The first time I roasted pumpkin seeds, I burned the crap out of them.
It was heart-breaking, especially since I wasn’t convinced it was even worth the effort in the first place. All that seed cleaning and pumpkin de-stringing – I didn’t even get to enjoy the fruits of my labour. Hrmph.
Here is the part that no one told me about: The inner seeds cook much faster than the outer shell. I kept peeking in the oven and everything looked fine on the outside. Little did I know, the inner seeds were burnt to smithereens.
Well, thank goodness I didn’t give up after that first miserable attempt! My life just wouldn’t be complete without roasted pumpkin seeds.
I’m happy to say, the second batch didn’t just work, it blew my mind! The cup of seeds I roasted did not last long between the two of us. Every pass by the kitchen was an excuse to grab a crispy handful off the pan.
Today, I’m sharing my secrets for a fantastic batch of roasted pumpkin seeds. If you’ve ever doubted they were worth the effort or had so-so results, I beg you to try this one last time. Only I know it won’t be the last time, but the start of a life-long obsession. Watch out pumpkins, we’re coming for ya!
How To Roast Pumpkin Seeds:
1. Clean the seeds. The annoying-but-necessary task is that you have to meticulously clean the seeds until there are no signs of pumpkin guts. The best way to do this (that I have discovered from your comments!) is to plunk the seeds + guts into a big bowl of water and use your hands to break it apart. The seeds will float to the top of the water! They clean much faster this way.
Note: Some of you say that sugar pumpkin seeds yield much crispier seeds than carving pumpkins. I used sugar pumpkin seeds and mine were certainly super crispy!
2. Boil for 10 minutes in salt water. Using Elise’s method for inspiration, I added the pumpkin seeds to a medium-sized pot of water along with 1 tsp salt. Bring it to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes over low-medium heat. Apparently, this method helps make the pumpkin seeds easier to digest and produces a crispy outer shell during roasting. If you are short on time, you can totally skip this step! They will still turn out lovely.
3. Drain the seeds in a colander and dry lightly with a paper towel or tea towel. The seeds will stick to the towel, but just rub them off with your fingers. Don’t worry, they don’t have to be bone dry – just a light pat down.
4. Spread seeds onto a baking sheet and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil (I only needed to use about 1/2-1 tsp). Massage oil into seeds and add a generous sprinkle of Herbamare (or fine grain sea salt will do). Try to spread out the seeds as thin as possible with minor overlapping.
5. Roast seeds at 325°F for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and stir. Roast for another 8-10 minutes (if your oven temp is wonky, this bake time could vary a lot!). During the last 5 minutes of roasting, remove a few seeds and crack open to make sure the inner seeds are not burning (you don’t want the inner seed brown). Cool a couple and pop them into your mouth to test. They are ready when the shell is super crispy and easy to bite through. The inner seed should have only a hint of golden tinge to it. They should not be brown.
6. EAT! Remove from oven, add a bit more Herbamare, and dig in! Ah, so good, so good! There is no need to remove the outer shell; it’s quite possibly the best part.
I had no idea I was going to love freshly roasted pumpkin seeds so much. I love how crispy the outer shell is and how fun it is to crunch. They taste a bit like popcorn, but they are much crunchier, filling, and of course packed with nutrition.
Yes, pumpkin seeds are super healthy for you! They are packed with iron, magnesium, fibre, zinc, potassium, healthy fats, protein, and tryptophan (which can boost your mood and help you sleep). Vegans & vegetarians have been using pumpkin seeds for years as a natural source of iron. I think it’s just about my favourite way to get iron, next to Iron Woman Gingerbread Smoothies, of course. Be sure to pair it with Vitamin C to absorb the most iron you can.
7. Share with some very lucky people! (but chose them wisely…)
I promise you’ll never throw the seeds out again.
I want to buy pumpkins just to be able to roast another batch of seeds. And of course, make homemade pumpkin puree. I’m already looking forward to making some different flavour combos – maybe garlic powder, cayenne, rosemary, brown sugar or cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, etc would both be nice to try out? I can’t wait to experiment…many ideas are a-swirlin’ in my…stomach.
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What spices would YOU put on your roasted pumpkin seeds?
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How to Roast Pumpkin and Seeds
Yield
4 cups flesh, 3/4 cup seeds
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This is my go-to method for roasting a sugar pumpkin and its seeds at the same time! Most recipes tend to provide instructions on roasting them separately, but I wanted to come up with directions on how to roast them both simultaneously. And, luckily, I've discovered it couldn't be easier.
Ingredients
- 1 sugar pumpkin (2 1/2 to 3 pounds)*
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Pink salt, fine sea salt, or Herbamare
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C) and place two racks near the centre of the oven. Grab two rimmed medium-sized baking sheets and line one of them with parchment paper.
- Fill a medium-sized bowl with water and set aside. Lie an absorbent towel onto the counter next to the bowl.
- Slice off the pumpkin stem and discard.
- Place the pumpkin, cut side down, onto a cutting board. Carefully slice the pumpkin in half.
