Skippy vs Justin's Peanut Butter: Which Is Cleaner?
The supermarket standard against a cleaner-label alternative. Both jars are real peanut butter with the exact same 7 g of protein per 2 Tbsp — so this comparison isn't about the peanuts. It's about what gets added around them. Skippy folds in sugar and salt; Justin's doesn't. Every number below is pulled live from each product's graded fact sheet.
The short answer
Justin's Classic Peanut Butter is the cleaner pick and the higher grade. Its ingredient list is two words — dry-roasted peanuts and palm oil — with 0 g of added sugar and only 25 mg of sodium. That's the whole edge: no added sweetener, almost no salt, same protein.
Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter is the one most people grew up on — smooth, sweet, no-stir, and a perfectly real source of protein and unsaturated fat. The trade-off is the recipe: roasted peanuts, sugar, palm oil, and salt. The sugar (second ingredient) and the 74.9 mg of sodium are exactly what hold it a grade below Justin's.
Protein is identical — both 7 g per serving, both 21.9 g per 100 g. On the v3 Labelgrade scale, Justin's scores B (77/100) and Skippy scores B- (72/100). The gap is added sugar and sodium, full stop.
Side-by-side
| Skippy Creamy | Justin's Classic | |
|---|---|---|
| Labelgrade | B- 72 / 100 | B 77 / 100 |
| Serving size | 32 g (2 Tbsp) | 32 g (2 Tbsp) |
| Protein per serving | 7 g | 7 g |
| Protein per 100 g | 21.9 g | 21.9 g |
| Calories per serving | 210 | 210 |
| Calories per g protein | 30 | 30 |
| Total sugar | 2 g | 2 g |
| Added sugar | Yes (2nd ingredient) | 0 g |
| Saturated fat per serving | 4 g | 3.5 g |
| Fiber per serving | 1.98 g | 0.992 g |
| Sodium per serving | 74.9 mg | 25 mg |
| Added sweetener | Sugar | None |
| Added salt | Yes | No |
| Ingredient count | 4 | 2 |
| Protein density grade | B+ | B+ |
| Ingredient quality grade | B+ | B+ |
| Sugar grade | A- | A |
| Saturated fat grade | F | D |
| Sodium grade | B- | A+ |
| Fiber grade | B- | D |
Where Justin's wins
- No added sugar. This is the headline. Justin's lists 0 g of added sugar; its 2 g total is naturally-occurring from peanuts. Skippy's sugar is the second ingredient. If you have one rule for peanut butter, "no added sugar" is the most defensible one, and only Justin's passes it.
- Shorter, cleaner label. Two ingredients vs four. No added sweetener, no added salt — just peanuts and the palm oil that keeps it from separating. That earns Justin's an ingredient-quality grade of B+ against Skippy's B+.
- Far less sodium. 25 mg per serving vs Skippy's 74.9 mg, because Skippy salts it and Justin's doesn't. That's the difference between an A+ and a B- on the sodium dimension.
- Slightly lower saturated fat. 3.5 g vs 4 g per serving — a small edge, but it goes Justin's way too.
Where Skippy wins
- A touch more fiber. Skippy lists 1.98 g per serving vs Justin's 0.992 g — both modest, but this is the one nutrition line where Skippy comes out ahead, enough to grade B- on fiber vs Justin's D.
- Sweet, no-stir consistency. The added sugar and the way Skippy is blended give it the smooth, sweet, spreads-straight-from-the-pantry texture a lot of people specifically want. It's the flavor most palates were trained on.
- Cheaper and everywhere. Skippy is a center-aisle staple — typically less expensive per ounce and stocked in every store. For a household that goes through peanut butter by the sandwich, that matters.
- Still a real protein source. Worth stating plainly: Skippy is not junk food. Same 7 g of protein and 210 calories as Justin's, from the same peanuts.
Where it's a tie
- Protein. Identical — 7 g per serving, 21.9 g per 100 g, 30 calories per gram of protein in both. Both are a "good source of protein" (14% of the 50 g Daily Value) at one serving.
