What Temperature Do I Roast Pumpkin Seeds At?

Across the country this week a lot of people will carving out pumpkins. They will scoop out the seeds and all the junk that comes with them and throw them in the oven. People do this maybe because they like them or maybe they feel guilty about wasting “food” so they feel obligated to roast the seeds. I know a lot of people do this but do a lot of people think about what they are doing. Do you just turn the oven on to 350 degrees, throw the seeds in, and wait until they look right. What I normally find is that the seeds come out half burnt and the other half with a chewy outside that gets stuck in my mouth until I am finally able to free the debris hours later. When it comes to roasting pumpkin seeds it all comes down to temperature. Is the “standard 350” the way to go or is there a better way?

The Ideal or Best Temperature for Roasting Pumpkin Seeds
You might be surprised at the answer I am going to give you…..275 Degrees….yeah I am guessing you didn’t see that coming. Isn’t that too low. How will they were brown? Wouldn’t it take forever? The time factor. Yes roasting them this low is going to take a while. Quite a while. I want the best end result and sometime that requires patience. The problem with roasting them at a higher temperature is it’s so easy to burn them. A lot of people roast them during a time when they are really busy. Forgot to check them for a few moments and you burn the seeds. When you roast them at a low temperature it’s much easier to not burn them.

Besides avoiding burnt seeds the other advantage is a better texture. I found that the outer shell is softer when given the time to cook. Higher temperature roasting leads to faster browning so less time to cook the outer shell, which ends in the teeth experience I shared earlier. Just think like you are cooking a tough piece of beef or a stewing hen.

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Perfectly Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Author Eric Samuelson

Ingredients

• pumpkin seeds from 1 pumpkin cleaned
• kosher salt to taste
• oilve oil or another cooking oil

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 275 degrees
2. Take your cleaned pumpkin seeds. Lay them on a single layer of a single pan lined with parchment for easier clean-up. Sprinkle with kosher salt to taste. Add any other seasoning you like. Drizzle your favorite cooking oil on top.
3. Roast for 2 to 2 1/2 hours until the seeds have browned and the outer shell has softerend.
4. If seeds are not brown but the shell is soft enough, then turn up the temperate to brown the seeds but be careful to watch them so you don't burn them.