How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds
Fall comes around and the first thing I look at in the grocery store are those little cooking pumpkins to make easy pumpkin seeds roasted in the oven.
When I decided to start eating seasonally, the first seasonal food I incorporated was roasted pumpkin seeds made from our carved Halloween pumpkin. I had them so why let them go to waste?
Fast forward a few years and now I’m buying small pumpkins as long as they are available just to make yummy roasted pumpkin seeds. They don’t last more than one day in my house and if they do it’s because I hid them. Not even kidding. Everyone in the family goes wild for them.
My son was recovering from a sore throat and not eating well … go figure the one food he was all over was my newly roasted pumpkin seeds. I had hopes of them laying the entire week for school snacks, but alas, little kids have other plans.
He would come by the table as they were cooling down, reach up and get away with a good handful.
Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds
While not traditionally a food that comes to mind when you are feeling sick, there’s a good reason my youngest went after pumpkin seeds while feeling under the weather.
Pumpkin seeds are packed with nutrients. While they don’t have any one specific nutrient in high doses, pumpkin seeds are known for the fact that they have a wide variety of antioxidants and minerals. There’s a little bit of everything in there from many types of vitamin E (there are 8 different kinds of vitamin E by the way 😉 ), phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, and copper. They are a decent source of zinc and iron.
They are known as nature’s multivitamins.
Plus they are antiviral and anti-microbial … a perfect food to reach for if you’re fighting something off.
And that’s why I secretly did want him to have as many pumpkin seeds as he wanted! I love it when I catch my kiddos listening to their bodies.
How to make these savory roasted pumpkin seeds in the oven
If you’ve ever wondered how to make roasted pumpkin seeds, it’s pretty easy. Literally, it’s only 5 steps when you think about it … de-seed, wash, rinse, season, and bake
And the best part is that this is one recipe you’re not stuck making alone.
Step 1
First, to prepare your pumpkin seeds for eating, you’ll need to carve them out of the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin into quarters to expose the seeds. I love using a soup spoon to scoop out the seeds into a strainer.
Step 2
Wash the seeds and get rid of the strings as best you can. A quick note, you don’t need to peel the white coating/shell off your pumpkin seeds before roasting them.
Step 3
Rinse and dry. The pumpkin seeds don’t need to be fully dry before roasting them. However, I do recommend you do your best to pat them dry with a towel or paper towel. If your seeds are too wet, they might still be a bit chewy after roasting.
Sep 4
Add your savoury seasoning to your pumpkin seeds.
Step 5
Bake your batch of pumpkin seeds in the oven at 350 degrees. They are done when they turn a pale golden colour. To really confirm they are done, we always have at least two little volunteers to eat one whole pumpkin seed and let us know if they are nice and crispy. If they are still chewy, place them back in the oven in increments of 2 minutes at a time.
Best seasoning for pumpkin seeds
There are so many seasoning combinations:
Olive oil, sea salt, and paprika
Olive oil, sea salt, and a splash of cumin
Olive oil, sea salt, and onion powder
Olive oil, sea salt, and garlic powder
For more flavour ideas see these 20 ways to season your pumpkin seeds post.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe
PREP TIME 20 minutes
COOK TIME 30 minutes
TOTAL TIME 50 minutes
Ingredients
1 small organic pumpkin (or your carved pumpkin)
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of paprika
Instructions
If saving the seeds from your Halloween carving pumpkin, scoop them out in a bowl. Don’t worry about the stringies, we will get those out next.
If using a smaller cooking pumpkin, make a straight cut across the pumpkin. Cut in quarters. Scrape the seeds and all the stringies into a bowl. You can use the pumpkin quarters to make pumpkin puree.
Preheat the over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
Remove the seeds from the strings and place them in another bowl to give them a rinse.
Place the seeds on a paper towel or on a kitchen towel and pat them dry. This will give them a nice crisp from the roasting process
Place seeds on the baking sheet. Add the oil and paprika and using your hands mix the seeds with the seasoning until each seed is coated.
Place in the oven for 30 minutes. It will depend on how big and thick they are and on your oven. They are done when they won’t be chewy when you eat them.
Enjoy!
Until next time … stay rooted and be true to your rhythm.
xox,
