in Nuts & Seeds, Prepare

Tasty Ways to Serve Sunflowers

Sunflower seeds1

Sharing is caring!

Sunflower seeds have a pleasant, nutty flavor and a crunchy texture that makes them a welcome and simple addition sprinkled on salads, sandwiches, vegetable dishes, and yogurt as well as mixed into stuffings and granola.

Ground sunflower seeds can be combined with flour to make cakes, cookies, muffins, pancakes, and bread.

Sunflower near seed harvest
Sunflower near seed harvest

Lightly toasted sunflower seeds are a tasty snack for eating out of hand. Unshelled seeds also can be roasted and salted then eaten from the shells as a snack.

Favorite sunflower recipe

Clear Sunflower Brittle

How to choose sunflowers

  • Seeds should be firm and glossy.
  • Avoid yellowish seeds that are no longer fresh.
  • The sunflower inflorescence can be cut from the stalk as soon as the backside of the seed head begins to turn from green to brown. The seeds can be harvested by hanging the heads in a dry, airy place until the seeds dry in about a week. Then the seeds can be rubbed off of the dried heads.
Roasted sunflower seeds
Roasted sunflower seeds

Ways to prepare sunflowers

  • To shell sunflowers by hand requires time. Sunflowers also can be shelled in a seed mill or an electric mixer.
  • To shell sunflowers with an electric mixer, pour a small number of shells into a bowl and turn the mixer on for a few seconds; then separate the seeds from the shells in the water. Some seeds will be crushed using this method. Strain the seeds as quickly as possible and dry them.
  • Toasting will enhance the flavor of sunflower seeds. Cook them in an ungreased skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Seeds also can be toasted in a single layer on a cookie sheet in a 350ºF (176ºC) oven for 5 to 7 minutes until they brown slightly.
  • Seeds used as a topping for baked goods need not be toasted because the oven will do the job. When sunflower seeds combine with baking soda in baked goods they take on a blue-green tinge that is not aesthetically pleasing.
  • You can also bake sunflower seeds for 10 minutes in the oven at 200ºF (93ºC). Stir occasionally. Once baked coat the seeds with a small amount of oil so that salt will stick to them.
  • To chop or dice sunflower seeds, slightly moisten the seeds with a little oil then chop them. They will not fly away.
  • Use sunflower seed oil for dressing, sautéing, and roasting. Oil heated beyond 340ºF (170ºC) does not withstand heating and will burn.
Sunflower seeds
Whole sunflower seeds and seeds that have been hulled

How to store sunflowers

  • Keep unshelled sunflower seeds in a glass jar in a cool, dark, dry place.
  • Shelled or ground seeds should be refrigerated and used within one month.
  • Shelled and ground seeds can be frozen.

Sunflower nutrition

  • Sunflower seeds are rich in vitamins B and E, calcium, phosphorus, and iron.
  • One ounce of sunflower seeds supplies 76 percent of the daily requirement for vitamin E—the antioxidant vitamin.

Get to know sunflowers

  • The sunflower grows as an annual in most temperate regions and as a perennial plant in tropical regions. Sunflowers can grow from 3 to 12 feet (1-3.7 m) tall depending upon the variety. They have coarse, heart-shaped leaves.
  • Sunflower seedsThe sunflower blossom is an inflorescence or collection of thousands of small, tubular flowers arranged side by side to form row after row of circles radiating from the center. This flat disc is surrounded by yellow petals. (Not all sunflower petals are yellow; some are orange, red, or copper-colored.) Each flower produces grayish-green or black seeds depending on the species enclosed in thin gray or black shells some with black and white stripes. The flower heads or discs can grow to 12 inches in diameter.
  • The sunflower originated in Mexico and Peru. Native Americans have used various parts of the plant—the seeds, stems, flowers, and roots–for more than 5,000 years.
  • The Spanish introduced the sunflower in the Old World in the fifteenth century.
    Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union are the leading producers of sunflowers today.
  • The botanical name for the sunflower is Helianthus, a conflation of the Greek words for sun, helios, and flower, anthos.

The botanical name of the sunflower is Helianthus annuus.

Articles of interest:

How to Start an Herb Garden

Best Herbs for Container Growing

Herbs for Cool Season Growing

Growing Herbs for Cooking

Garden Planning Books at Amazon:

More kitchen tips:

Bring your harvest to the table. Kitchen prep tips and easy recipes for the vegetables you grow. Click below for vegetable prep and recipes you can use now.

Written by Stephen Albert

Stephen Albert is a horticulturist, master gardener, and certified nurseryman who has taught at the University of California for more than 25 years. He holds graduate degrees from the University of California and the University of Iowa. His books include Vegetable Garden Grower’s Guide, Vegetable Garden Almanac & Planner, Tomato Grower’s Answer Book, and Kitchen Garden Grower’s Guide. His Vegetable Garden Grower’s Masterclass is available online. Harvesttotable.com has more than 10 million visitors each year.

How To Grow Tips

How To Grow Tomatoes

How To Grow Peppers

How To Grow Broccoli

How To Grow Carrots

How To Grow Beans

How To Grow Corn

How To Grow Peas

How To Grow Lettuce

How To Grow Cucumbers

How To Grow Zucchini and Summer Squash

How To Grow Onions

How To Grow Potatoes

Peppers along wire1

Pepper Growing Problems: Troubleshooting
Artichoke buds1

Artichoke Growing Problems: Troubleshooting