How to Make Perfect Pumpkin Seeds

After you&#;ve carved your jack-o-lantern for Halloween, it&#;s time to roast perfect pumpkin seeds! Use this pumpkin seed recipe to make this salty and crunchy snack, that&#;s healthy too!

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One of our Halloween traditions has always been to roast the pumpkin seeds that come out of the pumpkins that we carve. For as long as I can remember, we always did this as kids and then I started and continued the tradition with my own kids. In our house, there is no way you carve a pumpkin without also roasting the pumpkin seeds afterward.

How To Clean Your Pumpkin

The first step to getting perfect pumpkin seeds is cleaning your pumpkin!

1. Set up a work area: We usually lay down newspaper or an old plastic tablecloth to keep our area clean.
2. Cut off a lid to your pumpkin: Cut a 2-3&#; circle radius around the stem to do this.
3. Clean out the inside of your pumpkin: This is where you get all the seeds from. You can use a metal spoon or an ice cream scooper to scrape and scoop the insides, but we think a pumpkin scoop works better. Want the very best option? If you have a drill, then the &#;Pumpkin Gutter&#; attachment is awesome &#; makes the job super easy and less messy.

Best Tips for Perfect Pumpkin Seeds

Making your own roasted pumpkin seeds is really easy, but there are three steps that are most important:

#1. Clean your pumpkin seeds well: You really want to wash them well and discard of any and all pumpkin fibers. Over the years, I&#;ve had a time or two when I didn&#;t clean the seeds well enough and they really don&#;t turn out as well. So, grab your colander and clean them&#;and then clean them again.

#2. Boil pumpkin seeds before roasting: If you are short on time, you could skip this step, but we highly recommend that you boil your pumpkin seeds before roasting them. We have more details below about why.

#3. Keep a watch on them when they are baking: I&#;m really bad at getting sidetracked, so I set my kitchen timer for 10 minutes. This way, it will alert me and I can go in and move the pumpkin seeds around on the baking sheet. I repeat this every 10 minutes until they are done. I&#;m very serious about using the timer &#; there have been times when I didn&#;t do it and sure enough, I let them burn.

Why Boil Pumpkin Seeds Before Roasting?

There are a couple reasons why we recommend that you boil pumpkin seeds before roasting. Boiling before roasting pumpkin seeds helps to cook the insides of your pumpkin seeds so when you do roast them, you will get perfect crunchy pumpkins seeds. Boiling will ensure that the insides are cooked.

Also, roasted pumpkin seeds are full of nutrients, but they also contain phytic acid, which is naturally found in nuts, whole grains, and seeds. Phytic acid can prevent the absorption of some nutrients, like iron, magnesium, and calcium. By boiling the seeds before roasting, this them removes most of the phytic acid that they contain helping you to get even more nutrition out of them!

How To Eat Pumpkin Seeds

If you are new to roasting pumpkin seeds, you might be wondering just how to eat them. If they are nicely roasted, I like to eat them whole, as does most of my family. If you wish, you can also eat them how you would eat a sunflower seed, by cracking the outer shell open slightly with your teeth, eating the seed on the inside, and discarding the outer shell.

How to Make Perfect Pumpkin Seeds

Here is the full recipe and instructions for roasting perfect pumpkin seeds &#; ready for you to print!

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Perfect Pumpkin Seeds

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• Total Time:

  85 minutes

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Description

After you&#;ve carved your jack-o-lantern for Halloween, it&#;s time to roast perfect pumpkin seeds! Here&#;s the recipe for how you can make this salty and crunchy snack.

Ingredients

Scale

• Seeds from

  2

  large pumpkins

• ½ teaspoon

  Lawry&#;s Seasoned Salt

• ½ tablespoon

  olive oil
• Dash of salt

Cook Mode

Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Scrape out and remove seeds from your two pumpkins. Wash and clean your seeds from your pumpkin, making sure you remove any unwanted pumpkin rinds or deformed seeds. Wash in a colander and once again remove any unwanted items.
3. Soak the clean seeds in a bowl full of water for 1/2 hour on the kitchen counter or overnight in the refrigerator. Drain the seeds, discarding the water.
4. Fill a pot with water and a dash of salt (enough water so that it will cover the seeds). Bring the water to a boil. Place seeds into the boiling water and boil gently for about 10 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and drain the seeds and place back into your empty bowl. Toss seeds with olive oil. Lay out seeds in a thin layer onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with Lawry&#;s Seasoned Salt. Place in oven and move and turn the seeds over about every 10 minutes, making sure they are not burning. Seeds are done after about 40 minutes or when they become firmer and are no longer soft. You do not want dark spots on your seeds, you want them to be a darker yellow.
6. Season with additional salt if desired. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Place into a clean mason jar or another food-safe storage container. Enjoy!

• Prep Time:

  45

  If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Pumpkin seeds.

• Cook Time:

  40 minutes

• Category:

  Snack

• Method:

  Roasting

• Cuisine:

  American

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Thank you to our contributor, Leah Wood, for this recipe & photos!

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Read more about the health benefits of pumpkin seeds.

Choosing the right seeds

Chelsie recommends using small or medium-sized seeds. Some larger seeds may be too tough to eat, although generally all seeds are suitable for consumption, so make a judgement call based on the seeds you&#;re faced with. Seeds straight from the pumpkin are usually white and they look different to the dark green seeds you see in packets. This is because the dark seeds are the inner kernel, and they&#;re so tricky to extract that we advise against it.

How to prepare pumpkin seeds

To clean the seeds, tip them into a sieve and wash under cold running water, pulling away any of the pulp from the pumpkin to discard it. Don&#;t worry if it doesn&#;t all come off, as it will once the seeds are boiled.

How to cook pumpkin seeds

1. Boil some salted water in a large saucepan, add the cleaned seeds and boil for 5-10 minutes depending on the size, then drain on a kitchen towel.
2. Toss the drained seeds with a little oil, some seasoning and spread evenly across a large baking sheet
3. Roast the seeds at 180C/gas 4 for about 8-10 minutes.

Try our ultimate roasted pumpkin seeds recipe.

Flavour choices

You can add lots of different flavours to your seeds before roasting. Try paprika, chilli, cumin or a little brown sugar and honey for candied seeds. Alternatively, just season with rock salt and pepper. Our Chinese spiced seed mix is flavoured with five-spice powder and makes the perfect healthy snack to nibble on while watching TV.

How to store pumpkin seeds

The roasted seeds will stay fresh in an airtight container for up to three days. After that, they might lose their crunch.

How to eat pumpkin seeds

• Your roasted seeds will taste great sprinkled over salads or vegetable side dishes
• Served as a snack with drinks as a healthier alternative to nuts
• Or mixed with dried fruit and nuts to create a trail mix for packed lunches.

For something more indulgent, combine pumpkin seeds with chocolate and cookie dough to make some seriously tasty biscuits, as shown in our next level cookies 4 ways video:

Check out more pumpkin seed recipes&#;

Celeriac ribbons tossed with chard, garlic & pumpkin seeds
Chocolate pumpkin seed cookies
Rye & pumpkin seed crackers
Cranberry, pumpkin seed & caramel flapjacks
Best ever pumpkin pie with stem ginger cream
Chinese spiced seed mix
Spicy seed mix

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If you want to learn more, please visit our website Sweet corn seeds.