How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds, Plus 2 Easy Pumpkin Ideas
How to roast pumpkin seeds in the oven, plus a quick canned pumpkin soup and pumpkin oatmeal. Easy fall recipes for one or two.
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Happy Halloween! Every year millions of pumpkins get carved, admired for a week and tossed. Here are three easy ways to get a little more out of the season, starting with the part most of us scrape into the trash.
1. Roast the pumpkin seeds
Scoop the seeds out on carving day, while the pumpkin is fresh. (A jack-o’-lantern that has been sitting on the porch for a few days is for the squirrels, not for supper.)
- Put the seeds in a bowl of water. The seeds float and most of the stringy pulp sinks, so they’re easy to pick out.
- Pat the seeds very dry with a dish towel. Dry seeds get crunchy; wet ones steam.
- Toss with about a teaspoon of oil and a good pinch of salt per cup of seeds.
- Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast at 325°F for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden and crisp.
Let them cool on the pan. For a change, try a sprinkle of garlic powder, cinnamon sugar or a little chili powder. Store them in a jar on the counter for a few days, if they last that long.
2. Quick pumpkin soup
This one uses canned pumpkin, so there’s no peeling or chopping a big squash.
- Soften half a chopped onion in a little butter or oil in a saucepan.
- Add one 15-ounce can of plain pumpkin (not pie filling) and about two cups of chicken or vegetable broth.
- Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg or curry powder.
- Simmer for about 15 minutes, then stir in a splash of milk or cream.
Top with a few of your roasted seeds. It makes about two to three bowls and reheats well for lunch the next day.
3. Pumpkin oatmeal
Stir two or three spoonfuls of canned pumpkin into your morning oatmeal with a shake of cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup or brown sugar. It tastes a lot like pumpkin pie, and it’s a handy way to use up the rest of the can.
Try this today
- Save the seeds from this year’s pumpkin.
- Put a can of plain pumpkin on your grocery list.
- Try the soup on the next chilly evening.
Which pumpkin is best for cooking?
The big carving pumpkins are edible, but they tend to be watery and stringy. If you want to roast fresh pumpkin, look for small "pie" or "sugar" pumpkins at the store. They’re sweeter and easier to cut. Canned pumpkin is just as good for soups and baking, and it saves your wrists.
Make it a little occasion
Roasting seeds is a fun job with grandkids. Let them do the rinsing and the seasoning, and you handle the oven. Then sit down together for a bowl of soup and swap Halloween stories from when you were their age.
Our free large-print Meal Planner and Grocery List makes it easy to plan a week of easy fall suppers, and Easy Fall Soups has a few more ideas.
Do you save the pumpkin seeds, or does that job get "forgotten" every year? Tell me in the comments.