Don’t let your pumpkin and squash seeds go to waste this Halloween – roast them in a blend of spices to make a spicy snack or crunchy salad topping.
Don’t toss those seeds!
As you’re carving your pumpkin for Halloween or making the most of the gorgeous seasonal squash, don’t scoop the seeds straight into your food waste bin.
There are so many delicious ways to jazz them up and make a savoury or sweet treat. Whether you toss them in a blend of spices or with a drizzle of honey, they’re super quick and easy to make. All you need to do is:
- Carve
- Clean
- Roast
In my recipe below, I’ve roasted a mix of sugar pumpkin and carnival squash seeds in drizzle of olive oil along with a spicy blend of smoked paprika, crushed chilli flakes, garlic granules, salt and pepper. This creates a smokey and spicy flavour that is moreish to snack on and satisfying to sprinkle over all sorts of dishes.
Why boil the seeds before roasting?
After rinsing the seeds under running water, there is usually still some stringy flesh attached to the seeds. By boiling the seeds for five minutes in salted boiling water, this flesh will come away. You’ll also season the seeds slightly before you dry and add your spices to roast.
Watch me make roasted pumpkin and squash seeds
Ways to enjoy roasted pumpkin and squash seeds
- Grab a handful as a filling snack
- Toss them in my autumn sweet potato salad
- Sprinkle them on this chicken and roasted vegetable salad with harissa tahini dressing
- Garnish on a big bowl of warming soup
And make sure you use the flesh of the pumpkin and try my chicken chorizo and pumpkin stew.
Let me know what you end up sprinkling these over in the comments below or over on Instagram @somethingwithflavour.
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Roasted pumpkin and squash seeds
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Don’t let your pumpkin and squash seeds go to waste this Halloween – roast them in a blend of spices to make a spicy snack or crunchy salad topping.
Ingredients
- 150 grams fresh pumpkin or squash seeds – scooped from 2/3 pumpkins or squash
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon crushed chilli flakes
- 1 teaspoon garlic granules
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C fan.
- Cut open the pumpkins or squash and scoop the seeds from the flesh. Pop the seeds into a sieve and rinse under running water to clean off the stringy bits still attached.
- Add the seeds into a saucepan of salted boiling water and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and tip onto a tea towel and pat dry.
- Once dry, toss the seeds in olive oil, smoked paprika, crushed chilli flakes, garlic granules and a good grind of salt and pepper.
- Line a baking tray with baking paper, spread the seeds in a thin layer and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until crispy, stirring halfway through.
- Once baked, allow to cool completely on the tray before transferring to an airtight container. These will keep for a couple of weeks.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Snack
- Method: Oven
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
- Calories: 71
- Sugar: 0.1g
- Sodium: 1.2mg
- Fat: 6.4g
- Carbohydrates: 1.8g
- Fiber: 0.7g
- Protein: 3.2g
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