Honey-Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Honey Roasted Pumpkin Seeds are an easy recipe for perfectly roasted pumpkin seeds. They are oven-baked for a crispy, sweet, and salty snack.  These bite-sized roasted pumpkin seeds are a bit addicting with a brittle-like crunch, syrupy coating, and a salted finish.  These homemade honey-roasted pumpkin seeds are fantastic as is or put out with other snacks and appetizers like cheese, fruit, and nuts.

Roasting pumpkin seeds and then adding salt and honey is a tasty recipe with simple ingredients that add so much flavor.  This quick and easy recipe for pumpkin seeds will become a fall favorite each year when you carve pumpkins for Halloween or prep for making pumpkin pie.  Make sure you save those pumpkin seeds to make these sticky & crunchy honey-roasted pumpkin seeds.

These seeds are great to serve at a Halloween party along with other snacks and treats.  For some adult Halloween cocktails, try a Tootsie Roll shot or a Candy Corn Martini. 

Honey-Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Ingredients

This is a 4-ingredient recipe.  To make honey-roasted pumpkin seeds you will need pumpkin seeds still in the shell, vegetable oil, honey, and salt.  You can use classic table salt or flaky sea salt like Maldon.  If you like the crunchy snap of flaky sea salt, I highly recommend you use it for these pumpkin seeds.

How Long Can Pumpkin Seeds Sit Before Roasting?

Pumpkin seeds are best when prepared and then roasted within 1-2 days.  When you plan on carving your pumpkin or prepping a homemade pumpkin pie, be ready to make roasted pumpkin seeds soon.  Pumpkin seeds if cleaned of all the pumpkin, can last at most about 5 days - refrigerate to help keep them as fresh as possible.

How to Soak, Rinse, & Dry Pumpkin Seeds

Before roasting pumpkin seeds, you need to prepare them.  First, be sure you have removed all the pumpkin pieces that may be still attached to the seeds. You will then want to soak, rinse, and then dry the seeds as much as possible.   You can bake pumpkin seeds that are damp but you do not want them wet.

Why Soak Pumpkin Seeds?

Then you will want to soak them, this helps remove any last bits of pumpkin but it also helps make the seeds crispier.  Soaking pumpkin seeds softens the chewy tough outer shell.  Soaking pumpkin seeds then weakens the outer shell which helps them crisp up better in the oven once roasting.

I recommend soaking pumpkin seeds overnight or for 6-8 hours in salted water.   Then rinse and drain in a colander.   Let them dry for a few hours or spread out on a paper-towel-lined baking sheet so they can dry out.

How to Make Honey-Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

For this easy pumpkin seed recipe, you will need a baking sheet, a rubber spatula, and some parchment paper.  You also will preheat your oven to 425°.   You will roast them at two different temperatures but it will start at 425°.

To prepare the pumpkin seeds for baking in the oven, begin by adding the pumpkin seeds to a mixing bowl.  Next, add the oil, and using your rubber spatula, toss them to coat evenly.

Spread the oiled pumpkin seeds out on a baking sheet.  You will want them to roast evenly; therefore, make sure they are in a single layer and spread out as separated as possible.  Sprinkle half of the salt over the pumpkin seeds.

Reserve the other half for sprinkling at the very end of the recipe.  Save the oiled bowl too, you will use this again in a later step so don't wash it just yet.

How Long to Roasted Pumpkin Seeds in the Oven

When cooking pumpkin seeds with a honey-roasted topping, you will need to do it in two batches at two different temperatures. This is because honey will burn if it is on the seeds the entire time. So to ensure you have a crunchy pumpkin seed plus a sticky sweet honey layer that is cooked perfectly, you will roast in two steps.

Begin by roasting the pumpkin seeds at 425°  for 20 minutes.  You will want them to be slightly brown, dry, and crispy but not too dark.  As a rule, I suggest baking them so they are what you would consider underdone.  That way by the time they roast with the honey, they will be to your likeness.   Remove them from the oven and turn the oven down to 400°.

After the pumpkin seeds are lightly toasted, using the rubber spatula, scrape them back into that same bowl you used to oil them.  Using the oiled bowl helps coat the seeds in honey without them all sticking to the bowl.

Add the honey to the pumpkin seeds and use the rubber spatula to get any last bits.  Now use the rubber spatula to toss the toasted pumpkin seeds with the honey so they are coated evenly.   Spread the seeds that are now coated with honey back onto the baking sheet.

Bake the seeds for a second round now at 400°.   Roast them for an additional 15-20 minutes.  Stir once or twice during the baking process and keep an eye on them.  The honey can burn easily so it takes just a few minutes between brown crispy honey-roasted pumpkin seeds and those that are burnt.

Our family loves things well done and dark when it comes to this recipe, so we tend to cook it for about 20 minutes and they turn out as shown below.  They are dark brown with some light seeds intermixed.

Remove them from the oven when they are your desired color.  Immediately salt them with the remaining salt.  Let them cool a few minutes before serving and eating.

Homemade honey-roasted pumpkin seeds may stick together and be like chunks of brittle and that is ok, we love them this way too.  If you want them to be individual seeds just break them apart or stir them around and they will fall apart.

How to Store Honey-Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

The best way to store homemade roasted pumpkin seeds is to do so in an air-tight container or ziplock bag.  Those that are honey-roasted will not last as long as those simply roasted and salted.

It is best to store honey-roasted pumpkin seeds in an air-tight container on your kitchen counter for 3 days.  You want them in a cool place, not the sunlight so that the honey doesn't soften and make a sticky mess of your perfectly crispy pumpkin seeds.

The best templates for carving pumpkins are free and online. So have a fun Halloween whether you carve out something cute or spooky.

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