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Sweet or savory, simple or fancy, roasted pumpkin seeds are an irresistible snack or garnish. Here’s how to make them great.
Why this recipe works
Whether you’ve got a carving pumpkin, a pie pumpkin, or even another variety of winter squash, roasting the seeds is a great idea. They make a healthy, totally craveable bar snack and an equally good garnish for soup, risotto, and more.
Our version perfects the technique. You’ll:
- Soak the seeds to clean them and reduce their phytic acid content. This makes the seeds easier to digest and their nutrition more bioavailable.
- Boil them in well-salted water. This step, too, serves two purposes. It infuses a bit of salt throughout the seed, and it helps them roast evenly.
- Toss them with your seasonings of choice
- Roast in a hot but not blazing oven until perfectly toasted
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make basic savory pumpkin seeds. See below for additional flavor suggestions.
- You can use the seeds from any type of pumpkin (including the sugar pumpkins grown for eating and the larger ones for carving) and virtually all varieties of winter squash.
- A little bit of olive oil helps the toppings adhere and the seeds brown. If you’re making a sweet version, you could substitute a neutral-tasting oil like safflower.
- There’s no shortage of salt in this recipe, which gets divided. Most goes into the boiling water, and some gets tossed with the seeds before roasting. Other seasonings depend on the variation you’re making, so scroll down to learn more.
How to make them
Here’s an overview of what you’ll do to make a great batch of roasted pumpkin seeds. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details about basic savory pumpkin seeds and lots of other flavor variations in the recipe card below.
- Scoop the seeds out of the pumpkin, discarding as much stringy flesh as possible.
- Place seeds in a large bowl of cool water. Agitate to clean, then let soak for two hours.
- Boil in salted water for 10 minutes.
- Toss with oil and salt (or other seasonings) and then roast at 350°F for about 20 minutes, checking and stirring occasionally. Let cool before serving. That’s it!
Cleaning pumpkin seeds
The least-fun part of the whole process, if you ask me, is cleaning the stringy bits of pumpkin flesh from the seeds after you scoop them out of the pumpkin. The easiest way to do this is to remove any large bits by hand and then place the seeds into a large bowl of cool water.
Use your hands to agitate them a bit and loosen any additional bits, letting them sink to the bottom of the bowl. (The seeds will float.) Then let them sit per the soaking section below.
Soaking pumpkin seeds
Let the seeds sit in a large bowl of cool water for two hours. This easy move serves two purposes:
- It helps to clean the seeds, letting any remaining stringy nonsense sink to the bottom of the bowl while the seeds float.
- It helps with digestibility. Pumpkin seeds (along with lots of other plant-based foods) contain a decent amount of phytic acid, which acts as an anti-nutrient. Along with causing stomach upset, it prevents your body from absorbing all the wonderful nutrients in the seeds. A couple-hour soak solves this problem. It’s totally worth the wait.
Favorite savory flavors
As you can probably tell from the name of this website, I love love love savory flavors. Here are a few fabulous umami-forward ways to season your seeds. Follow the basic recipe in the recipe card below, but with the noted additions or substitutions.
Ranch pumpkin seeds
If you love ranch, this is a great, reasonably good-for-ya way to add it to your life. For each cup of seeds, omit the teaspoon of salt before roasting and toss instead with one tablespoon of either a ready-made powdered dip/salad dressing packet or a homemade version. To make your own, stir together:
- 1/2 cup buttermilk powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dried chives
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Use one tablespoon of the mix and store the rest in an airtight container at room temperature for up to six months to make dressing or dip.
Salt and vinegar pumpkin seeds
At the boiling stage, rather than two cups water, use 1 cup distilled white vinegar and 1 cup water to boil the seeds for 10 minutes. You don’t need to make any further changes to the recipe.
Tamari roasted pumpkin seeds
Before roasting, toss the seeds with one tablespoon tamari (along with the oil) and omit the teaspoon of salt. If you like, you can substitute toasted sesame oil for the olive oil, since it complements the tamari even better. You don’t need to make any further changes to the recipe.
Old Bay pumpkin seeds
Before roasting, toss the seeds with one tablespoon Old Bay seasoning. Omit the teaspoon of salt, since this spice blend contains plenty of it.
Salt and pepper pumpkin seeds
Make the recipe as directed, adding 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper when tossing with the oil and salt before roasting.
Favorite sweet flavors
Both for snacking and for garnishes, these are our favorite sweet variations. When making sweet seeds, reduce the salt in the boiling water to 1 teaspoon, and omit the salt when tossing before roasting.
Honey roasted pumpkin seeds
Boil the seeds with one teaspoon salt instead of one tablespoon. Then, before roasting, toss with one tablespoon of a neutral-tasting oil such as safflower and one tablespoon of an easily pourable honey. I like to use a mild-flavored, standard honey that you’d get from the supermarket. Omit the salt when tossing.
