Roasting Pumpkin Seeds
It's that time of year again and yesterday we carved up three pumpkins. One for each of my girls and the other to mysteriously place on our neighbor's doorstep. We did this last year and they were very excited by the gesture. The girls were rewarded with homemade cookies.
Roasting pumpkin seeds is easy and a great snack to have around the house. My wife made this batch and said it was her finest ever. Here's a simple recipe.
Washing & Drying the Pumpkin Seeds
It's a good idea to dry the seeds before roasting but not exactly necessary. We didn't, but if you want, here's what to do. Before roasting, you'll want to wash and dry the seeds to remove all the yucky pumpkin gook. To wash, just place the seeds in a big bowl of water and rub off any of the fibrous pumpkin tissue. You'll probably want to do this a couple of times to get all the yucky stuff off.
To dry, just place on a roasting pan being sure to spread them out so they aren't touching (too much) and place in a warm oven for a couple of hours. Be sure to stir them frequently so they don't burn.
Roasting
As I said up top, we skipped the drying part above and went right to the roasting. After we washed the seeds, we preheated the oven to 300 degrees F and then tossed the pumpkin seeds in a bowl with a couple of tablespoons of melted butter and a little bit of salt. Looking back, I think 1 tablespoon of butter is enough.
Spead the seeds out evenly onto a baking sheet and bake until golden brown (about 30 to 40 minutes). Again be sure to stir frequently to prevent burning.
Letting Them Sit
Once done, you're going to want to dive right in and taste your work, which is fine, but you'll find the seeds a little greasy from the butter. However, if you wait a few hours, the pumpkin seeds seem to absorb some of the butter and they have better flavor without the greasy feel.
Mary Ann McGrath
My children look forward to roasted pumpkin seeds every year. After I rinse the seeds i let them sit in salty water overnight, spray the roasting pan with nonstick oil and let 'em brown.
They have become a family tradition.
Tim from WI
I have enjoyed pumpkin seeds since childhood. I have found that if you rinse the seeds and salt them with sea salt immediately, the salt will stay on long enough for them to roast and will be absorbed into the seeds making for great taste and a lot less mess while eating.
RG
Cindy, you are right. It should have read 300 degrees F and they are roasted anywhere from between 30 and 40 minutes being sure to stir them occasionally.
Stephanie
Spray some pam on a plate and microwave them for three minutes, one minute at a time. I swear, they come out just fine and it's a lot faster!
gudipudi
300F ideal temp to roast
Susan K.
I roasted spaghetti squash seeds the same way as the pumkin seeds. I soaked them in salt water over night and the next day, roasted them in my toaster oven at 300 F for about 3o to 40 minutes.
The squash seeds were fuller than the pumpkin seeds and just as tasty!