When I was a kid my mother would buy one pumpkin for all my five siblings and I to share. We would take turns carving into it making sure each person had equal time with the small serrated bread knife which was so dull, it was painful. After a jagged circle was cut out at the top of our pumpkin, someone would scoop the stringy, wet insides out along with the seeds and place them in a bowl. Mom would quietly take the bowl to the kitchen where she would rinse them, coat them in a little melted butter, and season them with a sprinkle of table salt. The aroma of pumpkin seeds roasting in the oven filled us with excitement and anticipation as we worked on carving our jack-o-lantern.
As soon as the seeds were ready, mom would transfer them to a bowl and walk over to each and every one of us to make sure we all had equal opportunity to eat as many roasted pumpkin seeds our hands could grab. Eating those seeds was always more satisfying than carving pumpkins.
Earlier this week I wrote a post on a healthy version of roasted pumpkin seeds for PBS Parents Kitchen Explorers. I’m also posting a more buttery version below. Either way, roasted pumpkin seeds are a wonderful snack which happens to be healthy too! Enjoy!
- pumpkin seeds
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- salt and pepper
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Scoop out all the seeds from the inside of a pumpkin and place them in a large bowl. Pick out as much of the flesh and strings from the bowl and rinse the seeds.
- Remove seeds from the bowl and place in another clean bowl. Stir in melted butter until all the seeds are coated.
- Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray or line it with parchment paper. Spread the seeds across the baking sheet without overlapping too much and lightly season with salt and pepper - I prefer kosher or sea salt.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until the pumpkin seeds are light golden brown. Be sure to stir the seeds halfway through the baking.
- Remove from the oven and carefully stir the seeds again to release any that may have stuck to the baking sheet. Be sure to allow the pumpkin seeds to completely cool before serving. Enjoy!
If you boil / simmer them for 10 minutes before toasting them, they have a crunchy texture that is delish! Now you don’t have to peel the shells! Enjoy!
I made this weekend, after 30 minutes the seeds were still not done so i moved to 400F and they got done within 10 minutes. So easy and good.
Lovely post and you’ve inspired me to answer the kid’s “what are we going to do today” Sunday question! We are going pumpkin finding at our local farm.
Now a question…. do you eat the pumpkin seeds with the shells on or do you crack them open and only eat the meat. We’ve have both kinds of “eaters” in our family. Our youngest thinks it takes to much time to open, while our oldest thinks the outside shell is too fibrous.
Always a good basic to post, it is easy to forget temp and times for this great treat!
My baby girl insists on planting all the pumpkin seeds from her pumpkins. We’ve had pumpkins growing wildly from the sandbox one year and next to the driveway the year before that. : ) We never quite know where they’ll sprout next! Apparently, she has a green thumb.
I have been buying pepitas though, and roasting them. I’m totally addicted.
Hi Becky,
They keep fresh for a week as long as you keep them in an airtight container or ziplock bag.
Sounds delish! How long do they keep for after baking? How do you store them for freshness?
I just made some of these tonight….yum!
Yum! I haven’t tried pumpkin seeds before, but they are on my list to make this season!
yum, what a healthy snack! i have an acorn squash that i’m planning to make soup with later and now i definitely will not be scraping the seeds into the garbage can!
What a nice story about your family. Posts like this are how we get to know one another, thanks. I think it is time for me to roast some pumpkin seeds.
No, no!! You gotta roast them low and slow, or they’re chewy and fibrous and nasty!!
I’ve always loved roasted pumpkin seeds, and your post has me feeling the Halloween love. When I was a little girl, I insisted we paint the pumpkins instead of carve them because I thought pumpkins had feelings. Thankfully I outgrew that! 🙂
This is the weekend for pumpkin seeds at our house. I can’t wait!
Wow – that’s a huge child to pumpkin ratio – you must have been the best (and most patient) sharers on the block. I went for gold with my pumpkin seed quota last year and doused them in balsamic before grilling — the difference between like & love!