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A delicious, vegan one ingredient homemade Pumpkin seed butter recipe with flavoured pumpkin seed butter options, health benefits of pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed butter uses!
Okay, so Halloween may be over now, but that doesn’t mean that pumpkins have disappeared. In fact, from all the pumpkin recipes that I’ve made over this past month, I’ve worked up quite the appetite for all things pumpkin. Using just one ingredient- Raw, de-hulled pumpkin seeds- and 20 minutes of your time, you can blend up this delicious homemade pumpkin seed butter. I’ve even included the health benefits of pumpkin seeds, some pumpkin seed butter uses for you in this post, for some recipe inspiration!
Originally I’d wanted to try and use all the leftover pumpkin seeds I have from my pumpkin recipes. However, these fresh seeds still have the fibrous white ‘hull’ around them, and it would take WAY to long to try and de-hull them all. Instead, I’ll keep them for other recipes and introduce you to this homemade pumpkin seed butter recipe instead. Yay!
Also, it’s worth mentioning that buying pumpkin seeds in bulk make this recipe incredibly cost-effective in comparison to buying a jar from a shop. Plus, the homemade stuff is just always better- fact! (Okay, maybe not a fact, but I stand by my opinion that homemade pumpkin seed butter is the way to go!)
Pumpkin seeds are quite well utilised anyway, in snack mixes, roasted in the oven, sprinkled over dishes etc. And this isn’t surprising considering that they are a little nutritional powerhouse!
Health Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds
- In only one tablespoon, Pumpkin seeds contain 1g Protein and around 38kcal. – Which is one of the reasons I include them in my 5-seed Vegan protein blend!
- Pumpkin seeds are a rich source of magnesium, iron & zinc as well as antioxidant and many other nutrients
- They are high in antioxidants – combating damage caused by free radicals with anti-inflammatory properties.
- Pumpkin seeds are not only excellent for heart & bone health, but they can also lower blood pressure and regulate blood sugar levels, due to the magnesium.
- Pumpkin seeds also have various anti-cancer properties- particularly stomach, lung and breast cancer.
- Due to the tryptophan ( an amino acid), Pumpkin seeds have even been shown to improve sleep.
And that’s to name a few of their many benefits!
Now, for the homemade pumpkin seed butter recipe, flavoured pumpkin seed butter combinations and it’s uses…
How to make homemade Pumpkin Seed butter
To begin, roast the raw pumpkin seeds in the oven at 165ºC (fan assisted) for 10 minutes and then leave till cool-to-touch.Â
Pour your seeds into a food processor or blender and blend till smooth. This is best done in intervals so the seeds (and machine) don’t overheat. As a general rule, the longer they are blended, the runnier the consistency of the nut/seed butter. Pumpkin seeds are relatively hard, and so for a super smooth homemade pumpkin seed butter, It took me around 20 minutes of blending. I let the machine rest for a while ever 2-3 minutes.
Once the homemade pumpkin seed butter is ready, transfer it to an airtight glass container and keep this in a cupboard for a few weeks or the fridge for 2-3 months. It can also be frozen, for longer. I haven’t tested this out exactly, but I would think that it would be okay for up to six months.
Some Flavoured Pumpkin Seed combinations you could try include:
Whenever I make large batches of seed butter, I tend to avoid additional ingredients, and they will affect the shelf-life. If I want to flavour any, I will make sure only to flavour a small portion of it, so none goes to waste. If you want some flavoured pumpkin seed butter inspiration:
- A simple, sweet modification would be to add some homemade Vanilla extract or Vanilla Powder.
- I’m always a fan of adding cinnamon to any nut/seed butter.
- For a simple, sweet version add your favourite natural syrup of choice.
- Pumpkin seed butter combined with a ratio of 2:1 pumpkin seed to desiccated coconut gives a lovely coconut pumpkin seed butter mix.
