Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

I’ve made roasted pumpkin seeds every single year (since my mom let me help as a kiddo). Every year, someone asks me to post the recipe, but I’ve always been like, “nah— it’s not really a recipe!” But I figured I’ll go ahead and share how I make roasted pumpkin seeds. They are delicious and a fun autumn tradition!

Ewwww! Just kidding. I actually LOVE the smell of pumpkin guts. It’s a childhood memory thing, I think.

How to easily remove pumpkin seeds from pulp?

First remove all of the seeds from the inside of a pumpkin. Place them into a large bowl of water, removing as much pulp as possible. The heavier bits of pulp will sink to the bottom while the seeds themselves will float. You will still need to use your (clean) hands to remove some of the bits of pulp from the seeds.

Then you can give the seeds a good rinse. If any small bits of pulp remain I just leave those, they don’t hurt anything!

Every pumpkin will yield a different amount of pumpkin seeds, or you might be working with seeds from many pumpkins. So, I think of this recipe as more of a ratio:

1/3 seeds + 1 teaspoon oil + 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt = delicious

You can adjust the oil and salt based on how many seeds you are roasting.

Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes. To keep them from burning, I like to stir them halfway through with a spatula. Watch them carefully because they burn easily. You’ll know they’re done when most seeds are golden in color. I like mine a little overcooked, but that’s coming from someone who likes burnt popcorn. Ha!

Can you eat the shells of pumpkin seeds?

Yes, you absolutely can! I like to mix my roasted pumpkin seeds with about 1/3 or 1/4 as many candy corn candies. So, if I had a cup of roasted pumpkin seeds I’d add around 1/3 cup of candy corn. I love the sweet and salty mix!

Do you have a food that you strongly associate with Autumn? xo. Elsie

Credits// Author: Elsie Larson. Photography: Elsie Larson and Emma Chapman.