I started making homemade pumpkin seed butter because as a nutritionist, I knew what a good source of zinc, magnesium, and protein these green seeds are. Once I realized how simple it was to make and how creamy it was, I was making toast just to have an excuse to eat more pumpkin seed butter! I love drizzling it on apples, muffins and in my kids oatmeal. You are gonna be licking the food processor when you make this!
Being allergic to peanut butter myself this is one of my favorite alternatives. If I want to make my favorite protein bars nut free I will use this seed butter instead of almond butter, or when making my pumpkin seed granola bars this is what I use!
Why you'll love this recipe:
- Pumpkin seed butter is a nut-free alternative that is high in protein.
- Perfect for seed cycling, eat this during your follicular phase to support hormones!
- You can make it in a Vitamix or a food processor (differences explained below).
- Make it with raw or roasted pepitas (read on for all the deets).
Homemade pumpkin seed butter is better because
- This recipe costs about $5 to make. A jar of pumpkin seed butter is about $12!
- The list of ingredients is clean, no added preservatives!
- You know how long it's actually been in a jar vs that store bought seed butter...(do note seed butter can go rancid quickly if not stored right!)
- Honestly, the taste of freshly made pumpkin seed butter is unreal, I would explain it as creamy and lushious.
Jump to:
- Why you'll love this recipe:
- Ingredients needed for homemade pumpkin seed butter (and alternatives)
- Danika's pumpkin seeds insight & nutrition
- How to make pumpkin seed butter
- Variations and add In's
- Top tips for homemade pumpkin seed butter
- Where to get good quality pumpkin seeds
- Can I use fresh pumpkin seeds from a pumpkin?
- Can I use roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) for this recipe?
- How long does homemade pumpkin seed butter last?
- A super delicious nut-free alternative
- Why does the color of pumpkin seed butter differ?
- Other recipes with pumpkin seeds
- Pumpkin Seed Butter
- Danika Vanderpyl, C.H.N
Ingredients needed for homemade pumpkin seed butter (and alternatives)
You can make this recipe with just roasted pumpkin seeds however, I like to add a few ingredients to make it super creamy and flavorful!
- Hulled or shelled pumpkin seeds: Aka pepitas! You can use the salted roasted seeds from Costco or raw bulk seeds for this recipe. I usually buy mine from organic matters!
- Coconut oil: I like to add a little oil for this recipe to all come together, however, if you have a Vitamix I found you can skip the oil if you like! Cold-pressed grape seed oil or canola oil can also be used.
- Sea salt: This gives the seed butter a little flavor boost. If you are using seeds that are already roasted and salted, skip adding any salt!
- Honey: Use a little honey or maple syrup to sweeten this seed butter. If you want to use this for salad dressings or something savoury you can skip this ingredient.
See recipe card for quantities.
Danika's pumpkin seeds insight & nutrition
I like to share nutrition insight from what I learned from my 2 years of nutrition schooling. Let's chat about pumpkin seeds.
The green pumpkin seeds we eat for their nutrient-dense properties are not the seeds found in typical fall orange pumpkins. The green seeds are called pepitas and are commonly grown in South America just for their seeds, and they actually don't have any hulls on them (like we seed on a Halloween pumpkin).
Pumpkin seeds are 29% higher in protein than other seeds - a great source of plant based protein! They are a great source of omega-3 fatty acid, iron, zinc, vitamin A, and B vitamins. To know more about the nutriton breakdown of pumpkin seeds, see the usda food details.
How to make pumpkin seed butter
Make this recipe for pumpkin seed butter with a Vitamix or a food processor. I have shared photos for both methods as you will see below. The Vitamix was much faster! When using the food processor I added more oil to make it runnier.
Step 1: If pepitas are not previously roasted, start by roasting the seeds to release the oils. I do this at a low temperature in the oven as they can roast pretty quickly, 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes worked perfectly for me.
They will roast faster if they are straight on a pan instead of on a piece of silicone or parchment paper, so keep an eye on the seeds. When they start to pop or turn brown, remove the pumpkin seeds from the oven. Let them cool for 10-20 minutes.
*Below I am showing photos of pumpkin seed butter in a food processor or Vitamix mix so you can easily reference the photos that apply to you.
Pumpkin seed butter in the food processor
Step 2: Place the cool seeds in a food processor, and leave on high speed. After about 5 minutes of processing my pumpkin seeds looked like this, slightly crumbly.
Step 3: After 10 minutes in the food processor the pumpkin seeds formed a thick paste. I added coconut oil, honey, and sea salt at this point. The seed butter seized after this and it became quite thick. My machine became warm after a few minutes of processing so I let it cool down for 5-10 minutes.
Step 4: After letting the food processor cool down, I ended up adding 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil and ran the machine for another 5-7 minutes until the pumpkin seed butter became thin and spreadable.
Homemade pumpkin seed butter in the Vitamix (or high-power blender)
Step 2: For the Vitamix method, place the roasted pepitas in the blender container. After just 2 minutes of blending, you will see the seeds break down into a thick paste.
Step 3: After 5 minutes when everything looked smooth and spreadable I added the coconut oil, honey, and sea salt.
