With the fall-like weather we’ve had this winter, I’ve been (happily) stuck in an autumnal rut. Pumpkin seeds, anyone? I’ll be tossing a few back while booting up, looking for piles of crispy leaves to jump on, except, oh wait, it’s January next week? Well, let’s just keep that between you and me. Ok? Let’s make these homemade roasted pumpkin seeds and feel oh-so cozy about it.
The beauty of this recipe is that it outlines how to activate the pumpkin seeds. What is activation? It just means that the soaking and draining in the recipe helps to wake up the inside of the pumpkin seed. As well, it also neutralizes some of the anti-nutrients that are locked into the exterior of the pumpkin seed itself. Why bother with activation? Well, activating the seeds makes them that much more digestible! A win-win. Plus, it’s a superb way to get even more nutrition from the squashes I just know you’re cooking up.
Homemade Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients
- Washed and cleaned seeds from one pumpkin or squash approx. 1 cup seeds
- 2 cups filtered water
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- ground cayenne to taste
Instructions
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Soak clean seeds in filtered water overnight; transfer to a container that allows the seeds to drain, rinse and drain the seeds every four to eight hours for a day or two.
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Drain one final time, then place seeds in a dehydrator or an oven set at 200 and then turned off and let dry overnight (or until sufficiently crispy).
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Once activated (activation happens from the soaking and draining!) and dried, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place the seeds on a baking tray. Drizzle with coconut oil, toss to evenly coat, then salt, pepper and cayenne to your heart's content.
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Roast for about 10 minutes, checking halfway through to move the seeds around a bit to avoid burning.
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