This is the time of year that everyone loses their minds over pumpkin everything, particularly pumpkin spice everything. But I think often underrated is the humble pumpkin seed. Whether you are carving your pumpkins with your kiddos, canning pumpkin from your garden or baking a from scratch pumpkin pie, don’t throw out all those yummy seeds!
A favorite treat around here; they are packed with nutrients and oh so yummy. Don’t waste a single seed!
Here’s how it works:
As you are scraping out the guts/seeds from your pumpkin, drop the seeds into a bowl of water to soak (floating them in some water seems to help the process of cleaning them up.) Rinse in a colander to make sure you’ve gotten all the bits and pieces off of them.
*Note: I recently heard that if you are not carving your pumpkin, that you can bake the pumpkin before cleaning it which makes the seeds even easier to separate but I have not yet tried this method.
Spread out the seeds on a cookie sheet (you can line it with a tea towel for quicker drying if you like.) Leave the seeds to dry completely before attempting to roast. (I just leave mind for a day or so.)
When the seeds are dry, transfer them to a bowl and coat with 1-2 Tbl of oil then add seasonings of your choice. (I’ll share my favorite blend in a minute.)
I love to use the silicone baking mats but parchment paper or tin foil will work as well.
Bake in a 325 degree oven for 10-20 minutes until they reach the right color. You will have to keep a close eye on them, they burn easily.
And that’s all folks, it’s that simple.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients:
Seeds from 1 pumpkin
1-2 Tbl Olive oil
1 1/2 tsp of sea salt of mineral salt
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili
Instructions:
1. Scrape seeds from pumpkin
2. Soak/Rinse seeds and remove pumpkin “guts”
3. Dry seeds thoroughly
4. Toss seeds in olive oil & seasonings
5. Roast in 325 degree oven for 10-20 minutes (watching carefully)
