• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Learn how food affects your body. Get Free Nutrition Info Today

the-lean-green-bean-logo
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Kids
  • Resources
    • Ebooks
    • Food Prep
    • Videos
    • Snack Round-Ups
    • Gift Guides
  • About
    • Become An RD
    • Work With Me
  • Search
the-lean-green-bean-logo
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Kids
  • Resources
    • Ebooks
    • Food Prep
    • Videos
    • Snack Round-Ups
    • Gift Guides
  • About
    • Become An RD
    • Work With Me
  • Search

Pistachio Pumpkin Seed Butter

January 16, 2014 by Lindsay 40 Comments

Jump to Recipe

A nutrient packed nut and seed butter that tastes WAY better than it looks!

Hi Friends!

Here’s the deal today. Today’s recipe is…..unfortunate looking.

Remember last week when I was complaining about how hard it was to make Breakfast Enchiladas look good? Friends, those were a cakewalk compared to trying to make this Pistachio Pumpkin Seed Butter look appetizing.

Hubby even went so far as to tell me not to post this because it looks so gross. Clearly I’m ignoring him (but with good reason- I turned to Instagram and you guys told me to post it!) Anyways, if poop grosses you out, you may want to stop reading this post. If you can get past the appearance, this stuff is darn tasty.

Tired of peanut butter? This Pistachio Pumpkin Seed Butter is a delicious homemade nut butter alternative!
I had good intentions when I started. I bought a giant bag of pistachios at Costco a few months ago and I noticed the other day that they were kind of getting buried in the back of the pantry. Since I enjoy making my own nut butter, but don’t do it nearly enough, I thought that would be the perfect way to use some of them up. Pistachos themselves, without the shells or skins are a lovely green color. Problem is that I’m lazy. I bought pre-shelled pistachios and I wasn’t about to sit there and try to get the skins off before making my nut butter…so I decided to throw in some pumpkin seeds (which I’m obsessed with & eat on my oatmeal every morning) thinking hey- they’re green…maybe they’ll brighten things  up. 

WRONG.

It just ends up this unfortunate brown color. Oh well. You guys will just have to close your eyes and enjoy this tasty treat!

Here’s how you make it:

Print

Pistachio Pumpkin Seed Butter

pistachio pumpkin seed butter
Print Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

A nutrient packed nut and seed butter that tastes WAY better than it looks!

  • Author: Lindsay L

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1½ cups pistachios (shelled)
  • ¾ cup raw pumpkin seeds (shelled)
  • ¼ cup hemp hearts (optional)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1–2 tsp honey, optional

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spread the pistachios and pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet.
  2. Bake for 6-8 minutes (don’t let them burn!)
  3. Put the warm nuts, seeds and remaining ingredients in a food processor and let process for 10 minutes, scraping the sides occasionally, or until desired consistency is reached.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @theleangreenbean on Instagram

This is a taste as you go kinda recipe. I added a little more cinnamon to mine because I’m a cinnamon addict. If you want it sweeter, add more honey. If you use unsalted nuts, feel free to add a little salt. If you want to add a bit of oil, go for it!

Tired of peanut butter? This Pistachio Pumpkin Seed Butter is a delicious homemade nut butter alternative!

It’s delicious on toast with banana on top. Also delicious in my morning oatmeal bowls!

You’re gonna have to have a little faith that this is actually gonna work when you first start. For the first 5-7 minutes, it doesn’t look like there’s any way it’s actually going to turn into nut butter. Just be patient. Keep scraping down the sides every few minutes…you can even bang on the sides of the food processor bowl while it’s running like I did to knock some of the mixture back down towards the blade.

Tired of peanut butter? This Pistachio Pumpkin Seed Butter is a delicious homemade nut butter alternative!

Eventually it will start to ball up and then it will smooth out. Be aware that if you taste and then decide to add more honey, it will probably ball up again when you turn the processor back on, but it will smooth out again.

Let’s chat:
What’s your favorite nut/seed butter?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

table talk series
LEARN HOW FOOD AFFECTS YOUR BODY.

Get my free Table Talk email series where I share bite-sized nutrition information about carbs, protein, and fat, plus bonus information about snacks and sugar!

Enter your email here ...

Filed Under: Snack Tagged With: Pumpkin

About Lindsay

Lindsay Livingston is a Registered Dietitian and new mom from Columbus, Ohio. On her blog, she shares simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, workouts and snapshots of her life. Follow her on Twitter @LeanGrnBeanBlog and Instagram @TheLeanGreenBean and be sure to subscribe via RSS or email so you never miss a post!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Carly @ Fine Fit Day says

    January 16, 2014 at 12:40 AM

    Oh man…that is a little unfortunate looking! I bet it’s tasty, though, I love pistachios. Favorite nut butter for me is a dead heat between almond & PB.

