I haven’t roasted pumpkin seeds since I was a kid.

But very autumn my mind drifts back to our family’s annual pumpkin ritual: after spending the better part of a crisp weekend afternoon picking out the perfect pumpkins at a local farm, we’d spread newspapers out on the kitchen table and get to work turning our pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds Photo Courtesy Flickr: Jaxzin

Then we would separate the pumpkin seeds from their goop and roast them. We  simply baked them until crunchy and sprinkled them with a little salt.

In addition to being really fun and easy to make, they were crunchy, delicious and addictive.

You may have noticed that pumpkin seeds nutritional benefits have helped to boost their popularity. They are packed with protein, fiber, iron, copper, and magnesium, making them a healthy snack.

And while pumpkin seeds contain a lot of fat, 90% of it is the healthy unsaturated kind.

Although I haven’t done it in decades, I’m planning to roast a batch of pumpkin or squash seeds again real soon. In anticipation of roasting/toasting/baking up a batch of pumpkin seeds, I did a little research regarding the best way to prepare them.

This article on roasting pumpkin seeds from AllRecipes covers all the basics and is accompanied by this great instructional video:

Recipes for Toasted Pumpkin Seeds from around the Web:

1. Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe – A simple straightforward recipe from Elise at Simply Recipes who suggests simmering your seeds in salted water before roasting them.

2. Light Roasted Pumpkin Seeds – A zippy twist on a  fun Halloween tradition that’s got just a little heat and is a tasty healthy snack with just 95 calories and 2 Weight Watchers PointsPlus per serving. Found at Taste of Home.

3. Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Seeds – Another delicious twist for roasted pumpkin seeds with 71 calories and 2 WW Points+ from fellow Weight Watcher Alanna of A Veggie Venture.

4. Caramelized Spicy Pumpkin Seeds - Much more flavorful than some recipes for pumpkin seeds with 117 calories and 3 Weight Watchers Points+. Found at AllRecipes.

5. Skinny Roasted Pumpkin Seeds – With just a spritz of olive oil to keep the fat content as low as possible and a sprinkle of kosher salt and just 71 calories and 2 WW Points+ from Gina at SkinnyTaste.

6. Perfect Roasted Pumpkin Seeds – The secret to perfectly roasted pumpkin seeds according to Camilla (via Martha) is to make sure they are completely dry before roasting.  But don’t let set them on paper towels to dry because they may stick.  A brown paper bag or parchemnt paper are better choices. Another simple preparation perfectly executed found at Enlightened Cooking.

7. Toasted Pumpkin Seeds 3 Ways - Toasting pumpkin seeds is a great way to get creative with your spices as demonstrated by the talented Heidi of 101 Cookbooks.