It’s that time of year again! Time for pumpkin everything. And I’m not talking about pumpkin spice. It’s time for the obligatory trip to the pumpkin patch to take photos of your kids among these orange giants. Then you haul them to the house and prep them for carving. Once they are carved you are left with all of the pumpkin innards and seeds. And Roasted Pumpkin Seeds are the happy leftovers that come from a full day of pumpkin everything!
Grab a pumpkin from your recent trip to the local gourd patch and split it half . Remove all the seeds and fibrous material in the middle. (You can cook the rest of the pumpkin to make puree for pie, cupcakes, cookies, or other fall treats. Click HERE to see how to make your own Pumpkin Puree!)
Soak seeds overnight in salt water brine. I use the following ration of 1 cup kosher salt to 1/2 gallon of water. Not only does this add flavor to your seeds, it also helps separate any remaining pumpkin flesh from the seeds. You can also experiment with other flavors such as garlic or hot sauce.
You do want to make sure all the pumpkin flesh is removed before roasting. The overnight saltwater soak makes this much easier.
The next morning, drain the salt water and remaining flesh from the seeds. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.
Lightly oil a baking sheet and spreads your seeds out. Cook the seeds for one hour then flip and redistribute them on the sheet. Continue roasting the seeds until they have thoroughly dried, for a total of 2-3 hours. Remove from the oven and let them cool. Place them in an air-tight container to maintain crunch.
This is truly one of my favorite parts of fall! We have so much fun picking out the perfect pumpkins and then using them for carving and roasting seeds.
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