There is something wonderfully old-fashioned about opening a jar in the morning and knowing that everything inside began with ingredients you could recognize immediately—soft prunes, toasted seeds, a little cinnamon, and perhaps a touch of cocoa—and this homemade seed and prune spread has become one of my favorite examples. It is naturally sweet from dried fruit, rich and creamy from seeds, and thick enough to spread over toast while still being soft enough to stir into oatmeal or yogurt.
What surprised me the first time I made it was how little it needed. Prunes become almost caramel-like when softened and blended, while seeds release their natural oils as they are ground, creating the creamy texture we normally associate with nut and seed butters.
Together, they make a jar that tastes somewhere between fruit butter and a deeply roasted seed spread.
Why I Combine Prunes With Seeds
Prunes are dried plums, and removing much of the fruit’s water naturally concentrates its sweetness, while the fruit still provides fiber and compounds such as sorbitol and polyphenols.
That combination is also why prunes have such a long association with digestive regularity.
Seeds bring a completely different nutritional profile.
Pumpkin seeds provide protein and minerals including magnesium, zinc, iron, and copper. Sunflower seeds contribute vitamin E and unsaturated fats, while sesame seeds contain their own characteristic lignans and provide minerals alongside healthy fats.
Ground flaxseed brings another element: alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a plant omega-3 fatty acid, together with fiber and lignans.
So instead of making another extremely sweet fruit preserve, I like balancing the prunes with a generous quantity of seeds.
My Homemade Prune & Seed Spread
For one medium jar, I use:
- 200 g pitted prunes
- 3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- ½ teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 100–150 ml warm water
- tiny pinch of salt
The cocoa is optional, but I love what happens when it meets the prunes.
Suddenly the spread develops a dark, almost chocolate-like richness without needing to become a dessert loaded with added sugar.
First, Soften the Prunes
I place the prunes in a bowl and cover them with approximately 150 ml of hot water.
Then I leave them for 15–20 minutes.
This step is worth doing even when the prunes already feel relatively soft.
They absorb some of the water, become plumper, and blend much more easily.
I also keep the soaking liquid.
That dark, naturally sweet water will help us control the consistency later.
Toast the Seeds
While the prunes are soaking, I place the pumpkin, sunflower, and sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium-low heat.
I toast them gently for several minutes, stirring frequently.
The moment they become fragrant, I remove them from the heat.
This tiny step transforms the recipe.
Raw seeds have a mild flavor.
Toasted seeds become deeply nutty and aromatic.
Let them cool for a few minutes before blending.
Grind the Seeds Before Adding the Fruit
I put the cooled seeds into a food processor and pulse them first.
Initially they become coarse crumbs.
After additional processing, they become finer and begin releasing some of their natural oils.
I stop when the mixture resembles a coarse seed butter.
Then I add the softened prunes, ground flaxseed, cinnamon, cocoa, vanilla, and that tiny pinch of salt.
The salt seems almost insignificant, yet it makes the prune flavor considerably deeper.
Add the Prune Water Slowly
I begin blending and add the reserved soaking water one tablespoon at a time.
This is the secret to getting exactly the texture you want.
For toast, I make it thick.
For oatmeal, I make it softer.
For something closer to a fruit sauce, I add additional liquid.
After a minute or two of blending and scraping down the sides, the mixture becomes glossy, dark, and remarkably creamy.
Taste it before adding anything else.
Prunes are already naturally sweet, so I usually find that the spread needs no additional sweetener at all.
Leave It Overnight
Freshly blended, it is delicious.
The next morning, it is even better.
The flax absorbs some moisture, the cinnamon and cocoa settle into the fruit, and the seed flavors become more integrated.
I transfer the mixture into a clean container, keep it refrigerated, and make relatively small batches so it stays fresh.
Because this is a moist homemade fruit-and-seed preparation rather than a shelf-stable commercial preserve, refrigeration is exactly where I want it.
My Favorite Breakfast With It
Toast a slice of whole-grain bread.
Spread approximately one tablespoon of prune-and-seed butter across it.
Then add thin slices of banana or pear.
Finally, sprinkle a few pumpkin seeds over the surface.
You get something sweet enough to feel indulgent, yet the sweetness comes primarily from whole dried fruit.
Another favorite is Greek yogurt with rolled oats, kiwi, and one spoonful of the spread swirled through the top.
The dark prune mixture slowly disappears into the yogurt and turns every spoonful slightly sweet.
The Digestive Version
When digestive regularity is the reason I am making it, I keep the recipe especially simple and allow the prunes and seeds to remain the stars.
I use:
200 g prunes + 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed + 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds + 2 tablespoons sesame seeds + cinnamon + enough warm water to blend.
A spoonful can be incorporated into breakfast alongside a glass of water.
This combination provides several different sources of fiber, while prunes naturally contain sorbitol, a sugar alcohol that contributes to their well-known effect on stool consistency and regularity.
And there is a small detail worth remembering whenever fiber intake increases: water belongs beside it.
Fiber works best as part of an adequately hydrated diet.
The Chocolate Version
This one tastes almost suspiciously good.
I use the original recipe but increase the cocoa to 2 tablespoons and add 1 tablespoon of finely ground hazelnuts.
Then I add a little cinnamon and vanilla.
Prunes have such a deep natural sweetness that cocoa works beautifully with them.
Spread over toast with strawberries or banana, it becomes an easy homemade alternative to much sweeter chocolate spreads.
The Orange-and-Cinnamon Version
For something completely different, leave out the cocoa and add finely grated orange zest, cinnamon, and a tiny pinch of ground cardamom.
Orange and prune belong together.
The resulting spread tastes almost like Christmas preserve, particularly when served over warm oatmeal.
This is also fantastic with chopped walnuts.
Why Ground Seeds Matter
Whole seeds are wonderful for texture, but grinding changes how we eat them.
Flaxseed is the clearest example because grinding makes its internal nutrients considerably more accessible during digestion than swallowing many of the seeds completely whole.
Grinding pumpkin, sunflower, and sesame seeds also creates the oils that give this spread its creamy consistency.
So I like keeping some seeds whole for crunch while grinding the majority into the jar.
You get both textures.
One Jar, Many Uses
Once this spread is in my refrigerator, it rarely stays limited to toast.
I stir it into oatmeal.
Add it to yogurt.
Spread it over pancakes.
Put a spoonful beside sliced apple.
Mix a little into overnight oats.
Or blend a tablespoon with banana, milk, and oats for a quick breakfast smoothie.
And because the flavor is concentrated, a relatively small spoonful goes a long way.
The Formula Worth Remembering
You really need only:
prunes + mixed seeds + warm water.
Everything else is customization.
Soak the prunes.
Toast the seeds.
Grind the seeds.
Add the fruit.
Add enough soaking liquid to make everything creamy.
Then choose your direction: cinnamon and cocoa for something deep and chocolatey, or orange zest and cardamom for something brighter and more aromatic.
It is simple, inexpensive, and wonderfully adaptable, but the thing I love most is that every spoonful still tastes unmistakably like the ingredients that went into the blender—sweet fruit, toasted seeds, and nothing unnecessarily complicated.
For more delicious and easy recipes, check out how to make ginger and lemon water: a fresh and easy recipe or even this 2-ingredient drink that helps you lose belly fat in just a few weeks.
