If you have never roasted pumpkin seeds before, you are definitely missing out on a delicious fall treat! Not only are they a great, mostly healthy snack, they are super easy to make, too!
Fall is notorious for pumpkins. Whether you grew them yourself in your backyard, meticulously pick them from a huge pumpkin patch, or grab one quickly on the way into the grocery store, pumpkins are everywhere this time of year.
You see all shapes and sizes decorating front porches and walkways. Before Halloween, many people carve out jack-o-lanterns and turn them into scary faces, ornate bats, and ghoulish ghosts. After Halloween comes Thanksgiving with its delicious pumpkin pies and other pumpkin dishes.
Whether you are carving pumpkins or using them for pies, you are left with ooey gooey guts and seeds galore that often just get tossed. While I agree that the guts belong in the compost bin or given as a snack for chickens, the seeds are well worth saving!
Find out how I turn these usually thrown-away items into a perfect fall snack. And once you have the base recipe down, you can make this treat your own using your favorite spices!
How To Make Easy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
I used to love carving pumpkins. Before kids, I’d spend hours bent over a perfectly picked-out pumpkin drawing and cutting. Once little kids entered the picture, I spent more time helping them get their pumpkins carved and less time on my own designs.
Before long, I stopped carving pumpkins altogether. I now enjoy watching the kids use their imaginations and create their own masterpieces.
It’s now my job to fish out all of the pumpkin seeds while my kids clean out the inside of the pumpkin. But even after Halloween, we still enjoy cutting up our pumpkin decorations and digging out the seeds specifically for this recipe.
While the rind and inside of the pumpkin usually go to our chickens as a treat, we keep the seeds for ourselves. A few of the seeds from the best pumpkins will be kept and dried out for planting next year, but most of them end up in my oven!
Ingredients For Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
*Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see the full recipe, including exact measurements and amounts. You can also print out the instructions. I go into a bit more detail about the recipe here first, just in case you need it.
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Melted Butter
- Salt
- Garlic Salt
Instructions
Start by separating the pumpkin seeds from the pulp (or, as we call it, the guts of the pumpkin). I do this by pinching the seeds between my thumb and folded pointer finger. The seeds will squirt out into a large bowl and the pulp will be left behind.
Once you have enough seeds, fill the bowl with warm water and use your hands to wash off the seeds. Really get in there and rub the seeds to help separate the pulp from the seeds.
Most of the pulp will settle to the bottom of the bowl while the seeds will float on top. It’s ok if some of the pulp still sticks to the seeds, just try to remove as much as possible. Drain off the water using a strainer.
Put the seeds back into the bowl and add enough clean water to cover the seeds. Sprinkle in a little bit of salt and stir to fully dissolve. Soak the seeds in this salt water mixture for around 10 to 15 minutes. This will help to flavor the inside of the seeds as well as help them dry out better.
Once the 10 minutes is up, drain off the water. Place the seeds in a single layer on a towel and allow them to dry overnight. You can use paper towels, but the seeds tend to stick to them after drying.
If you don’t want to wait overnight, dry the seeds as much as possible before roasting. Any additional moisture in the seeds will affect the drying time, so adjust that as needed.
The Next Day – Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
In the morning, preheat your oven to 300º Fahrenheit. Place the dried seeds back into a bowl. Don’t be surprised if the seeds stick slightly to the towel.
Next, stir the melted butter, salt, and garlic salt in a small bowl until well combined. Pour this over the seeds and stir with a spatula. Make sure you evenly coat all of the seeds. (We LOVE using Lawry’s garlic salt, but any brand is great for this recipe. Product Link: Lawry’s Coarse Ground with Parsley Garlic Salt)
Place the seeds in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. I usually lightly spray the foil with non-stick spray before adding the seeds. I also do a very light sprinkling of the garlic salt over the seeds before putting them in the oven, just to make sure all the seeds have a good coating of salt and flavoring!
Roasting The Seeds
Roast the seeds for 45 minutes. Every 15 minutes, take the tray out and stir the seeds around. This helps to roast the seeds evenly. The seeds might look like they are done at the 30-minute mark, but be sure to let them roast for the full 45 minutes. Again, if you didn’t dry your seeds overnight, they might need longer to roast before being done.
When the final timer goes off, pull the tray out and allow the seeds to cool slightly. (You can enjoy hearing a fun popping sound as the seeds cool down.) Once slightly cool, give one of the seeds a taste. It should snap in half easily and be a beautiful golden brown color. If the seeds are still a bit chewy, allow them to roast for an additional 15 minutes.
The seeds will last up to 2 weeks in a sealed container on your countertop or in your fridge. That is if they aren’t devoured before then! My favorite way to celebrate fall is to sit somewhere I can see the beautiful changing leaves on the trees, eating my pumpkin seeds, and sipping fresh homemade apple cider!
Feel free to try different seasoning combinations with this recipe. Once you have the main keys of the recipe down, you can really make this snack your own. I hope you enjoy this fall treat as much as our family does!
Until next time, thanks for stopping by!
– Chelsea
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Easy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients
- 2 cups pumpkin seeds washed and dried
- 1 ½ Tbsp butter melted
- 1 tsp salt separated
- ⅛ tsp garlic galt
Instructions
- Separate pumpkin seeds from the pulp. Wash seeds in water in a large bowl. The seeds should float whiel the pulp sinks to the bottom. Strain out the seeds.
- Add seeds back to the bowl and cover with clean water. Add ½ tsp salt and mix well until the salt has dissolved. Allow the seeds to soak in the salt water for 10 minutes.
- Drain the seeds completely and lay in a single layer on a kitchen towel to dry. Allow the seeds to dry for a couple hours or overnight.
- Once the seeds are as dry as possible, preheat oven to 300º Fahrenheit.
- Place dried seeds in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix melted butter, ½ tsp salt, and garlic salt. Pour over seeds and mix well so that all seeds are evenly coated.
- Pour seeds onto a foil-lined baking sheet that has been lightly sprayed with non-stick spray. Spread seeds out in a single layer.
- Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Seeds should be golden brown and crispy when done. Store for up to 2 weeks in a sealed container.