This Pumpkin Seeds Recipe is one of the easiest and most delicious fall snacks you can ever make! They're the best way to make use of all the seeds left over when roasting the pumpkin for the pumpkin puree during the Fall season.
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So don't waste the delicious goodness inside them, and try out this recipe for a special treat this fall.
They're fun to munch on while watching the ocean waves with a beautiful sunset or chatting with your best friends next to the fireplace. And what's best is that they're also incredibly healthy for you! They contain protein, fiber, unsaturated fat, and even antioxidants!
What are Pumpkin Seeds?
Pumpkin seeds are simply seeds that grow inside a pumpkin! When roasted and dried, they make for the perfect snack. Not only are they delicious little snacks, but they are also really healthy and good for you! They provide us with protein, unsaturated fat, magnesium, fiber, and even antioxidants!
These seeds are either dried in the sun or roasted in the oven for a quicker way to have your delicious snacks ready to go!
Since they store really well, they are the ideal snack for the fall season, especially if you've planned meals and desserts to make that call for pumpkin puree, I mean, why waste those seeds? Try this super easy recipe instead for one of my favorite snacks!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Roasting pumpkin seeds especially brings me a lot of sweet childhood memories. In my culture, sunflower seeds are an iconic pastime, especially when gathered in a group immersed in conversation.
And if there’s a bonfire, that’s the ultimate entertainment guaranteed to last all night. But Roasted Pumpkin Seeds are not too common. It’s something that doesn’t get made very often in the kitchen which makes it particularly special.
It takes a good amount of work scrounging them out of pumpkins, cleaning, roasting the seeds, and bringing them to the finished product. But they're seriously worth the effort!
Making these also brings me a lot of harvest memories, which was growing up in Ukraine, preparing and storing many varieties of crops not just for our family to eat, but for the farm animals to have in abundance during the cold winters.
As a child and even nowadays I love having Pumpkin Seeds as snacks; they are always still a treat at the end of a long day’s work.
If you like salty seeds, just add a little sea salt before roasting, but I like them plain. So, if you are using your pumpkin to make homemade pumpkin puree don't throw the seeds away and give this recipe a try!
Key Ingredients
There's only one ingredient you truly need to make the tastiest pumpkin seeds recipe at home:
Pumpkin: All you need is a single pumpkin that we can then use to get the seeds out and roast them to perfection! For different flavoring ideas, I have a whole section towards the end of this post that will help you customize the flavor according to your personal preferences.
For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below.
How to Make Pumpkin Seeds
The roasted Pumpkin Seeds recipe is super easy to make. Here's what you need to do step by step:
How to Remove Seeds from Pumpkin
First, start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Next, cut the pumpkin in half and remove all the seeds in a large bowl.
You don't need to use just a single pumpkin in this recipe, and you can use multiple at a time if you'd like to.
How to Clean Seeds Before Roasting
Next, place the raw seeds in a strainer or colander. Wash them under cold running water to remove any pulp that may be left on the seeds. If some flesh still remains, that's okay but try to get as much off as possible.
Let the water drain from the seeds and allow them to dry as much as possible using a kitchen towel to lightly tap them. This will help them crisp up even better while they're roasting as any water that's left behind will create steam and moisture in your oven and that's not what we want!
How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds
Now place them onto a baking sheet in a single layer. I usually don't line mine with parchment paper, but you can definitely do so to stay on the safe side if you'd like.
If you prefer your seeds salted, now is the time to add some salt to them. You can check out the variations section below for other ideas.
Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake the seeds for 30 minutes, mixing occasionally to prevent the seeds from burning. Then turn the oven off and let the seeds continue roasting for 1 hour or until the seeds are light golden brown and fully roasted.
Once done, remove from the oven. Let the seeds cool before having them.
Your delicious Pumpkin Seeds are ready to snack on!
Substitutions and Variations
These Pumpkin Seeds taste absolutely delicious without even any salt! And that's how I personally prefer them, but you might like them some other way.
Luckily, it's incredibly easy to customize them according to your preferences. Here are some great ideas are you to try out:
Pumpkin pie spice seeds: Nothing says fall like pumpkin pie spice, and this tasty spice blend goes beautifully with pumpkin seeds.
Spices: You can also try your hand with some other spices that you may like to customize the flavor and even change things up from time to time. Cinnamon does really well here, but you can also go for some other spices like cayenne pepper, paprika, or curry powder for a spicier taste.
Olive oil: To make them crispier, you can even lightly coat them in some olive oil before popping them in the oven to roast.
Other winter squashes: Pumpkin isn't the only one you can get seeds out of! In fact, you can follow this recipe for any other type of winter squash you like best, including butternut squash.
How to Store Leftovers
These roasted pumpkin seeds store incredibly well. Allow them to completely cool before you store them though, to maintain the delicious crisp texture.
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks or you can even store them in the fridge for up to two months!
Recipes with Pumpkin You'll Enjoy
Recipe Card
Perfectly Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe (Super Easy for Fall)
Ingredients
- 1 pumpkin
Instructions
How to Remove Seeds from Pumpkin
- First, start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Next, cut the pumpkin in half and remove all the seeds in a large bowl.
- You don't need to use just a single pumpkin in this recipe, and you can use multiple at a time if you'd like to.
How to Clean Seeds Before Roasting
- Next, place the raw seeds in a strainer or colander. Wash them under cold running water to remove any pulp that may be left on the seeds. If some flesh still remains, that's okay but try to get as much off as possible.
- Let the water drain from the seeds and allow them to dry as much as possible using a kitchen towel to lightly tap them. This will help them crisp up even better while they're roasting as any water that's left behind will create steam and moisture in your oven and that's not what we want!
How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds
- Now place them onto a baking sheet in a single layer. I usually don't line mine with parchment paper, but you can definitely do so to stay on the safe side if you'd like.
- If you prefer your seeds salted, now is the time to add some salt to them. You can check out the variations section below for other ideas.
- Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven to 325 F and bake the seeds for 30 minutes, mixing occasionally to prevent the seeds from burning. Then turn the oven off and let the seeds continue roasting for 1 hour or until the seeds are light golden brown and fully roasted.
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This recipe was originally posted on October 9, 2015 (original picture below), and updated for a better user experience. The post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure.
Natasha says
Memories! Looking delicious!
valya'stasteofhome.com says
I know. Thank you Natasha. 🙂