Homemade Sunflower Seed Butter…No Sugar Added!

January 5, 2015

Creamy, nutty, and altogether delicious! Homemade sunflower seed butter is an excellent vegan, gluten free, raw, and food allergy-friendly source of plant-based protein with no added sugar! Whip up a batch today!

Welcome to the NEW C it Nutritionally!

I spent most of my weekend glued to my computer to make my big reveal on this first #MeatlessMonday of 2015 go flawlessly…

Unfortunately, I had a slight hiccup that I’m still working out with my new LOGO! My beautiful sister-in-law and art director extraordinaire designed a few stunning logos that fit more with my personality, style, and vision for C it Nutritionally, but we’re having sizing issues. For now, here’s a sneak peak…

I hope you have some time to click around the site today! You’ll find featured recipes up top, featured Meatless Monday recipes below that, then a special “tips and tricks” section below that. Recipes are also better categorized by meal and dietary preferences under the “Recipes” tab at the top of the site. If you’re looking for something specific, go ahead and SEARCH at the right or on the bottom of the site. As always, if we haven’t already, let’s connect on social media!

Now, let’s get to the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious recipe that I have for you today…because when I first tasted this baby it just made me want to break out in song…

One of my 2015 New Years resolutions is to start making/cooking/assembling more basics at home instead of buying them in the store.

Why? Many packaged products, no matter how “natural” they may be, still have more preservatives, added sugars, and extra sodium than the same product(s) made at home. {P.S. — This is the same reason “healthy” restaurant meals contain more calories, fat, and sodium than an equivalent meal made at home!}

While I typically don’t buy too many packaged products (I’ll never abandon my Happy Herbert’s Oat Bran pretzels!!), one staple I buy regularly, and consume nearly daily, is sunflower seed butter.

With allergies to tree nuts AND peanuts, I have little experience in the nut butter realm, but seed butter, I do! Unfortunately, many commercial seed butters are “made in a factory that uses tree nuts [and/or] peanuts” so I must stay away. But I’m in LOVE with Trader Joes’ version so I never really feel like I’m missing out.

I have been meaning to make my own sunflower seed butter for some time, but to be honest, I was SO discouraged the first time I tried (before I even made this blog) so I never tried again (shameful, I know!)…

Well, I learned a few things on the way…

You MUST process the seeds for loooongger than you think…especially to get your butter silky smooooth!
Using roasted seeds (or roasting them yourself) is ESSENTIAL to release the natural oils and fats in the seeds. The warmer temperature (but not too hot!) also helps them grind into a smooth paste.
Unless you want a gritty texture, there’s nearly no way you can not add at least some oil. But hey, this oil can be heart healthy and we NEED fat!
Some form of sweetener is necessary…especially if you’re accustomed to store bought varieties!
A small food processor just won’t cut it! The first time I tried to make seed butter I was using my cute 4 cup processor that makes the most annoying high pitched squealing noise and it just did NOT work! This time, I was home for the holidays and used my mom’s 10 cup processor…much better!

This time around, I was armed and ready with all of my tips and tricks and approached my food processor primed for success! I made a batch of my oh so YUM seed crackers so the oven was already set to 325…I popped a cookie sheet of seeds in for *2* minutes…just enough so their natural oils are released.

Then, I processed the seeds to a flour-like consistency. I added some oil, and my secret weapon for a refined sugar-free butter…MEDJOOL DATES! I’m a huge fan of dates and see tons of bloggers use them in everything, so it was time I jumped on board and created my own deliciousness with them! This recipe is definitely that!

Sweet must always be balanced with some salt, so just a sprinkle will do, and then a hefty dose of cinnamon for even more flavor. Mmm mmm mmm!

I hope you’re as happy as I was when I first hit the sunflower seed jackpot! Caaaaa-Chinngg!

Did you see the chocolate version in the pictures above? My taste testers didn’t think it was sweet enough (I disagree)…so it’s still a work in progress…coming soon to a blog near you!

But for now, that’s it! *5* ingredients to make your taste buds dance like crazy!

Homemade Sunflower Seed Butter

Author: Chelsey

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 2 mins

Total time: 12 mins

Serves: 15

Ingredients

2 cups roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds
3-4 medjool dates, pitted and chopped
¼-½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
3-4 tablespoons safflower oil, divided

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°F.
On a large cookie sheet, spread out sunflower seeds and bake for 2-3 minutes if previously roasted or 5 minutes if raw. You should see the seed glisten…it’s the oils being released. Be careful not to burn the seeds!
Add the roasted seeds to a large food processor (I used a 10 cup processor) and process for 1 minute until a finely ground, flour-like consistency forms.
Then add dates, salt, cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon of oil. Process for another 2-3 minutes.
Add another 2 tablespoons of oil and continue to process until a creamy consistency forms, about another 5-7 minutes. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides and continue to process. Depending on the consistency you desire your processing time will vary.
Store in an airtight container or glass jar for up to 2 weeks.