How to Make Pumpkin Seed Butter in a Mini Food Processor

This homemade pumpkin seed butter is a good source of iron and specifically designed to help you better absorb it too! And all you need is a mini food processor.

The American Society of Hematology just updated it’s cutoffs for iron deficiency, and if you fall into one of these groups, maybe feel tired or dealing with hair shedding, you might want to make a few additions to get those iron levels up. Enter this pumpkin seed butter, which is loaded with iron, magnesium, zinc, and copper to help fill in some of those critical nutrient gaps.

Why You’ll Want A Jar of Pumpkin Seed Butter

• Completely nut-free. We had to do an elimination style diet earlier this year that required us to eliminate nuts for a short period of time. This pumpkin seed butter filled in the gaps for us when we were craving something spreadable in place of peanut butter and it was so satisfying. So if you have a nut allergy, this is for you.
• Packed with absorbable nutrition. Pumpkin seeds are a good source of iron, zinc, magnesium, and copper. When blended up, you get a nice concentrated source of nutrition that you can easily add to any meal or snack for a boost of nutrition. And I have all the tips in this recipe for making that nutrition highly absorbable.
• Easy to customize. While I love this pumpkin seed butter with just a touch of salt, there are so many different ways to change up the flavors. I’ve included some of my favorite sweet and savory preparations below.

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

• Pumpkin Seeds: Also goes by pepitas. You can find them in a variety of ways at the grocery store.
  • I prefer using raw pepitas as they tend to be the cheapest variety available (shout out to the Valued Naturals super cheap pumpkin seeds at ShopRite).
  • If you don’t mind splurging in the name of better nutrient absorption, you can also opt to buy sprouted pumpkin seeds, which can go straight to blending into your seed butter.
  • Alternatively, you can also use sunflower seeds, but the nutrition will be different.

Improving Nutrient Absorption

Pumpkin seeds or pepitas are loaded with nutrition! Per 30g serving, they provide:

• 2g of fiber
• 9g of protein
• 2.6 mg of iron, which is about 15% of your daily needs
• 2.3 mg of zinc, which is about 30% of your daily needs
• 165 mg of magnesium, which is over 50% of your daily needs
• 0.4 mg of copper, which is about 42% of your daily needs

Here is what these nutrients do:

• Iron: involved with oxygen transfer throughout the body, brain health, and hair health
• Magnesium: adequate levels help control blood pressure, reduce heart disease risk, maintain healthy bones, and improve sleep
• Zinc: supports healthy immune function and is fundamental for skin health
• Copper: involved with energy production, managing iron levels, supporting healthy immune function, and skin health

Now, there can be some inhibitors that prevent full absorption of these nutrients, but you can improve their absorption by soaking and roasting before enjoying. Doing both of these steps helps remove the inhibitor phytic acid. Once removed, your body has a much easier time absorbing that nutrition. For more on nutrient absorption, see this article.

How to Make Pumpkin Seed Butter in a Mini Food Processor

Soak your pumpkin seeds: Place your pumpkin seeds in a bowl with enough water to cover them and soak for at least 6 to 8 hours. Drain and rinse, then place the seeds on a clean kitchen towel and pat dry.

Roast them: Preheat the oven to 325F. Spread the pumpkin seeds out over a large tray and roast for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. Cool for about 5 minutes.

Blend them: Transfer the pumpkin seeds to a food processor (I used a mini food processor) and pulse them a few times to help pulverize some of the seeds into a crumble. From here, run the food processor continuously, pausing occasionally to scrape down the sides of the food processor. You’ll see the pumpkin seeds go from a crumble to a dry looking thick paste and then finally loosen up into a smooth and runny nut butter consistency all in the span of about 15-18 minutes.

Season and store: Add in the salt, then blend again to fully incorporate into the spread. You can always add more salt if desired. Transfer the pumpkin seed butter to an airtight jar or container.

Caramelize the figs: Add a tsp of oil and agave syrup to a small non-stick pan. Add the figs cut side down and cook undisturbed for about 3 minutes. Flip each piece and cook again for 3 minutes, then remove from heat.

Assemble toast: Toast your bread then spread with some of the pumpkin seed butter. Layer the top with the caramelized figs and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and/or a drizzle of agave syrup and enjoy.

Expert Tips

• Be patient. You’ll be seeing the pumpkin butter transform over time in your food processor. It can take up to 15 minutes before you see it transform into a seed butter. It’s okay to take breaks and come back to it.
• Add oil if needed. If your seed butter is struggling to get smooth, add about 1-2 tsp of a neutral oil to the food processor while blending to help smooth things out.
• For faster results, use a Vitamix high-speed blender. High powered blenders like this can make this seed butter in minutes and make it really smooth too.
• Scrape down the sides periodically. This will ensure that everything is getting evenly blended, which will minimize a chunky texture.
• For more nutrient bioavailability, soak and roast your seeds. Soak your seeds overnight in water. Drain, then pat them as dry as possible with a clean kitchen towel before proceeding with roasting. This process removes inhibitors like phytic acid that may reduce absorption of some minerals in certain plant-based foods.
• Your oil may separate after storing. All natural nut and seed butters will separate over time. Just give it a good mix before using.

How long does pumpkin seed butter last?

Transfer the pumpkin seed butter into a clean storage jar or container with a tight fitting lid. This will keep for up to 2 weeks at room temperature on your counter. If you plan to keep it longer, you can store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. In the fridge, it will firm up a lot, so if you want it to loosen up again, just take the container out and let it come to room temperature before stirring and using.

Change up the flavors

I love this with just a touch of salt, but there are so many different flavor combos that can work with this too. Add any of the following combos to your pumpkin seed butter once it’s in its final stages of blending and getting really creamy.

• 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice + 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp cardamom + 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast + 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + 1/2 tsp garlic powder + 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Ways to use pumpkin seed butter

Pumpkin seed butter doesn’t taste like pumpkin or peanut butter. Obviously, it will taste like roasted pumpkin seeds if you’ve ever snacked on them. But if you haven’t, I would say it leans more on a mild, savory flavor if comparing to peanut butter. In many ways, you can treat it very similar to how you would use peanut butter.

• Spread it on toast and top it with your favorite fruit!
• Use it as a dip for apple slices
• Add 1-2 tbsp to a smoothie for more protein, iron, magnesium, and zinc!
• Add a dollop to a bowl of oats or yogurt
• Use it to make a dressing similar to how you would make a tahini sauce or peanut sauce

Watch Me Make This Recipe

Recipe videos provide a general idea for recipe preparation. Please read the full recipe instructions and notes for the most accurate recipe results.

More Basic Recipes to Master for Optimal Nutrition

• Marinated Red Cabbage Slaw
• High Fiber White Rice
• How to Make Chickpea Crispies
• Corn-Simmered Brothy Beans
• Feta-Style Marinated Tofu

If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.

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