Is Skippy Peanut Butter Healthy? 11 Things You Should Know

Is Skippy Peanut Butter a healthy choice?

Many people have misconceptions about peanut butter nutrition. For example, many people think peanut butter is very high in protein. But in reality, peanut butter has more fat than protein. Today, let’s look at the nutrition of Skippy peanut butter specifically.

Skippy peanut butter is about equally healthy as other popular brands such as Jif and Peter Pan. Skippy has healthy fats and protein from peanuts, but most flavors also have added sugar, oil, and salt. Natural peanut butter brands without sugar, oil, and salt are generally considered healthier.

Below, you’ll find the most in-depth review of Skippy peanut butter nutrition currently available on the Internet. We’ll explore whether Skippy is good for weight loss, building muscle, low-sodium diets, and much more!

Is Skippy Peanut Butter Good for You?

Here are the 11 specific questions I’ll be answering about Skippy peanut butter nutrition. Click any of them to skip ahead to that section—or just keep scrolling to read them all:

1. What Are the Ingredients in Skippy Peanut Butter?
2. How Much Sugar Is in Skippy Peanut Butter?
3. Is Skippy Peanut Butter Processed?
4. Is Skippy Peanut Butter Good for Weight Loss?
5. Is Skippy Peanut Butter Good for Building Muscle?
6. Does Skippy Peanut Butter Have a Lot of Salt in It?
7. Does Skippy Peanut Butter Raise Cholesterol?
8. Does Skippy Peanut Butter Have Partially Hydrogenated Oil?
9. Is Skippy or Jif Healthier?
10. Is Skippy or Peter Pan Healthier?
11. Is Skippy Peanut Butter Vegan?

1. What Are the Ingredients in Skippy Peanut Butter?

Let’s start by looking at some actual Skippy peanut butter ingredients. Below are the ingredients for several flavors of Skippy. I’ll share my takeaway points below the table:

Skippy Peanut Butter Flavor	Ingredients
Creamy Peanut Butter	Roasted peanuts, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil (cottonseed, soybean and rapeseed oil) to prevent separation, salt.
Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter Spread	Roasted peanuts, corn syrup solids, sugar, pea protein, salt, hydrogenated vegetable oil (cottonseed, soybean and rapeseed oil) to prevent separation, minerals (magnesium oxide, ferric orthophosphate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate), mono- and diglycerides, vitamins (niacinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid).
Protein Creamy Peanut Butter Spread	Peanut Butter (Roasted Peanuts, Sugar, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil [Cottonseed, Soybean and Rapeseed Oil] To Prevent Separation, Salt), Pea Protein, Peanut Oil.
No Sugar Added Creamy Peanut Butter Spread	Roasted Peanuts, Palm Oil, Salt.
Natural Creamy Peanut Butter Spread	Roasted peanuts, sugar, palm oil, salt.
Natural 1/3 Less Sodium & Sugar Peanut Butter Spread	Roasted peanuts, sugar, palm oil, salt.
Natural with Honey Creamy Peanut Butter Spread	Peanut butter spread (roasted peanuts, palm oil, peanut oil, salt), sugar, honey.

Here’s what I notice from these ingredients:

• Skippy Peanut Butter is mostly peanuts. Peanuts are a whole plant food, rich in healthy fats, a bit of protein, and some healthy vitamins and minerals.

• Most flavors of Skippy have added sugar. It’s not a lot of sugar per serving, but almost every flavor of Skippy has added sugar. This makes it more processed and higher in refined carbs than a more natural peanut butter with only peanuts and salt. Reduced Fat Skippy also has corn syrup solids, another sweetener.

• Skippy Peanut Butter has added oil. Some flavors have palm oil, which is high in saturated fat, which most health orgs recommend limiting. Other flavors have a mix of hydrogenated vegetable oils. In either case, these oils are highly processed and calorically dense. Not the healthiest.

• Skippy Peanut Butter has added salt. If you’re trying to keep your sodium intake very low, you may need to limit your portions of Skippy, as it does have added salt. There is a Low Sodium flavor, however. See below for more details on sodium content.

Related Questions:

• Does Skippy Have Xylitol? Skippy peanut butter does not contain xylitol. This means it is generally safe for dogs to eat (in moderation).

