1, 2014
Our favorite almond butter, Big Spoon Roasters Mission Almond Butter has intense flavor and crunchy-creamy texture. It’s subtly sweet and salty, so it works equally well in a sandwich with banana or alt-hummus.
10 Objects of Our Obsession
September 1, 2014
Almond Ginger Butter… My favorite new morning snack; slices of Honey Crisp apple dipped into Big Spoon Roasters’ almond butter studded with candied ginger.
Hottest Packaged Food Trends
September 1, 2015
Big Spoon Roasters’ Almond Brazil Butter: Outside of the mixed nut tin, the Brazil nut hasn’t had an outsized influence. But we’re loving its new all-spread-out look.
Taste 50: The Best in Southern Food
August 1, 2014
These handcrafted, small-batch nut butters are ground in Durham, North Carolina, and use ingredients from local farmers. Trust us: Your PB&Js will never be the same.
The Food Network: Art and craft aren’t the only way to be creative
March 1, 2014
While working in marketing, the North Carolinian Mark Overbay decided to create made-to-order nut butters inspired by what he’d tasted as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zimbabwe. “Freshness is paramount,” Overbay says.
Local Finds: Capturing “Freshly Ground”
March 1, 2014
Mark Overbay first tasted minutes-old nut butter un the rural Zimbabwe village where he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Back home in North Carolina, Overbay began roasting fresh peanuts, then grinding them between custom-made plates to mimic the texture of African nut butters.
Spread ‘Em!
March 1, 2014
Big Spoon Roasters Peanut Cashew: Big Spoon’s handcrafted nut butters are carefully blended to have a creamy texture while retaining the crunchy bits. The North Carolina company also sells killer peanut-almond and peanut-pecan blends.
A La Carte: Gifts for the Savory Set
January 1, 2014
Big Spoon Roasters Peanut Pecan Butter: We don’t know what to suggest with this since we eat it out of the jar, but rumor is it makes a mean peanut sauce.
Build Your Best-Ever PB&J
September 13, 2014
More adventurous flavors include the spectacular chai, laced with cardamom and clove, and a peanut butter spiked with stone-ground chocolate. The silky handmade spreads are dotted with irregular nutty chunks. Sweetened with wildflower honey and seasoned with sea salt, they showcase the taste of the nuts themselves: rich, roasty and most certainly memorable.
The Find: We’re Nuts for It
September 1, 2013
Chai lovers can enjoy the Indian spice blend in everything from cupcakes to coffee, but the latest – and we think greatest – incarnation is Big Spoon Roasters Chai Spice Nut Butter. Laced with piquant ginger and warm cardamom and cinnamon, the mix of peanut and almond butters is perfectly salty and just enough sweet. We like it straight from the jar.
What We’re Loving: Better Spread
September 1, 2013
Dozens of nut butters are popping up on grocery stores, and some of the tastiest come from Big Spoon Roasters in North Carolina. Their Secret? A short, simple ingredient list of the highest quality.
Get out your spoon for these next generation nut butters
August 28, 2013
Founder Mark Overbay discovered the incredible flavors of handcrafted nut butters as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zimbabwe, and decided to try to whip them up back home in North Carolina. His creations (he literally hand makes each jar) combine peanuts with almonds, cashews, or pecans, and then add a touch of sea salt and local wildflower honey. The result is an all-natural culinary product that tastes utterly amazing.
Big Spoon Roasters Founder Looks to Boost Nut Butter Production
July 27, 2013
Overbay started the business out of a passion for food, its ability to connect people, and agriculture, he said. “I want Big Spoon to help support farmers and other people participating in sustainable agriculture that contribute to the products we make.”
Raleigh and Durham
July 1, 2013
Get the best of both towns on your next trip to the Triangle: Big Spoon Roasters Peanut Almond Butter.
A Taste of Durham
June 10, 2013
Big Spoon Roasters tastes great, it’s natural, and it’s made with high-quality ingredients in small batches. It’s run by a very nice guy named Mark Overbay who cares deeply about flavor, nutrition and sustainability, among other things. You should read the inspiring tale behind Mark’s line of nut butters and peek at his unique flavors so that you can understand my enthusiasm for them.
