Fall is the perfect time of year to enjoy a seasonal snack with a hint of salt and a slightly spicy chili kick, so make sure you don’t throw away your pumpkin seeds after you carve your pumpkins this year. After these pumpkin seeds are boiled in salted water they are then oven-roasted with melted butter, chili powder, and onion powder. Once they’re finished baking, sprinkle the roasted pumpkin seeds with a bit of sea salt for the perfect savory nibble. Enjoy these pumpkin seeds as a snack during the fall months, or use them to garnish a comforting bowl of pumpkin soup or a fresh garden salad topped with dried cranberries and diced apples.
I don’t often do real pumpkins. And there is a bloody good reason for that. Real pumpkins are a freaking pain in the ass. They are slimy and hard to cut. They’re also a real pain to peel. And, you know that? If I’m being totally honest, I actually prefer the taste of canned pumpkin. So, why not just use a can opener when I’m in the mood to make something with pumpkin, instead of ending up covered in pumpkin guts with blood dripping down my hand from trying to cut a pumpkin without incident and failing miserably?
There’s always that one time though, when I’m walking through a market around Halloween and see a small sugar pumpkin and think to myself, oh looky there, I should really make something with fresh pumpkin. It’s so cute. You know what? I’m an idiot. Because I always seem to block out the past memories of dealing with fresh pumpkins. I always think, oh it’s just a baby pumpkin, it’s so tiny, it won’t be that bad. You know what? Sometimes it is that bad. Baby pumpkin or carving pumpkin, they all suck to cut.
Now, if like me, you do find yourself carving a cute wee little pumpkin and surviving the knife wounds, don’t you dare throw the seeds away. I know, I know, you’ll be tempted to, just so you don’t have to deal with the slimy little buggers. But don’t do it. With the recipe below, you’ll easily be able to transform those slimy little buggers into a tasty snack. You worked hard to get to those suckers. So you sure as heck deserve to enjoy them, right? And, they make a great garnish for soups and salads, which is a nice bonus.
Ingredients:
- Cold Water
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Sea Salt (Additional for Garnish)
- 3/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds
- 3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Melted
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Onion Powder
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Fill a medium pot with cold water and add 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- When the water is boiling, add the pumpkin seeds. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Rinse and drain the pumpkin seeds in a colander under cold water, removing any bits of leftover pumpkin.
- Spread the pumpkin seeds out onto several layers of paper towels and use a few extra paper towels to dab as much water off of the pumpkin seeds as you can.
- Place the pumpkin seeds onto a baking sheet. In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, Worcestershire, chili powder, and onion powder. Drizzle the mixture over the pumpkin seeds and then stir well to combine. Spread the pumpkin seeds out into an even layer.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Stir and bake for another 15 minutes. Stir and bake for another 15 minutes.
- Remove the pumpkin seeds from the oven and garnish with salt to taste.
- Allow the pumpkin seeds to cool completely before wrapping them lightly in a paper towel or two and storing them in an airtight container.
Suggestions:
- You will need approximately 3/4 cup of pumpkin seeds for this recipe. One average-sized sugar pumpkin or pie pumpkin will easily yield this amount. It may be a tad less, or it may be a tad more. It won’t make that much of a difference for this recipe as long as you use around 3/4 cup of seeds. If you are using the seeds from a large carving pumpkin, you will need to adjust this recipe or roast the seeds in several batches.
- Before boiling your pumpkin seeds, try to remove as much pumpkin as possible from them.
- Why should you boil your pumpkin seeds? Boiling the seeds will help to remove excess pumpkin and will also allow the seeds to steam in the oven, which will create a crunchier end product.
- Make sure to keep an eye on your seeds so that they don’t burn. My pumpkin seeds took about 45 minutes to roast, so I stirred them every 15 minutes.
- Store these pumpkin seeds wrapped loosely in a paper towel. The paper towel will absorb any excess oil from the butter.
- You can eat these seeds right away as a snack or save them to garnish soups or salads. I personally think these roasted pumpkin seeds taste better the next day. They seem to get crunchier after resting overnight.
Improvements:
- Sprinkle these pumpkin seeds with a 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder or freshly ground black pepper before roasting.
- Use these pumpkin seeds to garnish this Crock Pot Pumpkin Chicken Chili or this Crockpot Mexican Butternut Squash Soup.
- This French Pumpkin & Ham Quiche with Brie is a great recipe to use when you have fresh pumpkin.
Ingredients:
- Cold Water
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Sea Salt (Additional for Garnish)
- 3/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds
- 3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Melted
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Onion Powder
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Fill a medium pot with cold water and add 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- When the water is boiling, add the pumpkin seeds. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Rinse and drain the pumpkin seeds in a colander under cold water, removing any bits of leftover pumpkin.
- Spread the pumpkin seeds out onto several layers of paper towels and use a few extra paper towels to dab as much water off of the pumpkin seeds as you can.
- Place the pumpkin seeds onto a baking sheet. In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, Worcestershire, chili powder, and onion powder. Drizzle the mixture over the pumpkin seeds and then stir well to combine. Spread the pumpkin seeds out into an even layer.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Stir and bake for another 15 minutes. Stir and bake for another 15 minutes.
- Remove the pumpkin seeds from the oven and garnish with salt to taste.
- Allow the pumpkin seeds to cool completely before wrapping them lightly in a paper towel or two and storing them in an airtight container.
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