- Scoop out the pumpkin seeds and flesh/strings and place it all into the bowl of water. The seeds will float to the top (like magic!). Using your hands, grab the big chunks of flesh and pick off any attached seeds. Place the seeds back into the bowl of water. Discard/compost the chunks of flesh.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the seeds. Let excess water drip off and then place the seeds onto the towel. Blot dry (the seeds don’t have to be bone dry and it’s okay if there are some strands attached—they add flavour!).
- Spread the seeds onto the baking sheet without the parchment and toss with 1 teaspoon of oil. Spread the seeds out into a single layer and sprinkle with salt.
- Mist or spread oil all over the inside of each pumpkin half and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place each half cut-side down onto the lined baking sheet.
- Place both sheets into the oven with the seeds on the lower rack. Roast at 325°F (160°C) for 20 minutes then remove the seeds and taste test a couple. As long as the inner seeds aren't tasting burned, you can keep roasting them. I usually return the seeds to the oven for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the seeds and cool.
- Leave the pumpkin in the oven and increase the oven temp to 350°F (180°C). Continue roasting the pumpkin for another 12 minutes or so, until fork-tender. (The timing may vary based on how large and fresh your pumpkin is.) At this point you can slice it up and serve it as a side vegetable with your meal, or process/blend the flesh to make homemade pumpkin purée.
Tip:
- * One sugar pumpkin (roughly 2 3/4 pounds) yields about 4 cups (720 g) of roasted pumpkin flesh and 3/4 cup (75 g) seeds.
Can you do it with a small pumkin
I found using a fresh pumpkin makes for easy cleaning of the seeds. The longer the pumpkin has sat around the more the seeds ‘cling’ to the ‘guts’.
can any one tell me after which step would I add the cinnamon and sugar? and how much butter and all that to add last time I tried without a recipe and they urned out soggy ugh..doin pumpkins in 2 or 3 hrs from now with my yr old son for the first time please help!! lol
Do you eat the shells?
How long can you save the seeds before roasting? How do u preserve them until you are ready to roast them?
Today I boiled the seeds with the pesky hardest-to-remove guts still on them, and they were MUCH easier to remove than last week, when I tried to remove before boiling. (You are right, Girlytoes!) Today the guts practically removed themselves. Love your site, Angela. Thank you.
I just carved two huge pumpkins with my sweetie and baked up two batches of these, boiled and all. I did the first one with olive oil, salt, and pepper and it smells like french fries and the second batch is olive oil, cinnamon (lots of cinnamon) and brown sugar. My whole house smells like happiness!
Hi there! Just wanted to say thank you for this easy-peasy recipe! My mom used to roast pumpkin seeds from our carved pumpkins every year when I was little, and I have been wanting to do the same for my kids for a long time. This year I finally went for it and googled a recipe. Yours popped up first and I’m so glad it did! They taste perfect and remind me so much of my mom’s. Happy Halloween and thank you again!
Amanda :)
Use Pumpkin Oil instead of Olive Oil for
a much better flavor!
Omg this is a way too eat seeds lol..my daughter just loves them. She is just sitting there waiting pasting the floor for theem
If you don’t have any olive oil on hand, could you use vegetable oil? Or what would be another usable substitute?
You can use any oil you prefer – I think coconut oil would be nice too :)
Absolutely the best Pumpkin Seed Recipe I’ve come across. Look no further, this one is simple, quick and very addictive!
This was so helpful, thank you!
And you don’t have to “waste” a pumpkin if you want seeds. I love to make squash soup, and I always roast the butternut squash seeds. They are very tender and crispy, and make a fun garnish for the top of the soup.
The best pumpkin seeds I have ever had.
I love how easy it was to follow your instructions. Thank you. I have always wanted to make roasted pumpkin seeds, but frankly I was scared. They turn out great, thanks to you.
As I was separating the seeds from the pulp last night I was wondering why I was even bothering, as I haven’t had good results in the past and the seeds would sit around until I finally put them in the compost! This method worked great for me and now I can’t stop eating them! By the way I love your site and recipes and was so pleased when yours was the first to pop up in my google search for pumpkin seeds!
I used 1 tsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1/2 tsp each of garlic powder, cayenne, ginger and cinnamon, 1/4 tsp salt and a dash of black pepper on about 2 cups of seeds. I had to roast them a little longer to get the coating to dry out and crisp up. I was trying to model them after trader joe’s sweet and spicy pecans, highly recommend this combination! Thank you! (:
Following the recipe to a T. Going on 25 minutes in the oven and still not crisp. Tested at 15 minutes and nowhere close to being done on the inside either. Oven is set at 325 degrees but our oven tends to run hot. Which is why we have an oven thermometer in the oven. It says 350 degrees.
I use butter instead of olive oil, sea salt, and sprinkle some adobo sinpimienta on them (it’s a sort of garlic mexican allspice). They turn out incredible.
I used large pumpkin seeds from the biggest pumpkin we found this year. After these cook times they were still soggy and a bit raw. I just added another 10 minutes and they came out really well. :)
Have tried making these before and met with failure. Thought I’d try again and when I saw this in the google search, knew I had to try. Glad I did! Thanks for posting because this batch turned out amazing.