    Reply
  2. Linz @ Itz Linz says

    January 16, 2014 at 6:18 AM

    YUM!! pumpkin seed butter and pistachio butter are ones that i haven’t had before!! i loooove nut butters!! all time favorite probably being cashew butter, but more regularly almond and sunflower seed butter!

    Reply
  3. Madeline @ Food Fitness and Family says

    January 16, 2014 at 6:38 AM

    Bahahahah – your hubby cracks me up! I think pumpkin seed butter could be tasty … although I have to admit it is sad looking lol

    Reply
  4. Angela @ Happy Fit Mama says

    January 16, 2014 at 6:56 AM

    Truthfully, doesn’t most nut butter look like poop?? Regardless of how it looks, I’m sure it tastes fantastic. How could it not with pistachios?

    Reply
  5. Tina Muir says

    January 16, 2014 at 7:03 AM

    I think we all know what you mean about things not looking the best, I had a Thai green soup, its just hard, if not impossible to make some colors and textures look good! I think you did a great job though! This sounds lovely, and would make a great change!

    Reply
  6. Danny Lake says

    January 16, 2014 at 7:30 AM

    Regardless of how this looks I’m going to give it a try anyway! Thanks for sharing the recipe! Will let you know how it tasted!

    Reply
  7. Jana @ Happy Wife Healthy Life says

    January 16, 2014 at 7:42 AM

    Ha ha ha too funny! Why is it that the tastiest things are sometimes the least photogenic? 🙂 Sounds delish!

    Reply
  8. Danica @ It's Progression says

    January 16, 2014 at 8:11 AM

    I think it just looks like nut butter – delicious!
    I have yet to make my own though…I don’t have a large food processor, which is why I haven’t attempted any batch yet, but I recently got a Ninja Ultima blender…do you think that might work?!

    Reply
  9. Aparna B. says

    January 16, 2014 at 8:11 AM

    I’m not saying I like poop, but this does look delicious and it sounds even more delicious! Sometimes things look gross but taste amaaaazing, and I’m betting this is one of those things. Glad you posted it!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 21, 2014 at 3:48 PM

      haha i am too 🙂

      Reply
  10. Cindy @ Kicking it In says

    January 16, 2014 at 8:14 AM

    So you DID pit it up! YAY! I was never offended and instead was highly intrigued – can’t wait to make this. Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 21, 2014 at 3:48 PM

      hope you love it!

      Reply
  11. Brittany @ Delights and Delectables says

    January 16, 2014 at 8:17 AM

    LOVE pumpkin seeds!! Can’t wait to try this!

    Reply
  12. Jackie says

    January 16, 2014 at 9:24 AM

    Think this sounds so goo! Who cares what it looks like 🙂

    Reply
  13. Krysten Siba Bishop (@darwinianfail) says

    January 16, 2014 at 10:53 AM

    I LOVE THAT YOU SHARED THIS ANYWAYS!!

    Reply
  14. Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says

    January 16, 2014 at 10:54 AM

    I don’t think any nut butters really LOOK good..but lucky for us, they TASTE good! This one sounds awesome! I LOVE pistachios :).

    Reply
  15. Christa @ Edible Balance says

    January 16, 2014 at 11:12 AM

    Oooohhh, I have a bag of pistachios already shelled sitting in my pantry too! I love making pumpkin seed, sunflower seed butters too, I need to branch out and start combining. This look delicious, I know what I’m making tonight!

    Good on you for posting anyway! You should have seen the waffles I made the other day, I used sunflower seeds in place of cashews and just off the waffle iron they were perfectly golden, then in the few minutes they were sitting on the plate they turned green! My hubby thought they looked moldy (jokingly of course), but it just makes it fun, yes?!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 21, 2014 at 3:47 PM

      haha i think it’s kinda weird but also kinda awesome that they turned green 🙂

      Reply
  16. Heather Williams says

    January 16, 2014 at 11:18 AM

    AWESOME recipe Lindsay!! I adore pumpkin seed and hemp butter, and this looks like a fun twist! Thanks for sharing!:)

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 21, 2014 at 3:47 PM

      woohoo! you’re welcome!

      Reply
  17. Debbie @ Live from La Quinta says

    January 16, 2014 at 1:17 PM

    It may look ugly, but it sounds delicious! I’m glad you decided to share!

