Waste Not! Roast Your Squash Seeds

After carving your pumpkin this year, did you roast the seeds? If not, there are seed-roasting opportunities awaiting you in the produce aisle right now.

We often don't think to roast the seeds from everyday squash, but they're just as tasty and satisfying. And frankly, they're easier to manage simply because they're smaller. A good base rule of thumb regardless of any seed you're roasting: Remove the seeds from your squash just like you would a pumpkin and try and remove most of the stringy goo that will be stuck to them. Rinse your seeds, lightly douse with olive oil and your choice of seasoning (we like a combination of sea salt and Hungarian paprika), and bake them at 300 F for around 8-10 minutes or until they begin to brown ever so slightly. Below are a few of our favorite seasoning ideas for roasting your squash seeds.

• Curried Pumpkin Seeds - Epicurious
• Toasted Butternut Squash Seeds - Simple Daily Recipes
• Oven-Roasted Acorn Squash Seeds - My Halaal Kitchen

(Image: Flickr member Elana's Pantry licensed for use under Creative Commons)

Comments (6)

Sea salt, cinnamon and cayenne pepper! They make a great salad topping.

Even better than pumpkin seeds! Yum Yum.

It took me a few years of cooking with acorn and butternut squash to realize I could use their seeds like pumpkin seeds, and I mourned all of the unroasted seeds I'd thrown away. What a waste!

I've been cooking with kabocha quite a bit recently and their seeds roast up wonderfully, although they are pretty large and might take a minute longer in the oven.

Have lots of winter squash and seeds that need to be roasted. Experimenting with all kinds of flavor combinations.

Delicata seeds are my absolute favorite!

noting they are shelled in the photo. Do people really sit down and de-shell their squash seeds before roasting? </boggled>