Pumpkin Seeds: How to Make Fall’s Favorite Snack

Now that fall is in full swing; it’s time to enjoy the essence of a fall harvest by baking pumpkin seeds for a healthy snack! They make a delicious snack food to munch on throughout the season. Pumpkins are a great fruit to work with because you can use the seeds for snacking and the pumpkin as decor.

Read on for our step-by-step instructions for cleaning and preparing these delicious recipes.

There are many options and recipes on how to season pumpkin seeds. We chose to make a healthy savory choice using the ingredients listed below.

Ingredients For Healthy Snack Food:

• 1 Pumpkin
• 2 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil
• Sea Salt

Step 1: Cleaning & Preparing Your Pumpkin

To start, preheat your oven to 375ºF so you can bake the seeds later per the recipes. Gather your materials for cleaning and preparing your pumpkin seeds. Cleaning out a pumpkin can seem endless when you’re scraping every last bit from the interior of your pumpkin.

To speed up this process, we attached a mixing beater to the end of a drill and loosened up the seeds and pulp.

Next, we removed the pulp and seeds into a bowl and set the pumpkin aside.

Step 2: Separate and Clean Pumpkin Seeds

Pick out the seeds from the bowl and place them on a separate plate. After this, pick through the pulp to find any remaining seeds stuck to the flesh.

Rinse the seeds with water in a strainer to remove any remaining pulp.

Step 3: Season and Bake Seeds Per the Recipes

Pour the pumpkin seeds out onto a baking sheet. Spread the seeds evenly on the baking sheet.

Pat the seeds dry with a napkin or paper towel to remove any extra water from rinsing them.  Drizzle vegetable oil and sprinkle sea salt on top of the seeds. Also, toss them gently with a spoon for an even coating of oil and salt.

Place the seeds, now covered in oil and salt, into the 375ºF oven for 15 minutes or until this healthy snack is golden brown.

Step 4: Carve Your Pumpkin

While your seeds are baking away, spend the extra 15 minutes carving your pumpkin; get all the healthy benefits from one pumpkin! We used a jigsaw to cut out the jack-o’-lantern face on our pumpkin. Learn how to preserve your jack-o’-lantern for up to a month with our simple 1-step process here. This will allow you to get your pumpkins’ full potential and benefits.

Step 5: Arrange & Enjoy!

Once your pumpkin seeds are golden brown, take them out of the oven and allow them to cool. Then, display this seed snack in a festive bowl for friends and family to gain the benefits from this fall.

There are a few other options for seasoning this fall treat. For more flavor on each seed, sprinkle both salt and pepper on the seeds before baking.

If you’re a spice lover, check out this recipe to make pumpkin seeds with a kick! All in all, any of these pumpkin seed recipes are the perfect way to celebrate with food during the fall season.