Sunflower Seed Cheese Sauce

Welcome Friends!

Sunflower seeds are so nostalgic for me. I grew up playing softball for as long as I can remember and one thing that we always had around was sunflower seeds. You know the kind that come in the shells and you pop them open with your teeth? Yum! I loved the salty flavors and cracking open the seeds to get to the delicious morsels inside.

Turn It Into Cheese!

I came up with this recipe on a random night when I wanted a delicious, savory meal. I was really wanting something so comforting and I’ve been digging sunflower seeds lately. I made a Tahini Cheese Sauce (see my healthy twice baked potato skins post for the recipe) and it was amazing so I felt like this would work well.

And boy did it! I’ve made potato, cashew and tapioca starch cheeses and this sunflower seed cheese might be my favorite. It’s just so easy and accessible. You don’t need anything crazy to whip this one up. I don’t use my tamper so you might even be able to make this in a traditional blender. Of course it will be a little bit more chunky than when made with a high speed blender. Let me know in the comments how it goes if you try it!

Why Sunflower Seeds?

I have been loving sunflower seeds lately. The reason why I’ve been into them is that they are great for seed cycling during the ovulatory phase of a menstrual cycle. I’ve been seeing a lot of positive change by incorporating seed cycling and sunflower seeds have been clutch. I have been loving tahini and sunflower seeds made into delicious sauces or thrown into a smoothie.

Aside from hormonal health, sunflower seeds are just great for you. They are high in B complex vitamins and are a good source of phosphorus, magnesium, iron, potassium and protein. They also contain several trace minerals like zinc and copper that are so good for you.

Are you ready to feast on sunflower seeds yet? Start with this recipe!

The Recipe

I posted a shot of this delicious, creamy sunflower seed cheese sauce on my Instagram feed and you guys went nuts. Well.. not nuts, but seeds!? Nope… moving along.

I said to let me know if you wanted the recipe and it was a unanimous yes! When I whipped up this recipe up on a whim one night I was blown away by how tasty it was. I refined some of the ingredients and have a delicious, creamy sauce to share with you today.

This recipe is also fantastic because it’s nut free, so it’s so great for those with allergies. It’s also dairy free, gluten free, and keto friendly when served with zoodles or low carb noodle substitutes. This sauce also packs a lot of delicious, cheesy flavor. And because sunflower seeds are so affordable it’s a new staple for me.

Let’s get down to the recipe! It’s so simple and requires minimal ingredients that you probably already have. The sauce is incredible with your favorite noodles or it’s amazing if you add some broccoli, peas, zucchini, vegan chicken, or mushroom bacon. Yum

4.6 from 5 votes

Print

Sunflower Seed Cheese Sauce

A delicious, creamy cheese sauce made from sunflower seeds that is perfect with noodles, potatoes or vegetables.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. Measure out all of the ingredients and add them to your blender.
2. Blend on high until everything is incorporated and smooth.
3. Add to noodles, vegetables, potatoes or anything you enjoy cheesy sauce over.

Recipe Notes

Decrease the water to 1 to 1 ¼ cups to make a thick sauce for dipping.

Talk to you soon!