I had never had any interest in roasting pumpkin seeds, until my youngest came along and literally eats anything & everything “crunchy.”
Combine it with a fun activity to do with the kiddos? Golden.
Pumpkin Seed Recipe
I adore this recipe, because you can make it salty or sweet; depending on the mood you’re in! If it were just for me?? I’d probably put a little chili powder on them, to give them a little “kick.”
But if kiddos are partaking in the snacking, boiling them in sugar instead of salt, and topping with cinnamon and/or brown sugar, may be more up their alley. 🙂
Get creative roasting pumpkin seeds! That’s part of the fun!
Roasted Pumpkin seed recipe below!
Sweet & Salty: Pumpkin Seed Recipe
Roasting pumpkin seeds is a family fun activity the kids will LOVE. Save the seeds and make them salty, sweet, or a combination of both with this easy to follow recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 pumpkin about the size of a soccer ball (yields about 1-1/2 - 2 cups of seeds)
- 2 teaspoons salt OR sugar
Additional Seasonings (if desired):
- For Salty: black pepper, garlic power, chili powder
- For Sweet: cinnamon, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Wash and dry the pumpkin. With a sharp knife, cut the pumpkin in half.
- With a large spoon, begin to scrape out the innards and reserve them in a bowl.
- Take the innards and fill the bowl with water. A lot of the seeds will rise to the top. Begin to separate the seeds from the stringy bits. Discard the stringy bits.
- Continue rinsing the seeds until majority of the pumpkin strings are off the seeds.
- In a pot of water, add 6 cups of water and the 2 tsp of salt, or to taste. If you like the seeds more salty, add more salt. Taste as you go.
- Begin to simmer the seeds until they are soft. Approximately 1 to 1.5 hours. Do not boil the seeds, you want just a soft simmer.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
- Spread the seeds out on a parchment lined baking tray. At this point, you may add more seasonings if you’d like. Different herbs, or pepper, chilies, etc.
- Bake the seeds (stirring often) for approximately 20 minutes or until they are dry.
- Store in a cool dry, airtight container.
Recipe Notes
If you’d like to make a sweet snack instead, boil the seeds with sugar rather than salt, and at the seasoning stage, add sugar or brown sugar, cinnamon, etc.
I can’t think of a better Thanksgiving snack for your guests to munch on, while they’re waiting on the main course to make it’s way to the table.
Or… make these for your kids to snack on, while waiting in the car when running errands.
Do you have a special pumpkin seed recipe? I’d LOVE to hear it. Which seasonings did you put on yours?
Let me know in the comments right down there: 🙂