A jar of hemp seeds beside a piece of toast spread with seed butter

Making your own seed butter at home is easy! This, nutritious seed butter recipe uses 3 different super seeds: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and hemp seeds. The texture is smooth and creamy.

I love peanut butter. And almond butter. But I also love seeds and find that even I don’t eat them as often as I’d like, because they are harder to snack on in their naked form.

When turned into a thick, luscious butter, however…

The inspiration for this was maybe the most delicious butter I have ever eaten, a pumpkin seed cashew affair that I tried at Matchstick Coffee in Chinatown. Of course, the dietitian in me always takes an inspiration like that and goes on overdrive, trying to figure out how to make it even more special and healthy. Like, why not a nut-free butter so you can pack it for the kiddos? And why not pour a ton of hemp seeds in it so it’s now crazy high in omega 3s and minerals?

And that’s just what I did.

Making your own butters is an exercise in patience and trust. They have to be one of the easiest things to make…but at about minute 15, you’re going to doubt that it’s going to work. Trust me. It will work – and go ahead, and drizzle a bit more oil in if you’re skeptical. I won’t take your lack of trust personally 😉

Also, pumpkin seeds are richly flavourful, and you want to make sure yours are super fresh. Taste one – if it tastes rancid or stale, you won’t like the taste of the butter.

Sunflower Seed Nutrition

  • Contains heart-healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats
  • Loaded with vitamin E, a fat -soluble antioxidant
  • Great source of several essential vitamins and minerals, including zinc and selenium which help immune function and aid in fighting inflammation and infection

Pumpkin Seed Nutrition

  • Super high in magnesium, a mineral needed for over 600 chemical reactions that occur in the body
  • A single 28g serving provides 1.1g of fibre
  • High in carotenoid and vitamin E antioxidants
  • And they’re easy to make at home

Hemp Seed Nutrition

  • One of the best plant-based sources for omega 3s & 6s
  • Three tablespoons contains about 10 grams of protein
  • Nutrient-dense and a great addition to keep on hand in your pantry
A jar of hemp seeds beside a piece of toast spread with seed butter

Super Seed Butter

2 cups
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Thick, luscious seed butter made from iron-rich hemp and pumpkin seeds is perfect for toast, baked goods and more! And because it's nut free, you can pack it to school.
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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 cup raw hemp seeds
  • 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
  • 2 tablespoons avocado or raw pumpkin seed oil
  • 1-2 tablespoons pure cane sugar or maple syrup, (optional, see note!)
  • 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger , or 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Equipment

  • Food Processor

Instructions 

  • Place the pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds and sunflower seeds in a food processor and process them until they turn into a nice crumb.
  • Next, with the motor running, drizzle in the oil to help get the butter process going. At this stage, the seeds will start to look like a dry dough and require lots of scraping.
  • Keep going, scraping as necessary, and slowly it will form a paste that seems close to ready by 15 minutes. However, it's not quite creamy. What you're waiting for is the machine and the butter to start really heating up and the oils of the seeds to release. Some will toast the seeds in the oven first to get the oils releasing…but here I'm relying on the motor of the food processor to do my bidding.
  • At about 20-25 minutes, it will look like a thick, glossy butter and then it is ready. When ready, add the salt and cinnamon and give it another whir to combine. Now, you've got a decision about sweeteners.
  • If you add liquid sweeteners to a butter, you run the risk of it seizing and turning into a dough. So the safest bet is to add sugar and dried ginger and whir again.
  • However, if you like living dangerously…which I do…then turn off the machine and add a bit of maple syrup and fresh ginger by hand. Now, it's ready to transfer into a glass jar and store in the fridge for up to a month. Or, eat it all on freshly toasted bread with a few of your closest friends and call it brunch.

Notes

A few notes:
If your butter doesn’t seem buttery enough, you can cheat and drizzle in some more oil and process for a couple more minutes. This will also help rescue it if it seizes.
If you’re interested in making some low sugar, nut free energy bites, then add the two tablespoons of maple to the processor and seize the butter on purpose! Roll the dough into balls, dust with cinnamon and store in the fridge.
If you want a milder flavoured more traditional nut butter, substitute all the sunflower seeds and 1/2 cup of the pumpkin seeds with 1 cup cashews.
Cuisine: American
Course: Breakfast, Sauces, Snack
Author: Desiree Nielsen, RD

Photo Credit: Alyssa Dawson

 

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