It’s easy to roast pumpkin seeds, once you’re done carving your Halloween pumpkins! With a few common ingredients, you can enjoy this simple crunchy snack!
I love this snack! How cool is it that not only can we carve and decorate pumpkins for the Fall season, but we can roast and eat the seeds, too! Today I’m happy to show you how easy it is to roast pumpkin seeds!
Do you roast pumpkin seeds? When I was little, my mom would occasionally make this snack before Halloween. I love the slightly salty crunch of a pumpkin seed roasted just right! Pumpkins are beginning to make their annual appearance at grocery stores and Farmers Markets all over town!
This seems like the right time to post a quick “how to”, in case you’ve never made your own, and want to learn how! You can certainly add additional spices to the basic roasted pumpkin seeds to make them taste just how you like them. This is simply the basic “how to”.
Scroll Down For a Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page
First you will need to carefully cut your pumpkin open. You can use any kind of traditional pumpkin you want. You will definitely want to put newspaper or some other paper (wax or parchment) under the pumpkin, cause it can get a bit messy! My favorite tip for getting seeds to roast AND pumpkin puree from the pumpkins is below.
You Can Also Make Pumpkin Puree From Your Pumpkin
Not only can you roast seeds, you can make pumpkin puree from fresh pumpkins! My recommendation is to use “pie” or “sugar” pumpkins (smaller variety of pumpkins) if you want to roast pumpkin seeds AND use the “meat” of the pumpkin to make puree to store in the freezer.
“Pie” or “Sugar” pumpkins have less water content in their flesh, so they make a far less watery pumpkin puree, which is desirable. By freezing the puree you can have it ready to use in various recipes throughout the year.
If you’re interested in how to make puree from your pumpkin, check out my post on How To Make Pumpkin Puree. Pumpkin puree is wonderful to use for pumpkin muffins, scones, bread, coffeecake, etc.
How To Roast Pumpkin Seeds
Now… back to the SEEDS: After you cut your pumpkin open, and before you can roast pumpkin seeds, you need to remove the seeds and the “guts”.
Two Methods For Removing Pumpkin Seeds
There are two ways to separate the seeds from the stringy “guts”. One way is to put that “BLOB” into a strainer and slowly pull the seeds away from the guts by hand, then give the seeds a good rinse. This is the method I typically use.
The other method is to put the seeds/guts into a large deep bowl, fill it with water, and remove seeds with your hands from the “guts”. The seeds should float to the top once they are separated from the “guts”, then you can just scoop or skim them up.
Give the seeds a good rinse, then place them in a single layer on 3-4 layers of paper towels or a couple dish towels to drain a bit.
Spread the pumpkin seeds out in a single layer on several layers of paper towels or a couple dish towels. Once spread out, let the pumpkin seeds dry for an hour. Make sure they get nice and dry.
Toss the dried seeds with oil. Sprinkle with salt (side note: try these sometime substituting seasoning salt for regular salt), and stir, to combine. Spread the seasoned seeds out into a single layer on a large (13×9 or larger) baking sheet.
Roast Pumpkin Seeds In Oven
Cook the pumpkin seeds for about 20-25 minutes at 325 degrees F. When you hit the 15 minute mark, give the seeds a good stir, then spread back out again. At the 20 minute mark, give them another stir.
Keep a close eye on them so they don’t overcook and burn. The average coking time is 25 minutes… the roast pumpkin seeds are done when light golden brown and crunchy.
When done, remove pan from oven. Let the cooked pumpkin seeds cool completely, then eat! Be sure to store the finished pumpkin seeds in an airtight covered container or resealable plastic bag. That’s all you need to do… see how easy it is to roast pumpkin seeds?
We enjoy snacking on the seeds, and occasionally I will throw a few into a salad for added crunch. I figure if you’re gonna go to the trouble and mess of carving a pumpkin (cause it’s FUN!!), why not get an added bonus of roasted pumpkin seeds to snack on, too?!!
No hard work is required for this simple snack. A printable recipe is further below, but here is the basic “process” to roast pumpkin seeds:
Hope you’ll give this recipe for how to roast pumpkin seeds a try when carving your Fall pumpkins this year! Enjoy! Have a great day, and don’t forget to check out ALL my recipes in the Recipe Index,located at the top of the page.
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- 2 cups pumpkin seeds
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (or canola oil)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (or more), to taste
Remove seeds from pumpkin. Rinse seeds thoroughly; remove stringy pumpkin flesh from seeds.
Place pumpkin seeds in single layer on several layers of paper towels or dish towels to absorb water. Let pumpkin seeds completely dry (approx. 1 hour).
Once completely dry, mix pumpkin seeds with oil and salt in large bowl. Stir well, to cover seeds with oil and salt (or any additional spices you may wish to add).
Spread pumpkin seeds out in a single layer on a 13x9 baking sheet. Bake in preheated 325°F oven for approximately 20-25 minutes. Halfway through the baking time, give the seeds a good stir, then spread out into single layer again, and place back in oven. When done, the seeds should be light golden brown and crispy. Remove from oven. Remove seeds from baking sheet once cooled.
Store roasted pumpkin seeds in an airtight covered container or resealable plastic bag to ensure seeds stay crunchy. Enjoy!
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!