How Do You Season Pumpkin Seeds?

To season pumpkin seeds, dry them well, toss them with a little oil or melted butter, then add about 1 teaspoon of seasoning per cup of seeds before they go in the oven. The oil is what makes the seasoning stick. Roast at 300°F for about 20 minutes, stir once halfway, and taste one when they come out.

That is the whole trick. The rest of this page covers why seasoning slides off, when to put it on, how much to use, and which flavors are worth carving a pumpkin for.

Why the seasoning falls off (and how to fix it)

Two things knock seasoning off a pumpkin seed: water and a bare shell.

Seeds straight from the pumpkin are wet and a little slimy. Seasoning on a wet seed turns to paste, then steams off in the oven. So get them clean and dry first. Rinse off the strings, simmer the seeds in water for 10 to 15 minutes, drain, and pat them dry with a towel. If you have time, spread them on a sheet pan and let them air-dry for a few hours or overnight. Dry seeds get crisp. Damp seeds get chewy.

Then give the seasoning something to hold on to. Toss the dry seeds with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil or melted butter per cup. Every seed should look shiny, not soaked. Now the seasoning has a place to land.

When to add the seasoning

For savory blends, season after the oil and before the oven. The heat toasts the spices onto the shell, and the flavor ends up baked in, not dusted on.

For anything with sugar in it, wait. Sugar browns faster than a seed crisps. Add sweet blends for the last 5 minutes of roasting, or toss the seeds with them the moment the pan comes out, while the oil is still warm.

Either way, taste one seed when they are done and add another pinch while they are hot if they need it. Seasoning sticks to warm seeds. It bounces off cold ones.

How much seasoning to use

Start with 1 teaspoon of seasoning per cup of seeds. A medium carving pumpkin gives you about a cup, sometimes a little more.

If your seasoning already has salt in it, skip any extra salt until you have tasted a finished seed. It is easy to add more at the end. It is impossible to take it back, and nobody wants to explain that to a room full of trick-or-treat helpers.

Flavors that work on pumpkin seeds

Pumpkin seeds taste mild and a little nutty, so they take almost any direction you point them. These are the three we make most at our house:

• Salty and garlicky. The classic. The OG is our salt, pepper and garlic blend, three ingredients and nothing else, and it makes the batch that disappears first. If you are new to that style of seasoning, we explain it in What Is SPG Seasoning?
• Taco night. Rock Yo' Taco turns pumpkin seeds into something close to a tortilla chip you can eat by the handful. Good on their own, better scattered over a bowl of chili or tortilla soup.
• Sweet and smoky. Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em is our BBQ rub for ribs and pulled pork, and it does a fine job on seeds too. It has a little organic sugar in it, so follow the sweet rule above and add it near the end.

All three come in a 5 oz resealable pouch, which is the one we would buy. One pouch seasons a lot more than one pumpkin. Making more than one flavor? Split the oiled seeds across two pans and season each pan differently. The kids can pick a side.

The roasting part, start to finish

1. Scoop the seeds and rinse off the strings.
2. Simmer in water for 10 to 15 minutes, then drain.
3. Pat dry. Air-dry on a sheet pan if you have the time.
4. Heat the oven to 300°F.
5. Toss the seeds with 1 tablespoon of oil or melted butter per cup.
6. Add 1 teaspoon of savory seasoning per cup and toss again.
7. Spread in a single layer. Crowded seeds steam.
8. Roast 10 minutes, stir, then roast about 10 minutes more, until golden and crisp. Big seeds may need a few extra minutes.
9. Taste one. Add a pinch more seasoning while they are warm.

Our full recipe, with five flavor ideas, is here: Roasted Pumpkin Seeds. And if you are cooking your way through the season, What's in Season in the Carolinas This Fall covers what to do with the rest of the pumpkin patch.

Quick answers

Do you season pumpkin seeds before or after roasting?

Before, for savory seasonings. Toss the dry seeds with oil, then seasoning, then roast. Sweet seasonings go on for the last 5 minutes or right after roasting, so the sugar does not burn.

Do you have to boil pumpkin seeds first?

No, but it helps. A 10 to 15 minute simmer loosens the stringy pulp and helps the seeds roast evenly. If you skip it, rinse the seeds well and dry them thoroughly.

How long do roasted pumpkin seeds keep?

Let them cool completely, then store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They stay crisp for about a week. If they soften, five minutes in a 300°F oven brings them back.

That is all there is to it: dry seeds, a little oil, a teaspoon of seasoning per cup, and a low oven. Free shipping kicks in at $25 if you are stocking up before the carving starts.