How to Make Pumpkin Seeds in the Oven: 15 Steps (with Pictures) (2025)

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Co-authored bywikiHow Staff

Last Updated: August 6, 2021

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   Purchase a cooking pumpkin. It’s common for people to extract and roast the seeds from their Halloween pumpkins. While this is a fine option, there are pumpkins designed for consumption and commonly referred to as “cooking pumpkins.” These pumpkins are smaller than the large carving pumpkins used for Halloween decorations, and you may notice a minor difference in consistency and taste between the cooking and carving pumpkin seeds.

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   Cut the top off of the pumpkin. Place the pumpkin on a durable cutting board and, using a sharp kitchen knife—such as a carving knife—cut the top off of the pumpkin. This will give you access to the pulpy middle of the gourd, which contains the seeds.^[1]

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   Quarter the pumpkin. Once you’ve removed the top, use your carving knife to slice the pumpkin into four evenly sized quarters. Do this by setting the pumpkin upright (with the place where the stem would’ve been pointing upwards), and cutting straight down through the pumpkin. Once it’s halved, repeat the process and cut each of the halves in half.^[2]

   • If you’re removing the seeds from a large carving pumpkin, you may not need to quarter the gourd. Carving pumpkins often have a large enough opening at the top to extract the pulp and seeds from.
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   Scrape the pulp and seeds into a colander. Once the pumpkin has been quartered, grab a sturdy kitchen spoon and use it to scrape the stringy pulp (which contains the seeds) into a colander. You’ll be able to tell where the pulp ends and the pumpkin wall begins, as the wall of the gourd is much sturdier than the pulp and does not contain any seeds.^[3]

   • If you don’t have a spoon sturdy enough for scooping out the pumpkin seeds, you can use an ice cream scoop.
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   Separate the seeds from the pulp. You’ll need to use your fingers for this: reach into the colander and remove the pumpkin seeds from the thick, sticky pumpkin pulp. You can discard the pumpkin pulp, and leave the seeds themselves in the colander.^[4]

   • You should be able to extract about 1 cup (236 mL) of seeds from a pumpkin weighing 10–14 pounds (4.5–6.3 kg).
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   Rinse the seeds in the sink. Once you’ve removed as much of the pulp as possible and are left with only seeds, take the colander to your sink and thoroughly rinse the seeds in cold water. This will remove lingering strings of pulp.^[5]

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   Spread the seeds evenly on a baking sheet. Using your hands or a spoon and spatula, transfer the pumpkin seeds from the colander onto a clean baking sheet. Spread them out evenly so that as few seeds as possible are touching one another.^[6]

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   Drizzle olive oil over the pumpkin seeds. Using a measuring spoon, pour about 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the pumpkin seeds. The oil will add flavor and allow seasonings to stick better to the seeds. If you’d rather not add additional flavorings to the seeds, you can place them in the oven at this point.^[7]

   • If you’d like to flavor your pumpkin seeds, try one of the recipes given below.
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   Make salt and vinegar seeds. This is one of the simpler methods to flavor your pumpkin seeds. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sea salt over your pumpkin seeds while they’re on the baking sheet. Then pour 2–3 tablespoons of a balsamic vinegar over the seeds.^[8]

   • The vinegar should all evaporate while the seeds bake, so that the roasted seeds will not be soggy or sitting in a puddle of vinegar.
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   Add ranch flavoring to the seeds. If you’d like a more complex flavor than salt and vinegar, consider ranch. To achieve this, you’ll need to add a handful of ingredients to your seeds while they’re on the baking sheet and before they’re placed in the oven. Top the seeds with 1–2 tablespoons of minced chives, 2 tablespoons of minced parsley, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper.^[9]

   • If possible, purchase fresh chives and parsley to mince; these will add a better flavor to your pumpkin seeds. If you don’t have access to fresh ingredients, you can use dried chives and parsley.
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   Make sesame ginger flavored seeds. If you’d prefer a subtler flavor, you can create a sesame ginger flavored batch of pumpkin seeds by adding four ingredients. Pour 1 teaspoon of sesame oil over the seeds, followed by 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 teaspoons of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of ground ginger.^[10]

   • Once you’ve added the listed ingredients, stir your pumpkin seeds with your hands or a spoon so that the seeds are all evenly coated.

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   Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Do this while you’re placing ingredients and flavors onto the pumpkin seeds. This will give the oven time to heat sufficiently before you place the seeds inside.^[11]

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   Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Leave the seeds in the oven for the first 15 minutes, then inspect their progress: the seeds should be a golden color, but not yet turning dark brown or blackening around the edges.^[12]

   • If the seeds still look uncooked and haven’t begun to brown after 15 minutes in the oven, place them back in the oven for 5 more minutes.
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   Let the seeds cool before eating. The seeds will be quite hot when you remove them from the oven, so don’t dig in immediately.^[13] Let the seeds cool for at least 5 minutes before you grab a handful.

   • In order to allow the seeds to cool more rapidly, and to prevent them from cooking further while still on the hot cooking sheet, use a spoon or spatula to transfer the seeds into a bowl or serving dish.
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   Store the leftover seeds. If you have leftover roasted pumpkin seeds, you can place them in an airtight container, such as a Tupperware or a small plastic bag. Place the seeds in the refrigerator. They will stay edible in the fridge for up to 6 months.^[14]

   • If you’d rather store the seeds for longer than 6 months, or if you made a large amount of pumpkin seeds, you could store the seeds in the freezer. There, they’ll last for up to a year.

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