Roasted pumpkin seeds are a healthy and nutritious snack. They are filled with nutritional goodness and are very easy to do and are a great project to do with the kids, when pumpkins are in season.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds are Easy and a Fun Cooking Project to do.
Don’t just throw those seeds away when you are done carving the pumpkin. Scoop them out, wash and clean them and roast them in the oven. Picky eaters will be eager to try them after the fun of carving the pumpkin and you’ll be giving them a very healthy snack.
To clean the pumpkin seeds, just separate the seeds from the stringy pulp, rinse them in a colander under cold water, and then shake dry. Don’t blot them or you’ll end up with a mess, because the seeds will stick to paper towels.
Once the seeds are dry, spreawd them in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet or on a silicone baking mat, and roast 30 minutes.
Toss the seeds with olive oil, salt and your choice of spices (see below). Return to the oven and bake until crisp and golden, about 20 more minutes.
The recipe that I have included uses paprika but many varieties are possible. Here are a few to try.
- If you like them sweet, use cinnamon sugar.
- For an Italian mix, add dried oregano and parmesan cheese.
- A nice Indian variety would be with garam marsala or cumin and then mixed with raisins. (affiliate links)
- Pumpkin pie spice and sugar makes a great Thanksgiving treat.
- Granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and brown sugar will give you a caramely sweet treat.
Store in an airtight container and enjoy!
For more vegetarian recipes see my Pinterest Vegetarian board
- One Pumpkin Cleaned of seeds
- Olive Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Smoked Paprika
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Using a spoon, scrape the pulp and seeds out of your pumpkin into a bowl.
- Clean the seeds: Separate the seeds from the stringy pulp, rinse the seeds in a colander under cold water, then shake dry. Don't blot because the seeds will stick to paper towels.
- Dry the seeds by spreading them in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet and roast 30 minutes.
- Toss the seeds with olive oil, salt and your choice of spices. Return to the oven and bake until crisp and golden, about 20 more minutes.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small commission from the sale, but the price is the same for you. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."