Spicy Roasted Pepitas

This recipe works best with hulless pumpkin seeds either store bought or home grown. There are many varieties of pumpkins that have hulless seeds. The ones I used came from an F1 hybrid variety called “Naked Bear Pumpkin”. This variety is said to contain more seeds and is more disease resistant than many other varieties. Kakai is another variety that is popular and has a beautiful striping. These pumpkins don’t have as sweet of meat as other pumpkins but can still be used. I make my own chili powders from peppers I grow every season and used a mix of smoked paprika and a blend of medium hot peppers.

Spicy Roasted Pepitas Recipe

Note: If using store bought, dried pumpkin seeds (pepitas), skip steps 1-3.

Ingredients

• Seeds from 2 hulless seeded pumpkins or 2 cups dried pepitas
• 2 tsp + 1 tsp salt, divided
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp chili powders of your choice

Directions

1. Remove seeds from pumpkins and rinse off as much pumpkin as possible.
2. Add seeds to a bowl and cover with water and add 2 tsp salt
3. The next day, rinse seeds and dehydrate on lowest temperature until seeds are completely dry. You should end up with about 2 cups of seeds.
4. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
5. Add dried seeds to a bowl. (Note: Adjust amount of seasoning if using less than 2 cups of seeds.) Add 2 tsp olive oil and the spices and stir until evenly coated.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer seeds, evenly spreading to a single layer.
7. Bake for 10 minutes and give a stir. Continue baking and stirring every 10 minutes until desired doneness. I toasted for about 30 minutes.
8. Let cool and enjoy.
9. Store in an air tight container.