Big Spoon Roasters
February 18, 2013
There isn’t a spoon in the world big enough to shovel in the amount of Big Spoon Roasters Peanut Cashew Butter that I desire to consume into my face. I’m also keen on consuming a substantial amount of their Peanut Pecan, Peanut Almond and plain ol’ Peanut Butter – and by substantial I mean a sickening amount by most people’s standards.
Big Spoon Roasters: Mark Overbay
February 7, 2013
Big Spoon Roasters prides themselves on flavor, craftsmanship, and their pursuit of redefining how the production of a food product should be handled. At the foundation of each jar is flavor.
Foodie Fun
Send your guests home with a savory – and unexpected – surprise: Big Spoon Roasters Peanut Cocoa Butter.
Big Spoon Roasters Peanut Butter
November 1, 2012
Big Spoon owner Mark Overbay works with local and regional peanut farmers to be a positive force for sustainable peanut agriculture and transparent marketing.
On Our Wish List: Big Spoon Roasters Peanut Pecan Butter
November 1, 2012
No Jam Required: We like to eat this salty sweet mix of peanuts and pecans straight from the jar.
What’s Good Today: Big Spoon Peanut Butter at Greene Grape Provisions
September 26, 2012
The best day yet for me here at Greene Grape was when the first samples of Mark’s peanut butter came in. I made everyone working in the store that day taste it. I’m a peanut butter geek, and I am really excited about this peanut butter. It’s the best all-natural peanut butter I’ve ever had.
The Ultimate Man’s Food
August 16, 2012
A Better Butter: Creamy, with just a hint of crunch, Big Spoon Roasters in Durham, North Carolina, produces a top notch spread made from freshly-roasted local peanuts, wildflower honey, organic coconut oil and sea salt.
The Artisanal Irony
At Big Spoon Roasters in Durham, N.C., Mark Overbay, a veteran of the fair-trade coffee business, makes every batch of his locally sourced nut butters by hand.
Pigtastic Picks… what we’re lusting after
June 1, 2012
We can’t get enough of these peanut butters from Big Spoon Roasters in Durham, North Carolina. They’re handcrafted using local wildflower honey and peanuts.
Snacks to Get You From Morning to Midnight
March 6, 2012
Turn the blank canvas of sliced fruit or toast into a masterpiece with Big Spoon Roaster’s Peanut Almond Butter.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Grows Up
February 28, 2012
Big Spoon owner Mark Overbay spent a decade searching grocery shelves for the perfect peanut butter before deciding he could do better. The resulting nut butters (classic peanut and blends of peanut–pecan, almond, and cashew) are roasted and ground by hand, using local peanuts, wildflower honey, organic coconut oil, and sea salt.
The Dixie Pantry: Our Favorite Southern Food Products
February 1, 2012
Local runner peanuts, wildflower honey, organic coconut oil, and sea salt make for a pitch-perfect peanut butter care of Big Spoon Roasters in Durham, NC.
Trendspotting: Small-Batch Products
January 1, 2012
From the hundreds of new small-batch products we taste every year, these are some of our recent favorites. These North Carolina nut butters are ground with local wildflower honey and nuts.
Local Entertaining
Mark Overbay has put together handcrafted nut butters with nuts and honey from local and like-minded farmers. You do in fact want to grab a big spoon and eat it out of the jar.
Do you feel like a nut (butter)?
December 7, 2011
Overbay buys his nuts from local farmers and includes local wildflower honey (honey contains medicinal elements unique to its environment) along with a minimal amount of salt in his basic nut butter recipes.
Peanut Pecan Oatmeal Cookies
November 1, 2011
The big flavors of Mark Overbay’s artisanal Big Spoon Roasters nut butters inspired his partner, Megan Lynam, to create this instant favorite. The complex nuttiness comes from the addition of ground pecans to the mix.
Two great new reasons to visit the Carrboro Farmers’ Market
April 22, 2011
Locally crafted nut butters blended with a beautifully brief ingredient list. Vic Pop fave, Peanut Cashew, contains peanuts, cashews, wildflower honey and sea salt. We already need a new jar.
Nut Butter Revolution
April 20, 2015
Mark Overbay launched Big Spoon Roasters, handcrafted nut butters made from scratch in Durham, North Carolina.
Now Serving: Big Spoon
March 2, 2011
Overbay plans to use only the freshest ingredients in his spreads, including North Carolina honey and peanuts.