Move over peanuts, there’s a new spread in town.
I’ve been told sunflower butter has the closest taste to peanut butter out of the “other nut butters.” I can’t attest to this personally- I was a year old the last time I willingly put peanut butter in my mouth.
What I do know firsthand about sunflower butter is that it tastes ahh-ma-zing! Sunbutter is one of my favorite spreads to buy. I eat it by the spoonful, dollop it on protein pancakes and into yogurt, and spread it on graham crackers with jam.
Whether it tastes like peanuts or not is besides the point.
But it got me thinking- if peanuts and chocolate are such a great combo, then sunflower butter and chocolate should be too, right?
RIGHT!
We’re on our 3rd jar of this stuff– and when I say “we,” I mean “I let my husband sample a small little spoonful just to make sure he thought it was as awesome as I do.”
Yup. He liked it too. Nope. Still not sharing.
Here in Asia — I don’t think Nutella is as big of a deal in America — but in Malaysia, parents give their children bread and Nutella and think of it as a nutritious breakfast. Nutella’s first (highest containing) ingredient is sugar. Then vegetable oil (not cocoa butter). Hazelnuts and cocoa powder make up less than 20% of the jar.
Contents
What my Chocolate Sunflower Butter has is:
- Delicious, chocolately, nutty flavor (that’s still lightly sweetened!)
- Protein! Since this is about 80% sunflower seeds, it has nearly 7 grams of protein per 2 tablespoon serving.
- Coconut sugar and coconut oil, two much less processed ingredients than the white refined sugar and palm oil found in Nutella.
So what’s to stop you from having this for breakfast?
NOthing. Absolutely nothing. Especially if you spread it over strawberries and bananas.
One of my favorite evening treats lately has been half a frozen banana, sliced, with plain yogurt and a spoonful of this creamy deliciousness. Try it and you’ll see why 🙂
Chocolate Sunflower Butter
Ingredients
- 2 cups sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt + a pinch or two
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit. Spread sunflower seeds out over a cookie sheet. Toast sunflower seeds for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
- In a blender, add coconut sugar, and blend until a fine powdered sugar forms (see photo above).
- Add the still warm sunflower seeds, and pulse until seeds are broken down into a meal.
- Blend mixture, scraping sides as necessary, for 3-4 minutes. The sunflower seeds should begin to form a paste, or might be breaking down into a sunflower butter at this stage.
- Add coconut oil, and continue to blend another 3-4 minutes. This will result in the sunflower butter becoming extra smooth and drippy.
- The blending time here is for a high speed blender, like a Vitamix. If using a conventional blender, blend times will be longer. This can also be made in a powerful food processor, but the times will be at least double.
- Add cocoa powder, vanilla bean paste, and sea salt. I liked almost a ¼ teaspoon of sea salt, but start with ⅛, then add a pinch until it tastes balanced to you.
Nutrition
Other Non-Peanut Nut/Seed Butters:
- Honey Roasted Macadamia Nut Butter, by Not Enough Cinnamon
- Gingerbread Nut Butter, by Lexi’s Clean Kitchen
- Homemade Chocolate Almond Butter, by Detoxinista
- Lightened Up Raw Pecan Pumpkin Butter, by OhSheGlows
- Raw Cashew Walnut Butter, by Vitamin Sunshine
Well I’m obsessed with sunflower seed butter and since chocolate is one of the greatest foods too….the 2 combined is just mouth-watering 😉
Thanks Rebecca 🙂 It’s a pretty amazing combo — and so much easier to make than I thought. I’ve been obsessed with sunflower seeds lately, too– such a great source of protein and vitamin E, and so crunchy and nutty! You and I have a lot of favs in common.. buckwheat, seeds, CHOCOLATE!:)
WOW this not only looks and sounds scrumptious it has no peanuts which is great for my allergy child. The photos look amazing I love your food styling. I have been trying to work on mine for a long time now but still so much more needs to be done on it. hahaha You have the eye for it and mouth watering recipes. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me and the continual support. #sharewithme
Hi Jenny, thanks for stopping by! I also have an allergy- not fun. I am hoping my 7th month old doesn’t end up with any. It’s scary to have one myself, and I can’t imagine having to worry about him. Thanks for your comments on my photography– I feel like it’s gone downhill since baby boy was born! My brain is always half consumed by him.
I’m sorry, but I have a ‘non-food’ question: how come you are an ‘ex patriot’ of America?
Non-food questions welcome, Elizabeth! I know “expatriate” isn’t a word we hear often in America, but in other parts of the world, it is commonly used to refer to someone who doesn’t live in their home country- someone who works in a different country. So, while I have been an American “expat” living in Kuala Lumpur for the past 7 years, I am very American– I found myself identifying more strongly and more patriotically as American after living outside of our country. The grass is always greener, right?!
Thanks for this recipe. I think that I might add some maple syrup to this, for a twist!
Have you ever made nut butter with maple syrup before? I have not. I know that liquid sweeteners cause nut butter to seize– there are ways to do it, but I think it requires roasting your seeds/nuts with the syrup to evaporate the water first. I would definitely good a few trusted recipes first before trying it! Good luck.