Easy Steps For Roasting & Serving Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

If you’re looking for a delicious, healthy snack that you can eat while your kids are finishing off all that Halloween candy, try making some toasted pumpkin seeds. They’re easy to make and you probably have plenty of seeds left over from carving your Halloween pumpkins. Here are some easy steps to show you how to roast pumpkin seeds:

1. Gather all of the seeds from your pumpkin and put them into a large bowl. You may inadvertently grab some pumpkin strings, but don’t worry about that – you’ll be separating them in the next step.
2. Using a strainer or a colander, separate the seeds from the flesh of the pumpkin. You don’t want all of those strings in with your batch of toasted pumpkin seeds. While running water over the seeds in the strainer, rub the seeds with your fingers so they come apart from the strings. Leave the seeds in the strainer and throw away the stringy flesh.
3. Give the seeds one last rinse in cold water to be sure they are super clean. The flesh of the pumpkin will burn in the oven, making the seeds taste burnt as well, so it’s very important that you are just toasting the pumpkin seeds.
4. Fill a medium-sized bowl with about 2/3 of water. Add salt to the water to saturate it and add the pumpkin seeds into the salt water. Let the seeds soak anywhere from 8-48 hours. Soaking the pumpkin seeds will not only add flavor to your finished seeds, but will deactivate the enzyme inhibitors which can give you an upset stomach.
5. Dump the pumpkin seeds and the water through the strainer and pat-dry the seeds with a paper towel. Make sure your seeds are thoroughly dry before proceeding to the next step.
6. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, toss the pumpkin seeds with vegetable oil or melted butter.
7. Now it’s time to give your pumpkin seeds some good seasonings. Sprinkle your seasonings into the bowl so your seeds are evenly coded. You might have a certain spice that you love, or you might want to try one of these:
   • Chili powder
   • Garlic powder
   • Sugar, cinnamon, and ground nutmeg & mixture
   • Powdered steak seasoning
   • Season salt
8. After your pumpkin seeds are properly seasoned, spread them in one layer on a cookie or baking sheet.
9. Roast your pumpkin seeds. You can either bake your seeds for a toasted pumpkin seed flavor or saute them.
   • Preheat your oven to 300°. Bake the pumpkin seeds for 45-55 minutes or until they turn brown. NOTE: Shake the pan or stir the roasted pumpkin seeds every 10-15 minutes so they will not burn.
   • Preheat a saute pan. Add the pumpkin seeds and stir them constantly so that they will roast evenly and not get stuck to the pan. Once the pumpkin seeds are brown, remove them from the pan and set aside.
10. Allow your roasted pumpkin seeds to cool before snacking on them. Enjoy!