Step 4: At this point, with the added ingredients, the pumpkin seed butter seized and became thicker, so I knew I needed to keep blending.
Step 5: After about 4 more minutes (about a total of 11 minutes) of blending the pumpkin seed butter became the perfect consistency!
Variations and add In's
- Nutmeg or Pumpkin pie spice: By accident sprinkled nutmeg instead of cinnamon on top of my pumpkin seed butter toast and it was the most delicious accident! Try it!
- Use dates to sweeten! Soak 2-3 large dates in hot water for 10 minutes, then add these to the nut butter while it is still blending to sweeten the seed butter instead of honey.
- Matcha: Add a scoop of matcha when blending the seed butter to make a beautiful green nutrient-dense spread, high in antioxidants!
- Cocoa powder: Chocolate pumpkin seed butter? Um yessss! Add 2-3 tablespoons of cocoa powder when blending the seeds.
Top tips for homemade pumpkin seed butter
Use the freshest seeds possible: Seeds and nuts can go rancid quickly if they are not stored properly, be sure to use recently bought pumpkin seeds or seeds that have been stored in the fridge to get the best-tasting seed butter.
My pumpkin seed butter seized what do I do? Keep blending! If you have been running the food processor or blender for a long time and it's heating up, let it cool down for 10 or 20 minutes and then keep blending for 5-10 minutes until it's a spreadable consistency again. It takes time but it will become a runnier consistency.
Where to get good quality pumpkin seeds
Good quality pumpkin seeds will produce the best flavor, and make this seed butter last longer!
- In the grocery store, you can find pumpkin seeds in the the health food aisle, or the baking aisle with dried fruit, nuts, and seeds.
- I buy them online from organic matters, and they are high quality. However, you want to order at least $150 in Canada or else shipping is expensive! Or else you can get them from amazon.
- I also like to buy them at our local bulk store, then I can get exactly how many I need without any packaging.
Can I use fresh pumpkin seeds from a pumpkin?
When carving a pumpkin we find seeds inside with a white casing on them, which is very fibrous, these are a type of pumpkin seeds but not the kind you want to use for pumpkin seed butter. If you were to break the shell open you would have a white seed inside. These are different than green pepitas!
Pepitas, a green pumpkin seed grown in central and South American specifically for their nutritious seeds! These olive green seeds are what we want to use to make our own pumpkin seed butter.
Can I use roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) for this recipe?
Yes skip the roasting step, and if they are salted do not add any more salt. There are roasted salted pumpkin seeds from Costco and they do work to make your own pumpkin seed butter! This may be a more salty pumpkin butter which would be great for sauces and salad dressings.
How long does homemade pumpkin seed butter last?
All nut and seed butter can go rancid at room temperature relatively quickly (within weeks), it doesn't mean it's bad it just tastes off and the nutrition is slowly lessening.
Keeping pumpkin seed butter in the fridge will make it last longer, even a couple of months. However, if you eat your nut butter decently fast, like my family, I find it stays nice and spreadable if it's kept at room temperature.
Overall, make sure to use a sealing jar, write the date you made the butter on the jar, and keep it in the fridge if you want it to last a couple of months.
A super delicious nut-free alternative
If you have a peanut allergy (like me!!) or nut allergy pumpkin seed butter is a great alternative! I think it tastes better than sunflower seed butter when you are going to have this straight-on toast, and I love how buttery and earthy-tasting it is. Send this recipe to your nut free friends!
Why does the color of pumpkin seed butter differ?
The color of pumpkin seed butter color depends on how fresh and what variety of seeds you are using! I have bought bright green pumpkin seed butter from the store and my homemade seed butter is a more dull green.
Other recipes with pumpkin seeds
Did you make this recipe for pumpkin seed butter? Please give a star rating and review just below the recipe. That means a lot to me and helps the growth of Beside the Mountain blog!
Pumpkin Seed Butter
Equipment
- 1 high power blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 2 cups pumpkin seeds raw or roasted
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- (If you are using roasted pumpkin seeds, skip this step.) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (145 C). Place pumpkin seeds onto a cookie sheet and put them into the oven for 10 minutes until they are turning golden brown and starting to pop. Let them cool for 10-20 minutes.
- Place the cool seeds into the food processor or high-power blender(read the blog post above for photos and differences in machines), and blend for 5-10 minutes until you see a thick green paste. At this time add the coconut oil, honey, and sea salt. The pumpkin seed butter will become thick and almost crumbly at this point, however, keep blending and it will become runny again. If the machine gets hot or seems like it’s overworking, turn it off for 10-20 minutes, so it can cool down, then blend 5-10 minutes longer until you get runny pumpkin seed butter.
- After some time, if the pumpkin seed butter is not as thin or spreadable as you would like it, add a neutral-tasting oil like grapeseed oil, or cold-pressed organic canola oil. I need to do this when I make pumpkin seed butter in the food processor. Place in a clean jar and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Danika Vanderpyl, C.H.N
I create snack recipes with healthy ingredients that are mostly already in your kitchen. I'm certified in Holistic Nutrition and I care about giving my kids real food. Let me share my nutrient-dense easy snacks with you.
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