Cinnamon Maple Pumpkin Seeds - Recipe

In the next few days leading up to Halloween a lot of families will be carving pumpkins to put out on their step for the night of Halloween … Fun Fact: This is a Celtic tradition! The Celts used to carve faces in vegetables like squash and turnips and place a candle inside to light the face which they believed would scare away evil spirits that lurked in the darkness and light a path to their home for good spirits and visitors!

After cleaning out the pumpkins you are usually left with all the “guts” as my kids call it, which sometimes includes a lot of seeds. These typically will just get discarded into the green bin or compost, but one thing I enjoy doing with my seeds is roasting them to make a tasty little snack!

Pumpkin seeds that we see in stores in the raw form are usually green, this is because the shell has been removed (that is the white part of the ones we get directly from any type of squash). In the raw form from a sore or fresh from a squash, you will still get the same nutrient benefits! These little seeds are full of important nutrients the body needs like fibre, iron, and many vitamins and minerals. They are also high in antioxidants, and can help regulate blood sugar!

CINNAMON MAPLE ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS

  • 1 cup pumpkin seeds (washed and dried)

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup

  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

  • 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. Prep seeds - make sure they are washed and dried thoroughly this will help with the crunch factor

  3. Mix everything together in a bowl

  4. Spread evenly onto baking sheet

  5. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown - stirring half way

  6. Remove from oven, let cool & Enjoy!

You can make any flavour you like using fresh herbs or spices to make them more savoury (smoked paprika would be a good one!) or even using raw cacao, shredded coconut and coconut oil to make a chocolate flavour. I am a sucker for anything maple cinnamon so this is what I focus on in this recipe but the options definitely do not end there!

These are great to have ready to go for halloween night to snack on and might help you avoid any temptation of wanting to eat the snacks you might have aside for your trick-or-treaters!

Store them in an airtight container at room temp (once completely cooled to avoid sticking together or getting soft!)

- Happy Halloween -