Perfectly Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe (Super Easy for Fall)
These easy roasted pumpkin seeds are a delicious fall snack and the perfect way to use leftover seeds from your pumpkin puree.
Don’t waste those delicious pumpkin seeds! This easy fall snack is perfect for enjoying by the fireplace, watching the sunset, or sharing with friends. Packed with protein, fiber, healthy fats, and antioxidants, roasted pumpkin seeds are a tasty and nutritious treat.
What are Pumpkin Seeds?
Pumpkin seeds are the edible seeds found inside pumpkins and make a delicious, healthy snack when roasted. They’re packed with protein, fiber, magnesium, healthy unsaturated fats, and antioxidants.
You can dry pumpkin seeds in the sun or roast them in the oven for a quick and crunchy treat. They also store well, making them perfect for fall. If you’re making pumpkin puree, don’t throw away the seeds—turn them into this easy roasted pumpkin seed snack instead!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Roasting pumpkin seeds brings back sweet childhood memories of growing up in Ukraine, where sharing sunflower seeds around a bonfire was a beloved pastime. Although roasted pumpkin seeds weren’t as common, they’ve always felt like a special treat.
Making them takes a little effort—scooping, cleaning, and roasting the seeds—but the crunchy, delicious result is well worth it. If you’re making homemade pumpkin puree this fall, don’t throw away the seeds! Roast them with a sprinkle of sea salt or enjoy them plain for an easy, nostalgic snack.
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 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 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 for 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
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.
Memories! Looking delicious!
I know. Thank you Natasha. 🙂