The BEST 10 Pumpkin Seeds Recipes. You’ll want this ultimate pumpkin seed list for all your Halloween and fall plans. Includes traditional roasted pumpkin seeds, plus a guide on how to pick the perfect pumpkin, carve it, and roast the seeds. Other recipes include ranch, honey roasted, chocolate, pumpkin spice, everything spice, vanilla nutmeg, maple chili, maple bacon, honey sriracha, and spicy jalapeno.
Fall is in full swing here and now is the perfect time to purchase pumpkins. This last weekend was very nice and sunny outside. I set out on Sunday to visit a few local farms and pick up my seasonal fall favorites. I just love fresh apple cider this time of year. Also, I can’t resist picking out a fresh apple pie or two.
When I went out on the field to pick the best pumpkins from the crop, I discovered from a local that in order to make fresh pumpkin pie, you need a “pumpkin pie” pumpkin. So begun my journey searching for the best pumpkins. Here are my picks for the season.
** Note that there are three different sizes. The only medium pumpkin {front, left} in the picture is the pumpkin that is needed for pumpkin pie.
I picked up 8 pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. Also, a few gourds, squash, small pumpkins, pumpkin pie pumpkins and corn. The pumpkins were taken to a friend’s house where we carved them. We used cookie cutter shapes and applied pressure to the hammer to make designs once they were gutted. The seeds were washed and oven dried. We made about 12 batches of pumpkin seeds.
The pumpkins are on the porch. At night I light tea candles inside the pumpkins. Also, to preserve the pumpkins from rotting faster, I use a mixture of 2 parts water and 1 part bleach. The pumpkins are sprayed daily with the mixture to ensure that they last as long as possible outside.
Preparing Pumpkin Seeds from Scratch Using a Fresh Pumpkin
Choosing a pumpkin
- You can use the seeds from either a carving pumpkin or a pie pumpkin, but avoid seeds from decorative white pumpkins. For 1 cup of seeds, purchase a 10- to 14-pound pumpkin. Smaller seeds work best; larger seeds tend to pop in the oven and get tough.
Removing the Seeds
- After you have the pumpkin picked out, lay news paper down for a work area. Then, cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin. For smaller pumpkins the pumpkin can be sliced in half. Use the pumpkin stem as the handle to finish removing the top. Next, use a long handle spoon to scoop the gut and seeds out or your hands.
Rise the seeds under running water until all the guts and strings are washed off. Drain and pat with a paper towel until dry.
Drying the Seeds
- Use a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper or foil. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Allow the seeds to dry out in the oven for 1 hour. The seeds can be dried at room temperature for 24-48 hours instead of oven drying. **This step needs to be completed before continuing to the below recipes**
Pumpkin seeds are so versatile you can eat them for breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner.
Cinnamon Maple Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 c of roasted, unsalted pumpkin seeds
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 pinch of allspice
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 300-350 degrees and line a baking pan with foil. Spray the foil with non-stick spray.
- In a bowl, combine the pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, salt and maple syrup and toss to coat. Spread the nuts onto the baking pan and bake at 350degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Watch to make sure they don’t burn because every oven is different.
- Let the seeds cool before removing from pan and store in an air-tight container.
Traditional Pumpkin Seeds
- 2 cups pumpkin seeds, washed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt, more or less to taste
- 1/2 freshly ground pepper – peppercorn is also great to use
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 300*F.
- Line cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Combine all ingredients and spread in a single layer on prepared sheet pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes, mixing seed mixture after 10 minutes.
- Seeds should be golden and crunchy. Bake longer if needed
**Store in an air tight container for up to 3 months.
RANCH PUMPKIN SEEDS
If you love ranch seasoning, try these seasoned ranch pumpkin seeds – Click here to get the recipe!
- Ranch powder
- Melted butter
- pumpkin seeds
- mustard powder
- Paprika
- Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS – Get the full directions to make Ranch Pumpkin Seeds here.
Pumpkin Pie Spice Seeds
- 2 cups pumpkin seeds
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 ½ Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 300*F. Line cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Combine all ingredients and mix. Spread in a single layer on prepared sheet pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes, mixing mixture after 10 minutes.
- Seeds should be golden and crunchy. Bake longer if needed.
**Seeds can be stored for up to 3 months in an air tight container.
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Chocolate Pumpkin Seeds
- 2 cups pumpkin seeds
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp natural unsweetened cocoa
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp sea salt or table salt
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spread out the pumpkin seeds on a parchment lined baking sheet, and toast them in the oven for 3-4 minutes.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the honey, cocoa, cinnamon, sea salt, and oil.
- Add the toasted pumpkin seeds to the bowl, and stir to coat them.