• Does Skippy Peanut Butter Have Palm Oil? Many flavors of Skippy contain palm oil, including the Skippy Natural product line. However, some flavors of Skippy—including the original flavor—contain various other vegetable oils instead.

• Is Skippy Peanut Butter Real Peanut Butter? Skippy peanut butter is made with real peanuts. It simply has other ingredients added, too. This is standard for peanut butter today, but it’s possible to get peanut butter made of only peanuts if you prefer. (Try this brand on Amazon.)

2. How Much Sugar Is in Skippy Peanut Butter?

Most flavors of Skippy peanut butter have about 3 grams of total sugar per serving (two tablespoons). However, some of that is natural sugar from the peanuts. The Skippy flavor with the least sugar is No Sugar Added Skippy, along with the Natural 1/3 Less Sodium & Sugar flavor.

Here is a table showing the sugar content of various Skippy flavors:

Skippy Peanut Butter Flavor	Total Sugar (Per 2 Tbsp)
Creamy Peanut Butter	3g
Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter Spread	4g
Protein Creamy Peanut Butter Spread	3g
No Sugar Added Creamy Peanut Butter Spread	2g
Natural Creamy Peanut Butter Spread	3g
Natural 1/3 Less Sodium & Sugar Peanut Butter Spread	2g
Natural with Honey Creamy Peanut Butter Spread	5g

It’s interesting to note that the “No Sugar Added” variety still has 2g of total sugars. Prior to checking these labels, I wouldn’t have guessed that peanut butter would naturally contain that much sugar.

Related Question:

• Does Skippy Natural Have Sugar? Skippy Natural does have added sugar. In fact, Skippy Natural With Honey has more grams of total sugar per serving than any other flavor of Skippy I checked (5 grams, compared to 3 grams in most flavors).

3. Is Skippy Peanut Butter Processed?

It’s generally understood today that the healthiest foods are minimally processed. When we eat food in its more natural forms, we typically get many more nutrients than if it’s been processed into flour, flakes, syrup, or oil.

The term “processed food” is a bit imprecise, though. Technically, even if you just cut a carrot in half, you’ve “processed” it. But that’s not what most people mean when they say “processed food.”

In practical terms, the easiest way to spot “processed food” today is to check the ingredients list for refined oils, sugars, flours, artificial ingredients (sweeteners, colors, additives), or high amounts of salt.

Overall, Skippy peanut butter is not really “highly processed” or “ultra processed,” as the main ingredient is peanuts. That said, it is somewhat processed:

• All Skippy flavors I checked have some kind of refined oils.
• All Skippy flavors I checked have added salt.
• Most Skippy flavors I checked have added sugar (all but the “No Sugar Added” flavor).
• Reduced Fat Skippy has corn syrup solids, another highly processed ingredient.

Skippy peanut butter is not nearly as processed as something like Twinkies or soda. But it’s still a bit processed, no matter which flavor you buy. The least processed flavor is probably the “No Sugar Added” Skippy. But even that flavor still has added oil and salt.

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4. Is Skippy Peanut Butter Good for Weight Loss?

Another practical consideration when talking about the health impact of peanut butter is whether it will cause you to gain weight.

Skippy peanut butter is a high-calorie food, with around 95 calories per tablespoon. If eaten in moderation, it should not cause weight gain. However, large servings can add a lot of calories to your diet. In fact, peanut butter is one of the best foods to eat if you’re trying to gain weight.

Personally, I’ve gone through phases where I smeared peanut butter on so many of my snacks and meals, it did cause weight gain over the course of a few months.

But I’ve also incorporated peanut butter into healthy diets when I was maintaining or losing weight. It’s all about portion size and total calorie balance.

If you’re watching your weight, just be aware that peanut butter contains a lot of calories, almost 100 calories per tablespoon. And that can add up fast.

5. Is Skippy Peanut Butter Good for Building Muscle?

Skippy peanut butter can be a good choice for building muscle, as it is high in calories and moderate in protein. Most Skippy flavors have 7 grams of protein per serving. However, there is a high-protein flavor of Skippy with 10 grams of protein per serving (about 40% higher than most peanut butter).

Building muscle isn’t just about protein, but that’s certainly an important factor. So here’s a table showing the protein content for various Skippy flavors:

Skippy Peanut Butter Flavor	Protein (Per 2 Tbsp)
Creamy Peanut Butter	7g
Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter Spread	7g