Baked Pumpkin Seeds

During this time of year, lots of people are carving and baking pumpkins. We may, without a second thought, toss out pumpkin seeds, but they can be baked into a healthy, satisfying snack that will keep for weeks! This recipe is open ended as to what seasonings you’d prefer, but I especially like them with curry powder. You can use any kinds of pumpkin seeds. One pumpkin will yield 2/3-1 cup of seeds. Quantity doesn’t particularly matter. I used a regular carving pumpkin, which will yield more seeds. However regular sugar pumpkins will work just as well, you will just have less seeds. One carving pumpkin will give you probably ⅔ cup to 1 cup of pumpkin seeds!

Ingredients: 

2/3-1 cup pumpkin seeds, rinsed and patted dry (you can also get them in bulk, but this can be very expensive and oftentimes pumpkin seeds aren’t sold with the white shell still on), and 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Seasoning of choice! Try some of these:

Curry powder and a dash of chili powder

Cinnamon

Garlic powder and onion powder

Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400*F.
2. Rinse the pumpkin seeds in a colander and pat dry on a towel. They will feel slippery which is normal. Get them as dry as possible!
3. Pour the seeds into a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings and mix. I used curry powder and salt with a dash of cayenne pepper.
4. Spread the seeds in an oven-safe pan (I used cast iron) or cookie sheet. IMPORTANT: To avoid oil dripping into the bottom of your oven, make sure whatever baking sheet or dish you are using has raised edges. Use a smaller baking sheet for the pumpkin seeds on the top rack, and place a larger baking sheet on the lower rack to catch any oil. 
5. Bake at 400* for 15 minutes. 
6. You can store these in a sealed jar (I used an old peanut butter jar). These will keep for quite awhile. Make sure the seeds are cooled off and the jar is totally dry, or the trapped moisture will cause the seeds to mold. 
7. Enjoy your new fall-themed snack!