Pumpkin Seed Butter

Pumpkin seed butter, or pepita butter, is as healthy as it is delicious and it can be made using either raw or roasted pumpkin seeds! You can use it for anything you use typical nut butter for, and it tastes even better! Allergy-friendly and ridiculously tasty, this is a nut-free and better-than-peanut-butter pumpkin seed butter!

Easy & Delicious Pumpkin Seed Butter

This fantastic spread is based on those wonderful pumpkin seeds that my family absolutely loves roasting each year during the Halloween season! It's been several years now that I have been buying the shelled pepitas for salad fixings, and I have come to really enjoy their crunchy, nutty flavor!

This recipe comes from my love of the pepitas themselves. It was a natural progression and this has become my go-to peanut butter replacement, my favorite dip for apples, and my healthiest snack ever when stuffed into celery stalks. Yum!

Jump to:

• Easy & Delicious Pumpkin Seed Butter
• 🥘 Pumpkin Seed Butter Ingredients
• 🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions
• 💭 Angela's Tips & Recipe Notes
• 🥡 Storing
• ❓ What Is Pumpkin Seed Butter?
• ❓ What Does Pumpkin Seed Butter Taste Like?
• ❓ What can I do with Pumpkin Seed Butter?
• 🥑 More Healthy & Nutritious Recipes!
• 📋 Recipe

🥘 Pumpkin Seed Butter Ingredients

With only 3 total ingredients, this recipe is incredibly simple! Just go pick up some pumpkin seeds!

• Pumpkin Seeds - 8 ounces of pumpkin seeds (raw or roasted).
• Oil - 2 teaspoons of your favorite oil (I like to use coconut or almond oil).
• Salt (optional) - A pinch of salt, adjusted to taste.

*Be sure to see the recipe card below for ingredients, amounts, & instructions!*

🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions

Whether you are starting out with a package of store-bought pepitas, or in the process of carving a pumpkin, the creamy goodness of this pepita butter is worth every bit of effort! The actual processing portion, once you have your pumpkin seeds shelled, takes just a few minutes!

Grab your food processor, Nutribullet, or Vitamix to blend the perfect pumpkin seed butter!

How To Shell Pumpkin Seeds

If you are starting with seeds from a carved pumpkin, you will need to follow the steps below to remove the outer hull from the pumpkin seeds.

1. Clean and dry. Remove the 8 ounces of pumpkin seeds and clean as much of the pulp from the seeds as you can. Then place the seeds under cool tap water in a fine mesh sieve to make sure they are as clean as possible. Next, lay out the pumpkin seeds on a flat working surface or a large rimmed baking sheet and allow the seeds to dry.
2. Crack the hulls. Once the seeds are dried, use a rolling pin over the tops of the seeds to begin cracking the hulls.
3. Boil. Bring a pot large enough to hold water and your shells (or do this step in batches) to a low boil. Then add the pumpkin seeds and boil for about 5 minutes, or until the majority of the shells have fallen off.
4. Strain and dry. Strain the boiled pumpkin seeds through a sieve and transfer them to a paper towel-lined working surface or rimmed baking sheet to dry. After the seeds have dried, you can remove any remaining shells or debris and either enjoy your pumpkin seeds raw or move on to roasting them!

How To Roast Pumpkin Seeds

Homemade roasted pumpkin seeds (with or without the shell) are a delightful treat! If you will not be using raw pumpkin seeds for the pepita butter, make sure to roast a large batch of seeds as they always seem to disappear far too fast!

1. Preheat. Warm your oven to 325ºF (162ºC) and spread the cleaned seeds on a baking sheet.
2. Toss with oil. Drizzle one to two teaspoons of coconut oil (or your favorite oil, flavorless oils are best) and toss the seeds with oil on the baking sheet. Continue until the seeds are well coated with oil, then spread out into an even layer on the baking sheet.
3. Roast until golden. Roast the pumpkin seeds for 10 - 15 minutes, stirring the seeds occasionally or at least at the halfway point in the cooking time. Once the seeds are lightly golden, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool (*see note).

Make the Pumpkin Seed Butter

Now that you have either your raw, shelled pumpkin seeds or roasted pepitas ready, follow these steps to make the pumpkin seed butter:

1. Add ingredients. Combine your 8 ounces of pumpkin seeds, 2 teaspoons of oil, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a food processor (or Nutribullet, or Vitamix).
2. Process the seeds. Begin with pulsing the pumpkin seeds a few times in the food processor, then start on a high setting for about a minute.
3. Scrape and repeat. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and return to the high setting for another minute. Repeat as needed until the pumpkin seed oils really come together and break down into a creamy butter consistency (*see note).

That's it! Now you have some amazing pumpkin seed butter to use in a variety of ways (just like you would any other nut butter)! I enjoy spreading it on a slice of some rustic bread or drizzling it over some fluffy pancakes!

💭 Angela's Tips & Recipe Notes

• The pumpkin seeds can be used directly from any homegrown or store-bought pumpkin.
• Packaged roasted pepitas are usually salty enough on their own, so I would suggest tasting and adjusting your salt amount after processing your pumpkin seed butter.
• The shorter the cooking time on your pumpkin seeds, the better. The less cooked they are the more nutritional content that your pepitas will retain.
• A crowded pot of seeds can take much longer (up to 8-10 minutes) for the shells to break away.
• Pumpkin seeds can also be left out to air dry, but it takes a minimum of a month for them to be properly dried.
• A delightfully nutty smell will be coming from the pumpkin seeds when they are perfectly roasted.
• My food processor only takes about 5 minutes, but I know that it can take up to 15 minutes to break down the pumpkin seeds into perfectly spreadable butter.

🥡 Storing

Store your pumpkin seed butter in an airtight container and keep it in a pantry cabinet for about 2 weeks. If you will need to store your pepita butter longer, keep it refrigerated so that the oil doesn't go rancid. When refrigerated, your homemade seed butter will last up to 2 months.

❓ What Is Pumpkin Seed Butter?

Pumpkin seed butter, also called pepita butter, is the creamy butter made from shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas, the green seed inside the pumpkin seed after removing the hull). The nut-free butter can be made using either raw or roasted pepitas and may or may not include additional oil or salt. That's up to you!

Pumpkin seed butter is highly nutritious, and the chance of allergies to pepitas is very low. Health benefits aside, this pepita butter is hands down my favorite above all peanut butter, almond butter, etc varieties. I could eat this every day!

❓ What Does Pumpkin Seed Butter Taste Like?

The little olive green pepitas that you love to snack on, or top salads with, make the best pumpkin seed butter. It tastes just like those wonderful pepitas but in a creamy, spreadable texture. My husband argues that it tastes like a good quality natural peanut butter! 🙂

❓ What can I do with Pumpkin Seed Butter?

Here are a few of my favorite easy ways to use pumpkin seed butter. Spread the pepita butter on a slice of toast, dip apple slices in it, fill celery for a quick snack, add it to smoothies, or drizzle your breakfast pancakes with the pumpkin seed butter.
Basically, any way that you would usually use peanut butter or almond butter! You will get wonderful results when using your pepita butter in baking and cooking, just like you would with their nut-based counterparts.

🥑 More Healthy & Nutritious Recipes!

• Grilled Swordfish
• Detox Cabbage Soup
• Roasted Peppers & Onions
• Rotisserie Chicken Salad
• Stuffed Green Peppers
• Italian Chicken Pastina Soup

📋 Recipe