Roast pumpkin seeds

When you carve a pumpkin, the seeds are the best part of the mess. They roast in about 20 minutes, cost nothing, and make a salty, crunchy snack you can eat straight off the baking sheet. This is the whole process, from slimy pulp to warm seeds.

Get the seeds out

Scoop the seeds and stringy pulp from the inside of the pumpkin into a large bowl. If you’re carving, do this at the start, since you’re already scooping.

Then separate the seeds from the pulp with your fingers. Water helps: fill the bowl and the seeds float to the top while the pulp sinks and clings to your hands. Skim off the seeds and move them to a colander.

Rinse and dry them

1. Rinse the seeds in the colander under cold water, rubbing off the pulp. A little left on is fine.
2. Spread them on a clean kitchen towel and pat them dry.
3. Leave them for a while until they feel dry rather than wet.

Dry seeds are the difference between crisp and chewy. Seeds that go into the oven wet steam instead of roast.

Optional: boil first

Some cooks boil the seeds in salted water for about 10 minutes before roasting, which seasons them through the shell. If you do, drain them and dry them just as carefully. If you don’t, they’re still good.

Roast them

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. In a bowl, toss the seeds with a tablespoon or two of olive oil and a good pinch of salt. You want them lightly coated, not swimming.
3. Spread them in one layer on a baking sheet. Crowding makes them steam.
4. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once halfway.
5. They’re done when they look light golden brown and feel dry.

Stay nearby for the last few minutes. Seeds go from golden to burnt quickly, and the small ones on the edges brown first. Take them out when they look a shade lighter than you want, since they keep cooking on the hot sheet.

Let them cool for a few minutes before you eat them. The baking sheet and the oil stay hot, and the seeds get crunchier as they cool.

Flavour ideas

Salt on its own is great, but you can try one of these. Mix dry spices into the oil before you toss.

• Cinnamon sugar. Toss with cinnamon and sugar after roasting, so the sugar doesn’t burn.
• Smoky. Smoked paprika and garlic powder.
• Spicy. Chilli powder or cayenne, with a squeeze of lime at the end.
• Savoury. Grated parmesan and black pepper, stirred in when they come out.

If something goes wrong

• They’re chewy. They went in damp. Dry them for longer next time, or roast them a few minutes more.
• They’re burnt. The oven was too hot or they roasted too long. Lower the heat and check earlier.
• The salt slides off. There wasn’t enough oil. Toss with a little more.
• There’s not much to eat. Small pumpkins have small seeds. The seeds from big carving pumpkins are larger and easier to eat.

Which pumpkin the seeds come from

Seeds from the big carving pumpkins are the easiest to roast, because they’re large and plentiful. Small sugar pumpkins and other squash have seeds that roast just as well, though they’re smaller. If you cook the flesh for soup or bread, you can save the seeds from that too. Wash them the same way, and roast a small batch so you can see how long yours take, since size changes the timing.

Keeping them

Let the seeds cool completely, then put them in an airtight container. They taste best within a few days and last about a week at room temperature. Roasted seeds are also good on salads, in soup, and stirred into yoghurt or oatmeal.

Make it a fall evening

Roast the seeds the same night you carve, while the kitchen smells like pumpkin. Eat them warm with a mug of something hot, or put them in a bowl for a movie night. If you haven’t got a pumpkin yet, carve a pumpkin comes first, and you’ll end up with seeds for free.