Want a creamy, nutty butter that’s also allergy-friendly? Sunflower seed butter is the answer. Use in place of peanut butter in most recipes!
In this recipe
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How to make sunflower butter
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Sweeten or flavor your sunflower butter
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Chocolate Nutella style sunflower butter
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What to do with sunflower butter
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Recipes with sunflower butter
Before we had our young son, I made a lot of homemade pantry staples. Yogurt? To verify. Bread? To verify. nut butter? To verify. These days, however, many of our homemade staples have been replaced with good store-bought versions due to a lack of time.
But I still make my nut and seed butters! It’s so quick and easy – and I like that you can control exactly what’s inside.
This recipe is specially made for sunflower seed butter, which is perfect for allergy-prone kids and their friends. If you’ve never made nut or seed butter at home, don’t worry. It’s really easy and there’s very little hands-on time: From seed to velvety butter, it takes about 7 to 8 minutes total.
Roast the kernels first. This deepens the flavor and the natural oils are released when the seeds are roasted, allowing you to make this spread with very little added oil.
Then process in a food processor. The mixture goes through several stages. First your seeds will be blitzed into a fine powder and then turn into a lumpy powder. As you continue to process, the mixture will form a ball and become a thick spread. Eventually, it turns into a smooth fluffy seed butter.
Every food processor is different, so yours may work slightly faster or slower. Just use the visual cues in the recipe below and trust your seed butter instinct!
Just a side note: you can actually make this recipe without any added oil at all. I love the subtle sweetness of coconut oil, so I add it for flavor rather than texture.
Do you feel particularly ambitious?! Grow and harvest your own sunflower seeds! Here’s how.
Ways to sweeten and flavor your sunflower butter
To flavor and sweeten the sunflower butter, I like to add a pinch of cinnamon, some coconut oil, some vanilla extract, and finally some brown sugar. Coconut sugar would be great too. I tend to be conservative, so if you like your butter a bit sweet, add extra sugar, a teaspoon at a time. Taste between each addition until it’s where you want it.
In the past I’ve used liquid sweeteners like maple syrup, but since nuts and seeds contain a lot of natural oil, adding extra water-based liquid to your seed butter can cause it to set, so I play it safe these days and use dry sweeteners . Why? In short, the oils collect and separate from the water, leaving your nut or seed butter clumpy and difficult to spread.
Chocolate Nutella style sunflower butter
For a chocolate version, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the food processor at the very end and mix until smooth. If the seed butter is thicker than you’d like, add 1 teaspoon additional melted coconut oil to fluff it up.
What to do with your sunflower butter
What to do with your sunflower butter? I love spreading it on toast or pancakes. It’s a great sandwich filling for kids (or adults!). It’s also delicious mixed into batter, a 1-for-1 substitute for peanut butter, in baked goods like cookies and brownies.
I usually keep mine at room temperature knowing we’ll be using them within 2 weeks. Otherwise I put it in the fridge where it’s fine for up to 6 weeks.
Try sunflower butter in these recipes!
- Nut-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
- Chicken Peanut Curry
- Peanut Butter Honey Granola Bars
- Apple Peanut Butter Sandwich
- Spring rolls with peanut sauce
How to make Creamy Sunflower Seed Butter
ingredients
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2 cups (280 g) shelled sunflower seeds
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4 teaspoons (18g) brown sugar
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pinch of kosher salt
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Pinch of ground cinnamon
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1 tablespoon coconut oil, softened at room temperature but not melted or liquid
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1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
special equipment
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food processor
method
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Roast the seeds:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and spread the sunflower seeds out on a large rimmed baking sheet. Toast the seeds until lightly golden and beginning to smell nutty and fragrant, 10 to 12 minutes. Monitor and stir the seeds about every 5 minutes to prevent burning.
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Processing seeds into powder:
Once the seeds are toasted, place them in the bowl of a food processor and process continuously until they form a fine powder, about 30 seconds.
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Process lumpy:
Continue processing until the powder becomes lumpy, another 30 seconds to 1 minute.
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Process until mixture forms a ball:
Continue to process the mixture for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, or until it starts to ball up into a large lump or ball.
If your machine gets hot, simply pause for a minute or so to let it cool down and continue.
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Continue processing until the mixture forms a smooth butter:
I know, I know: more time in the food processor. You’re almost there! Continue processing for an additional 2 minutes until the seed butter reaches a smooth, paste-like consistency.
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Add sweeteners and flavors:
Now that the seed butter is smooth, add the salt, cinnamon, coconut oil, and vanilla extract and process an additional 1 to 2 minutes, or until super smooth and spoonable.
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Storage of your butter:
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks on the counter, up to 6 weeks in the refrigerator, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
