Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Two Ways
Eric and I love carving pumpkins. I save our pumpkin seeds every year, but I always end up tossing them before I can figure out what to do with them. I was determined not to do that this year. With the abundance of seeds we had, I decided to roast a batch of sweet and a batch of savory. It took longer for the seeds to dry than it did for me to roast them, though I’ve read you can quickly dry the seeds using a hair dryer (but I haven’t tried that). The fun thing about roasting pumpkin seeds is that you can make several different varieties all suited to your personal tastes. It’s incredibly easy to adapt the recipes to make them sweeter or spicier. You could even mix it up and do a sweet/spicy combination.
Since cumin is one of my favorite spices, I decided to start there for the savory roasted pumpkin seeds. I then added ancho chili powder, garlic salt and a little pepper, which gave the seeds just a bit of kick and the perfect amount of saltiness. I had quite a bit of cinnamon sugar left from the apple cider doughnuts I made last week and used that as the base for the sweet seeds. With nutmeg, ginger and a hint of clove, the sweet roasted pumpkin seeds had all the deep fall flavors I love. Both batches of seeds turned out crunchy, but I found the smaller seeds had more of a crunch than the larger ones.
If you’re carving pumpkins this week, don’t throw out your seeds! Save them and make a delicious snack everyone in your family can enjoy.
- COOK TIME:
- YIELD: 2 cups
For the cumin seeds:
1 cup pumpkin seeds, cleaned and dried
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1¼ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon ancho chili powder
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
For the cinnamon sugar seeds:
1 cup pumpkin seeds, cleaned and dried
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1½ teaspoons cinnamon sugar
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
- 1
To clean the seeds, place them in a strainer and set it in the sink. Under running water, pull off any large pieces of pumpkin that may be stuck to the seeds. Allow to dry overnight on a wax paper lined baking sheet.
- 2
Heat oven to 350º and line two small baking sheets with parchment or foil. In two small bowls, combine all ingredients for each batch of pumpkin seeds. Stir to coat completely. Spread evenly onto the two prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 8-14 minutes, or until seeds are crunchy. This will largely depend on the size of your seeds, so check them frequently.
Love it!!!! Your pumpkin looks so darn cute! I've been in love with pumpkin seeds in my salads right now, and this kicked up version sounds delicious. 😉
I've been roasting savory pumpkin seeds and using them to top salads. I love the spicy/salty flavor, but the cinnamon sugar mixture sounds great too. I LOVE the owl pumpkin!
yum! i can't wait to make roasted pumpkin seeds from a pumpkin i got in my CSA… so much better with fresh pumpkin seeds too
Love the pumpkin owl. Very creative and very cute!
I plan to make some this weekend but I'm wondering if you have a secret on how to get the seeds clean. That's always my problem and I end up throwing a lot of them away!
Sara, I probably should've said something about that in the post. Sorry! I put all my seeds in a strainer and set it in the sink. Under running water, I pull off any large pieces that may be stuck to the seeds, working with a small handful at a time. The water pressure helps pull off some of the gunk, and I can drop the seed back in the strainer instead of worrying about dropping it down the sink. Then, I let them dry overnight on a wax paper lined baking sheet. I hope that helps!
Success! Thanks so much! They are drying now and I can't wait to roast them tomorrow!
Court…these pumpkin seeds sound delicious! I’m getting some seeds today…maybe I can make them tonight! BTW…LOVE the new website!
Thanks! Let me know if you try them.
Didn’t get to do the seeds last night. But I am going to try them tonight. Just out of curiousity, where did you find the ancho chili powder?
I think the most recent place I got it was a chain up here, but I’m sure you could find it most anywhere. It’s one of my favorite spices. Remember the ancho chicken from Bahama Breeze? That was the best.