Sunflower seed butter

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Sunflower seed butter is the perfect alternative to peanut butter, all the plant-based goodness but with no peanuts or tree nuts.

In front a small jar with sunflower seed butter with a green spoon in the jar. Faded in the background is a pink plate with a piece of bread with spread on it with a knife and chopped banana beside the bread

Why This Recipe Works

Easy recipe
Nut-free, which is perfect for allergy families and great for lunchboxes
Sunflower seeds are nutrient-dense : A source of plant-based protein and dietary fibre. They are rich in Vitamin E, Thiamin, Magnesium and omega 6 fatty acids.

Ingredients you will need

To make my homemade sunflower seed butter you will need:

Sunflower seeds
Maple syrup
Salt

Sunflower seeds and maple syrup packets with a salt pig filled with salt.

Ingredients Notes & Substitutions

Maple syrup: You can choose to use another sweetener if you prefer. Honey, granulated sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar or stevia will all work well. I find a little sweetness is needed in sunflower seed butter, however, taste your seed butter and determine if it is necessary for your family's taste preferences.
Salt: A little salt enhances the flavour of the sunflower seed spread. Choose your favourite salt, iodised, sea salt or Himalayan salt.
Additional flavourings: You can also add a teaspoonful of vanilla extract or cinnamon to flavor your seed spread.

I am an ambassador for Countdown supermarket, they support my blog by providing ingredients for recipe creation and testing. I used Macro natural sunflower kernels and maple syrup from their range in this recipe.

Step-by-step instructions

Below are illustrated step-by-step instructions to make my Sunflower seed butter recipe, if you prefer just the written instructions then head straight to the printable recipe card below.

Prep: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. This is 360 F. Spread the sunflower seeds across a large, lined baking tray or baking sheet.

An oven tray with silicone liner and a layer of sunflower seeds ready to roast

Step one: Toast the seeds for 5 minutes remove from the oven and stir to ensure even roasting. Return to the oven and toast for a further 5-10 minutes until the seeds are an even golden brown.

Step two: Once you are happy with the level of roasting, remove the seeds from the oven, and let them cool for several minutes before moving on to make a sunflower seed butter.

Looking into the mixer filled with roasted sunflower seeds

Step three: Place sunflower seeds into a food processor or blender. Start by pulsing the sunflowers until they are finely chopped.

Looking into the mixer with chopped sunflower seeds

Step four: The next step is to process or blend the sunflowers for one minute. After one minute stop your appliance and scrape down the sides of the bowl. The consistency will be quite dry, as the seeds won't have released their oils yet. Repeat this process for another minute. The consistency will now be a clumpy paste. Scrape the sides of the bowl again.

Three photo collage of the process of the blending sunflower seeds

Step five: Process or blend for a fourth time for 2 -3 minutes longer. The sunflower seed butter should be creamy and smooth at this point.

Step six: Add the maple syrup and salt, and blend until combined

Step seven: The sunflower seed butter will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for several months, but can also be kept at room temperature for a couple of weeks.

A jar of brown sunflower seed spread with a green spoon beside it and a bowl of raw sunflower seeds

Step eight: With all the processing the sunflower butter may be quite hot, Leave to cool before transferring to a clean jar.

A plate with red apple slices and a small bowl of sunflower seed spread for dipping

How to make Chocolate Sunbutter

This recipe can be modified to make a chocolate sunflower spread, think Nutella without the nuts.

Additional Ingredients

3 Tablespoons Cocoa
¼ cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

To make chocolate sunflower seed butter, you will follow the instructions for regular sunflower seed butter, when the maple syrup is added you will add the ingredients listed above.

Top Tips

Here is how you can make these Sunflower seed butter perfectly every time!

Too dry: If your sunflower seeds are not becoming a smooth seed butter this may be because your sunflower seeds are not releasing their oils. If this is the case you can add a little neutral-flavoured oil such as coconut oil until the desired texture is reached.
Too dry: The sunflower seeds release the most oil when they are well roasted. If your sunflower seeds are not releasing much oil it may be because you did not quite toast your sunflower seeds enough. That's ok, see the tip above about adding oil, and next time toast your sunflower seeds until they are a little darker in colour.
Serving ideas: Serve your homemade sunbutter as you would peanut butter or almond butter. It's lovely spread on toast, served with apple or pear slices or in a sandwich. You can also use it as the base of a satay.

