Pumpkin seed butter is deliciously creamy, lightly sweetened with maple syrup or honey, and a pinch of cinnamon that takes this spread or dip over the top. Pop your roasted pumpkin seeds in the food process and let it do the work.
What You Need
Pumpkin seeds — Make sure they’re raw, shelled, and preferably unsalted. If you have pre-roasted pumpkin seeds, you can skip the roasting and go straight for the food processor!
Cinnamon — Optional, but this brings so much delicious flavor to the pumpkin butter.
Salt — This helps bring the natural flavors out of your ingredients a bit more.
Oil — Nut and seed butters are naturally filled with oil, and sometimes they need a little extra to be super creamy and luscious. A little goes a long way here!
Honey — Also optional, but the only sweetness in the recipe. Skip if you want, or swap it with maple syrup to make this recipe vegan.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- This creamy fall butter is great on so many dishes! Dip your farm-picked apples in it, make a pumpkin butter and banana sandwich, or add it to your morning smoothie for some nuttiness and protein!
- While this recipe takes some time to make, it’s almost all hands-off. The food processor will do all the work while you sit back and wait for pumpkin butter!
- With only one ingredient swap, this recipe is easily made vegan and is naturally vegetarian!
How to Make Pumpkin Seed Butter
Preheat your oven and toss your pumpkin seeds with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Then, spread the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast until golden brown. Be sure to stir the pumpkin seeds halfway through baking!
Once baked, let the seeds cool to room temperature. This could take an hour or more.
When the seeds have completely cooled, move them to your food processor with your oil and process for a solid 15 minutes or more. If your butter becomes too crumbly, let it rest for half an hour and try processing again.
Then, add your honey and continue until creamy.
That’s it! You can store this pumpkin butter in an airtight container for up to 2 months. This seed butter is a great substitution for peanut butter or almond butter!
Top Tips for Making
- To keep this as healthy as possible, we chose to roast our own pumpkin seeds. Pre-roasted seeds are seasoned with extra salt and other preservatives usually, and it’s so quick and easy to roast your own! You can even use the seeds from your jack-o-lantern for this recipe!
- We tried this in a blender and it did not go as smoothly as the food processor. A blender is meant to combine foods together and was not prepared for the long, long processing time for this recipe. However, your food processor should whip through these seeds with no struggle and keep processing for many minutes without needing to cool down.
- If the pumpkin seed butter gets too crumbly in the middle, all is not lost! Let your mixture rest for 30 minutes to an hour for the natural oils to return and try again. If it’s way too crumbly, you can always add a little extra avocado oil to the mix! Much like peanut butter, you’ll need a little neutral oil to make smooth for spreading and dipping.
What Do We Mean by “Healthy?”
Our recipes focus on real ingredients and homemade elements. We try to avoid processed flour and sugar, like white flour or white sugar. Our recipes often swap less healthy options (like a commercial, deep-friend tostada) for an easy homemade version.
Our recipes are not necessarily low fat or low calorie, and we aren’t afraid of fat or carbs! Some of our recipes will be “skinny,” low carb, keto, paleo, dairy free, grain free, gluten free, Whole30, or vegan, and they will be labeled when they qualify for any of these diets. All our recipes are easy and family friendly!
more pumpkin recipes
- Pumpkin Ice Cream
- No-Bake Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Healthy Pumpkin Muffins with Crumb Topping
- Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake
We hope you loved this recipe as much as we did! We’d love for you to give us a star ★ rating below, and follow us on Instagram! For more delicious, healthy recipes, be sure to check out 40 Aprons.
Pumpkin Seed Butter
Ingredients
- 3 cups pumpkin seeds raw and shelled
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon optional
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 2 tablespoons honey optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a mixing bowl, toss pumpkin seeds and cinnamon to evenly coat. Spread seeds across baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Stir seeds halfway through cooking for even browning.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled, place seeds in a food processor and process into butter for about 15 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides with a spatula.
- Add the honey and continue pureeing until it becomes smooth.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
Notes
- Ingredient notes: If you’re using pre-roasted pumpkin seeds, skip steps 1 through 3.
- Processing notes: This works better in a food processor than in a blender. If your mixture becomes too crumbly, let it rest at least half an hour and try processing again.
