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Crunchy and crunchy pumpkin seeds make a great snack, salad topping, or mixed into cakes and cookies. These are simply made using the convenience of an air fryer and only take 15 minutes. Skip the savory option and go sweet by adding cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and brown sugar for a sweet snack.
It's important to wash your seeds when harvesting them from the pumpkin, this will help remove any smelly guts, so you're left with clean seeds that make the perfect canvas for flavor.
For a fun fall idea, make a big pot of chili and create a topping bar with cheddar cheese, sour cream, green onions, crispy fried onions, and any other fun toppings you desire. Set an outdoor movie and enjoy the fall weather. When you're done with the chili, use the sweet pumpkin seeds you made to top a pumpkin cheesecake for you and your guests.
“I love roasting pumpkin seeds and tossing them in cinnamon sugar—but this variation is a savory delight! Using the deep fryer makes them super crunchy, and cleanup is a breeze. This would make a delicious salad or pasta topping.” —Tracy Wilk
1 cup fresh Pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons unsalted buttermelted
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Gather the materials.
The Spruce Eats/Christine Ma
Collect pumpkin seeds by carefully cutting a pumpkin in half and scraping out the inside with a fork.
The Spruce Eats/Christine Ma
Rinse the seeds using a fine-mesh strainer and run hot water over them, removing any pumpkin seeds.
The Spruce Eats/Christine Ma
In a medium saucepan, bring 1 liter of water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the pumpkin seeds and boil for 5 minutes, then drain.
The Spruce Eats/Christine Ma
In a medium bowl, add the pumpkin seeds with the melted butter, salt and garlic powder and toss to combine and coat the pumpkin seeds completely.
The Spruce Eats/Christine Ma
Once coated, add the seeds to the fryer. Fry at 365 F until golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through.
The Spruce Eats/Christine Ma
How to scrape pumpkin seeds
A tip for scraping seeds from pumpkin is to cut the stem of the pumpkin to create a flat surface, then place the pumpkin flat side down. Sharpen your knife before you split the pumpkin. Hold the pumpkin steady before you start cutting and push down one side, followed by the other until you've cut all the way through the pumpkin. Once they split, you can use a fork or spoon to scrape out the seeds. Use scissors to cut out the insides of the pumpkin if there are strings still attached to the pumpkin.
With the rest of the pumpkin, you can roast it whole until fork tender, then put it in a food processor and puree until smooth. Save the puree to make pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin bread, or any other fall treat your heart desires. A fun, savory idea is to save the pumpkin puree to make pumpkin gnocchi and serve it in a sage brown butter sauce.
Recipe variation
Instead of salt and garlic powder, add cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and brown sugar to make these pumpkin seeds a sweet snack.
| Nutrition facts (per portion) | |
|---|---|
| 82 | Calories |
| 6 gr | Fat |
| 6 gr | Carbohydrates |
| 2 gr | Protein |
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| Nutrition facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 4 to 6 | |
| Quantity per serving | |
| Calories | 82 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| 6 gr | 8% |
| Saturated fat 3 g | 14% |
| 10 mg | 3% |
| 355 mg | 15% |
| 6 gr | 2% |
| Dietary fiber 2 g | 7% |
| Total Sugars 0g | |
| 2 gr | |
| Vitamin C 0mg | 0% |
| Calcium 7 mg | 1% |
| Iron 0mg | 2% |
| Potassium 102 mg | 2% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to the daily diet. 2,000 calories per day is used for general dietary advice. | |
(Nutritional information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
