Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Homemade roasted pumpkin seeds are the highlight of pumpkin carving day. Save your pumpkin seeds and make a frugal, crunchy snack with plenty of flavor options!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Category: Snacks
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
Instructions
- Clean as much of the pumpkin flesh from the seeds as possible. Reserve the flesh for homemade pumpkin puree, or add to the compost pile.
- In a colander, rinse the cleaned pumpkin seeds very well, removing any additional strings or flesh. This is tedious, but the cleaner the seeds, the better the end result.
- Over the stove, bring a pot of water to a boil. The size of the pot depends on how many seeds you have, but you want something big enough to hold the seeds, plus some wiggle room.
- Preheat oven to 300F.
- Add the cleaned seeds to the pot of boiling water and cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove seeds and strain well. Place seeds on a dish towel and pat dry. They won’t be completely dry – you just want to remove the excess moisture.
- Place seeds in a large bowl and add 1-2 tsp of olive oil, depending on how many seeds you’re roasting.
- Spread seeds evenly on a large cookie sheet. Some of the seeds will overlap, but try to make a single layer if at all possible. Sprinkle with salt – liberally if you’re like me.
- Roast in the oven for 40-55 minutes, stirring and flipping after the first 15 minutes, and then every 10 minutes until they are done.
- Seeds are done when they are crispy and lightly browned. Be careful to not let them cook too long. Dark brown seeds taste burned, so you don’t want them to get any darker than medium brown.
- Store seeds in an airtight container in the pantry. They’re best the day they’re roasted, but will still be good for a day or two.
Notes
- The cleaner and drier your seeds are before roasting, the better they’ll turn out. Excess moisture creates steam in the oven and makes the roasted pumpkin seeds take longer to crisp up. Dried pumpkin seeds roast faster!
- Boiling your seeds in saltwater helps the salt get into the inner part of the seed and gives it a more well-rounded flavor. Boiling before roasting also helps the seeds roast more evenly.
- Look for a golden color. Dark brown pumpkin seeds taste burned, so you don’t want them to get any darker than a medium golden brown.
- This method for roasted pmpkin seeds also works for other winter squash seeds! Try making roasted butternut squash seeds or acorn squash seeds the next time you’re cooking with those vegetables.
