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This simple homemade Hemp seed butter recipe is made using only ONE ingredient! This blog also includes the health benefits of hemp seeds, flavoured hemp seed butter options and uses!
Recently I’ve started to incorporate hemp seeds into my diet more and sprinkle them liberally over everything! However, since I’m on a roll with DIY’s for nut & seed butter recipes, I decided to give this homemade hemp seed butter recipe a go, and I’m now obsessed! This homemade hemp seed butter recipe is made using just ONE ingredient – hulled hemp seeds and takes only 5 minutes to blend up! Since hemp seeds have a unique flavour, I’ve also included a list of flavoured hemp seed butter options that you could try, as well as ways to use it in dishes. Oh, and as a little bonus, I’ve even included some of the health benefits of hemp seeds – to convince you why you need this seed butter in your life!
If you’re wondering why I’m so obsessed with hemp seeds- well they genuinely are a little nutritious powerhouse of an ingredient! – Which helps! But actually, my main reason for loving them so much is that they are a simple way to add extra protein to any dish.
With a tablespoon of hemp seeds holding 3g of protein, they are something I can use a lot. They’re not extremely low calorie or anything (like most nuts and seeds), but I don’t fret over the calories as hemp seeds are highly nutritional and at the end of the day – calories are nutrition!
I think now would be the perfect time to talk about more of the health benefits of hemp seeds. Now, these are just a few of a long list:
Health Benefits of Hemp Seeds
Hemp seeds are not only a great source of protein, but they are also a great source of magnesium, high fibre and low salt. In just one tablespoon of hemp seeds, there is over 3g protein too. With the seeds being one of the only Vegan ‘complete sources of protein’. This means that they provide all nine essential amino acids that makeup protein, which can’t be produced naturally by our bodies.Â
Hemp seeds also apparently reduce the risk of heart disease, due to its high amounts of amino acid. This helps to lower blood pressure and inflammation as well as being a good source for healthy omega-3 fatty acids, which are great for your immune system. They and also used to help skin conditions, including eczema and dry, itchy skin.Â
Now, for the homemade hemp seed butter recipe, flavoured hemp seed butter combinations and suggestions on how to use it…
How to make homemade Hemp seed butter
I honestly didn’t think making nut/seed butter could get any more straightforward, but this hemp seed butter takes ease to the next level. Unlike with many nut butter recipes, hemp seeds don’t need to be roasted in the oven before blending! That means that this entire recipe is made up of one step:
Pour your hemp seeds into your food processor or blender and blend till smooth. I would do this in intervals of around two minutes, giving the machine a break (and to scrape down the sides on the blender). To get a deliciously smooth hemp seed butter, it should only take around 5-6 minutes.
If you’re using a relatively mid-level powered processor/blender, then this process may take slightly longer.
Once the homemade hemp seed butter is ready, transfer it to an airtight glass container and keep this in the fridge for 1 month.
Some Flavoured hemp seed butter combinations you could try include
Although hemp seeds have a somewhat unique, nutty flavour to them, there are plenty of delicious ways to flavour this butter. Many of which are the same ways you’d flavour your favourite nut butter too.
As always I think it’s important for me to point out that –Â Whenever I make large batches of any nut or seed butter, I tend to avoid adding any additional ingredients, and they will affect the shelf-life. If I want to flavour my nut or seed butters then I only flavour a small portion of it, so none goes to waste. For some flavoured hemp seed butter inspiration:
- A simple, sweet modification would be to add some homemade Vanilla extract or Vanilla Powder.
- Some Cinnamon works well in pretty much every nut and seed butter. Yum! (usually combined with a natural sweetener of choice)
- For a simple, sweet version add your favourite natural syrup of choice. I love using maple syrup.
- Why not try to make a delicious chocolate version with some cocoa powder. Everything is better with chocolate!
- To make a savoury hemp seed butter, you could always add your favourite herbs and spices, V/ve cheese or even some garlic-infused olive oil and then use as a spread for crackers.
How To Use Hemp Seed Butter/ Hemp Seed Butter Uses
Hemp seed butter can be used in many of the same ways as other nut and seed butters. This includes being a simple spread for toast and fruit.
I personally love to spread a little bit over a piece of dark chocolate as a healthy snack before bed. (I also do this with my homemade sunflower butter and basically every nut butter I make!)
For savoury uses, hemp seed butter can be used as an ingredient for dressings, drizzles and sauces. I even sometimes stir a bit into savoury pasta sauces, etc just for a bit of extra protein without too much of the flavour. Hemp seed butter can even be used to make a delicious hummus! Also, I haven’t tried it yet, personally, but I imagine this would work well as part of a vegan pesto recipe!
