Best Way to Roast Pumpkin Seeds
For many people, roasting pumpkin seeds is an essential fall tradition. While pumpkin pies and cakes and other desserts start appearing on the table during the fall, roasted pumpkin seeds provide a special snack that is just as delicious. Here are some tips on how to roast pumpkin seeds for your family or guests this fall.
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1. Choose a pumpkin and remove the seeds.
If your family will be carving jack-o-lanterns, then save the seeds when the pumpkin innards are removed. If carving pumpkins is not in your plans, then choose a pumpkin from which to harvest seeds. You can use the pumpkin flesh to make pies, cakes, or even pumpkin smoothies so that the rest of the pumpkin is not wasted.
2. Rinse pumpkin seeds.
Hold pumpkin seeds under cold water and remove any pump or strings. This will be easiest to do just after you have removed the seeds from the pumpkin—if you remove the seeds and then wait to rinse, the pulp will dry and will be much harder to remove.
3. Place pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet.
Put a bit of oil on a baking sheet and then pour the pumpkin seeds onto it, stirring them to fully coat them with oil. If you prefer, you can also simply coat the baking sheet with non-stick spray. Either way, be sure that your seeds won’t stick to the baking sheet. Spread the seeds out to one thin layer covering the sheet.
4. Season and bake.
Sprinkle your pumpkin seeds with seasonings. This can be salt or any number or combination of spices. Cajun seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, or garlic salt are just some of your options. Once you have seasoned the pumpkin seeds, put the seeds in the oven at 325 degrees and bake until the seeds are toasted (about 25 minutes). Then remove the seeds from the oven and enjoy! Let the roasted pumpkin seeds cool completely before storing in an air-tight container.
5. Extra tips
If you want your roasted pumpkin seeds to turn out even saltier, you can boil them in salt water for a few minutes before putting them on the baking sheet. You can eat the pumpkin seeds with the outer shell on or off. Sugar pumpkins are more ideal to use if you want to eat the outer shells. Large carving pumpkins tend to have outer shells that are harder to eat, so you may want to crack open the outer shells to eat these.
Image Credit: wordridden, Flickr