Think homemade nut butter may be too much trouble? Think again! This Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Butter Recipe is super easy, and a perfect thing to send in your child’s lunch.
“There really isn’t much that is easier than making nut butter.”
These are the words I’d been told time and time again. Yet, when it came my turn to make a creamy nut butter of my own, all I had was a bowl full of dry, crumbling, no-where-near-creamy nut butter. If this was so easy, what was I doing wrong? After polling a few friends and searching around the internet, it turns out just a couple of tips can make all the difference in achieving a creamy, homemade nut butter. Here’s what I learned…
1. Once you start…just let it go.
This was the advice of a good friend that ultimately was the most helpful. All food processors are different and, it turns out, mine was taking longer than expected to take the nuts from a dry, crumbling mixture to the point where the nut oils are released and the creamy butter begins to form. Be patient!
2. Don’t be afraid to add oil.
If, after waiting on that magical moment for your creamy nut butter to evolve, you still think it’s a little dry, it’s okay to add a bit of oil. A little goes a long way, so add about a teaspoon at a time, slowly and sparingly. Coconut oil can be used if you don’t mind a coconut-ty flavor to your nut butter, otherwise select a neutral tasting oil.
Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Butter
- Category: spreads
Ingredients
- 3 cups pumpkin seeds, raw and shelled
- 1/4 teaspoon cinamon
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- In a bowl, toss cinnamon and pumpkin seeds to evenly coat.
- Place the pumpkin seeds on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
- Allow to cool.
- Place the seeds in a food processor and process into butter for several minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides with a spatula.
- After the first minute or two, it will look like a giant ball, keep going.
- Add your pure maple syrup (optional) and continue pureeing until it becomes smooth.
Notes
Cinnamon and maple syrup are optional. You can make plain pumpkin seed butter the say way just omit optional ingredients
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Thanks for posting this. I’ve recently been told to avoid peanuts and almonds, so I bought a jar of organic pumpkin seed butter. The tiny little thing was $9!! Now that I’ve tried it and determined I like it, I’m going to have to make my own, that’s for sure.
It has fantastic protein and fat profiles, too!
My daughter is iron deficient, so I have been giving her as many foods with iron as possible. I thought this would be a good addition. I followed the recipe and added oil and extra maple syrup, but it is still quite dry and unspreadable. Roughly how long do you process it for. I kept going, but there was no improvement. Tastes great, but I’m wondering if they were in the oven too long and got too dried out. My oven runs a little on the warm side-is that possible. It seems like I ran the processor for at least 15 minutes-is that not long enough? Thanks.
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Lauren, next time, try roasting the seeds on a pan on the stove for just a couple of minutes. I usually process it for 10ish minutes no longer.
Wowwie, this is a good one! Sunbutter is too bitter for sandwiches for my kids, no matter how much I add to alter the flavor. Thank you for this one! My 3 yr old, a peanut butter fan, thought it was peanut butter. My 7 yr old who is allergic to all nuts thought it was yummy and asked for it for lunch. My husband, also a peanut butter fan loved it.
The challenge I have, at this time I only have a Bullet as a food processor, I seem to be only creating a yummy paste, even with grapeseed and coconut oil. If I get a legit food processor, will I get more of a cream?
Thank you for this PBJ solution!!
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you are welcome Stephanie! Yes, a real food processor will make it a lot smoother than a bullet. A LOT!. :)
This seed butter looks interesting to try…thanks for posting! I have a question about the bread. My homemade bread recipes tend to be quite a bit more dense than the store bought sandwich breads. I was just curious if you have noticed that too for homemade vs store bought? Or perhaps you have a great sandwich bread recipe that turns out lighter in texture than mine. I always do wheat blend homemade versions never all white. Is the bread in this photo a homemade version? It looks really good and I was wondering also if you have a trick for slicing homemade so thin? Because of the denser texture of my homemade breads it would help if I could slice them thin but I find that difficult to do.
Thanks!
the only way to get exact slices is using a slicer. This is how i slice my homemade bread.
is the bread recipe I use. You can even make bread in the crockpot.
Thank you so much for getting back to me! I think this is the answer to my homemade bread cutting problems! I LOVE that it can also be used for cheese and meats too! I am putting this on my wish list.
Really wish I’d read the comments before making this, lol. Instead, I jumped right in with the pumpkin seeds (still in their hulls) from our jack o’ lantern and let my food processor run for 15 minutes before thinking something wasn’t right. The good news? If you add enough oil and some salt and maple syrup it STILL makes a tasty nut butter! Can’t wait to try this the right way!
I am sorry to admit you had me laughing pretty hard! Yes, please try it without the shells next time. lol
Hi! I just made this raw (roasted) pumpkin seeds butter. It is amazing! Oh, my God, I cannot believe how tasty can be!! It is my first home-made butter ever, but is absolutely awesome!
Thank you so much for the recipe!
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So glad you liked it Larisa! it’s a home run for us too!
It’s going to be time to carve pumpkins soon. Can I make this with the seeds we dig out of the pumpkins? How would that work?
You’d want to get the pepitas out of the hard white shells first.
I made this today, without first roasting the seeds, and it was a hit with my 2.5-year-old daughter and my husband. I did add a tablespoon of coconut oil, though, because I couldn’t keep parts from being crumbly. Perhaps it was just my processor. Thanks for the idea on how to use the pounds of pepitas I had! And, it’s perfect for but-free classes!
I would love to try this! I am a bit ignorant about using pumpkin seeds. I was wondering if I need to hull/ shell the seeds before putting them in the oven?
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Amanda, you buy the seeds shelled and ready to eat.
I was looking at your website ans love it.just one question do you have a carb count on the food ? please write me i have a type 1 daughter and this would be a great meal plan thank you Laura
Sounds great! How long does it keep?