Making roasted pumpkin seeds is a fun family tradition in our house and a great way to get your kids in the kitchen! Scooping out the pulp and seeds and then separating them is so much fun. Plus, it’s a great sensory and fine motor skill builder too for little ones. The whole process takes about 30 minutes to prep the seeds and then 20 minutes of bake time, so the pumpkin seeds will be ready to eat within the hour.
We are a house divided when it comes to roasted pumpkin seeds. My husband and I prefer the lightly salted variety, and while our kids like that kind too, they prefer them sweet. This year we got a HUGE pumpkin, so we had enough seeds to make them both ways. Below you’ll find step by step instructions for sweet and salty roasted pumpkin seeds recipe.
How to Make Sweet & Salty Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
You will need:
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- small mixing bowl
- collander
- paper towels
- baking sheet
Before you start the steps pictured above, preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Next scoop the pumpkin seeds out of the pumpkin. You can use an ice cream or melon scooper, or I like to let my kids use their washed hands because it’s more fun!
Step 1: Place your pumpkin seeds in a small mixing bowl.
Step 2: Once you have most of the pulp removed, transfer the seeds to a colander and run under water for one minute. This should help remove leftover pulp.
Step 3: Line a baking sheet with a layer of paper towels. Place the wet pumpkin seeds on top of the paper towel and allow them to dry for 20 minutes.
Step 4: Add your maple syrup, nutmeg, cinnamon, nutmeg into one bowl to make your sweet ingredients, stir and set aside. Add your olive oil and salt to another bowl for your salty ingredients, stir and set aside.
Step 5: Take out two small plastic sealable bags. Add 1/2 cup of dry pumpkin seeds, and sweet ingredients mix to one bag. Seal it and shake it up until the seeds are evenly covered. Add remaining cup of dry pumpkin seeds and salty ingredients to the second bag. Seal it and shake it up until it’s evenly coated.
Step 6: Arrange on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
Step 7: Let them cool for 10 minutes and ENJOY!
Tips to Separate the Pulp from the Seeds:
- Use your hands to pull as much of the pulp off of the seeds with your fingers as you can before placing them in a mixing bowl.
- If you still have quite a bit of pulp, fill the mixing bowl with water and spin them around by hand. This will help separate them.
- Running the seeds under water for a minute in a colander also helps to remove leftover pulp.
Reversing the Recipe:
If you have more people that prefer the sweet variety over salty, you can reverse the recipe. To do so, use 2 tbsp maple syrup with 1 cup of pumpkin seeds and keep the other ingredients the same. To cut the salty recipe in half reduce both the olive oil and salt in half so that you’re using 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1/4 tsp salt.
If you’ve tried this recipe, please RATE THE RECIPE below!
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Roasted Pumpkin Seeds – Printable Recipe
Sweet & Salty Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free and free from the top 8 most common allergens. It makes five servings.
Ingredients
Salty Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
Sweet Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ginger
Instructions
-
Preheat your oven to 275 degrees.
-
Scoop the pumpkin seeds out of the pumpkin. You can use an ice cream or melon scooper, or I like to let my kids use their washed hands because it's more fun!
-
Place your pumpkin seeds in a small mixing bowl.
-
Once you have most of the pulp removed, transfer the seeds to a collander and run under water for one minute. This should remove most leftover pulp.
-
Line a baking sheet with a layer of paper towels.
-
Place the wet pumpkin seeds on top of the paper towel and allow them to dry for 20 minutes.
-
Add your olive oil and salt to another bowl for your salty ingredients, stir and set aside.
-
Add your maple syrup, nutmeg, cinnamon, nutmeg into one bowl to make your sweet ingredients, stir and set aside.
-
Take out two small plastic sealable bags.
-
Add 1/2 cup of dry pumpkin seeds, and sweet ingredients mix to one bag. Seal it and shake it up until the seeds are evenly covered.
-
Add remaining cup of dry pumpkin seeds and salty ingredients to the second bag. Seal it and shake it up until it's evenly coated.
-
Step 6: Arrange on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Tips to Separate the Pulp from the Seeds: Use your hands to pull as much of the pulp off of the seeds with your fingers as you can before placing them in a mixing bowl. If you still have quite a bit of pulp, fill the mixing bowl with water and spin them around by hand. This will help separate them. Running the seeds under water for a minute in a colander also helps to remove leftover pulp.
Reversing the Recipe: If you have more people that prefer the sweet variety of roasted pumpkin seeds, you can reverse the recipe. To do so, use 2 tbsp maple syrup with 1 cup of pumpkin seeds and keep the other ingredients the same. To cut the salty recipe in half reduce both the olive oil and salt in half so that you're using 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1/4 tsp salt.
Hungry for More Pumpkin Recipes? Try these:
Pin for Later:
Such a great treat from childhood! I lean toward salty always but this sweet mixture looks super YUM!
Yay! I was wanting to make roasted pumpkin seeds this weekend! Will definitely be trying this. 🙂