Crispy and Delicious Roasted Squash Seeds

In our life, my husband and I try to follow the mantra of “waste-not, want-not” as much as possible. We hate throwing things away. That mantra carries over to cooking as well. Anything that can’t be consumed is composted.

There are no thrown out leftovers in our house. Leftovers are always consumed, sometimes even at the expense of eating a more appetizing food at the time. Food near expiration is used before rotating in new stock. Nothing is thrown out.

So when we make spaghetti squash , we end up with quite a collection of squash seeds — seeds that are quite delicious as long as you spend a few minutes to prepare them and taking advantage of its health benefits, as you may know that Squash seeds are an excellent source of fiber and protein, and far healthier than traditional snack food like chips and pretzels. They also contain iron and calcium and are considered to be high in magnesium. The oils in squash seeds are 75 percent linoleic acid and oleic acid , naturally polyunsaturated and monounsaturated.

Sure, you can go out and pay $2.00 for a small pack of seeds at the store, or you can spend a few minutes and make them (healthier) at home, yourself.

Preparing Your Squash Seeds

The seeds of squash are embedded in the pulp in the middle of the squash. It's often stringy or slimy and will get discarded in the trash or compost. Just think back to your days of carving a pumpkin at Halloween, and you'll get a clear picture. To begin with, remove the seeds from the pulp.

Ingredients:

Squash Seeds/Pumpkin Seeds
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt

Preparation:

This should work with seeds from a pumpkin, butternut squash, acorn squash, or even spaghetti squash!

The basic process in toasting squash seeds is:

1) Separate the seeds from the pulp. This is definitely the messiest part of the job. If you’ve ever cut open a pumpkin you know what a thick gooey mess the pulp is.

2) Put the seeds in a small bowl and splash with EVOO and a dash of Sea Salt. It’s fine if there is still a little pulp on the seeds. It will crisp and cook off when you put it in the oven.

3) Place seeds on parchment paper and toast for 10 minutes at 375*F until golden. We used an airfryer toaster oven for this so we didn’t have to fire up the big gas oven.

If you're looking to buy an air fryer, Check out this reviews guide from Simplyfreshdinners about the best air fryers actually available on the market!

In the end you have a snack that is both very healthy and very paleo. You can also try substituting the sea salt for a variety of spices to make other delicious flavors of seeds.

For a savory pumpkin seed, you can omit the coconut sugar, and simply use olive oil and salt. Or, use only 1 tablespoon of coconut sugar along with a dash of garlic powder, paprika, and salt for more of a "Chex Mix" flavor.