Best Spices for Pumpkin Seeds: Savory and Sweet

Carved the jack-o’-lantern and saved the seeds? Roasted pumpkin seeds don’t need much: salt, a little oil, and whatever spice you like. Two extension recipes boil the seeds in salted water first, which Illinois Extension says helps them roast more evenly.¹ From there you can go savory, with something like the tablespoon of Old Bay in Oklahoma State’s version, or sweet with cinnamon sugar.

At a glance

Seasoning	Style	Notes
Salt	Both	In the boil, or sprinkled on (about 1/2 tsp per 2 cups seeds if not boiling)¹
Oil	Both	1 tbsp olive, canola or vegetable oil¹²
Garlic powder	Savory	Tossed with the oil; a common choice
Black pepper	Savory	Mild bite; fine grind coats best
Cayenne	Savory, hot	Heat to taste
Old Bay	Savory	1 tbsp per cup of seeds in the OSU recipe²
Cinnamon and sugar	Sweet	The sweet version Clemson Extension points to³

The method: boil, dry, oil, roast

	Illinois Extension (8 servings of 1/4 cup)¹	Oklahoma State Extension (about 1 cup)²
Seeds	2 cups	1 cup raw
Salt water	1 quart water, 2 tbsp salt	4 cups water, 2 tbsp salt
Boil	10 minutes, then pat dry	About 10 minutes, then pat dry
Oil	1 tbsp olive or canola oil	1 tbsp vegetable oil
Seasoning	Optional	1 tbsp Old Bay
Oven	350°F, 30 to 40 minutes, stirring	300°F, 30 to 40 minutes, stirring

Illinois Extension says boiling in salt water makes the seeds roast more evenly, but you can skip it. If you do, salt the seeds directly with about 1/2 teaspoon salt and/or other spices.¹ Oklahoma State bakes them until they’re as brown as you like and says to adjust the salt to your needs and taste.² Both recipes stir the seeds often so they color evenly.

Savory seasonings

Salt

Salt is the one seasoning both recipes use, and most of it goes in during the boil. Fine salt sticks to dry seeds better than coarse flakes. See sea salt and kosher salt.

Garlic

Lots of people toss garlic powder with the oil before roasting, though we found no test of how it does on seeds in the oven. America’s Test Kitchen found that garlic powder stirred dry into mashed potatoes tasted harsh, not complex,⁴ so mixing the powder into the oil first is a reasonable place to start. If you’re using homemade garlic oil, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources says not to store garlic in oil at room temperature.⁵ See garlic powder and garlic salt.

Black pepper and cayenne

Ground red pepper sometimes goes by cayenne pepper. Start with a pinch of cayenne and taste before you add more. See black pepper, cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes.

Old Bay and other blends

Oklahoma State’s recipe uses a tablespoon of Old Bay for a cup of seeds.² McCormick’s label lists celery salt (salt, celery seed), spices including red and black pepper, and paprika,⁶ so it brings salt along with the spice. Cut back on other salt if you use it. Chili powder, smoked paprika and curry powder are other easy one-jar options. See Old Bay seasoning, smoked paprika and chili powder.

Pumpkin seeds in Mexican cooking

Pumpkin seeds aren’t just a snack. They can be the base of a dish. For the sauce in the Yucatecan dish papadzules, ground pumpkin seeds are dissolved in the water used to cook tomatoes, habaneros and epazote.⁷ See epazote.

Sweet seasonings

Clemson Extension’s Samantha Houston made cinnamon sugar pumpkin seeds from a Betty Crocker recipe.³ For a sweet batch, a neutral oil or melted butter keeps savory flavors out of the way. Pumpkin pie spice works the same way plain cinnamon does. See cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.

Jenna Smith, “Roasted Pumpkin Seeds”, University of Illinois Extension, Eat. Move. Save. eat-move-save.extension.illinois.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
“Toasted Pumpkin Seeds”, Oklahoma Gardening, Oklahoma State University Extension. extension.okstate.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
Samantha Houston, “Roasting Pumpkin Seeds”, Clemson Cooperative Extension Home & Garden Information Center, 2024. hgic.clemson.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩²
“Experiment: Bringing Out the Best in Garlic Powder”, America’s Test Kitchen. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩
Linda J. Harris, “Garlic: Safe Methods to Store, Preserve, and Enjoy”, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, 2016. ccfruitandnuts.ucanr.edu · Reference work ↩
“OLD BAY Classic Seafood Seasoning”, McCormick & Company product page. mccormick.com · Merchant ↩
“Papadzules 2000”, La Cocina Histórica, UTSA Libraries Special Collections. lacocina.utsa.edu · Publication ↩

Also drawn on

Red Pepper, McCormick Science Institute. mccormickscienceinstitute.com

The Best Spices for Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Savory and Sweet