
Not only is it the month that my baby will turn one*, it’s also the time of year when my nut-free recipes are getting a lot more action. Yup, back to school season. After receiving a request from a blog reader recently, I decided to share this sunflower seed butter recipe that’s been raved about by my testers. It’s so creamy and delicious! (I recently heard that some schools are now banning seed butters too, so I realize this recipe won’t work for those schools.)
This blog post is also proof that I’m still alive! Not that you are waiting with bated breath for my next post or anything, but I wanted to apologize for my absence. My manuscript is due at the beginning of October and I’ve been working around the clock finalizing recipes, writing, and editing the introductory chapters and headnotes. I can’t believe I’m SO CLOSE to finishing the first draft. It feels amazing and I’m looking forward to getting back to a (somewhat) normal life again. Thanks for hanging in there with me.
*gentle sobs.

We start by roasting the sunflower seeds. For the love of everything nut/seed buttery, please do not skip this part. Not only does roasting give the seeds a nutty, toasted flavour, but it helps the seeds turn into butter much faster. I speak from experience because I once tried to make sunflower seed butter using raw sunflower seeds and I processed for like 30 hours and nothing happened except dust. It took me years to try it again after that experience!

Sunflower seed glam shots. Just cuz.

Here is a glimpse into the various food processor stages below. It takes me about 7-8 minutes in my processor. Keep in mind your own processing times will vary based on your food processor and its butterizing prowess. I recommend using a heavy-duty food processor (such as this model) to make nut or seed butter as smaller machines can overheat. You can also make nut and seed butter in the Vitamix, but I never do because I find the butter a huge pain to scrape out from the bottom of the Vitamix container. For me, the food processor for nut/seed butter is where it’s at!

I always let it run a couple minutes longer than I think I should just to get it super silky and runny.


