Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

16 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds are an easy-to-make fall snack recipe with only 3 ingredients! Add pumpkin seeds to baked goods, trail mix, or eat as a healthy snack!

Freeze Pumpkin Puree and raw pumpkin seeds in the fall so you can enjoy tasty pumpkin desserts and this heart healthy Snack Recipe year-round.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds held in hand

ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS

Pumpkins are great for carving jack-o-lanterns and halloween decorations, but they taste even better than they look. Whether it’s a sweet Pumpkin Pie or a savory squash soup baked in a pumpkin, there are endless ways to enjoy fresh pumpkin from the inside to the outside. Even the seeds are edible and delicious!

These roasted pumpkin seeds are the simplest pumpkin recipe ever! Even the step-by-step instructions and tips to clean pumpkin seeds in this post are easy. You don’t need to worry about getting all the pulp off your seeds either, it actually adds more pumpkin flavor when roasted.

If you don’t want to get your hands dirty with pumpkin threads, you can always make this recipe with store-bought raw pumpkin seeds. You are going to pay extra for raw pumpkin seeds from the grocery store, but the trade off is you don’t have to carve a pumpkin just to make this easy snack recipe.

Plus you can roast Pumpkin Seeds year-round with bagged seeds.

Roasting seeds isn’t just for pumpkins! You can use seeds from other winter squashes like butternut squash, acorn squash, or spaghetti squash. Each squash will have it’s own flavor but all taste delicious! You could also use this recipe for roasting assorted nuts, sunflower seeds, or sesame seeds.

Healthy Snack

Pumpkin Seeds are a healthy snack, packed with nutrients like magnesium and zinc, plus they are a good source of healthy fat that is good for heart health.

Add Pumpkin Seeds to Breakfast Baked Goods like Granola Bars for a satisfying salty crunch full of health benefits. Use Pumpkin Seeds as crunchy topping for winter soups like Butternut Squash Soup, in stir-fries, or as a crouton substitute on salads.

MORE DELICIOUS PUMPKIN RECIPES:

HOW TO CLEAN PUMPKIN SEEDS

  • Cut hole in top of pumpkin large enough to fit hand.
  • Using a melon baller or ice cream scoop, scrape out pumpkin guts (stringy pulp) with seeds.
  • Place pumpkin pulp and seeds in a large bowl of cold water. Soak for about 10-15 minutes.
  • Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Don’t use paper towels or linen towels.
  • Using a strainer spoon, remove any pumpkin seeds that have floated to the top.
  • Gently rub seeds to remove pumpkin guts from pumpkin seeds.
  • Rinse pumpkin seeds in a colander under running water, pulling out and discarding pulp.
  • Air dry pumpkin seeds on the parchment paper, for at least a few hours.

Tips for Cleaning Pumpkin Seeds

  • Use a melon baller or ice cream scoop to make scraping out the Pumpkin Seeds easier. They won’t bend and are sharp enough for carving pumpkin pulp off the sides easy and cleanly.
  • Don’t use paper towels or linen towels to dry Pumpkin Seeds. The Pumpkin Seeds and remaining pulp will dry to towels, sticking like glue.
  • The drier your Pumpkin Seeds are before roasting, the quicker they will roast and the crisper they will be.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds raw seeds in bowl

VARIATIONS ON ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS

  • Cinnamon Sugar: For sweet Roasted Pumpkin Seed recipe, replace the salt with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon sugar mixture. To make cinnamon sugar, mix ½ cup sugar with 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon. Try Pumpkin Pie Spice and brown sugar for the ultimate sweet fall snack!
  • Spicy: Kick up the heat and add a blend of ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper and ¼ teaspoon black pepper to the salt. You can also use Taco Seasoning for a milder heat!
  • Ranch: For Ranch Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, toss seeds in 1 tablespoon dry Ranch Dressing Mix. Add ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder for a smoky Chipotle Ranch flavor.
  • Garlic: Replace the sea salt with 2 teaspoons garlic salt or add 1 teaspoon dried garlic powder and ½ teaspoon parsley flakes to make your own garlic salt.
  • Oil: For more fatty acids and Omega-3s, use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. You can also use olive oil or other oils good for roasting. Don’t use pumpkin seed oil or nut oils, they will turn bitter.

MORE TASTY HOLIDAY SNACK RECIPES

HOW TO STORE ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS

  • Serve: Keep Oven Roasted Pumpkin Seeds at room temperature for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. Store in a cool, dry place.
  • Store: You can refrigerate Roast Pumpkin Seeds in an airtight container for up to 1 month. They are best at room temperature, so leave them on counter for about 30 minutes before serving.
  • Freeze: Cool Pumpkin Seeds completely and spread in a single layer on a clean cookie sheet. Freeze for 1 hour and then transfer to a freezer safe plastic bag. Freeze for up to 6 months, and enjoy frozen or thaw at room temperature to use for baking or snacking.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds on baking sheet

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Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds are an easy-to-make fall snack recipe with only 3 ingredients! Add pumpkin seeds to baked goods, trail mix, or eat as a healthy snack!
Yield 16 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Snack
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  • Wash and dry the pumpkin seeds well.
  • Toss pumpkin seeds with oil and salt.
  • Spread evenly on baking sheet.
  • Bake for 15 minutes.
  • Stir then spread evenly again and bake for 15-20 minutes until shell is crispy.

Nutrition

Calories: 52kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 291mg | Potassium: 65mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Roasting pumpkin seeds is such a fun tradition right after carving a pumpkin! So healthy & nutritious. Love these!