That teeny tiny blip of time when it’s cool in the mornings and evenings, but still warm in the afternoons. It’s the perfect time to go visit a pumpkin patch! If you have never carved a pumpkin and saved the seeds, let this be the year you do that! And, roast the pumpkin seeds!!
It may surprise you to learn that pumpkin seeds are loaded with health benefits ~ “Pumpkin seeds (pepitas) are a nutrient-dense food packed with healthy fats, magnesium, antioxidants, and protein that support heart, immune, and prostate health.” (Source: Google 10/12/26).
Roasted pumpkin seeds are simple. The most time consuming part is carving the pumpkin and cleaning the seeds of the pumpkin guts. But the payoff is so worth it.
We don’t have a hack for getting the guts off the seeds but to get them out of the pumpkin you can use your hand mixer!
Most pumpkins will give you a yield of more than 2 cups of seeds so you should have plenty for this recipe from even one pumpkin that you carve.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
•2 c (approx) seeds from a pumpkin
•butter or olive oil
•salt
•pepper
•Cavendar’s seasoning
•Worcestershire sauce
Preheat oven to 250°F
Rinse off your seeds in cold water and clean them from the pumpkin guts. This step can be a little labor intensive but we promise the results are so worth it!
Boil your clean pumpkin seeds in salted water (1 ½ tsp salt) for 10 minutes.
After boiling, strain the seeds and then dry the seeds on a kitchen towel and mix up your seasonings all together in a small bowl.
Use 3 Tbsp butter, melted or 2 Tbsp olive oil to coat the dry seeds in a medium sized bowl.
Seasoning mix:
•1 tsp salt
•1/2 tsp pepper
•1 1/2 tsp Cavendar’s seasoning (you can use your fave seasoning mix)
•2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Add the seasoning mix to the buttered seeds. Spread out the seasoned/buttered seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with nonstick foil. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then increase the oven temp to 325°F and bake for 5-10 minutes more to really get them crunchy. Be sure to pay attention now so you don’t burn them.
We hope you try out this super delicious, savory and even health boosting snack!
If you’re not convinced by the yumminess or the actual good-for-you-ness of the pumpkin seeds. We’ll include some pictures of babies inside hollowed out pumpkins to inspire you to do a photo op!
Pumpkin guts still just a hard no for you? We have another fall snack option that requires no pumpkin carving or oven usage: peanuts and candy corn. Seriously! That’s it! Sure, it’s less of a health boosting snack but it’s also a *little* less time consuming (haha) so if you need a quick, fall-inspired snack…peanuts and candy corn it is!
Combine dry roasted (lightly salted) peanuts in a jar that you can seal with candy corn. The perfect eating ratio is one candy corn to 4-ish peanuts. So good!
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