A Tale of 3 Jif Peanut Butters: Comparing Regular, Natural, and Simply Peanut Butter

Jif Peanut Butter comes in a few varieties, including regular, Natural, and Simply. If you've ever wondered, "what's the difference?" I decided to try all three (in the Creamy version), do a comparison, and find out.

Each jar was $2 on sale but both the regular and Natural versions were 16 oz, while the Simply version was slightly less at 15.5 oz.

The ingredients for each peanut butter are as follows:

- Jif Creamy Peanut Butter (regular) - Roasted Peanuts, Sugar, Contains 2% or Less of: Molasses, Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed and Soybean), Mono and Diglycerides, Salt.

- Jif Natural Peanut Butter - Roasted Peanuts, Sugar, Palm Oil, Contains 2% Or Less Of: Salt, Molasses.

- Jif Simply Peanut Butter - Roasted Peanuts, Contains 2% or Less of: Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed and Soybean), Mono and Diglycerides, Molasses, Sugar, Salt.

You might have thought that the "Simply" version would have had the least number of ingredients but that's not the case. What it does have (so to speak) is less salt and "33% less total sugar" versus the regular version. The Natural version also contains less salt versus the regular version.

In terms of texture, all three were smooth and creamy but the Simply definitely felt like the thickest and driest of the three (like sucking-the-moisture-out-of-your-mouth dry). The regular version was the happy medium of the three (probably because it felt like most no-stir creamy peanut butters I grew up eating), while the Natural version was a little thinner and separated just a tad over time in the jar. The Natural version is still a no-stir emulsified peanut butter but I did note that it felt slightly thicker as I got to the bottom of the jar.

In terms of taste, the three peanut butters varied a good deal. The regular version was more robust with a bolder combination of sweet and salty peanut flavor (it almost felt too salty when eating it after the other two varieties). The Simply version offered a stronger peanut butter flavor but felt only very slightly sweet and moderately salty, while the Jif Natural Peanut Butter had a notable caramelly flavor and was noticeably more sweet.

Between the three varieties of Jif Peanut Butter, I prefer the regular version as it the classic combination of sweet and salty that I grew up with but the Jif Natural Peanut Butter had a really nice molasses flavor to it that I quite like as well. I'd pass on the Simply version though as it was a bit boring in comparison and felt like I needed some water to wash it down.

Nutritional Info - Jif Creamy Peanut Butter
Serving Size - 2 tbsp (33g)
Calories - 190 (from Fat - 140)
Fat - 16g (Saturated Fat - 3.5g)
Sodium - 140mg
Carbs - 8g (Sugar - 3g)
Protein - 7g

Nutritional Info - Jif Creamy Natural Peanut Butter
Serving Size - 2 tbsp (33g)
Calories - 190 (from Fat - 140)
Fat - 16g (Saturated Fat - 3.5g)
Sodium - 80mg
Carbs - 8g (Sugar - 4g)
Protein - 7g

Nutritional Info - Jif Creamy Simply Peanut Butter
Serving Size - 2 tbsp (33g)
Calories - 200 (from Fat - 150)
Fat - 16g (Saturated Fat - 3g)
Sodium - 65mg
Carbs - 7g (Sugar - 2g)
Protein - 7g