Roasted Pumpkin Seeds. Cheap, tasty, and nutritious. What's not to love?

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds are unbelievably simple to prepare.

If you really want to know all about pumpkin seeds being a "magnificent source of magnesium", or "packed full of B vitamins", click here. If you just want a quick explanation on how to make the best roasted pumpkin seeds you've ever had, skip the link and keep reading...

Besides the fact that Pepitas, as they are also known, are incredibly good for you, they are quick & easy to prepare. It probably goes without saying that they are a great example of waste not, want not.

This is a Sugar Pie Pumpkin. It only weighs a couple pounds. These little pumpkins are grown for eating. They have tender, flavorful flesh, which is perfect for Pumpkin Pies and Pumpkin Butter.

 Separating the seeds from the pulp and flesh is simple. They don't really stick together at all. It took me less than two minutes to pull 2 cups of seeds from 4 small Sugar Pie Pumpkin halves. 

Four basic ingredients for making this recipe

Okay, here's the scoop (pun intended!)

How to make the best Roasted Pumpkin Seeds ever:

(Click on the above link for printable recipe)

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Spread ~ 2 cups of fresh raw pumpkin seeds on a greased cookie sheet.

Stir together:

1 TBS melted butter. A little more than a tablespoon of melted butter is okay too.

(Or you can use 1 TBS olive oil instead of butter.)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (Or as I like to call it: "What's-this-here? Sauce". I learned that from Bugs Bunny.)

Pour the butter / oil & sauce mixture over the top of the seeds, stir them around to make sure the seeds are coated with the mixture, then spread the seeds evenly on a greased baking sheet.

Next, sprinkle the seeds with:

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (Or whatever salt you've got.)

cracked pepper to taste

You can fancy it up with garlic salt, and/or Tabasco sauce, but these morsels are delicious no matter what you do to them.

Roast the seeds for one hour, but stir them around every 15 minutes. C'mon. Just set your timer for 15 minutes, 4 times.

(It's kind of like making Chex Mix. Do NOT tell me you've never made Chex Mix! If you're under 40, I might forgive you.)

This recipe is so easy. And sooo worth it. The house will smell really good while the seeds are roasting too. Like October.

And to think some people just scoop out their Halloween jack-o-lanterns, and throw the seeds away. That's a scary thought.