Sunflower Seed Butter – Detoxinista

Sunflower seed butter is a simple, nut-free various to peanut butter and different nut butters. You may make it at house in simply minutes, with none added oil or refined sugar.

Why You’ll Love It

It’s nut-free. With tree nut allergic reactions on the rise, sunflower butter is a simple swap for peanut butter. Apply it to sandwiches, in energy bites, or in homemade granola bars. For these with nut allergic reactions, make sure you verify the packaging of your sunflower seeds, to verify the they aren’t manufactured in services with different tree nuts, to forestall any potential cross-contamination.

It’s nutritious. Sunflower seeds are wealthy in fiber, protein, and essential minerals like folate and copper. They’re additionally supply of vitamin E.

It’s oil-free. Many store-bought sunflower butters are made with added oil, but it surely’s not crucial once you make your personal. (You’ll want to roast the sunflower seeds briefly first, which is able to assist them to launch their pure oils.)

It’s simple to make. All you want is a bit little bit of endurance. Roast the seeds briefly to convey out their pure oil, then course of in a meals processor or blender till clean. Then you’ll be able to add any flavorings, to style!

It’s naturally sweetened. Sunflower seeds are fairly bitter on their very own, so not like home made almond butter or peanut butter, you might wish to add a bit sweetness to this recipe. I have a tendency to make use of coconut sugar, however some other granulated sugar will work right here. It’s also possible to depart it unsweetened when you don’t thoughts the bitter taste. (I extremely advocate including salt in that case, which additionally helps distract from the bitter style.)

Be aware: Utilizing a liquid sweetener, like maple syrup or honey, will trigger the sunflower butter texture to grab. This implies it’s going to thicken up and change into very troublesome to unfold. Keep away from utilizing liquid sweeteners, or some other liquids (like vanilla extract) when attainable.

Components You’ll Want

What’s in sunflower seed butter? 

• Sunflower seeds
• Sea salt
• Coconut sugar (non-compulsory; or some other granulated sugar)

You’ll want to use sunflower seeds which are unsalted for the perfect outcomes. Utilizing salted sunflower seeds can create a butter that’s total too salty, and it’s laborious to repair that! (Apart from including extra sugar to assist steadiness it out.)

I’ve examined this recipe with each uncooked and dry roasted sunflower seeds, and both choice will work. The flavour is barely extra impartial once you use uncooked seeds, however make sure you toast them within the oven, both method, earlier than getting began.

Learn how to Make Sunflower Seed Butter

1. Roast the seeds. 

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and pour the sunflower seeds on a rimmed baking sheet. Unfold them out into an excellent layer, and toast the seeds for 8 to 10 minutes, till they odor aromatic and so they look barely oily once you stir them within the pan. 

Take away the pan from the oven and let the seeds cool for no less than 10 minutes. (When you pour piping scorching seeds immediately into the bowl of a meals processor or blender, it may soften the plastic container!)

2. Course of. 

As soon as the seeds are heat, however not piping scorching, switch them to the bowl of a meals processor.

Course of for 1 to 2 minutes, and if the seeds begin to stick with the partitions of your machine, pause the method to scrape them down with a spatula.

Proceed processing for one more 2 minutes or so. The sunflower seeds will ultimately cease climbing the edges of the partitions, and can begin to stick collectively, like a thick paste. 

This can be a good signal!

Proceed processing till you see a grainy sunflower seed butter beginning to type, about 1 to 2 extra minutes. You’re nearly there. 

Course of the sunflower seeds till the butter appears to be like drippy in consistency. The feel will nonetheless be barely gritty once you style it, which is the character of creating an oil-free nut butter. 

Tip: For a barely smoother outcome, use a high-speed blender as a substitute of a meals processor. It is going to mix the sunflower seeds even sooner! It’s also possible to add a drizzle of neutral-flavored oil into the combo, which is able to assist the butter change into extra whipped in texture. Don’t use coconut oil, which is able to harden when chilled within the fridge. (This may make it harder to unfold later.)

3. Modify the flavour. 

Whenever you style the completed sunflower seed butter, you’ll most likely discover that the flavour is sort of bitter. Including salt will assist this tremendously! I usually use 3/4 of a teaspoon salt, in whole, however you can begin with only a 1/2 teaspoon and add extra to style.

