Sunflower seed butter

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.

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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.

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.

Nutrition