If you are wondering what to do with leftover pumpkin seeds from your Halloween pumpkins, then why not make these easy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds? They come in FIVE different flavors, including garlic and onion, taco, pizza, dill, and cinnamon sugar! They are a delicious snack or appetizer recipe! {Vegan and/or Paleo}

Roasted pumpkin seeds in white dishes on a wooden charcuterie board.

Is it Christmas morning? No, but it might as well be, what with how jazzed I am to share these Roasted Pumpkin Seeds with you. Possibly because they are so crispy. Possibly, too, because we prepared five different flavors to share with you, including:

Garlic and Onion
Taco
Pizza
Dill
Cinnamon Sugar

And I cannot even contain my enthusiasm. Thank you for understanding.

Overhead image of roasted pumpkin seeds in white dishes, surrounded by crackers, salami, cashews, and grape tomatoes, on a charcuterie board.

If you’ve attempted to roast pumpkin seeds before with soggy or burnt results, then please note how much I feel your pain. I, too, have attempted to roast pumpkin seeds before with disastrous results. Did I burn down the kitchen? Set the oven on fire? No and no. But we did enjoy a lovely burnt oil aroma in our kitchen for about seven days. So I ditched the idea of roasted pumpkin seeds, and now more than seven years later, I’m back with a better strategy! And one that doesn’t smell burned or taste soggy. This time, the results are much tastier, and I think you’ll savor them, too!

I’m sharing several tips and tricks for getting the perfect crispy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds so you have an easier time now than I did all those years ago!

So let’s dive in and get our crispy-crunch ON!

Side by side comparison of pumpkin seeds in stainless steel bowls with pulp and with pulp removed. — Left: Pumpkin seeds before soaking. Right: Pumpkin seeds after soaking. (And, no, you’re not going crazy – those ARE two different bowls that look just similar enough to be eerie!) 🙂

How to remove pulp from pumpkin seeds

When I attempted a pumpkin seed recipe more than seven years ago, I struggled to remove all the pumpkin pulp from the seed. And then I just plain gave up. But I learned an invaluable tip from Cassie over at Wholefully in her post, How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds: soak the seeds in warm water before starting the recipe. Let me explain how I did it.

First, remove as much of the pumpkin pulp as you can by hand. Cassie suggests composting the pulp or, as she does, feeding it to chickens.
Then soak the seeds in warm water. Whatever pulp remains on the seeds will gradually fall to the bottom of the bowl and the seeds will rise to the top.
Next, scoop the seeds out of the bowl with a slotted spoon. Place the seeds on an absorbent material. I tried a few different methods to see which one I liked best. You CAN use paper towels and/or paper napkins. But it’s going to be messy. And you’ll need several towels or napkins, which isn’t terribly earth-friendly. Alternatively, a low-pill/no-pill dish towel (like a thin one you’d use for drying dishes) is perfect. I laid the pumpkin seeds between two thin dish towels, brought the sides up like a pouch (the kind of pouch you might tie to the end of a stick) and gave solid squeezes in multiple directions to extract as much of the excess water as possible.
Finally, I transferred the seeds to another bowl to proceed with the recipe (you can also clean and dry the bowl you used for soaking and reuse it in this step).

Roasted pumpkin seeds in a white dish, surrounded by crackers, salami, cashews, and grape tomatoes, on a charcuterie board.

Three important steps for crispy results

To achieve crispy-textured pumpkin seeds, it’s important to:

Use a baking sheet. Do not try to roast pumpkin seeds in a cake pan. I learned that the hard way, too, when I first tried to make Kale Chips. You need an open-edged sheet that allows the heat to flow over the food evenly. Otherwise, some seeds will be burned while others will be soggy.
Layer the baking sheet with parchment paper. You don’t want oil slipping, sliding, and dripping down the sides of your baking sheet into the oven. The parchment paper will absorb the excess moisture without pulling too much oil out of the recipe.
Spread the seeds in one layer. When you spread the seeds on the parchment-lined baking sheet, try to spread them out in one even layer as possible. If they overlap some, then that’s fine. But try to avoid big clumps of seeds together. To get the best results, you may need to spread them out by hand. The more evenly they are poured onto the paper, the more evenly they’ll cook.

Let’s talk flavors

In this recipe, I show five different ways to flavor your pumpkin seeds. Before we get to the recipes themselves, I want to point out an important detail: The baking process may neutralize the flavors. This means before baking the pumpkin seeds will taste strongly of the flavors you add, which makes it difficult to determine exactly how much of each ingredient to use. By the same token, you don’t want the pumpkin seeds to be so strong you have to down a gallon of water with each bite. So there are a few strategies you can employ to get the flavor intensity you desire:

Increase the amount of seasonings you use as compared to what I have written in the recipe card. What I have written is a base, a guideline. You may want more or you may want less. Sprinkle the ingredients and taste-test as you go.
After baking, sprinkle more seasonings on the pumpkin seeds WHILE THEY ARE STILL WARM. This is what I do. In this case, I sprinkle more seasonings or a pinch of sea salt on the seeds after they are done baking. This creates the flavor I want without going overboard.

Now that we’ve covered the bases of HOW to flavor, let’s talk CHOICES:

Garlic and Onion. Garlic powder and onion salt.
Taco. Oregano, cumin, garlic powder, and onion salt.
Pizza. Basil, oregano, garlic powder, and sea salt.
Dill. Garlic powder, onion salt, and dill.
Cinnamon Sugar. Cinnamon, allspice, and cloves, with sweetener in place of olive oil.

I use dried herbs, spices, and seasonings for these recipes. And if you’re curious about the difference between garlic/onion powders and garlic/onion salts, then check out SPICEography’s Onion Salt Vs. Onion Powder: SPICEography Showdown. For balance with the savory flavors, I use a powder garlic and an onion salt.

I thought I’d have a favorite, but I don’t. They all pack a punch, and if you eat them by the handfuls simultaneously, you’ll notice they taste good together. 😂

Roasted pumpkin seeds in a white dish on a charcuterie board.

Base ingredients for Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

The base ingredient list for these pumpkin seeds is short, just pumpkin seeds and olive oil! I like to keep sea salt on hand, too, if I want to intensify the flavors. Then I add flavors based on what I’m in the mood for!

Pumpkin seeds. We can’t have Roasted Pumpkin Seeds without pumpkin seeds! Buy them from a bulk bin, by the package, or dig them out of your Halloween pumpkins! I DO leave the shell on but I DON’T soak them beforehand (excepting the 10 or so minutes to remove the excess pulp). You can remove the shells and soak them for several hours ahead of time, if you’d like. Keep an eye on baking times as this recipe assumes the shell is included.
Olive oil. I don’t go overboard with oil because I want my pumpkin seeds to be crispy. However, I don’t want them to burn. Start out with a small amount, and if you feel like you need more, then drizzle additional oil in small amounts, stirring together with the seasonings and taste-testing as you go.
Seasonings, spices, and herbs. See above for suggestions. I work with dried ingredients because they bake well for tasty, crispy pumpkin seeds!

If you enjoyed this crispy recipe, then you might also enjoy the following crispy, crunchy recipes, too!

Be well and stay safe, friends. I’m glad you’re here. ❤️