To steadiness out the bitterness, it’s also possible to add a dry sweetener, like granulated sugar. Begin with a 1/4 cup and course of it in. You possibly can add as much as 2 tablespoons extra, relying in your choice.

For further taste, it’s also possible to add a teaspoon of floor cinnamon, or some other floor spice that you just like.

Be aware: It’s regular for this seed butter to have a barely grainy texture, particularly once you add the granulated sugar. See the ideas famous above for utilizing a high-speed blender and added oil, in order for you an excellent smoother outcome. 

Switch the sunflower seed butter to a jar and safe with a lid. Retailer sunflower seed butter in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 1 month.

You’ll want to all the time use a dry utensil when utilizing the seed butter, to assist with the shelf life. (Added moisture will make something spoil sooner!)

Concepts for Utilizing Sunflower Butter

Now that you just’ve made it, listed here are some scrumptious methods to make use of it. 

As a dip. Sunflower butter is scrumptious as a dip for sliced apples, or drizzled over bananas. 

Use it in granola bars. Make nut-free granola bars which are school-safe!

Add it to date balls. The dates will assist off-set any bitter taste from the sunflower seeds. 

Unfold it on pancakes or waffles. This may make them extra filling!

Swap it wherever you’ll usually use peanut butter. Mainly any recipe that requires peanut butter can use sunflower butter, as a substitute.

**Be aware: Sunflower butter can flip baked items inexperienced when baked in recipes with baking soda. This can be a protected chemical response that’s typically enjoyable round St. Patrick’s day, however it may be stunning when you aren’t anticipating it!

Sunflower Seed Butter

Sunflower seed butter is a simple nut-free various to peanut butter, made with none added oil. It is good for making nut-free faculty lunches and snacks!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Prepare dinner Time: 10 minutes

Complete Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 12 ounces

Tools

Components

• 12 ounces hulled sunflower seeds (unsalted; uncooked or dry roasted)
• 3/4 teaspoon high quality sea salt
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar (non-compulsory)

Directions 

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF and unfold the sunflower seeds out into an excellent layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast the seeds for 8 to 10 minutes, or till they odor aromatic. Whenever you stir the seeds, they need to glisten from their pure oils being launch. Let the seeds cool for no less than 10-Quarter-hour, so they will not soften the plastic of your meals processor or blender container.

• Add the nice and cozy (however not piping scorching) seeds to the bowl of a meals processor or blender and course of for two minutes. Cease and scrape down the edges of the machine, as wanted.

• Proceed processing the seeds, till they begin to stick collectively and type a thick paste. This can be a good signal! The seeds might want to course of for roughly 5 extra minutes, till a gritty sunflower seed butter begins to return collectively.

• Hold processing the seeds for one more minute or two, till the sunflower seed butter turns into extra runny and drippy in consistency. When it appears to be like comparatively clean, you’ll be able to add any seasonings you want, reminiscent of salt and the coconut sugar, if you wish to counter-balance the bitter taste of the seeds. Course of briefly to evenly distribute the seasonings, about 60 seconds.

• Switch the sunflower seed butter to a glass jar, and let it cool fully earlier than securing the highest with a lid. (This fashion the jar will not steam from the warmth, which may trigger it to spoil sooner.) Sunflower seed butter may be saved in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 1 month.

Notes

Diet info is for roughly 1 ounce of sunflower seed butter, which is about 2 tablespoons. This info is robotically calculated, and is simply an estimate, not a assure.
*In case you are making this for somebody with nut allergic reactions, make sure you verify the package deal of your sunflower seeds to verify they aren’t processed in a facility that additionally handles tree nuts.

Diet

Energy: 176kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 6g, Fats: 15g, Saturated Fats: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fats: 7g, Monounsaturated Fats: 5g, Sodium: 154mg, Potassium: 183mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 14IU, Vitamin C: 0.4mg, Calcium: 22mg, Iron: 1mg

When you do that home made sunflower seed butter, please depart a remark and star score beneath letting me know the way you prefer it.