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My tried and true method that I’ve developed after years and years of roasting pumpkin seeds. It wouldn’t be Halloween in our house without these Perfect Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.
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The images in this post have been refreshed but the recipe remains the same.
It’s not Halloween without crunchy, salty, roasted pumpkin seeds. They are packed full of fiber, vitamins, and minerals and they taste incredible. Maybe this will help offset the effect of the little chocolate candy bars I keep stealing from the Halloween stash in our pantry.
Here is my method, tried and true.
Which Pumpkins Have the Best Seeds?
In my experience, the larger the pumpkin the more seeds it will yield. So go big but not too heavy. According to this article on The Kitchn, large is good but sometimes the heavier ones tend to have less seeds.
Choose a pumpkin with a flat bottom so it will stay put while you’re carving. It should appear fresh and have no cuts or bruises.
He has no idea what he’s in for.
If you are as crazy about pumpkin seeds as we are and want to be sure you’ll have enough, grab an extra pumpkin just to be sure.
Here is the big man wielding a big knife.
Once you’ve used your artistic skills to draw the perfect face for your Jack O’Lantern, use a large, sharp knife to cut around the stem at a slight angle to create the lid. Cutting on an angle will ensure the lid will not drop straight down inside the pumpkin when placed on top.
How to Prepare Pumpkin Seeds for Roasting
- Use a large metal spoon to scrape out the seeds and strings.
- Transfer the seeds and strings to a colander.
- Place the colander in your sink and rinse the seeds with cool water. While rinsing, sort through them with your hands and pull out the stringy pumpkin guts.
- Place some newspaper on the counter next to the sink for the stringy guts. This allows you to just roll it up and toss the mess when you’re done. There will be some bits of pumpkin still mixed in with the seeds. Just get out as much as you can.
How to Make Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Spread the rinsed seeds on a rimmed baking sheet. Unless you are an excellent pumpkin string picker, there will most likely still be some small bits of pumpkin innards left behind. Don’t worry, we’ll get those later.
Leave the baking sheet on your kitchen counter overnight so the seeds can dry. They will not roast as well if you put them in the oven when they are wet. It will be easy to pick out any remaining bits of pumpkin the next day.
The following day you will toss the dry seeds with some olive oil and garlic salt and roast them till toasty and golden brown. Use a spatula to stir them occasionally while roasting.
Remove them from the oven, taste, and sprinkle with a little additional garlic salt if needed.
I dare you to try and eat just one!
The seeds are delicious served warm from the oven.
After they cool, transfer them to an airtight container and they will stay fresh and tasty for at least a week or more.
Be sure to watch the video at the end of this post to see this process in action.
Did you know that other seeds are also delicious roasted? Check out my recipes for Roasted Acorn Squash Seeds!
These seeds are excellent and it turned out okay for the pumpkin too. Happy Halloween!
Perfect Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt plus additional if desired
- Non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Remove seeds from your pumpkin and place in a colander. Place colander in your sink and rinse with water, removing as much of the stringy pumpkin guts as you can. Pour seeds on to a rimmed baking sheet and allow to dry overnight. The following day, pick out any remaining pieces of pumpkin.
- Preheat oven to 325 F degrees. Spray a clean rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Toss seeds in a bowl with the olive oil and garlic salt. Spread the seeds on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown, stirring about halfway through.
- Taste and season with additional garlic salt if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Some more delicious pumpkin seed ideas:
Chai Spiced Pumpkin Seeds by Shef’s Kitchen
Salted Caramel Pumpkin Seeds by The Comfort of Cooking
Chile Lime Pumpkin Seeds by SheKnows
Honey Sriracha Roasted Pumpkin Seeds by Soup Addict
An image from the original post.
Victoria Robbins says
Hi Tammy! I have my pumpkin gutted & the seeds are drying on parchment paper. My cousin told me to try them a new way with honey & teriyaki. He also said sometimes he roasts them with a little hot pepper for spice. I want to tell your readers that I ALWAYS ROAST my Acorn Squash Seeds as well! They are delicious with garlic salt!
Kitty Gibbons says
What did I do wrong? All of the garlic salt fell right off the pumpkin seeds. Not a bit stayed a test as I baked them. They were dry as I bought them at Sprouts
Valerie says
You need fresh, raw (uncooked) pumpkin seeds for this recipe, Kitty. It sounds like you may have purchased seeds that had already been cooked.
Quimi says
Maybe it was because I was using a different pumpkin variety, but I had a problem no one else has mentioned: halfway through roasting, the seeds starting popping like popcorn all over the oven! o,O
Maya Staples says
did the popco-… pumpk-… PUMPCORN taste good?
Janis says
These were soo good i couldnt stop eating them. I have cats so lettinng the sit out wasnt an option lol. I dried them in my oven at 200 degrees for several hours. Then followed the directions. Soo yummy.. I want to go buy more pumpkins just for the seeds
Kathleen says
These are so good. I added some sea salt also. Delicious.
Andrea Whitehouse says
Fantastic!! I put a little extra garlic salt, turned out great. Reason I used your instructions is because my moms name is Valerie. ?
Thanks so much!
Valerie says
I ALWAYS add more garlic salt 🙂 Thanks, Andrea!
Rhiannon says
I left mine out for two days and they still felt a little damp.. I’m cooking them now and they taste good though
Valerie says
Hi Rhiannon. I wouldn’t recommend letting them sit out for longer than 24 hours. It’s fine if they are a still a bit damp when going in the oven. I’m glad they worked out for you in the end 🙂
Danielle Bowman says
Thank you for this recipe and I loved reading the other comments giving different ideas. I have never dried my seeds overnight before, but since I found your post yesterday I dried them and they are now in the oven…soo excited to try them! I love the personal aspect of your blog…keep up the good work…and thank you!
Valerie says
Thanks so much, Danielle. Hope they turn out perfect for you!
Seb says
trying this recipe right now and my seeds took 2 days to dry even though they were spread out on a baking sheet in open air. already been in the oven 40 minutes and didnt change! another 40 minutes and still not there yet. I had so many though, maybe I should have split it into multiple batches ??
Valerie says
Hi Seb. Sorry to hear you had some issues. I wouldn’t recommend allowing the seeds to sit out for more than 24 hours. Just transfer them to a clean baking sheet and pop them in the oven. It may be that you had too many on the baking sheet for them to brown well so yes, I’d spread them between two sheets in this case.
Ash says
It would be SUPER if you could post the recipe at the top and leave the life story at the bottom for those that are interested.
Valerie says
Hi Ash. I think the “life story” aspect is what makes a food blog different than the big food sites like Food Network or Epicurious. I think that a lot of my regular readers appreciate the personal voice behind my posts and appreciate the fact that we are working hard over here to produce content at no cost to them. Happy Halloween. 🙂
Patricia says
i am about to try these so how are they stored when cooled
Valerie says
Store them in an airtight container and they will a last well for at least a week or more.
Jenny says
I am trying this recipe as we speak! I’ll let you know how it works out! ?