Well boys and girls, I have another success to share with you! I’ve mentioned a few times on Instagram that pumpkin seed butter was VERY high on my list of recipes to try for the blog, and this weekend I decided it was time to give it a go! I have made this before, a couple of years ago (before my Insta/blogging days!), after I came back from a medical placement in Baltimore. I discovered Pumpkin Seed butter (among many other AMAZING foodie finds) in Wholefoods over there, and so began my obsession. With nut butter AND Wholefoods!

One major reason I make my own nut and seed butters is simply because I disagree with how EXPENSIVE the more exotic types are to buy in health stores. I’ve seen Pumpkin Seed butter priced at as much as ten or eleven squids for a TINY jar. Mental. This recipe costs about a quarter of that to make, and you get twice as much volume! WIN.

Anyway, take two a couple of years later, and here we are with another success! The ingredients and method for this seed butter are pretty simple and straight-forward, and follow the pattern of my other nut butter recipes. I’ve toasted the seeds before blending, and added a little Brown Rice & Raw Cacao Protein Powder using the brand That Protein, – I’ve mentioned before how much I love their stuff, especially to give recipes a chocolate-y protein-packed kick! You can include or change this to your own brand, or leave out entirely! So let’s get to the good stuff!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 300g Raw Pumpkin Seeds (I bought mine in Lidl)
• A pinch of sea salt
• 1 tbsp of  Protein Powder (I used That Protein Brown Rice & Raw Cacao)
• Note: As with my Pecan Butter, you can leave out the protein powder if you want, OR use your own preferred brand/variety!
• Optional: I don’t usually add sweeteners to my nut/seed butters, but if you prefer a sweeter taste you could add 1 tbsp of honey/maple/agave/stevia, whatever you like!
• Required: A Food Processor/Nutribullet/Powerblender

Method

1. Toast your pumpkin seeds in a large pan for approximately 10 minutes on a medium heat until they start to brown, make popping noises and jump out of the pan – this really happens!
2. Tip the seeds into your blender cup. Add your melted coconut oil.
3. Sprinkle the sea salt on top of the seeds.
4. Add your protein powder if using, and screw on the blender/food processor cup.
5. Time to blend! As with my other nut butter recipes, the time required for this will vary depending on the blender/processor you use, and how powerful it is. I used my Nutribullet, and it took about 10-15 minutes of blending to get to that creamy stage where the oils are released from the seeds (aka GOALS). I usually blend in bursts, and take little breaks in between to scrape down the sides of the cup and shake up the mixture!

Note: If you’re blending like a mad thing for AGES and getting nowhere, you might need to add a little more coconut oil to the mix, so give that a try if you’re stuck!

Enjoy guys! I now officially have more nut and seed butter in my cupboard than I know what to do with…:) I really hope you like this recipe – tag me if your try it out, @theirishbalance on Instagram or Twitter!

Ciara 🙂 x