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.
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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
THANK YOU for a delicious sun butter recipe! The step by step directions and photos were so helpful. This has to be the most delicious sunbutter I have ever eaten. It was my first try at making my own and I don’t think I will ever buy any from a store again. I love that it is spreadable after being refrigerated. That was a big surprise and no more stirring to mix it up every time you want to use it. This is the sunbutter recipe to make!!
Delicious! I accidentally bought roasted sunflower seeds, so I skipped the roasting step. I also added 1c coconut and cut the oil and salt.
This looks delicious! I can’t wait to try this over Thanksgiving break and use it in new recipes! Thanks Angela!
I made it & loved every spoonful! :) So delectable indeed! :)
MMMMMMMMM!
I followed your recipe for the sunflower butter and it turned out like rubber. Baking the sunflower seeds maybe drys them out to much? My seed butter doesn’t look like your picture -what to do?
I was wondering if you can keep it outside the fridge? I was hoping to take some to camp with me this summer!
Do you think it necessary to soak the seeds first on account of the phytic acid?
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SOAK THEM FIRST, YOUR RIGHT…NOT SOAKING THE NUTS WILL CONTAIN LARGE AMOUNTS OF PHYTIC ACID WHICH INHIBITS MINERALS TO BE ABSORBED!
So, soak them before or after baking them?? I already made the butter without soaking and it came out delicious, even without sugar it wouldn’t taste bitter at all. Now, I wonder is this phytic acid very bad for you?
I think that sunflower seeds are such an underrated ingredient. This seed butter looks amazing. Thank you for the recipe.
I put a bag of seeds in my processor 10 min. ago. I was too fast so I didn’t notice the roast-part. Next time. I did put vanilla, salt and cinnamon in it, that sounds delicious. I also make coconut-cashew paste. My favorite, on ricecrackers and stuff like that. You really should try it. Oh, and roast everything on forehand, tastes nicer.
I just made this recipe but I need help! I added too much coconut sugar and since the sunflower seeds were already salted, now it just tastes too sweet and too salted. How could I adjust the taste? Anybody? Thanks a lot! Love this blog.
Hi Angela,
Thanks for the recipe. What do you think of using date sugar in this? I was just reading that it is the healthiest form of sweetener given its made of whole dates that are ground up, but also read it can thicken things a bit.
Hi Holly, I haven’t used date sugar, but it’s definitely on my list of things to try! I’m really not sure how it would impact this recipe to be honest since I’ve never worked with it before. If you do try it and it thickens up the sunflower butter too much, you can try thinning it with some coconut oil (I wouldn’t use water as that can cause it to sieze up). I hope this helps and please let us know if you try it!
This is SO DELICIOUS!!! I’m scraping out every last bit from my Vitamix and licking my knife clean. This was my first time ever making a nut/seed butter and I have to say…I’m hooked! Thanks Angela for the wonderful recipe.
Hi everyone,
I am not sure where mine went wrong? I ended up with a almost black lump of gunk? Mine didnt turn out anything like the pictures at all? I didnt have coconut sugar so I used stevia.
Pls help as I realy want to make this for my family but i’m rather sceptical of trying it again….
HELP!
Hey Jessica, Oh so sorry that happened to you! What kind of food processor do you use? I find some machines just can’t “butterize” nuts and seeds for some reason. Also, I haven’t tested this with stevia before so that could’ve been the culprit. It’s also very important that the seeds are roasted beforehand (I’ve had zero luck using raw sunflower seeds in this recipe). Lastly, did you use the coconut oil? That’s important to help liquify it. I hope this helps, and let me know if you try it out again!
Can you substitute vanilla extract for the vanilla bean which is readily available in my pantry?
Hi Karen, Yep, you can substitute the optional vanilla bean for a bit more vanilla extract in a pinch. I’d suggest trying about a half a teaspoon.
I, too, had a disastrous experience with a previous attempt at making my own sunflower butter. I used raw seeds and it turned a weird green. Then when
I stored it in the fridge it fermented. Yikes! I don’t know what I did but it was definitely done wrong. I’m going to try this in the morning. And to the moms who don’t send nut butters to school, thank you. My son has nut allergies and a child in his class last year brought in a nut butter sandwich, of which came in contact with my son, long story short , he was in hospital for 3 days and out of school another week.
I’ll let you know how it turns out for me after I make this wonderful sounding recipe.
I’m sorry to hear the previous attempt didn’t work out so well, Trish! Hopefully it will go much better this time.
Thank you for this great recipe! It tasted great to me but my kids find there is bitter aftertaste. Any suggestions as to why or how I can disguise that?
I bought pre-roasted organic sunflower seeds from Costco. In the recipe I did reduce the coconut sugar but 2 teaspoons as we found the seed butter was getting too sweet. Except for not adding the cinnamon, I followed the rest of the recipe.
The consistency is perfect.
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated as it is not easy finding a dent seed butter
Hello, I made it exactly as is and it is delicious! How do I store it, for how long and can I freeze it? Thank you!
I have been making my own until I saw this today (Oct 8). Congratulations on the newborn, he looks SOOO sweet!
This recipe was awesome & its the best tasting sunflower seed butter I have ever made!!! Thank you, for another wonderful recipe
thanks!!!!
I’ve never cared for sunflower seed butter that I bought from the store, but something about the word “luxurious” made me try this. :P Luxurious is no lie. I love just eating it off the spoon.
Aw, I’m glad it won you over, Elizabeth!! :)