There are just three ingredients (and two of them are water and salt!) in this Sunflower Seed Cream Sauce. It's a nutritious nut-free, vegan and paleo recipe to add a luscious, creamy texture to any recipe! Simply soak, blend, and enjoy.

My site is filled with vegan, plant-based recipes that make eating dairy-free absolutely delicious. One of my go-to recipe hacks is my Easy Homemade Vegan Cashew Cream, which I use to add creamy texture to many of my favorite recipes. This works perfectly...unless you're nut-free AND dairy-free! Folks who avoid nuts know that sunflower seed butter is a great nut butter substitute, and the same is true with this Sunflower Seed Cream Sauce. I've used soaked sunflower seeds to create a nut-free, vegan sauce that adds creamy texture and thickness to recipes without using dairy or nuts!

Sunflower Seed Cream Sauce Ingredients

This is almost a one-ingredient recipe! The only things you need besides sunflower seeds are salt and filtered water. Pretty amazing, huh?

Sunflower seed kernels - Make sure they're raw and unsalted, not roasted!
Filtered water - You'll need two cups for soaking, which will be discarded before you use fresh 1.5 cups for blending.
Salt - We're talking just a pinch of salt...¼ teaspoon! Start small and adjust if your cream sauce needs a bit more.

How Long to Soak Sunflower Seeds

Soak raw sunflower seed kernels in two cups of filtered water overnight (at least 8 hours) in the refrigerator. This will produce the softest, creamiest results! If you're low on time, use boiling water and let the kernels soak for an hour. Make sure to discard the water that the sunflower seeds have soaked in and use fresh water for blending!

How to Make Sunflower Seed Cream

Once your sunflower seeds are soaked, drain and rinse them. Discard the water that they've been soaking in and use fresh, filtered water for blending. Place the rinsed sunflower seeds, salt, and water in a high-speed blender and blend on the highest speed for 1 minute. It will become perfectly smooth and creamy! Scrape down the sides and blend again if needed. If the sunflower seed cream seems gritty or too thick, you can add another ¼ cup of water. The sauce will be very warm from blending, and you can use it immediately or store it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for up to 5 days; just be sure to look and smell for normal signs of spoilage after that point.

Nut-Free Vegan Cream Recipe

This Sunflower Cream Sauce is the perfect nut-free way to add vegan cream to sauces and recipes! I love adding a bit to marinara sauce to make a creamy pasta sauce. This can also be used in place of cream in soups and stews. It does have a slight flavor from the sunflower seeds, but when combined with flavorful sauces and meals, you won’t notice it at all. Here are a couple recipes that have my cashew cream, but could easily be made with sunflower seed cream instead!

This recipe is vegan, gluten-free, paleo, dairy-free, raw, soy-free, refined sugar-free, nut-free...it's just sunflower seeds, after all! I hope you'll give it a try and tag me on Instagram when you do. I love celebrating kitchen wins with you! You can also leave a review below this post to let me know how it turned out.

More Nut-Free Goodness

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Sunflower Seed Cream Sauce (vegan + paleo)

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Author: Elaine Gordon
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 20 ounces (2.5 cups) 1x
Diet: Vegan

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Description

There are just three ingredients (and two of them are water and salt!) in this Sunflower Seed Cream Sauce. It's a nut-free, vegan recipe to add a luscious, creamy texture to any recipe! Simply soak, blend, and enjoy.

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 cup raw sunflower seed kernels
2 cups filtered water for soaking (this will be discarded)
1.5 cups filtered water for blending
¼ teaspoon salt

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Instructions

IN ADVANCE: Place raw sunflower seeds in a large mason jar and cover with double the amount of filtered water. Seal tightly with the lid and place in the refrigerator for 8 hours (or overnight). If you are rushed you can soak in boiling hot water for 1 hour. Overnight is best for the creamiest results.
Once soaking is complete, drain and rinse the sunflower seeds well. Place the rinsed sunflower seeds in a high-speed blender with 1.5 cups fresh filtered water. Add salt and blend on the highest speed for 1 minute until perfectly smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides and blend again if needed. If it is too gritty/too thick add another ¼ cup water and blend again until smooth and creamy. At this point the sauce will be very warm from blending. Either use immediately or pour into an airtight container and store in your refrigerator for up to five days (after that look and smell for normal signs of spoilage).
To use, stir into marinara sauce to make a creamy marinara pasta sauce. Use in place of cream in soups and stews. It will have a slight flavor from the sunflower seeds but when combined with flavorful sauces and meals you won't notice it at all.