A few weeks ago, over on Instagram Story, I made nut and seed butter. At the time, I didn’t ever think, “Oh, this will be a good recipe to share on the blog.” Instead, it was a simple act that I thought would be fun to share with all my friends on the ‘Gram. The requests for the nut and seed butter recipe, made with hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds, filled my inbox over the next 24 hours. So many friends wanted the recipe. And I don’t blame them…it is a delicious spread and so easy to make!
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I feel like that happens a lot when making something over on Instagram. I share a recipe that I just happen to be making, with no intention on publishing a written blog recipe, and suddenly everyone wants the recipe.
After making that recipe again last weekend, the messages again poured into my inbox, “Is this recipe on your blog?” Today is the day. Finally, I’m sharing the official recipe for the nut and seed butter.
This homemade nut and seed butter is made with a combination of hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds. I discovered a new love for hazelnuts during our recent visit to France. (If you want to see the photos from our trip, I shared all the details in this post.)
Hazelnuts were regularly served at the hotel breakfast buffets, as well as pastry shops and cafes. And, of course, there’s this thing called Nutella in France which is made with hazelnuts. Hazelnuts have such a unique and delicious flavor. When we came home from Europe, I purchased a few bags of hazelnuts from Trader Joe’s–hungry to put them to use in my own kitchen. Trader Joe’s definitely has the best price on hazelnuts ($6.99 for a pound).
Over the past few weeks (we got home on January 4th), I’ve been using the hazelnuts to make homemade granola (this master recipe) and also nut and seed butter. If you haven’t tried hazelnuts before, you’re in for a treat! Hazelnuts are basically what make Nutella so fabulous. Well that and a load of sugar and chocolate, but hazelnuts are the main flavor you’re tasting when you eat a spoonful of Nutella.
Okay, so let’s talk about this requested hazelnut and pumpkin seed butter. First, if you’ve never made homemade nut butter before, don’t feel intimated. Homemade nut butter is such an easy food to make. It requires very little hands-on work. If you can put a sheet pan in an oven and press a button on a food processor, you can make homemade nut butter. It’s that easy!
Once you make homemade nut (and seed, in this case) butter, you may be wondering what to do with it. Of course, there’s the traditional nut butter and jam sandwich, which is fabulous and amazing in its own right. Beyond the traditional sandwich, I personally love using nut and seed butter in a variety of other ways. Let’s talk about my favs…
How to Use Nut and Seed Butter
- Nut and Seed Butter Toast: Toast up a slice of sourdough bread and top it with nut and seed butter, banana slices, or another fruit (blueberries, strawberry slices, halved and pitted cherries).
- Sweet Potato Topping: Roast up a bunch of sweet potatoes–this recipe is life-changing! Top the sweet potatoes with this nut and seed butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon. So good!!
- Smoothie Addition: Add 1-2 tablespoons of nut and seed butter to a smoothie. This beet smoothie is delicious. You could also add blueberries or strawberries. Or, add some cacao or cocoa powder for a frosty-like (remember the Wendy’s Frosty?) smoothie.
- Pancake Sammies: Make pancake sandwiches with two pancakes and this nut and seed butter. Add sliced bananas, sliced strawberries, or jam for a pb&j feel.
- Waffle or Pancake Topping: Top your pancakes or waffles with homemade nut butter in place of maple syrup. I do this often on the weekend.
- Oatmeal Topping: Add nut and seed butter to your oatmeal. Swirl a tablespoon into a warm bowl of oats. Or, add a tablespoon to overnight oats.
- Apple Dip: If your kiddos can have nuts at school, serve this nut and seed butter in the lunchbox with apple slices.
With so many uses, homemade nut and seed butter is a great food to make in advance and use throughout the week (hello food prep!). It’s also a fun food to make with the kiddos. And the best part is a jar of nut and seed butter will keep in the fridge for up to 2 months. Well, that is if you can keep it around that long ?. If you’re like me, you’ll want to spoon this butter on just about anything!
How to Make Homemade Nut and Seed Butter (with Hazelnuts and Pumpkin Seeds)
Ingredients
- 1 lb hazelnuts raw
- 1/2 lb pumpkin seeds raw (also called pepitas)
- 2 TB virgin coconut oil doesn't need to be liquid, room temperature and solid is fine*
- 1-2 TB pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp salt
Special Equipment:
- food processor
- sheet pan
- mason jar or storage containers
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- Scatter the hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds on a sheet pan. Toast the nuts and seeds in the oven until warm and fragrant, about 20-25 minutes.
- Remove the nuts and seeds from the oven, and while hot, add to the base of a food processor (fitted with the S blade).
- On low speed, pulse the nuts and seeds. Once the mixture appears crumbly (this will take a couple of minutes) add the coconut oil and salt. It's best to add the coconut oil and salt through the feed chute so you can keep the food processor running.
- Continue to pulse the ingredients on a low speed until smooth and creamy, about 5-7 minutes. If you need to stop and scrape the bowl, due to extra chunks at the top of the bowl, do this now.
- Once creamy, add the maple syrup to taste. I like to add 2 tablespoons. Continue to pulse the mixture for another 3-5 minutes, OR until smooth and creamy. The mixture should be runny. Once creamy and runny, stop the food processor. Don't over-process the nut and seed butter. The amount it takes for this to happen will depend on your food processor.
- Pour the nut and seed butter into a storage container. I use a mason jar with a plastic lid. Store the nut and seed butter in the fridge for up to 2 months.
Notes
- Nut and Seed Butter Toast: Toast up a slice of sourdough bread and top it with nut and seed butter, banana slices, or another fruit (blueberries, strawberry slices, halved and pitted cherries).
- Sweet Potato Topping: Roast up a bunch of sweet potatoes--this recipe is life-changing! Top the sweet potatoes with this nut and seed butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon. So good!
- Smoothie Addition: Add 1-2 tablespoons of nut and seed butter to a smoothie. You could also add blueberries or strawberries. Or, add some cacao or cocoa powder for a frosty-like (remember the Wendy's Frosty?) smoothie.
- Pancake Sammies: Make pancake sandwiches with two pancakes and this nut and seed butter. Add sliced bananas, sliced strawberries, or jam for a pb&j feel.
- Waffle or Pancake Topping: Top your pancakes or waffles with homemade nut butter in place of maple syrup. I do this often on the weekend.
- Oatmeal Topping: Add nut and seed butter to your oatmeal. Swirl a tablespoon into a warm bowl of oats.
- Apple Dip: If your kiddos can have nuts at school, serve this nut and seed butter in the lunchbox with apple slices.
Nutrition
oof
i dont like this food
Sorry you don’t care for this kind of food, Jason.
Move over peanut butter, there’s a new player in town! I made this yesterday and the first thing my 6 year old daughter asked for this morning was “that hazelnut stuff we made yesterday”. Thank goodness it makes a big batch because I’m afraid we’d be fighting over it otherwise. ?
Lol that’s awesome, Katie! I feel the same way. I’m completely addicted in the very best way to this butter! I’m so glad you both are enjoying it.