Nothing says Fall more than homemade pumpkin seeds straight from the jack-o-lantern! Making roasted pumpkin seeds is a lot easier than you think!
The shelled versions of these homemade pumpkin seeds (a.k.a. pepitas) are excellent additions to salads like Kale Quinoa Salad, Creamy Coleslaw, and Red Leaf Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette.
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Are Pumpkin Seeds Healthy?
Most seeds are excellent sources of potassium, magnesium, and calcium. Feel free to put toasted pumpkin seeds in muffins, breads, and even pancakes! If you are following a low carb or keto diet, pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of healthy fats!
Can You Eat the Whole Pumpkin Seed?
You could (and I usually do), but others find the best way of eating pumpkin seeds is shelled, like sunflower seeds. If you are baking with them, make sure they are shelled first!
Roasted shelled pumpkin seeds, or pepitas, can be expensive to buy, so look for bulk pepitas, or make roasted pepitas yourself when carving jack-o-lanterns in late October.
Preparing Pumpkin Seeds
Scrape them from the inside of a pumpkin prior to carving by scooping them out with an ice cream scoop or a sturdy spoon.
How to Clean Pumpkin Seeds
Cleaning pumpkin seeds is easy. Simply put them in a colander and rinse them to release the stringy flesh and separate them from each other. Then you are ready for the cooking stage!
How Do You Roast Pumpkin Seeds
Baking pumpkin seeds is easy:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with pan release
- Rinse pumpkin seeds in a colander and separate them from the stringy flesh
- Lay them on a paper towel and pat them dry
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Add seasoning and roast according to the recipe below
How Long to Bake Pumpkin Seeds
Roast the pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet to initially dry them out, about 15 minutes. Remove them and toss with olive oil and any seasonings you may like (see suggestions below).
Return the seeds to the baking sheet and roast for another 5 minutes or so. Give them a shake to turn them over and continue to roast, tossing every 5 minutes or so, until they are golden brown and the salt (or seasoning blend) is baked onto the shell.
Cooking pumpkin seeds takes a total of 30-40 minutes.
My Favorite Pumpkin Seed Seasoning Blends
Making them takes a bit of know-how but eating them is easy! There are a ton of different ways to season them, too! You can roast them lightly salted, spicy, or sweetly flavored with cinnamon sugar!
- Cinnamon Sugar
- BBQ Seasoning
- Tex-Mex Taco Seasoning
- Fajita Chile Seasoning
- Ranch Seasoning
- Dill Pickle Seasoning
- Powdered Cocoa Mix
- Garlic Seasoning
My hubby really loves spicy pumpkin seeds, and my daughter, of course, loves cinnamon pumpkin seeds. I love sweet and spicy with a hint of garlic!
I almost forgot to mention pumpkin pie spice! Pumpkin seeds flavored with pumpkin pie seasoning is so delicious, reminiscent of Pumpkin Pie Crunch (one of my favorite desserts)!
Store them in a sealed container for about 3 months. I like to use mason jars with (my favorite!) mason jar caps to store them in the cupboard or another cool dry place. If you’d like to keep roasted pumpkin seeds longer, store them in the freezer in a zip top bag or a reusable Stasher style bag.
Enjoy these perfect pumpkin seeds after a night of trick or treating! They really are the perfect Halloween treat!
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups pumpkin seeds from fresh pumpkin
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil (approximately, adjust to lightly coat seeds)
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Add parchment paper to a baking tray.
- Wash pumpkin seeds and pat dry. Add to baking tray.
- Roast at 375°F for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the oven to 350°F.
- Add a small amount of olive oil to the seeds (just enough to lightly coat the pumpkin seeds) and shake the baking tray to coat the seeds. Lightly salt (more to be added later). Return to oven.
- Shake baking tray every 5 minutes or so until the seeds are golden brown (approximately 15-25 minutes). Salt to taste. Enjoy!
Notes
- Scoop pumpkin seeds, from the inside of a pumpkin prior to carving, with an ice cream scoop or a sturdy spoon.
- Clean pumpkin seeds by rinsing in a colander under cool water. This will release the stringy flesh and separate seeds from each other.
- The number of seeds in a pumpkin will vary. Adjust the amount of oil used to just lightly coat the seeds.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information does not include optional ingredients or garnish and is an estimate. It may change based on actual ingredients and cooking methods used.
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