Save those pumpkin seeds when you carve your next jack-o-lantern and turn them into a delicious snack with these 10 perfect pumpkin seed recipes in all kinds of flavors!
Anyone who has ever carved a Jack-0-Lantern knows that there is a lot of “stuff” inside a pumpkin.
If you just toss that all in the trash when you do your Halloween carving, you’re missing out on those little nuggets of nutrition and yumminess – PUMPKIN SEEDS!
They’re a great source of dietary fiber, unsaturated fat and protein. They’re also a good source of potassium and magnesium.
So, what are you going to do with those seeds? These easy pumpkin seed recipe variations should help you out!
Jump to:
- Ingredients Needed
- How to Prepare Pumpkin Seeds
- Roasted Pumpkin Seed Variations
- Plain ‘ol Plain ‘ol Salted Pumpkin Seeds
- Chili Lime Pumpkin Seeds
- Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Seeds
- Italian Pumpkin Seeds
- Fall Spice Pumpkin Seeds
- Super Savory Pumpkin Seeds
- Garlic Pumpkin Seeds
- Chocolate Pumpkin Seeds
- Ranch Pumpkin Seeds
- Greek Pumpkin Seeds
- How to Cook
- Can You Put Pumpkin Seeds in the Air Fryer?
Ingredients Needed
You only need a few things to make roasted pumpkin seeds!
- pumpkin seeds – cleaned and rinsed
- olive oil or melted butter
- seasonings
How to Prepare Pumpkin Seeds
To prepare your seeds for roasting, you will need to rinse them first. You can put them in a big bowl of water and swish – the seeds should float to the top and the other gunk sink to the bottom. Or you can just put them in a colander and rub them with your hands to remove the pumpkin innards from the seeds.
They need to dry next. The easiest way to do this is to spread them out on a cookie sheet and let them sit overnight. If you don’t want to wait, you can resort to using a hair dryer set on low (you don’t want the seeds to fly around your kitchen!) or else put them in the oven at a very low setting, about 120 degrees, and stir occasionally until they are dry.
To prepare 2 cups of seeds, you’ll want to toss them with about a tablespoon of olive oil or melted butter. Then season them with your choice of the following seasonings.
Roasted Pumpkin Seed Variations
Plain ‘ol Plain ‘ol Salted Pumpkin Seeds
Just sprinkle with sea salt
Chili Lime Pumpkin Seeds
Sprinkle with 2 tsp chili powder, a dash of cayenne pepper, salt and a few squirts of fresh lime juice
Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Seeds
Toss with 2 Tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp. cinnamon
Italian Pumpkin Seeds
Mix with 3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese, 1 tsp oregano, and 1/2 tsp salt
Fall Spice Pumpkin Seeds
Toss with 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp all spice, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp salt
Super Savory Pumpkin Seeds
Mix seeds with 1 1/2 tsp worstechire sauce and 1 1/4 tsp season salt
Garlic Pumpkin Seeds
Just sprinkle with 2 – 3 tsp garlic salt
Chocolate Pumpkin Seeds
1 Tbsp cocoa powder, 2 Tbsp sugar, sprinkle of salt
Ranch Pumpkin Seeds
Mix with one packet of ranch salad dressing mix powder
Greek Pumpkin Seeds
Toss with 1 Tbsp oregano, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp dried parsley, and a few squirts of lemon juice
How to Cook
Make sure your seeds are washed and fully dry before adding seasonings.
In a bowl, add approximately one teaspoon of melted butter or olive oil for every cup of pumpkin seeds. Then add your choice of seasoning from above and stir well. Spread seeds on a baking sheet.
To cook, roast in a 300 degree oven for approximately 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, or until seeds are golden brown.
Can You Put Pumpkin Seeds in the Air Fryer?
Why, yes! You can cook your pumpkin seeds in the air fryer instead of the oven. To do it, follow the instructions above and then cook at 360 degrees for 10-15 minutes, stirring or shaking half way through.
If they’re not crispy enough for you after 15 minutes, add 2-3 minutes at a time until they’re just as you like them!
kate says
Couple additions:
Soak them in salt water overnight
Let them dry on wash cloth for faster drying
Bake mine for 12 min on each side at 250. They burnt at 300. Sometimes another 5 min if not crisp enough.
A candied variation I tried this year: twp tablespoons of maple syrup, melted butter, brown sugar & cinnamon mixed w pumpkins, baked 14 min on each side. Sprinkle w sea salt when done. Theyre a hit!
Robin Wilson says
My first thought was “get outta here!”. I honestly had no idea that you could do this for yourself! What a wonderful way to use the seeds that usually end up in the compost pile! The Garlic and the Fall Spice flavors jump out at me first as ones I would like to try! Thanks for the inspiration.
June S. says
(10 Delicious Pumpkin Seed Recipe Variations) I like eating Pumpkin seeds a lot, I have a bag of the plain one’s downstairs right now. These are some great way’s to change them up a bit. Thanks for sharing-
Sara Zielinski says
Oh my I can never get them to come out right, they always get too burnt or just don’t come out right. Maybe these recipes will help, it seems like a waste to waste the pumpkin seeds after carving the pumpkins.