Pumpkin Seed Butter: The Healthy Peanut Butter Alternative

Looking for an alternative to peanut butter that tastes great and is actually good for you? Look no further than pumpkin seed butter. The delicious way to enjoy all of the health benefits of pumpkin seeds by the spoonful.

Here’s why rich tasting pumpkin seed butter is so beneficial for you and much better than peanut butter. Plus my recommendation for the best organic pumpkin seed butter to try.

What is Pumpkin Seed Butter?

Pumpkin seed butter is highly nutritious. It is made from ground up pumpkin seeds and makes a much healthier replacement for peanut butter.

It also has a vivid green color and looks completely different to any other kind of spread you’ve ever tried.

A good pumpkin seed butter tastes like smooth pumpkin seeds with a strong and rich flavor. If you like the taste of pumpkin seeds you should really like this.

It goes well on savory sandwiches as a healthy replacement for butter and other spreads. It’s also good with a bit of honey if you want to give it a sweeter taste.

Pumpkin seed butter can be used to add a dash of health and flavor to sauces and soups and, with a few additions, makes a great pesto topping for pasta or rice dishes as well.

When you first open a jar of pumpkin seed butter, you’ll likely see a layer of deep green oil on top. This is a good thing because it means there isn’t additives holding the oil in place.

It’s best to just mix the oil back in with a spoon or knife before using it. Once you’ve done that and refrigerated it you should notice it less next time.

Nutritional Benefits of Pumpkin Seed Butter

Being made from healthy pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed butter has all the same nutrients, such as high levels of minerals like manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, iron and copper.

It also contains phytosterols for reducing cholesterol and enhancing the body’s immune response, tryptophan for coping with stress and improving sleep and high levels of beneficial fatty acids for better skin and many other health benefits.

That’s a pretty good nutritional list for a peanut butter alternative. Regular peanut butter wouldn’t come anywhere close.

Safe for Peanut and Nut Allergies

Pumpkin seed butter can usually be eaten by people who are allergic to peanuts and nuts, making it a great substitute for peanut butter and other nut spreads when allergies are a problem.

Obviously if you have a serious allergy check with a knowledgeable health care professional first, but being a seed rather than a nut, pumpkin seed butter doesn’t have the same sort of compounds that cause such a problem for people with nut and peanut allergies like peanut butter.

Pumpkin Seed Butter Calories and Best Source

Pumpkin seed butter does have a few calories, around 80 calories per tablespoon, so someone watching their weight wouldn’t want to eat half a jar in one sitting. Though if you’re using pumpkin seed butter as a peanut butter alternative the calories are fairly similar.

The difference with pumpkin seed butter though is because it’s such a good source of healthy fatty acids, as well as protein, it tends to fill you up quickly and you don’t need to eat that much of it to start getting the nutritional benefits.

Organic pumpkin seed butter is usually not that much more than the regular version price wise so it’s definitely worth going for the organic brands.

My favorite is this organic pumpkin seed butter. It’s very smooth and tasty and is made with highly nutritious pumpkin seed oil as well. If you’d like to taste the difference between the healthier pumpkin seed butter versus peanut butter then that’s a very good one to get started with.