These Spicy Pumpkin Seeds are a fun twist on roasted pumpkin seeds. They make a tasty, filling snack on their own and a great salad topper too.
Easy Spicy Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds are such a filling, low-calorie snack. If you’re carving those jack-o-lanterns, rather then tossing them, roast them in the oven for an easy snack the family will love.
My favorite part about carving pumpkins is getting to eat the toasted seeds straight from the oven. You can simply toss them with salt, as I do in my classic roasted pumpkin seeds recipe, but sometimes you might want something a bit extra.
If you want something with more flavor, try seasoning them with this smokey, spicy, savory combination. It just that mimics the flavor of BBQ potato chip seasoning. If I don’t finish them all I keep a small baggie in my purse any time I just want a little snack.
What You’ll Need
You’ll need just a few ingredients for these spiced pepitas. See the recipe card below for measurements.
- Pumpkin seeds – Raw and unshelled.
- Spices – Onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, cayenne pepper, and ground mustard give these spiced pepitas just the right amount of heat.
- Light brown sugar – Just a pinch of sugar balances out the spices.
- Olive oil spray – Helps all the spray stick to the pumpkin seeds.
How to Make Spicy Pumpkin Seeds
These spicy pumpkin seeds come together in a few simple steps. See the recipe card below for more detailed instructions.
- Prepare the seeds. Remove the seeds from the pumpkin. Rinse in a colander under cold water. Shake off excess water, spread the seeds on a baking sheet, and roast for 10 minutes. Toss halfway through.
- Prepare the seasoning. Combine the seasonings and brown sugar in a bowl.
- Roast the seeds. Lightly spray the seeds with oil, then toss with 3/4 of the spice mixture. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, until crunchy. Toss halfway through.
- Add the remaining spices. Spray more olive oil spray over the seeds and toss with the remaining spice mixture.
More Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Pie Dip
- Pumpkin Butternut Squash Bars
- Mini Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
Spicy BBQ Spiced Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup raw pumpkin seeds, unshelled
- 1 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon light brown sugar
- 4 to 5 squirts olive oil spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F degrees.
- Remove the seeds from the pumpkin and separate them from the stringy pulp and rinse the seeds in a colander under cold water.
- Shake off any excess water, spread the seeds on a baking sheet and roast for about 10 minutes or until seeds are dry, tossing halfway through.
- In another small bowl, combine the onion powder, garlic powder, mustard, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt and brown sugar.
- Place the seeds in a medium bowl and lightly spray with oil.
- Add 3/4 of the spice mixture and toss to evenly coat.
- Evenly spread the seeds on a sheet pan covered with parchment and roast for 20 to 30 minutes or until brown and crunchy, tossing half way through.
- Immediately spray more olive oil over the seeds and toss with the remaining spice mixture.
Last Step:
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Wow these are great!! My husband absolutely adored them!! By accident I put a little more cayenne pepper so they were quite hot but still perfect. Can’t stop eating them!
Does anyone have thoughts on whether I could buy raw pumpkin seeds from the store and use them with this recipe (I believe raw seeds haven’t been roasted yet?)
Great recipe, and you can do this year round — I always roast the seeds from my spaghetti squash!
I let my seeds dry out overnight, do I still need to roast for the 10 minutes?
I loved these so much I'm now making a second batch!
Wow, these look great, and funnily enough there are a lot of pumpkin seeds around at the moment!
Any recommendations on storage? I left mine cool completely (accidentally left on the counter overnight, whoops!) and then put in a tupperware-esqe container in the morning and found that they lost a bit of their crunch and were a little tacky to the touch. Still delicious though!
I made these today! Easy and the flavor is yum yum!
Gina, I love it! I always do the same thing with pumpkin seeds, excited to try something different this year! Have a great weekend!
-Lauren
Love this recipe! I always have so many pumpkin and even butternut squash seeds leftover, and with a little seasoning (like this) they make great salad toppers.
Do you think you could you make this with store bought pumpkin seeds?
Those are already toasted so I don't know how that would work out.
Hi Gina – Another great recipe! I cannot wait to carve my pumpkin so I can try this. I think my favorite part about carving pumpkins is getting to eat the warm seeds straight from the oven. Curious as to why you suggest baking them before adding the seasoning?
I think if you didn't bake them before adding the seasoning, the seasoning wouldn't keep the dry rub texture, it'd just get kind of soggy.
Correct, so the seasoning sticks and doesn't burn.
Do you eat the huls on seed
That sounds so yummy! Can I ask a dumb question? I've never roasted pumpkin seeds before – only eaten the shelled ones you can buy at the store – when you eat them, do you eat them whole (shell & all)? Or do you sort of shell them with your teeth? THANKS!
EIther way, but I usually eat them shell and all.
A new twist on pumpkin seeds! Awesome I will have to test these out with some friends!
xoxoBella | http://xoxobella.com
I've been wanting a good recipe for pumpkin and squash seeds…. love this one and will be trying it this weekend!
brown sugar and olive oil both make pumpkin seeds so delicious, I'll try this as soon as possible