Cinnamon Cocoa Hemp Seed Butter
A nut-free spread you blend at home and squeeze into a tortilla at camp.
- calories
- 320
- weight
- 1.6 oz
- cal / oz
- 200
- protein
- 11 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 10 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Snack
- Breakfast
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Bikepacking
- Day hike
- Car camping
- Thru-hike
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Hemp hearts | 2 cups | |
|---|---|---|
| Coconut oil | 2 tbsp | refined stays neutral; unrefined tastes like coconut |
| Unsweetened cocoa powder | 3 tbsp | |
| Honey | 3 tbsp | maple syrup to keep it vegan |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp | |
| Salt | a pinch |
Method
- At home, run the hemp hearts in a food processor until they slump into a paste. One to two minutes. They are soft, so this goes faster than nuts.
- Add the coconut oil, cocoa, honey, cinnamon, and salt. Blend again until it is smooth and pourable.
- Pour into a small squeeze tube or a screw-top jar while it is still warm and loose. Leave headspace.
- At camp, squeeze it onto a tortilla, a rice cake, or a spoon. No heat, no water, no dishes.
Hemp hearts hit roughly 10 g of protein per ounce and they are already soft, so they break down into a butter without the long grinding a nut needs. That makes this the rare trail spread you can make in ten minutes and hand to someone with a nut allergy.
The source recipe is a home condiment for a jar in the pantry. For the trail it changes in one way that matters: it ships in a squeeze tube instead of a jar, so there is no utensil and nothing to wash. Coconut oil is what sets it up. It is solid below about 76°F, which keeps the butter from separating in the pack, and liquid in a hot tent, which is why the tube needs headspace.
Packing
Squeeze tubes are the point. Fill them warm with a funnel, cap them, and they meter out one serving at a time without a knife. In cold weather the coconut oil firms up and the tube gets stiff, so keep it in a jacket pocket for ten minutes before you eat.
Variations
- Swap the honey for maple syrup and the whole thing is vegan.
- Cut the cocoa and double the cinnamon for a plainer spread that works on savory tortillas.
- A tablespoon of milk powder makes it milder if nut allergies, not dairy, are the constraint.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/recipe-cinnamon-cocoa-hemp-heart-butter