Cinnamon sugar pumpkin seeds
Boil the seeds with one teaspoon salt instead of one tablespoon. Then, before roasting, mix together one tablespoon granulated sugar and one teaspoon ground cinnamon. Toss with one tablespoon of a neutral-tasting oil such as safflower and the cinnamon sugar mixture. Omit salt when tossing.
Storing roasted pumpkin seeds
Seeds are a wonderful, intact food, which means they’re packed with nutrition but also unrefined oils that can spoil. I find that, once completely cooled, roasted seeds keep very well in an airtight container at room temperature for about two weeks. For longer-term storage, pop them in the freezer for up to a year.
Expert tips and FAQs
No worries. You can feel free to scale this recipe up or down as needed. Increase all ingredients, including water used for boiling, in direct proportion to the quantity of seeds.
Absolutely. Seeds from butternut, kabocha, dumpling, red kuri, delicata, and more varieties of winter squash have a very similar texture and flavor to pumpkin seeds. Some varieties (like many delicata) may have slightly more diminutive seeds, so you may need to reduce the roasting time a little bit. To check for doneness, you can remove a few seeds from the pan, let them cool, and taste to see that they’re crunchy throughout rather than chewy in the center.
How to serve them
Pumpkin seeds make a great snack on their own. You can also use them to garnish pumpkin soup, butternut squash soup, or pumpkin risotto.
More favorite bar snacks
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Savory Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
Instructions
- Scoop seeds from a sugar pumpkin, carving pumpkin, or other winter squash.
- Remove as much of the stringy pulp as possible.
- Place seeds into a large bowl of cool water and leave to soak for two hours. This helps to both clean the seeds and increase their digestibility. Drain seeds.
- Pour two cups of water into a small pot. Bring to a boil and add the one tablespoon of salt.
- Add seeds and boil for 10 minutes, then drain. Dry well with paper towels.
- Preheat oven to 350°F with a rack in the center.
- Place dried seeds onto a rimmed baking sheet. Add olive oil and remaining teaspoon of salt. Toss to coat well.
- Spread into a single layer.
- Roast, checking and stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and crisp, about 20 minutes. To test for doneness, you can remove a few seeds from the oven and let cool. Taste to ensure they are crisp throughout rather than chewy in the center.
- Let cool before serving.
Notes
Flavor variations
Favorite savory flavors As you can probably tell from the name of this website, I love love love savory flavors. Here are a few fabulous umami-forward ways to season your seeds. Follow the basic recipe in the recipe card below, but with the noted additions or substitutions.Ranch pumpkin seeds
If you love ranch, this is a great, reasonably good-for-ya way to add it to your life. For each cup of seeds, omit the teaspoon of salt before roasting and toss instead with one tablespoon of either a ready-made powdered dip/salad dressing packet or a homemade version. To make your own, stir together:- ½ cup buttermilk powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dried chives
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salt and vinegar pumpkin seeds
At the boiling stage, rather than two cups water, use 1 cup distilled white vinegar and 1 cup water to boil the seeds for 10 minutes. You don’t need to make any further changes to the recipe.Tamari roasted pumpkin seeds
Before roasting, toss the seeds with one tablespoon tamari (along with the oil) and omit the teaspoon of salt. If you like, you can substitute toasted sesame oil for the olive oil, since it complements the tamari even better. You don’t need to make any further changes to the recipe.Old Bay pumpkin seeds Before roasting, toss the seeds with one tablespoon Old Bay seasoning. Omit the teaspoon of salt, since this spice blend contains plenty of it.Salt and pepper pumpkin seeds
Make the recipe as directed, adding ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper when tossing with the oil and salt before roasting.Favorite sweet flavors
Both for snacking and for garnishes, these are our favorite sweet variations. When making sweet seeds, reduce the salt in the boiling water to 1 teaspoon, and omit the salt when tossing before roasting.Honey roasted pumpkin seeds
Boil the seeds with one teaspoon salt instead of one tablespoon. Then, before roasting, toss with one tablespoon of a neutral-tasting oil such as safflower and one tablespoon of an easily pourable honey. I like to use a mild-flavored, standard honey that you’d get from the supermarket. Omit the salt when tossing.Cinnamon sugar pumpkin seeds
Boil the seeds with one teaspoon salt instead of one tablespoon. Then, before roasting, mix together one tablespoon granulated sugar and one teaspoon ground cinnamon. Toss with one tablespoon of a neutral-tasting oil such as safflower and the cinnamon sugar mixture. Omit salt when tossing. Seeds are a wonderful, intact food, which means they’re packed with nutrition but also unrefined oils that can spoil. I find that, once completely cooled, roasted seeds keep very well in an airtight container at room temperature for about two weeks. For longer-term storage, pop them in the freezer for up to a year. Pumpkin seeds make a great snack on their own. You can also use them to garnish pumpkin soup, butternut squash soup, or pumpkin risotto.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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