Have you ever tried making your own sunflower seed butter at home? It’s affordable, delicious, and surprisingly easy! All you need is a little patience and a good food processor.
Sunflower seed butter is a great alternative for those with peanut or tree nut allergies. I love it because it’s a fairly neutral nutty taste that can be easily incorporated into recipes. Plus, sunflower seeds are super affordable and nutritious.
5 simple steps to making your own sunflower seed butter at home:
Step 1: start with 3 cups of raw, hulled, unsalted sunflower seeds. Spread them out on a baking sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes at 325°F, stirring half way through. I like a light toasting so that the flavour isn’t too strong. You can toast them more, but make sure you don’t overdo it - no one wants burnt sunbutter! You can also make butter from the raw seeds, however, depending on the oil content of your seeds, the end result may not be as creamy.
Step 2: once roasted, I let the seeds cool slightly before adding them to a food processor with a bit of salt to enhance the flavour. Having a decent food processor is important here - smaller and cheaper food processors may overheat. I own (& love) this Breville food processor. If you don't have a food processor, I have heard that you can also use a high speed blender with a tamper.
Step 3: now you begin the process of blend & scrape - as the mixture starts to build up on the sides of the food processor scrape it back down and continue blending. Repeat this process as much as necessary. At first the mixture will be mealy, then slowly you will begin to see more oils being released.
Eventually a ball should start to form - now we’re getting there! Keep on blending! If necessary you can scrape the sides or break apart the ball to continue blending, but it should be pretty close to turning into a smooth butter now.
Step 4: Once you have a smooth butter, you can continue to blend to make it even smoother. However, keep in mind that it’s unlikely that your homemade sunflower seed butter will be as smooth as commercially made butters.
This is a great time for add-ins. If you want to add sugar, now is the time to do that. I like my sunflower butter to stay on the runnier side, so I blend in a tablespoon of avocado oil (because it’s a pretty neutral oil and is liquid at room temp).
Step 5: Transfer your fresh sunflower seed butter to a clean, air-tight container for storage. I like to keep my butter in a cool, dark cupboard, however, if you want it to last even longer, you can keep it in the fridge. If stored in the fridge, your sunflower butter will become more solid.
DIY Sunflower Butter Recipe
Sunflower seed butter is a great alternative for those with peanut or tree nut allergies. It’s affordable, delicious, and surprisingly easy to make at home!
Ingredients
- 3 cups sunflower seeds (raw, hulled, and unsalted)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil (optional)
Instructions
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Pre-heat oven to 325°F.
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Spread sunflower seeds out evenly on a baking sheet and roast for 5-10 minutes. Mix the seeds half-way through baking.
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Let the seeds cool for a couple minutes and then add to a food processor with the salt.
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Blend in the food processor, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary. Repeat this process until the mixture becomes smooth. (See notes above for more details about how the sunflower butter will look in processing).
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Once the sunflower butter is smooth, add in avocado oil (optional), and continue to blend until desired consistency is achieved.
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Store in an airtight container. Keep in a cool, dark cupboard or store in the fridge. Fridge storage will make the seed butter thicker, but last longer.
Recipe Video
How do you use sunflower butter?
I like to use it in sauces and dressings, on toast, with oats, or in smoothies. It’s really versatile and can be used in savoury or sweet recipes. Let me know in the comments how you like to use sunflower butter and if you’ve ever tried making your own before.
If you make sunflower seed butter, be sure to tag me on Instagram! I’d love to see.
Liz
Is it sweet without adding any sugar?
Plantily
It's not sweet, but you could add sweeter at the same time as the avocado oil if you prefer a sweetened nut butter. I like to keep it more neutral so that it can be used in sweet or savoury applications.
RuthEddy
How long do you keep going in good processor before it becomes nut butter? Do you recommend refrigerating?
Plantily
How long will depend on your food processor, but likely over 10 minutes. I prefer storing mine in a cool, dark cupboard, however, if you don't eat it very quickly, storing it in the fridge will keep it from going rancid as quickly.