Roasted Pumpkin Seeds 3 Ways- Sweet, Smoky, and Spicy
- Alex and Gus
- Oct 27, 2017
- 4 min read
In our humble opinion, pumpkin seeds are incredibly underrated. It seems like everyone buys at least one pumpkin (or if you're like us, several pumpkins of various sizes and colors). Even if you're not into carving pumpkins, get all your money's worth out of them and scoop all the guts and seeds out before you trash it! Pumpkins are notorious for staying fresh for a long time (2-3 months if you haven't carved into it), so try out some of these recipes if you're curious!
Step 1: Prepping the seeds!
Probably the worst part of this entire process is using your hands to scoop cold pumpkin goop out of the pumpkin and into a bowl, but believe us, it's just one of those things that makes you nostalgic like no other fall tradition can when you think back to it.
To make your life easier in the kitchen, pick out all the obvious big bits of pumpkin and throw those away. The picture on the left is about what you should be left with. Add some warm water to the bowl so all the seeds float, and sift through all the remaining slimy bits with your hands. The picture on the right is what the seeds will look like after they've been cleaned and patted dry.
Step 2: Making your pumpkin seeds taste delicious!
The most classic pumpkin seed recipe is just tossing them in some olive oil, salt, and garlic powder. You can't beat the simple yet classic taste, but sometimes you want to have a party in your mouth that salt and garlic powder can't fulfill. We carved 3 pumpkins that yielded about 1 cup of seeds per pumpkin, so we thought we'd give 3 different tastes a try! Check them out below!
Recipe #1: Caramel and Pie Spice Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients:
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds, fresh from the pumpkin and washed
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 tbsp white granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp Trader Joe's pumpkin pie spice (I only specify this specific type because it has ground cardamon, which adds a lovely flavor. If you don't have access to a Trader Joe's, pumpkin pie spice from any store will still taste amazing)
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (because you want a little extra oomph to this)
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Pour the melted butter over the seeds and stir to coat. Add all the spices and stir to evenly distribute the spices.
3. Pour the mixture onto the parchment paper and spread out so it's as much of a single layer as possible.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, but start checking on them around the 28 minute mark. You want to take them out before they look really dark.
5. Scoop them into a bowl and try not to eat them all at once!
These are dangerous. Very dangerous. It's a combination of sticky, smooth caramel plus the spices of pumpkin pie and tastes like candy. The sugar caramelizes in the oven so you get an amazing crunchy coating on the pumpkin seeds. 10/10. Absolutely lovely.
Recipe #2: Sweet & Smoky Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients:
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 tbsp McCormick Smokehouse maple seasoning
- 1/4 tsp ground mustard
- 1/2 tsp ground sweet paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Add the olive oil to the pumpkin seeds and stir to evenly coat the seeds
3. Add all the remaining ingredients and stir to evenly distribute.
4. Bake for 21-23 minutes. Take them out when they look well toasted and enjoy!
Recipe #3: Spicy Turmeric Pumpkin Seeds
This is perfect for those who are health conscious in your life. Turmeric has wonderful anti-inflammatory capabilities and is also an antioxidant to help fight off free radicals. Paired with the high protein content of pumpkin seeds, this is a tasty snack to eat amidst all the cookies and pies offered this season :)
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds, cleaned
- 1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin
- a heaping 1/4 tsp of sriracha black pepper (or more if you like things spicy)
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- a generous sprinkle of salt
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Don't put this on a nice silicone baking sheet or directly onto the pan, the turmeric stains and won't come out (I learned this the hard way).
2. Add the olive oil and evenly coat the seeds.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and distribute evenly among the seeds.
4. Bake for 20 minutes. Take them out and enjoy!
Do you have a go-to recipe for roasting pumpkin seeds? Or if this is your first time, what did you think? Let us know in the comments below and thank you for your time!
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