How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds
Don’t throw away the seeds after carving your pumpkin! Roasted pumpkin seeds are an easy, healthy, and delicious snack waiting to happen. This is the best, easiest method for perfectly crispy pumpkin seeds. You can season them simply with salt or add a sweet and savory spice mix of your choosing.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
For the Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 cup whole pumpkin seeds in their shell (from about 1 large pumpkin or 2 small pumpkins)
- Kosher salt
- Extra virgin olive oil
Sweet Seasonings (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons granulated white sugar
Savory Seasonings (optional)
- 2 teaspoons za’atar
- 1/2 teaspoon sumac
- 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or to taste)
Instructions
- Get ready. Preheat your oven to 300°F.
- Clean the seeds. Place the seeds in a mixing bowl and cover with cold water. Use your hands to rub the seeds, removing any clingy pulp. They will float to the top of the bowl–scoop them into a colander or fine mesh strainer, then rinse once more under your tap to remove any remaining pulp (a little here and there is okay).
- Dry the seeds. The drier the better for extra crispy seeds! Get them as dry as possible by pressing with paper towels (you can also leave them to air dry overnight).
- Transfer the seeds to a sheet tray. Drizzle with enough olive oil to coat (about 2 teaspoons) and season with a a big pinch of salt. Give them a good toss, then spread into one layer.
- Roast the seeds. Roast, tossing and rotating the pan every 10 minutes or so, until they’re golden brown, about 30 to 45 minutes in total depending on the size of your seeds. If you’re making sweet or savory pumpkin seeds, stir together the seasonings in a small bowl while they roast.
- Season and enjoy. Remove the toasted seeds from the oven. For plain pumpkin seeds, simply toss on the pan with a dash more olive oil and more salt to taste. For sweet or savory pumpkin seeds, toss with a dash more olive oil, your seasoning blend of choice, and a pinch more salt. Roast in their seasonings for 3 to 5 minutes more, then serve warm.
Notes
- Do I need to boil or dry toast the seeds before roasting? Many recipes call for boiling the seeds in salted water or a dry toast in the oven before roasting. I haven’t found a difference with these methods, and they just create unnecessary fuss. Feel free to experiment with your own signature recipe, but I personally find a well dried seed roasts right into the oven just fine!
- You can eat the seeds whole, shells and all.
- Keep a close eye on the seeds as they roast. How long to roast them will depend on the size of your seeds and how darkly roasted you like them.
- Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils, honey, jams, and spices.
Nutrition
Calories: 169.3kcal | Carbohydrates: 4.3g | Protein: 8.8g | Fat: 14.5g | Saturated Fat: 2.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5.9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4.6g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 5.3mg | Potassium: 232.5mg | Fiber: 1.9g | Sugar: 0.4g | Vitamin A: 2.4IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 15.3mg | Iron: 2.4mg
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