Spring Sandwiches with Sunflower Cream ‘Cheese’
Spring Sandwiches with Sunflower Cream ‘Cheese’- sprouted sunflower seeds pack this dairy-free cream ‘cheese’ full of vital nutrients like magnesium, selenium, vitamin E, and copper. Topped with avocado, radishes, shredded carrot, shaved asparagus and watercress; these sandwiches are bursting with flavor and nutrition!
I hope your weather was as beautiful as ours was this weekend. It’s finally starting to feel like spring around these parts. Hallelujah!
Besides the weather, what’s most exciting about this time of year is the return of our local farmers market. It’s so popular that we have to wake up at the crack of dawn to get there before all of the good stuff is gone. But it’s totally worth it, in my opinion.
That’s saying a lot coming from someone who is the opposite of a morning person. I guess I’d do just about anything for good food, including waking up when it’s dark outside on a Saturday morning.
Speaking of good food, we need to chat about sprouted sunflower seeds. These little gems came from Nuts.com, an online store that makes buying healthy ingredients in bulk both easy and accessible to everyone.
What’s great about their sprouted sunflower seeds is that they’ve been dried at low temperatures to reduce the amount of phytic acid which can improve mineral absorption and make the seeds easier to digest. That’s super important considering sunflower seeds are little nutritional powerhouses packed full of minerals that many Americans are deficient like magnesium, selenium and copper.
Turning sunflower seeds into a creamy, cheesy spread is as simple as blending them with water, lemon juice, garlic powder and salt. The texture won’t be quite as firm as store-bought cream cheese, but you could achieve that by allowing it to sit in a cheesecloth over a bowl for several hours so that the excess liquid drains out. I’m too lazy for all that nonsense though.
To round out a perfect spring sandwich, I like spread it on whole grain bread topped with shredded carrot, pickled radishes, shaved asparagus, creamy avocado and fresh watercress. It makes for such a delicious and healthy combo.
If you’re not up for the pickling step, you can also use raw radishes or onion instead. That makes the sandwiches come together quick and easy. Cheers to spring!
Spring Sandwiches with Sunflower Cream 'Cheese'
Yield: 4 sandwiches
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
For the Sunflower Cream ‘Cheese’
- 1 cup sprouted sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
For the Sandwiches
- watercress
- pickled radishes/onion (see notes)
- shredded carrot
- shaved asparagus
- mashed avocado
- whole grain artisan bread
Directions:
In a high speed blender or NutriBullet, combine the sunflower seeds, lemon juice, water, salt & garlic powder. Blend until smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Add a tablespoon of water at a time to help thin, if needed. Careful not to add too much water. Taste test and more salt, garlic powder, or lemon juice, as desired. Scoop out into a bowl and set aside.
Spread a thick layer of sunflower cream ‘cheese’ on one side of bread. Top with carrot, asparagus and radishes. Spread the avocado on one side of the other piece of bread and top with watercress. Press the two pieces together, slice in half, serve and enjoy!
For the pickled radishes/onion you’ll need:
- 4 medium to large radishes, thinly sliced (or 1 small onion, thinly sliced)
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Combine red wine vinegar, water, salt and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Allow to cook for 5 mins then remove from heat and set aside to cool. Place radishes (or onion) in a jar then pour liquid over top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.
This post is sponsored by Nuts.com but all text and opinions are entirely my own. Thank you for supporting this site and the brands that help me to bring you quality content!
Did you try this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out by leaving a comment below or sharing a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #makingthymeforhealth. I love hearing your feedback!
I want all of these things in my life right now. Last week was a giant mess of nothing but carbs and cheese, so my mouth is literally watering at the sight of vegetables right now haha. Our farmer’s market has started again too and it’s so great! I’m starting my veggie garden research, too. Bring on the warm weather!
I’m sending lots of good veggie growing vibes your way! ;)
It’s sunny today but it’ll be rainy the rest of the week…I’m going to savor all the sun I can today! It sounds worth getting up at the crack of dawn to grab all of the great produce at the farmer’s market too…I can’t wait until ours starts next month. :) I love veggie sandwiches so much and that sunflower cream cheese sounds amazing as well as the pickled radishes. I’d love to eat this for lunch about every day!
I’m surprised yours even takes a break in Cali! There were a few in the East Bay that keep up year round. I sure do miss that!
I love veggies sandwiches like this. It is the epitome of Spring. :) Such vibrant colors, too. Love it!
Thanks, Kelli! Hope you are enjoying the California sunshine! :)
And I’d be right there with you, at the crack of dawn, for those fresh veggies! We’ve a little under a month for our markets to open! I’m super excited! Now, these sandwiches are absolutely divine. Those Nuts.com sunflower seeds are incredible and I love how you’ve turned them into a luxurious cream ‘cheese’. So delicious and creative. This sandwich is just beautiful… shredding the shaving the asp. and shredding the carrots is so smart! Beautiful work, Sarah!
Thanks so much, Traci! I had trouble finding thick asparagus so it’s more like shaved asparagus pieces, lol. But it still works! ;)
These look delicious! I’m wondering if one could just lesson the amount of water or lemon juice to make it thicker? No sign of spring in my Canadian neck of the woods so I’m just going to eat these and think spring.
Thanks Lisa! As far as the water content, you could use less but the trouble is getting it to blend smoothly. You need at least that much liquid to get things moving. But you can use a cheesecloth and strain the cream afterwards. That will firm it up more like packaged cream cheese!
Sunflower cream cheese?!? Ohh yes please! This is so creative and I would have NEVER thought to use sunflower seeds as a base for “cheese”. Just genius!!
So colorful and tasty recipe Sarah. I am trying to imagine this recipe for my breakfast on Sunday. :)
Sandwiches are one my super simple go-to dinners when my day is crazy. I just throw in any veggies that I have on hand, like baby spinach, avocado, tomato & red onion. Your sunflower cream cheese sounds tasty!
And I can’t believe how crowded your famers’ market gets! I’m heading to my favorite one this weekend to meet up with a friend who will be in town… Looking forward to it! It’s always fun just to stroll the market, try samples & nab some local goodies.
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Can’t wait to make this. Does one have to use “sprouted” sunflower seeds? Or can just raw sunflower seeds be used?
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