How To Use pumpkin seed Butter/Pumpkin seed Butter Uses:
Pumpkin seed butter is a good replacement to other nut/seed butter recipes, in many cases. For example, pumpkin seed butter works well as a spread on toast, mixed into smoothies and healthy parfaits, drizzled over oats etc.
As with all Nut & seed butters, It would also work to create some funky, green alternatives to homemade Vegan peanut butter cups. Plus, pumpkin seed butter would also work as an alternative spread on fruits for a nutritious, quick snack.
For some savoury inspiration, pumpkin seed butter can also be incorporated into a homemade pesto!
What are your favourite ways to use pumpkin seed butter? – let me know in the comments!
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 Pumpkin Seed Butter
Ingredients
- 3 cups raw pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- Roast the pumpkin seeds in the over at 165ºC (fan assisted) for 10 minutes and then leave till warm-to-the-touch *
- Blend them in a high-speed processor/blender. It's best to do so at intervals so the seeds (and machine) don't overheat. The longer you blend the runnier the consistency will be. For a smooth pumpkin seed butter, blend for about 20 minutes with breaks every 3 minutes, or so.
- Once the homemade pumpkin seed butter is ready, transfer it to an airtight glass container and keep this in a cupboard for a few weeks or the fridge for 2-3 months. It can also be frozen, for longer
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’d like to try this out – do you think it’d be a good peanut butter substitute in making granola bars? I was also thinking of using sunflower seeds 🙂
Hi Sandra,
Yes, you can use this instead of the peanut butter. You can also add sunflower seeds to the pumpkin seeds or make separate sunflower butter too 🙂
I forgot to roast mine and I stopped after gaining for a while. Will this affect the consistency of the pumpkin from turning a bit runny in paste like form? Do I keep blending?
Hi Juls,
It should still work even if not roasted. Make sure to give your machine a break every few minutes, then just keep blending/grinding until you achieve your desired consistency (it could take up to 20-30 minutes). As a last resort only, add a spoonful of oil (not water) and that should help it become runnier – maybe coconut oil, or other neutral oil, so it doesn’t affect the flavor much.
Hello Alphafoodie,
I’ve seen quite a few of your posts and must admit your good processor is impressive. I wondered if you’d be willing to share the model/ speed and if available in UK.
Thank you,
Agnes
Thanks, Agnes!
There are 2 food processors I love using – Blendtec and NutraMilk. They are both available on the UK market – I have linked them both in this post – https://www.alphafoodie.com/the-best-kitchen-tools/
To make nut and seed butters like this, any food processor should work. Just make sure to give it a rest from time to time so it doesn’t overheat and for some nuts/seeds, you might have to run it for 10-15 minutes to get to the consistency you like.
So you don’t use any coconut oil or ghee or anything to thin it out just blend seeds in the blender? Ok cool
Hi Nicole,
Yes, just blend the seeds. As a general rule, the longer they are blended, the runnier the consistency of the pumpkin seed butter. Pumpkin seeds are relatively hard, and so for a super smooth homemade pumpkin seed butter, it might take up to 20 minutes of blending.
What kind of a machine is that? that’s a super cool processor.
Hi Shelby,
This processor is from NutraMilk. There is a link to the model on the Shop page here on the blog.
Will be doing this as Pumpkin seed butter is so expensive to buy in Germany. I use it to make ‘no bake’ protein bars with linseed, chia, dried apricot and sultanas, oats ,coconut oil + flour. I added honey for sweetness but will be making a vegan version using maple syrup. Soo much cheaper than buying individually from the health food section.
Thank you for your comment, Michelle. Indeed, most of the time buying the “raw material” (like the seeds) is so much cheaper.
What kind of pumpkin seeds are they ?
Mine are a cream colour to white !!
Not green
Thanks linda
Hi Linda,
Usually pumpkin seeds has a fibrous white ‘hull’/shell around them and typically you will need to de-hull them. Are yours still in their hull? Once de-hulled, they should have a green color. I hope this helps.