Luxurious Sunflower Seed Butter

Yield
1 3/4 cups
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Plain sunflower seed butter can taste quite bitter so I’ve improved its flavour by adding a touch of coconut sugar, cinnamon, and some virgin coconut oil to thin the consistency just a bit. The result is a sunflower seed butter you’ll want to add to everything, and eat by the spoonful. Even though it’s not the ever popular almond or peanut butter, you won’t feel like you’re missing out when you make this nut-free spread.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (about 400g) raw shelled sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil, softened
- Pinch of pink Himalayan sea salt or other fine sea salt, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste (optional)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 vanilla bean, seeded or 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla bean powder (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and spread on the seeds in an even layer. Roast for 9-12 minutes, until some of the seeds are lightly golden. Cool the seeds for a few minutes before using.
- Meanwhile, add the sugar into a high speed blender and grind until a powder forms. Leave the lid on and set aside so the “dust” can settle.
- Spoon the toasted seeds into a heavy-duty food processor. (I like to spoon the seeds into my measuring cup and transfer them that way. When I have about 1/2 cup of seeds left on the pan I will use the parchment paper to “funnel” the remaining seeds into the processor.)
- Process the seeds for a few minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl every minute. It will look dry and powdery at this stage. (If you have a chute, you can leave it open to allow steam to escape.)
- Add the coconut oil and process for another couple minutes. The butter will clump together into a large ball and it'll start rattling around for a bit. Then, the ball will eventually break down into butter again. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Now, add in the ground sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Process for another few minutes until smooth. Now, slowly stream in the vanilla while processing. Add in the vanilla bean seeds, if using. You can add a touch more oil if you need to thin out the butter (but do not add water or liquid sweetener because it will seize). I like to let the machine run at least another 2 minutes to get the sunflower seed butter super smooth. I process for a total of about 8 minutes, but timing will vary based on your food processor and preference. Some machines may need to run for upwards of 15 minutes to get the seed butter smooth enough.
- Transfer the sunflower seed butter into an air-tight container. Chill in the fridge. Here it'll keep for about 2 months and it will remain “spreadable” even when chilled.
Tip:
Tips: 1) Do not skip toasting the seeds; it’s necessary for the seeds to break down in the processor. 2) The sweetener is added because sunflower seed butter is bitter; feel free to adjust the sweetener to your own taste. 3) If for some reason your seeds aren’t breaking down after the specified times, add a touch more coconut oil, a teaspoon at a time. Some machines just might need to run a bit longer though, so be patient!
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
And now some recipes to use homemade sunflower seed butter…
Quick and Easy No Bake Protein Bars
Hi,
Thanks for the recipe, I just bought sunflower seeds for making butter and your recipe was very timely!
I did not use anything except the seeds and oil and it was not bitter at all. My seeds were slightly over-roasted, so maybe roasting for a bit longer would obviate the need for a sweetener.
This looks so delicious. It looks so buttery and smooth and the color reminds me a bit of pistachio ice cream. I love sunflower seeds and i usually eat them raw but this recipe is certainly going to be on my to try list. Thank you for the tip on toasting the seeds and for the wonderful directions. :)
www.chicuturnonglitz.blogspot.com
I made this yesterday morning. It was so good, I might give up peanut butter. When I make it again, I’ll try halving the amount of sugar and see how it tastes. Thanks for the recipe. Bought your first book and everything I make is delicious. Can’t wait for the 2nd one. When is it due? Spring 2016?
What would you recommend as a substitute for the coconut oil? My peanut/tree nut allergic husband is unfortunately also allergic to coconut. I always keep some commercial sunflower seed butter on hand for when those nut-butter cravings strike, and wouldn’t mind trying my hand at making it myself! I’m just not sure what to sub for the coconut oil in your recipe since it has a different consistency than other oils.
It must be yummy.. Sun flower seed butter.. One of my friend kept telling me about its richness and finally I started googling it. Thanks for this great article.
Yes I learnt how bitter the seeds were..still impressed with my homemade butter. I will try this one out. Thanks
I am seriously a fan of anything nut butter! This looks absolutely divine. I’lll try this in lieu of my glorious peanut butter.
Thank you!
Krista
http://www.hundredblog.com/chatter/thesecretingredientiscollab
I just made this AGAIN! :) the first batch barely lasted 5 days – whoops! To this round, I made the following modifications:
-put the just-roasted seeds into the food processor and began processing. It cut down on time to break into butter.
-Added 1 1/2 tsp raw cacao….yum!
Oh Kathy, I love the idea of adding raw cacao to this recipe! I’m going to give it a try!
It’s wonderful! :)
It sounds better than delicious! I’ll have to try that, too :)
I tried making this earlier this week. Sooo good! I definitely recommend buzzing the sugar in the blender first, or you end up with a bit of granularity in the butter. So far I’ve used it stirred into my oatmeal, and it was a hit on crepes with my whole family. Will definitely become a regular staple at our house, especially when the kids’ schools are nut free.
What kind of food processor do you use? I’m sure mine couldn’t handle this – I have the cheapest cuisinart I could find at Target and I can’t even make smooth hummus with it. Do you have any recommendations? One that is a good deal for the price? Thanks :)
This looks delicious! Looking forward to your fall entree recipes. What can we expect?
I love this! Not only because it sounds delicious (and I love coconut sugar with all that I am), but also because it’s finally some sun butter that I can stock up on and keep in the fridge for a while. The sun butter that I buy in-store always come in such small containers, and I would love to just make a bunch and use it for a while after. Thanks, Angela! I will probably be making a batch sometime this week.
Amazing – best sunflower seed butter ever!! we are a nut free house and this is going to be a staple!!!
Wow! Fantastic! I have bought seed butter from the store and when eating my apples and seed butter at work, my collegue commented on it’s unappetizing colour. It’s almost a greyish tone, though it does say roasted sunflower seeds in the ingredient list. It also tastes too sweet and I’m working towards cutting way back on the sugar in my diet.
Tried your recipe and it is not only easy to make, I get to control the kind and amount of sugar that goes in. It turned out absolutely delicious and a lovely shade, not unlike that of almond butter
My son is allergic to tree nuts, but it’s his milk allergy that’s ever caused any trouble (seems milk is EVERYwhere!). I’m so glad he ‘grew out’ of his egg allergy, at least, and thankful he wasn’t burdened with an allergy peanuts (also found in a lot of foods).
Regarding the possible bitterness of the sunflower seeds: have you heard of nut-soaking? It is done, apparently, to make nuts more nutritious/less toxic. But another effect that I’ve noticed (when I have done it) is that the nuts are less bitter. The idea is to soak the nuts or seeds overnight, discard the soaking water, then dehydrate them. For this recipe, maybe just pat them dry before they get roasted, and get the same effect.
This looks so delicious, Angela! I love that you added cinnamon and vanilla. What a great idea! Thanks for sharing this recipe! :-)
Wonder if this recipe also works for sesame butter (tahini)
This sunflower seed butter was so good. I’ve been eating it by the spoonful. I just got a blendtec for the first time ever and I am having so much fun making all the recipes I’ve never been able to do before. Sunflower seed butter is great and the cinnamon was such a nice touch- next up is cashew butter!! Hope everything is going well with the cookbook and new baby :)
Angela, this is heavenly! Everyone stop what you’re doing right now and make this! :-) Didn’t have coconut sugar, so just used regular Trader Joe’s cane sugar and it turned out fine. Long time reader, OSG cookbook owner, and first time commenter. :-) Thanks for this! I missed your posts – can’t wait for OSG cookbook #2!