Surprise Your Friends With Toasted Pumpkin Seeds This Season

During the holidays, pumpkins are a major source of utility. From carved pumpkins, decorative pumpkins, to edible treats made from pumpkins, they serve many functions.  Hosting a pumpkin carving party for Halloween?  Make sure your guests discard their seeds in a big pot so that you can cook them afterwards for a healthy, tasty, festive snack.  Stuck inside during Hurricane Sandy and have no clue what do? Find a pumpkin and get cooking, using our helpful tips below.

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Pumpkin seeds are nutritious and healthy – and we love a healthy snack during the holidays that tastes great too.

For those of you nutrition label-obsessed, a 1 ounce serving of unshelled pumpkin seeds contains only 125 calories, 5 grams of fat, 15 carbs, 5 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein and many minerals that support bone health and maintain normal blood pressure.

Below, we have the recipe for toasted pumpkin seeds.  This recipe is so easy to make, all of you can do it yourself, it’s quick, and you don’t need to go out and buy any ingredients. We promise!

How To Toast Pumpkin Seeds For The Holidays

Materials:

Pot

Colander or Strainer

Wooden Spoon

2 Baking sheets or large pans

Ingredients:

Salt (1 teaspoon per 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds)

Water (2 cups per 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds)

Olive Oil (1 tablespoon to coat each baking sheet or pan)

Spices (spicy or sweet is fine)

Pumpkin Seeds (As many as you can save from your pumpkin)

Step 1:  Remove pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin and rinse in a colander, while discarding the pumpkin pulp with your hands.  Measure pumpkin seeds and place in a large pot.  Fill with water.  2 cups of water per 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds.  Add salt to water and pumpkin seeds.  1 teaspoon salt per 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds.  Bring water to a boil and then let simmer for about 10 minutes.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees while seeds simmer.  Remove from heat.

Step 2: Once removing pot from heat, dump contents into a strainer and shake so that there is no water remaining.  Coat a baking sheet or large pan with olive oil. Use 1 tablespoon per baking sheet.  Add seeds to the pan in a thin layer.

Step 3: Sprinkle desired seasonings onto seeds and stir with wooden spoon to coat.  We used pumpkin pie spice and cayenne pepper and then combined the seeds for a somewhat sweet and spicy flavor. Bake seeds for 20-30 minutes, while keeping an eye on seeds so they do not burn, and stirring half way through.  Sample seeds throughout. Seeds are done when they are crispy and not chewy.  Seeds will darken and brown slightly. Enjoy!