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.
To rinse pumpkin seeds,dump thme in a pot of water and swish them around 90 % of the guts will fall off,the seeds wil float to the top,then put in a coleander with bigger holes and swish again,that loosend any left over guts,then you just have to pull off a few strays,then follow through with what you do which i’m going to try this weekend,your is the best way so far..Thank you!!!!
If you still want to clean your pumpkin seeds,I put about about 2 cups in a gallon milk jug, filled about 80 perent full with hot water put on the lid and shook vigorously. Strain through a sieve that will easily catch the pumkin seeds , but will let something the size of a pea pass.
So this year I was carving pumpkins with my kids while out somewhere. We wanted the seeds for roasting, so I put all the guts of the pumpkins in one great big rubbermaid container and took it home. By the time we got home it was too late to roast pumpkin seeds, so I filled the container with cold water and went to bed. When we got up the next morning, much to our surprise, all the pumpkin strings (aka guts) had sunk to the bottom, while all the seeds had floated to the top! That was the easiest I have ever seen to seperate the seeds! I will definitely try your recipe! Thanks
I love this! Will have to try it out :)
:) Excellent!
after i patted dry i put back in the colander and added just a drop or two of the olive oil and swished them around then onto the sheet that i had used a paper towel to put the oil on and wipe down as to not get too much..WALA!
I roast just about every variety of squash seed. Who says you have to limit yourself to just pumpkin! I just used your boiling method on a batch of spaghetti squash seeds. (After a dinner last night of spaghetti squash topped with homemade tomato pepper sauce). I also roast my butternut squash seeds too. They all turn out crispy and crunchy. I love this time of year!
Another good recipe – have you ever made dinner in your pumpkin? Clean out a medium sugar pie pumpkin(about 5 -7 lbs.) and fill with cooked chicken sausage, zucchini, 1 cup rice, 1 can diced tomatoes with juice, and a drizzle of olive oil. Place the lid back on top (securely so rice can cook), place on a baking tray, and put the whole thing in the oven. 350 degrees for about 1 1/2 hrs. or until rice is cooked. So good! When you scoop it out you dig into the sides and get pumpkin too. My favorite use of a pumpkin!
Never had to boil them and they came out fine. After rinsing in a sieve instead of colander I put them in a a salad spinner, give them a good spin to get excess water off them, this eliminates having to peel them off the paper towel. I grind up some good sea salt in a mortar and pestle, not too much, just to get it a bit finer. Leave the seeds slightly damp(the salt will stick better). Salt lightly. Roast at 300 for 18 minutes, flop ’em, roast another 10 minutes. Test a few. They should be awesome, crunchy, nutty flavor. Seeds from carving pumpkins are just as good, ask my daughter, she loves ’em. And yes, eating the shell is ok, unless you have gut issues like fissures, chronic diverticulitis, lower bowel issues. I prefer to crack ’em, but that’s just me. :)
Pumpkin guts + water + Stand Mixer on low for a minute or so = clean seeds.
I was looking through the comments (forgive me if I missed it) and was wondering… instead of cleaning the seeds and THEN boiling them, could you just do the “clean” and “boil” step in one?
The easiest way to clean pumpkin seeds is to drop them in a sink of cold water as soon as you pull them out of the pumpkin. Let them soak while carving and you’ll be surprised at how easily the pumpkin guts separate. Just squeeze the seeds off the guts. Use a strainer to round them up while they’re floating on top of the water. Good luck, I’m going to try the boiling method right now.
Crispy and delicious!!!! Perfect!!!!
I used smoked paprika, cumin, ancho chili powder and salt.
YUM!!!
Just made these. I’ve never done the boiling step before, and the hulls do seem a little easier to eat. Thanks for sharing.
put them in a strainer with whole’s big enough to fit the gut’s [note][but not big enough for the seed’s]
I tried cleaning the seeds by doing the following:
1. Remove all of the big chunks of pumpkin string.
2. Fill your blender with water almost to the top, and put in the seeds. Pulse gently.
3. The seeds stay at the surface of the water. Remove them replace the water, and repeat if needed.
Voila!
Not sure if you figured it out or someone told you, but as I was cleaning the seeds and separating the pulp it occurred to me that seeds float! I do this when I eat pomegranate seeds just fill a pot with water and dump in the seeds, they will float while most of the pulp skill sink
Old Bay seasoning for me!
To de-string my pumpkin or squash seeds, I brush them around the bottom of the colander with my vegetable scrub brush. Of course, I pick out the bigger clumps first. The strings get caught in the bristles, so after a minute of scrubbing, the seeds are perfectly clean.
I agree about lime zest, chili powder and cayenne as the best spices. I’m going to try some tamari tonight. Plus some grated garlic and salt, of course.
I found the easiest way to separate the seeds!! Put them in a large pot and fill with water. The seeds float and the guts do not!! You just pick them off the top of the water and then dig through the guts to separate the rest. Super easy!
Every one of you have such great ideas that I would like to try. I just put a part of my batch this year in my jar of Dill Pickle juice I was saving. I will just soak them in there overnight and probably roast them tomorrow afternoon. Excited to try them.
I have a great trick for cleaning the seeds that my husband taught me. Put the seeds and guts in a large bowl and try to clean the majority of the big pieces of guts out. Then fill the bowel with water, swirl it around and let it sit for a minute and all the stuff you don’t want will sink to the bottom. The good seeds float on the top, you may need to physically pull off some of the guts that are still attached to the seeds. Then just scoop the seeds off with a slotted spoon and tada clean pumpkin seeds :)