- Spread the pumpkin seeds out on a parchment lined baking sheet, and bake for 12-13 minutes.
Honey Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
- 2 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked salt
- kosher salt for sprinkling
DIRECTIONS
- In a large mixing bowl, mix butter, honey, brown sugar and smoked salt until well combined,
Add pumpkin seeds to mixing bowl and mix well until all of the seeds are thoroughly coated. - Grease cookie sheet with butter and spread pumpkin seeds in a single layer. Sprinkle with a little more salt.
Bake pumpkin seeds until brown and crispy, stirring every 10 minutes or so. (Confession: it said online this would take anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes. I got impatient after 40 and turned the heat up to 275 (with the pumpkin seeds still in the oven) and they were done in 10 after that) - Remove from oven, sprinkle with a teensy bit more salt, stir, cool on the pan and enjoy.
Store in an airtight container up to a week, but I bet they won’t last too long. - The salt and sweetness can be to taste. These were mild flavored, but I liked them that way. For more flavor, up the honey before the brown sugar and add in a little more smoked salt.
MAPLE BACON PUMPKIN SEEDS
Sweet and salty roasted pumpkin seeds. A candied, crunchy version with bacon, bacon salt and real maple syrup.
Maple Bacon Pumpkin Seeds RECIPE
- Bacon
- Bacon grease
- maple syrup
- pumpkin seeds
- salt
DIRECTIONS – Get the directions and full ingredients list here.
Vanilla Nutmeg Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 ½ cups dried pumpkin seeds
- 1 Tbsp butter
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp white sugar
- 1 ½ tsp light brown sugar
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 – ½ tsp salt
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
- Melt the butter in a dish. Mix in the vanilla.
- Pour the butter and vanilla into a bowl containing the seeds and mix well.
- Add in 1 teaspoon white sugar, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, the nutmeg, & the salt.
- Spread seeds onto a foil covered cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes, remove seeds, stir, & place back in oven.
- Mix the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of each sugar together in a bowl.
- After the seeds have baked for 20 minutes, remove from the oven, stir, and sprinkle the extra sugar over the seeds.
- Bake for 10 more minutes or untilseeds are brown and crispy (about 30 minutes total).
**Second batch will cook faster due to the sugar mixture left over
Honey Sriracha Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon pimenton (smoked paprika)
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1/8 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- a couple of drops of apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon olive oil
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven 300°F
- Spread out seeds on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Pour the hot seeds into the sriracha mixture and stir to coat well.
- Return the seeds to the baking sheet, spreading them out as best you can – they’ll be sticky. Bake for 5-10 additional minutes to caramelize the sauce on the seeds.
- Remove from the oven and cool.
- If not consuming immediately, spread out the seeds on a cooled baking sheet and allow to set up a bit before packaging. (Otherwise, they’ll tend to stick together in all of their caramelized goodness.)
Everything Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 ½ cups dried pumpkin seeds
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp fresh cracked pepper
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
- Melt the butter in a dish. Mix in the olive oil.
- Pour the butter and oil into a bowl containing the seeds and mix well.
- Add in the salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder.
- Spread seeds onto a foil covered cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes, remove seeds, stir, & place back in oven.
- Repeat this until the seeds are brown and crispy (about 40 minutes).
Jalapeno Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 ½ cups pumpkin seeds, cleaned & dried
- 3 jalapeño peppers, sliced
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- Saltandpaprika to taste
DIRECTIONS
- If pumpkin seeds are rinsed and have dried over night, skip to the next step. If pumpkin seeds were bought from the store, skip to the next step. Rinse pumpkin seeds under cold water, pat the seeds dry with a paper towel and transfer to a baking sheet to dry overnight. The seeds should be somewhat dry to begin the next day.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
If you haven’t already, spread pumpkin seeds out on a rimmed baking sheet. - Add olive oil and sea salt and stir pumpkin seeds with your hands to combine.
- Lay slices of jalapeno peppers on top of seeds.
- Sprinkle paprika over the top of everything, generously.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Use a spatula to mix mixture of seeds. Bake for another 5 minutes.
- Move mixture around some more and bake for a final 5 minutes.
- Remove tray from oven and let everything rest for 15-30 minutes
**pumpkin seeds can be stored in an air tight container for up to 3 months.
Maple Chili Powder Pumpkin Seeds
- 2 cups pumpkin seeds
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Combine all ingredients and spread in a single layer on prepared sheet pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes, mixing mixture after 10 minutes. Seeds should be golden and crunchy.
Notes
For other great recipes and to view the above images with the recipes visit these bloggers below:
Image Credits: By me andHeathlyvoyage Rachelcooks.com Paleop*rn Cherryteacakes Ohsheglows Wholefoodsmarket
