How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds Perfectly Each Time

I was a child before the internet and we had to just guess on how to roast pumpkin seeds, but I always loved doing it. It was like having a treasure hunt pulling all the seeds out and then an experiment to turn them into a crunchy snack. Sometimes they burnt to a crisp, sometimes they were soggy and floppy.

Now it's easy, we just search the internet and voila-- we make beautiful roasted pumpkin seeds. The good news is once you've read this page once you should know how to roast pumpkin seeds for the rest of your life and can just have fun experimenting with flavors. 

Simple Steps to Roast Pumpkin Seeds

1. Dig your hand into your pumpkin and pull out the seeds. It's going to be squishy and stringy and kinda gross-- you can use a spoon for this but if you can manage to get beyond the squeamishness, it's so much easier to use hands. I like to build up how fun this will be and get my toddler to help.

2. Some people like to completely remove all the squash bits, but I never have time for that and don't mind having some crunchy bits on the seeds, so I just take off as much pumpkin as is easy to do. If you do want to do this by the book, I recommend putting the seeds into a colander and rinsing them under warm water, rubbing to help release the extra squash bits. Afterwards you will want to spread them flat on a baking sheet and pat them dry with a towel.

3. Spread the seeds in one layer on a baking sheet and cover with a small amount (maybe 1 teaspoon for a whole pumpkin's worth of seeds) of avocado oil, olive oil, coconut oil, or even a cooking spray. Rub the oil around with your hands until it's covered each seed.

4. Sprinkle on your flavorings. I often just use salt and I promise it's delicious as is, but check the other flavor options below. You will need about a half teaspoon total of whatever spice mix you are going to use. I don't measure and I just make sure each seed has some spice. I always use a touch of salt, even if I'm going for a sweeter pumpkin seed-- this brings out the flavor of the other spices.

5. My baking time and temperature depends on how much time I have. It's best to bake on a low temperature (around 200 degrees F) for about 20 minutes. Stir the seeds once about halfway through to make sure both sides brown. 

If I'm in a rush,  I bake them at 325 degrees for about 5-10 minutes, just until the seeds start popping and smell toasty. Just make sure to watch the seeds closely if you bake like this because they will burn quickly. 

6. If you take the seeds out at this point and they still seem a little bendy, you can just put them back in the oven and roast the pumpkin seeds for another 5 minutes or so. They are pretty forgiving and can go back in the oven until they are the right texture. 

7. You can store them in a mason jar or other tightly sealed container for several months. 

Now that you now the basic method on how to roast pumpkin seeds, you can experiment with flavors. These are my top 6 favorite flavors:

6 Roast Pumpkin Seeds Flavors

• Salt and Maple Syrup: So simple but such a beautiful fall flavor in your roasted pumpkin seeds! I use about a teaspoon of maple syrup enough to make sure it will coat all the seeds, and a sprinkle of salt, again, just enough to flavor it. 

• Sweet and Spicy: Use maple syrup, salt and a few pinches of cayenne powder for a spicy kick

• Popcorn Flavor Roast Pumpkin Seeds: I love to mix 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast, 1 teaspoon dried dill, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon onion power, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and a pinch of paprika. If you have more than you need you can save it to flavor popcorn.

• Cinnamon Sugar: 1 Tablespoon coconut sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon with a pinch of salt makes a super yummy dessert-like roasted pumpkin seed.

• Pizza Flavor: 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon onion power, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and a pinch of paprika. If you have more than you need you can save it to flavor popcorn.

• Chocolate Covered Roast Pumpkin Seeds: For the ultimate sweet snack, you can take your basic slightly salted pumpkin seed recipe and dip into 2 Tablespoons melted chocolate chips, then set them to dry on a piece of parchment paper.

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