Easy, healthy snack idea – Roasted Pumpkin Seeds! These seeds are boiled in light saltwater and then roasted with cinnamon, whole cane sugar, and a little olive oil.
I noticed that it’s been a little while since I shared a snack food, so how about some Roasted Pumpkin Seeds?
Let’s be honest about something. Pumpkin is tasty, but dissecting and roasting a pumpkin is a pain. When it comes to pumpkin baked goods, I often use canned pumpkin puree even though I prefer the taste of fresh. However, when I went to the grocery store earlier this week, I found myself eyeing the bin of pie pumpkins. They were so beautiful and perfect and I’m fairly certain that I heard one of them saying, “Buy me! Buy me!” So, I walked out with a pie pumpkin. It sat on my counter, abandoned, for a couple of days. Yesterday I decided to stop staring at the poor thing and go ahead and get out a sharp knife. I cut the pumpkin in half, pulled out all the seeds and pulp, and roasted the halves. The finished puree went into the freezer for future recipes and I was quite proud of myself. Then I decided to get even more ambitious and roast the seeds. I’ve done that a couple of times before, but it’s been awhile.
I was very happy with how these turned out. They have lots of cinnamon flavor, and just a hint of sweet and salty. The seeds also have a nice crunch. 🙂
The reality is that pumpkin seeds are best eaten when they’re right out of the oven (just don’t burn yourself). They’ll keep for a day or so after roasting, but won’t taste as good as they do fresh. I suppose you could always pop them back into the oven for a few minutes the next day in order to toast them a little, but I haven’t tried that myself.
Pumpkin seeds are nutritious as well, and I tried to keep them that way by not going overboard on the sugar or salt. I also used a little olive oil when roasting.
Happy snacking!
Cinnamon Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds, pulp removed
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 4 teaspoons whole cane sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Directions
Place seeds in medium sized saucepan with water and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain off water.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease a small baking sheet. Once seeds have been boiled and drained, allow to cool slightly. Place seeds in plastic zip-top bag. Add olive oil and shake to coat. Add cinnamon and whole cane sugar and shake to coat again. Spread seeds in single layer over baking sheet.
Roast for 10-15 minutes or until seeds are turning golden and crispy.
Hint: Separating the seeds from the pulp after you’ve halved the pumpkin can be a little tricky. Once you have the larger amounts of pulp removed, I found that an easy way to get rid of the little pieces is to put the seeds in a plastic zip top bag of water, seal the top, and shake well over the sink. Drain and repeat a couple of times and this should get rid of most of the pulp.
~K in the Kitchen
KintheKitchen 