- Calories. 210 per 2 Tbsp in each — peanut butter is concentrated, calorie-dense food no matter the brand.
- Protein density grade. Both B+ — strong for the category.
- Palm oil. Both use it as a stabilizer, so neither is a true single-ingredient natural peanut butter, and saturated fat is the weakest dimension for both.
Which should you buy
Buy Justin's Classic if you want the cleaner label without committing to a stir-it-yourself natural jar. You get no added sugar, almost no sodium, and the same protein as Skippy, while keeping a no-stir spread. It's the better grade and the smarter default — especially if you eat peanut butter daily and want to quietly drop the added sugar and salt.
Buy Skippy Creamy if the sweet, smooth, no-stir taste is what actually gets a peanut-butter sandwich (or a spoon) into your day, or if price and availability decide it. It's a legitimate protein source — just one carrying added sugar and salt that the cleaner jar leaves out. Mind the portion either way: at 210 calories per 2 Tbsp and noticeably sweet, Skippy is easy to over-scoop, so measure a level serving if you're tracking.
If you want the absolute cleanest jar, note that neither of these is a true "just peanuts" natural butter — both add palm oil to stay smooth and stir-free. A single-ingredient natural peanut butter grades higher still on saturated fat, and the only thing you give up is having to stir the oil back in. Justin's is the no-added-sugar pick that skips the stir; a peanuts-only jar is the pick if saturated fat is your priority. We cover that whole spectrum in the nut butters report card.
How they were graded
Both products use the v3 6-dimension Labelgrade formula (see /methodology): protein density 23% + ingredient quality 21% + saturated fat 18% + sodium 15% + sugar 15% + fiber 8%. Skippy data from USDA FDC 1851232; Justin's data from USDA FDC 2652729. Every figure on this page is read live from each product's record at build time, so the numbers can't drift out of sync with the individual fact sheets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which has more protein — Skippy or Justin's?
It's an exact tie. Both list 7 g of protein per 32 g serving (2 Tbsp), which works out to the same 21.9 g per 100 g and the same 30 calories per gram of protein. Peanuts are peanuts — the protein doesn't change between these two jars. What changes is everything bolted on around the peanuts, and that's where the grades split.
Which has cleaner ingredients?
Justin's, clearly. Justin's Classic is two ingredients: dry-roasted peanuts and palm oil, with no added sugar. Skippy is four — roasted peanuts, sugar, palm oil, salt — adding a sweetener and salt that Justin's leaves out. Both use palm oil as a stabilizer so the jar doesn't separate, so neither is a true "just peanuts" natural butter. But on label cleanliness Justin's wins: it scores B+ on ingredient quality vs Skippy's B+, and crucially it carries no added sugar.
Does Skippy really have added sugar and Justin's doesn't?
Yes — that's the single biggest difference between them. Sugar is the second ingredient in Skippy, so its 2 g of sugar per serving is scored as added. Justin's lists 0 g of added sugar; its 2 g of total sugar is the small amount that occurs naturally in peanuts. Both still land an A--range grade on the sugar dimension because the totals are low either way, but if your rule is "no added sugar," Justin's passes and Skippy doesn't.
Which has more saturated fat and sodium?
Justin's is actually a hair lower on saturated fat (3.5 g per serving vs Skippy's 4 g) and dramatically lower on sodium (25 mg vs Skippy's 74.9 mg, because Skippy adds salt and Justin's doesn't). That sodium gap is the difference between an A+ and a B- on that dimension. Saturated fat is the weakest dimension for both — palm oil plus the peanuts' own fat — but neither is alarming against the 20 g FDA daily limit.
Are these actually different, or is it the same peanut butter?
Underneath, it's the same food: roasted peanuts and palm oil, 7 g protein and 210 calories per 2 Tbsp in both. The honest gap is two add-ins — Skippy's sugar and salt. That's enough to move Skippy from a B- (72/100) to Justin's B (77/100) on our v3 scale. It's a real difference in label quality, but a small one in absolute nutrition — don't let the four-point gap convince you Skippy is junk. It's a legitimate protein source carrying two things the cleaner jar leaves out.