    Reply
  18. Heather @ Better With Veggies says

    January 16, 2014 at 1:18 PM

    Mmmmm….I love different nut butters like this and they are a pain to style! I put mine on small ball jars for photographing and it’s “ok”. 🙂

    Reply
  19. Jay @ Supersonic Sunflower says

    January 16, 2014 at 1:44 PM

    OMG! you have read my mind this past week. Pistachio and Sunflower seed butter have been my go-to all week. I have been adding in dry pistachio pudding powder (sugar free) into my smoothies and its delicious! You should try it! Thanks for the idea of adding them together 🙂

    Reply
    • Jay @ Supersonic Sunflower says

      January 16, 2014 at 1:45 PM

      just realized that I have been putting the wrong email address down…been putting one too many s’s…oops!

      Reply
      • Lindsay says

        January 21, 2014 at 3:47 PM

        that pudding powder sounds delicious!

        Reply
  20. Lora @ Crazy Running Girl says

    January 16, 2014 at 1:55 PM

    This sounds sooo good!! And I’ve seen a lot of worse food pictures, this doesn’t look bad at all! 🙂

    Reply
  21. Helen says

    January 16, 2014 at 2:30 PM

    Either way, I think all nutter butters have a similar look. It sounds yummy though. Thanks for sharing. =)

    Reply
  22. Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves says

    January 16, 2014 at 4:49 PM

    Gahhh this looks fantastic! Pistachios are one of my favorite nuts, so making them into a nut butter is such a wonderful idea. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  23. Elizabeth @ Positive Change says

    January 16, 2014 at 4:54 PM

    I think this looks good!
    I have been eating many so raw pistachio for my snack as of late and I would love to make it into a butter now! 🙂
    I love cashew!

    Reply
  24. Arman @ thebigmansworld says

    January 16, 2014 at 5:03 PM

    Cheers for posting this Lindsay- Try baking with it….oh geebuz I baked muffins with sunbutter it and turned them a strange shade of green.

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 21, 2014 at 3:46 PM

      haha that’s always lovely!

      Reply
  25. GiselleR says

    January 16, 2014 at 6:20 PM

    Ummm…I’m pretty sure I just ate peanut butter that looked just like this lol! I think it looks good! Gonna try this as soon as I get a food processor lol. Thanks for sharing 😀

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 21, 2014 at 3:45 PM

      woohoo! enjoy!

      Reply
  26. Leigha says

    January 16, 2014 at 7:19 PM

    This doesn’t look disgusting at all! Okay, maybe it looks gross if you think about poop. But it sounds yummy!! I haven’t tried to make my own nut butter yet but I really need to!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 21, 2014 at 3:45 PM

      get on it girl! so many combos to try!

      Reply
  27. Jody - Fit at 56 says

    January 16, 2014 at 7:20 PM

    I think it looks fine but I am not a foodie blogger.. 🙂 DELISH!!!!

    Reply
  28. Alexis @ Hummusapien says

    January 16, 2014 at 10:15 PM

    Sometimes ugly recipes taste best!! I will agree that it most definitely looks like you-know-what, but I can get past that knowing how amazing it would taste smeared on toast with extra cinnamon! I love me some pumpkin seeds 🙂

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 21, 2014 at 3:45 PM

      yes! extra cinnamon for the win!

      Reply
  29. Purelytwins says

    January 17, 2014 at 10:48 AM

    yum yum! we’ve been all out pistachios lately!!! this would go perfect with our chocolate pistachio nut butter – yum!!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 21, 2014 at 3:43 PM

      that sounds amazing!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

Primary Sidebar

Lindsay Livingston The Lean Green Bean Healthy Living Tips and Tricks

I'm a Registered Dietitian and mom of three from Columbus, Ohio. I use this blog to share simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, and an honest glimpse of motherhood!

Learn More →

Questions? Comments? Email me: [email protected]

The Lean Green Bean Facebook The Lean Green Bean Instagram The Lean Green Bean Pinterest The Lean Green Bean Twitter The Lean Green Bean Feed
footer-logo
The Lean Green Bean Facebook The Lean Green Bean Instagram The Lean Green Bean Pinterest The Lean Green Bean Twitter The Lean Green Bean Feed
Recipes

Breakfast
Dinner
Snack
Slow Cooker

Kids

Cooking With Kids
Favorite Gifts
Toddler Meals
Indoor Activities

Resources

Easy Packed Lunches for Kids
Dinner Spark
Snack Spark
Ultimate Guide to Food Prep

About

Meet Lindsay
Become an RD
Work with Me

The Lean Green Bean is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Read the full privacy and disclosure policy here.

Copyright © 2022 · The Lean Green Bean

table talk series

Learn how food affects your body.

Get my free Table Talk email series where I share bite-sized nutrition information about carbs, protein, and fat, plus bonus information about snacks and sugar!

[email protected]