Roasted pumpkin seeds are one of my all-time favorite fall treats, and if you’re carving a pumpkin before Halloween, there’s no reason not to make them! So many of these delicious seeds get thrown away every fall or are set aside and ignored as “pumpkin guts.” In reality, these seeds are a wonderful, incredibly easy-to-prepare snack. 

Chace Duma / Daily Nexus

Ingredients:

  • Seeds from 1 medium-sized pumpkin 
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp salt

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Remove the seeds from one medium-sized pumpkin. Try to remove as much of the stringy flesh from the seeds as you can. Carve a face into the pumpkin (optional, but highly recommended).
  2. Transfer seeds into a strainer and rinse them under cool water. Remove any remaining stringy pumpkin flesh still clinging to the seeds. The water will make this easier. 
  3. Pat seeds dry with a paper towel and transfer them to a medium-sized bowl. Add olive oil and stir (I just use my hands) to coat the seeds. Then add salt, paprika and chili powder and mix until well coated. 
  4. Spread seeds on a parchment-lined baking sheet and put in the oven for 10 minutes. 
  5. Stir the seeds around, then bake for another 10 minutes or until a nice golden brown. 

That’s it! This recipe is quick, easy, delicious and reduces waste. While the paprika/chili powder combo has never done me wrong, pumpkin seeds are an awesome blank canvas for any seasoning combination you can think of. Sit down with a bowl of pumpkin seeds and a scary movie, and enjoy the fall vibes while they last! 

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