Pink plate with brown bread with sunflower spread next to a banana chopped up in the skin.

FAQs

Is sunflower seed butter good for you?

Sunflower seed butter is nutrient-dense, made from sunflower seeds it is rich in plant-based protein, vitamin E, selenium omega 6 fatty acids and flavonoids.

Is seed butter healthier than nut butter?

Both seed and nut butters are nutritionally dense, rich in protein and unsaturated fats. They will differ in their nutrient composition depending on which seeds or nuts are used and the other ingredients in the butters.

Is sunflower seed butter a good substitute for peanut butter?

Sunflower seed butter is an excellent alternative to peanut butter, in recipes you can directly substitute sunflower seed butter for peanut butter.

Jar of spread with a green spoon in the jar, with roasted and un-roasted seeds in the background.

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A glass jar of seed butter on a marble bench top with a slice of toast and sliced banana in the background.

Sunflower seed butter is a nut-free alternative to peanut butter and other nut butters, a great nut-free way to add plant-based protein, and unsaturated fats to meals snacks and lunchboxes.

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast, Lunch box, Snack

Cuisine: Western

Keyword: Sunbutter, sunflower seed butter, sunflower seed spread, nut free peanut butter

Diet: Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten free, Vegan

Servings: servings

Calories: 87kcal

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Ingredients

2 ½ cups sunflower seeds 380g
¼ cup maple syrup 80g
½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius (360 F). Spread the sunflower seeds across a large, lined baking tray or baking sheet.
Toast the seeds for 5 minutes remove from the oven and stir to ensure even roasting.
Return to the oven and toast for a further 5-10 minutes until the seeds are an even golden brown.
Once you are happy with the level of roasting, remove the seeds from the oven, and let them cool for several minutes before moving on to make a sunflower seed butter.
Place sunflower seeds into a food processor or blender. Start by pulsing the sunflowers until they are finally chopped.
The next step is to process or blend the sunflowers for one minute. After one minute stop your appliance and scrape down the sides of the bowl. The consistency will be quite dry, as the seeds won't have released their oils yet
Repeat this process for another minute. The consistency now will be a clumpy paste. Scrape the sides of the bowl again
Process or blend a third time for 1 minute continuously, then stop the machine and scrape down sides. The sunflower seed butter will now be thick and grainy, if the consistency of the butter is not changing you may need to add 1 tablespoon of neutral-flavoured oil.
Process or blend for a fourth time for 2 -3 minutes longer. The sunflower seed butter should be creamy and smooth at this point.
Add the maple syrup and salt, and blend until combined
The sunflower seed butter will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for several months, but can also be kept at room temperature for a couple of weeks.
With all the proceesing the sunflower butter may be quite hot, Leave to cool before transferring to a clean jar.

Notes

Too dry: If your sunflower seeds are not becoming a smooth seed butter this may be because your sunflower seeds are not releasing their oils. If this is the case you can add a little neutral-flavoured oil such as coconut oil until the desired texture is reached.

Too dry: The sunflower seeds release the most oil when they are well roasted. If your sunflower seeds are not releasing much oil it may be because you did not quite toast your sunflower seeds enough. That's ok, see the tip above about adding oil, and next time toast your sunflower seeds until they are a little darker in colour.

Serving ideas: Serve your homemade sunbutter as you would peanut butter or almond butter. It's lovely spread on toast, served with apple or pear slices or in a sandwich. You can also use it as the base of a satay.

Ingredient Notes

Maple syrup: You can choose to use another sweetener if you prefer. Honey, granulated sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar or stevia will all work well. I find a little sweetness is needed in sunflower seed butter, however, taste your seed butter and determine if it is necessary for your family's taste preferences.

Salt: A little salt enhances the flavour of the sunflower seed spread. Choose your favourite salt, iodised, sea salt or Himalayan salt.

Additional flavourings: You can also add a teaspoonful of vanilla extract or cinnamon to flavor your seed spread.