• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
Sugar Spun Run
  • All Recipes
  • Desserts
    • Cookies
    • Candy
    • Bars & Brownies
    • Cake
    • Pies
  • Pastries
  • Breads
  • Savory
  • Breakfast
    • Muffins
    • Scones
  • Seasonal
    • Cozy Winter / Holiday Treats
    • Easter / Spring
    • Fall Recipes
    • Summer Recipes
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About Me
  • All Recipes
  • Contact/Work with Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
  • ×
    You are here: Home / Uncategorized / Sweet Pumpkin Seeds Recipe

    Sweet Pumpkin Seeds Recipe

    September 30, 2016 By Sam 3 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Sweetened pumpkin seeds roasted on the stovetop and coated in pumpkin spice (or cinnamon) and sugar!

    Sweet Pumpkin Seeds! Done in 15 minutes! These use pumpkin spice but you can substitute cinnamon

    It might be a little early to be carving Jack O’ Lanterns, but I have several hollow pumpkins sitting on my porch right now.  They’re definitely going to go bad long before Halloween, but I needed to get a head start on making pumpkin seed recipes!

    Every year, Zach and I carve pumpkins with his sister, and every year we save a giant bowl full of pumpkin seeds and roast them with salt and any other spices we have on hand.  Usually I like them just enough to eat a small handful, but with another pumpkin-carving session in the not-too-distant future, I wanted to have a recipe ready that I knew was irresistible.

    For me, that meant adding butter and sugar (big surprise).  I also used pumpkin spice to add flavor to the seeds, but you can certainly use cinnamon instead for cinnamon-sugar pumpkin seeds.

    Sweet Pumpkin Seeds! Done in 15 minutes! These use pumpkin spice but you can substitute cinnamon

    I seemed to average about 1 ½ cups of pumpkin seeds from every mid-sized pumpkin that I scraped clean, but this recipe can easily be scaled up or scaled down.  Just keep in mind that if you have a whole lot of seeds, it might be better to cook them in batches because they need to be rotated over the surface of the skillet to cook properly, and this will take longer if you have a ton of seeds cooking at the same time.

    Make sure you clean off most of the pumpkin guts from the seeds, though a little bit of leftover pumpkin can be good for adding extra flavor.  Rinse them well, drain, and pat dry with a towel (careful, they’re sticky and tend to stick to paper towels!).

    Also make sure you don’t just set them in a bowl and let the water run over them and walk away… these seeds float and during the first recipe trial I accidentally lost half of my seeds to the kitchen sink when they floated out of the bowl and down the drain… oops.

    Sweet Pumpkin Seeds! Done in 15 minutes! These use pumpkin spice but you can substitute cinnamon Sweet Pumpkin Seeds! Done in 15 minutes! These use pumpkin spice but you can substitute cinnamon

    I originally made these pumpkin seeds by roasting them in the oven before I decided to try them on the stove.  Roasting them took forever and seemed to make the seeds too sticky and chewy — none of them quite puffed up like I wanted to.

    By roasting them on the stovetop (preferably in a cast iron skillet) instead, you can watch them carefully to make sure that all seeds “puff”, and it takes a third of the time.  It’s actually kind of fun to turn the seeds over with your spatula, watching them as the sheer skin around them contracts and the centers pop, making them jump on the skillet.  This makes for crunchy seeds, rather than chewy, woody ones.

    Sweet Pumpkin Seeds! Done in 15 minutes! These use pumpkin spice but you can substitute cinnamon

    Enjoy!

    Pumpkin seeds in scoop

    Sweet Pumpkin Seed Recipe

    Sweetened pumpkin seeds roasted on the stovetop and coated in pumpkin spice (or cinnamon) and sugar!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Total Time: 25 minutes
    Servings: 4 servings
    Calories: 97kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    • 1 ½ Tablespoons unsalted butter divided (21g)
    • 1 ½ cups fresh pumpkin seeds rinsed and dried (185g)
    • 3 Tablespoons sugar
    • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar tightly packed
    • 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice can substitute cinnamon
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Melt 1 Tablespoon of butter over medium heat in a medium-sized heavy-bottomed (preferably cast iron) skillet.
    • Meanwhile, whisk together sugars, pumpkin spice, and salt. Set aside.
    • Once butter has melted in your skillet, add pumpkin seeds.
    • Cook, stirring frequently, until all seeds have puffed (you can actually see the thin skin around them shrink and the seeds puff out), about 15 minutes. Seeds will be beginning to turn golden brown.
    • Add reserved half Tablespoon of butter and melt, coating seeds in thin layer of butter.
    • Add sugar mixture and stir well, until all seeds are coated.
    • Transfer seeds to a wax-paper lined cookie sheet and allow to cool before enjoying.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 97kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 148mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 131IU | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

    Sweet Pumpkin Seeds! Done in 15 minutes! These use pumpkin spice but you can substitute cinnamon

    PIN IT:

    Sweet Pumpkin Seeds! Done in 15 minutes! These use pumpkin spice but you can substitute cinnamon

    You Might Also Like:

    Candied Pecans

    Candied Pecans

    Pumpkin Spice Biscotti

    pumpkin biscotti-8

    Chewy Pumpkin Cookies

    pumpkin cookies

    « Chocolate Cookie Dough Pie
    Cookie Dough Stuffed Oreos »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Anon

      October 30, 2021 at 2:02 pm

      5 stars
      Making something this good should be illegal. I boiled them in salt water like your other recipe said and then used cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg along with the sugar(s). This recipe has been added to my Halloween traditions. Thanks for sharing it!

      Reply
      • Sam

        October 31, 2021 at 10:37 pm

        So happy to hear it was such a hit! Thank you for letting me know how they turned out for you, I appreciate it!

        Reply
    2. Alaina @ A Not So Quiet Kitchen

      October 05, 2016 at 6:05 pm

      My kiddos love pumpkin seeds and I think they would gobble these up with a quickness! And I just bought my first couple pumpkins of the year yesterday! Saving this recipe for sure!

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

    Spring Recipes

    lemon cake on white plate

    Lemon Cake

    close-up view of a thick slice of lemon blueberry cake frosted with lemon frosting

    Lemon Blueberry Cake

    pink strawberry cake on white plate

    Strawberry Cake

    three colorful easter sugar cookies decorated like bunny peeps

    Easter Sugar Cookies

    Carrot cake slice

    The Best Carrot Cake Recipe (with Video)

    Assembled strawberry shortcake.

    Strawberry Shortcake

    Most Popular

    flaky biscuit on white cloth

    Easy Homemade Biscuits

    Pizza dough in glass bowl, after rising

    The Best Pizza Dough Recipe

    one bite missing from a slice of vanilla cake with chocolate frosting

    The Best Vanilla Cake Recipe

    stack of 5 chocolate chip cookies

    The WORST Chocolate Chip Cookies

    NEVER MISS A RECIPE!

    places sugar spun run has been featured (Women's Day, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Country Living, the huffington post, People, Delish, MSN, TLC, Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, Buzzfeed)
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube

    Privacy Policy|Accessibility Statement

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    ABOUT

    • About Me
    • Policies, Disclosure & Privacy
    • Terms of Use

    CONTACT

    • Contact
    • Work with Me!

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube

    © 2020 Sugar Spun Run. All Rights Reserved