For some sweet treats, why not try using this homemade hemp seed butter as a drizzle over your morning bowl of oatmeal, pancakes or waffles or spooned within your smoothie or chia pudding recipe? It can also be used as a replacement seed butter in recipes calling for other nut/seed butters including raw protein bars, energy balls, cookies, cake, brownies, bars etc.
Why not try it to make some hemp seed versions of these homemade Vegan peanut butter cups.
Have any other suggestions for how you’d use this hemp seed butter? Let me know in the comments below!
As always, if you give this recipe a go then let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Also, feel free to tag me in your recreations @AlphaFoodie.
Homemade Hemp Butter
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups hemp seeds hulled (also known as hemp hearts)
Instructions
- Blend the hemp seeds in a high-speed processor/blender. It's best to do so at intervals so the seeds (and machine) don't overheat. For a smooth hemp seed butter, blend for about 5-6 minutes, with breaks every 2-3 minutes.
- Once the homemade hemp seed butter is ready, transfer it to an airtight glass container and keep this in the fridge for 1 month. It can also be frozen, for longer.Â
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks for a delicious recipe! I will have to try this with the hemp oil that I bought from this website to add that extra flavour.
Thank you, Melanie. Glad you like it. 🙂
Have you ever tried making Hemp and Flax butter? I was looking on cronometer.com and if used in a 50/50 mix the Omega 6/Omega 3 ratio is 1:1. I know Hemp is a good source of omega 3 but it has more omega 6. I might experiment with this. Thanks for your article.
Hi Darren,
I have a recipe here on the blog for omega seed butter – it includes flaxseeds, hemp seeds and others: https://www.alphafoodie.com/super-omega-seed-butter/
many of the recipes I see for hemp seed butter include an oil for blending. Did you find you did not need any oil? I’d like to make this in my Vitamix so that I can use the hemp seed butter in my cold process soaps.
I tend to avoid adding extra oil unless necessary. Since hemp is already fairly soft and filled with its own healthy oils, I didn’t find that any oil was needed. Using a Vitamix with no extra oils should work!
Thanks a million for this recipe…
Thanks, Taraneh. Hope you give it a try 🙂
Thank you for this recipe. Think I’m going to try it. Does it taste grassy? Like when you make hemp milk? Another question, what kind of food processor are you using? I like that it has a side blad? To clean out the side… thanks
It does have quite an earthy flavor, but also quite rich and nutty. I use the Nutramilk machine – It’s quite expensive, but I pretty much use it for everything at the moment. The link to it is in the ‘shop’ part of my website, and I have a discount code ‘Alphafoodie50’ for £50/$50 off 🙂
Hello,
Both my food processor and blender don’t seem to be able to make hemp seed butter. The hemp seeds just turn into a dense powder, even if I roast them beforehand to release the oils. I always have to add oil. Do you have any suggestions? I’m trying to cut out oil. Do you think I could add some nut milk or water to make it into a butter?
Thanks so much.
Lara
Hi Lara,
I can only suggest giving the food processor a break and then blending some more and more. Maybe work in smaller batches?
Don’t add milk or water as that will spoil the hemp butter fast.
I hope you manage.
Ooh! I am so going to try this! I LOVE hemp seed! I have one of my daughters get me a 5lb bag for Christmas every year. My first thought when you mentioned savory, was to add fresh garlic to the blending process. How do you think that will affect shelf life? I would spread it on crackers for my snack and get full on immunity boost I think.
Hi Michelle,
Glad to hear you’re going to try this. If you really like to add garlic, I think it’s better to add garlic powder instead of fresh garlic since fresh garlic has water and so will reduce the shelf life significantly. If you want to consume this within few days, fresh garlic is great, but I like to make mine last for a month hence I don’t add anything (the only thing I might add occasionally would be salt). You can always add fresh garlic on the portion you will be eating :). Also please remember I used shelled hemp seeds for this.
Can I use hemp seeds with the shells on?
Hi Elizabeth, The problem with the shells on is it’s going to be a lot grainier and not as smooth. It will have a sandy texture if that makes sense. I use shelled ones to make protein powder (recipe and video are here on the blog) since I love the added fiber from the shells but for this I prefer really smooth texture.
Hello Alphafoodie,
I am hoping you can help: I have tried several times to make hemp butter, but mine always comes out brown and not that lovely green that you show. Perhaps it’s the brand of hemp seeds or hearts? Can you share that with me? Are they hemp hearts? Mine don’t look very green, whereas yours look so beautifully green and your butter is glorious green…
Hi Jody,
Indeed, I used hulled hemp seeds (also known as hemp hearts). Then they have this brighter green color. If you use unshelled seeds (the ones that still have their outer shell), then it’s possible that the shell affects the color. Doesn’t the packaging of your hemp seeds specify if they are hulled or not?
I hope this helps.