You carved the pumpkin and have your lovely artwork proudly displayed. Before the seeds go into the trash with the rest of the pumpkin guts, save them. Roasted pumpkin seeds are one of the easiest Halloween snacks you can make, but they are also good on chili, soup, salads, roasted vegetables, tacos, popcorn, oatmeal, and plenty more.
Pumpkin seeds also bring some nutrition along with the crunch. A 2026 review indexed by the National Library of Medicine notes that they provide protein, unsaturated fats, fiber, and minerals including magnesium, zinc, iron, and potassium.
Clean the seeds, roast a batch, and then put them to work. Here are 20 ways to use them, from simple snacks to dinner toppings and a couple of sweet ideas.
First, Roast the Seeds
Pull away the big pieces of pumpkin and rinse the seeds in a colander, using your fingers to loosen the strings. Pat them well with a kitchen towel or paper towels before adding oil and seasoning. They do not have to be spotless, but the drier they are going into the oven, the better they will roast.
You can keep the seasoning as simple as oil and salt or divide the batch and make a few different flavors. Chile, garlic, herbs, taco spices, Parmesan, and warm spices all work well with pumpkin seeds.
Easy Snacks
1. Eat them warm from the pan. Let them cool for a few minutes first so they have time to crisp. A bowl of freshly roasted seeds needs very little else.
2. Toss them with popcorn. Roasted pumpkin seeds and popcorn give you two kinds of crunch in the same bowl. Dap’s Cajun Blackened Seasoning is good on the combination when you want smoky flavor and a little heat.
3. Make a Halloween snack mix. Combine roasted seeds with pretzels, popcorn, cereal squares, and peanuts. Once everything is cool, add chocolate pieces or candy for a sweet-salty version.
4. Add them to trail mix. Mix the seeds with nuts, dried cherries or cranberries, coconut, and a little chocolate. Whole carving seeds are crunchier than green pepitas, so a smaller amount goes a long way.
5. Sprinkle them over a dip. Hummus, whipped feta, bean dip, and thick yogurt dips are all good with roasted seeds on top. A batch seasoned with Shawhan Farms Calabrian Chile & Roasted Garlic Parmesan Seasoning Topper adds Parmesan, roasted garlic, and mild chile heat to a simple dip.
Add Them to Lunch or Dinner
6. Put them on chili. Shawhan Farms Oaxacan Mole Negro Sauce Starter & Seasoning makes a particularly good batch for chili. Its savory chile flavor, warm spice, and heat pair well with beef chili, turkey chili, black bean chili, or lentils.
7. Top a bowl of soup. Pumpkin, butternut squash, sweet potato, tomato, and black bean soups are all good with something crisp on top. Add the seeds just before serving.
8. Finish a taco bowl. Roast a batch with Beau’s Original Taco Seasoning and scatter them over rice, beans, taco meat, lettuce, avocado, and salsa.
9. Add them to a grain bowl. Rice, farro, quinoa, and barley all work well with a crunchy topping, especially when the rest of the bowl includes soft roasted vegetables or beans.
10. Top a baked potato or sweet potato. Add the seeds after the other toppings. Mole Negro-seasoned seeds are especially good with the sweetness of a baked sweet potato.
Give Vegetables Some Crunch
11. Scatter them over roasted winter squash. Acorn, butternut, delicata, and pumpkin all become sweeter as they roast. Savory pumpkin seeds add a crisp contrast to the soft squash.
12. Add them to Brussels sprouts. Roast the sprouts until deeply browned around the edges, then scatter the seeds over the top just before serving. Islands Jamaican-Style Jerk Seasoning makes a good batch when you want some heat and warm spice.
13. Use them on roasted carrots. Carrots pair well with chile and warm spices. Add the seeds after roasting so they keep their crunch.
14. Finish green beans with them. Toss cooked green beans with butter or olive oil and a squeeze of lemon, then add the seeds at the table.
15. Add them to cabbage. Sprinkle them over sautéed cabbage or use them in a crisp slaw. They are especially good with lime, cider vinegar, or mustard in the dressing.
Salads, Breakfast, and Something Sweet
16. Use them instead of croutons. Roasted pumpkin seeds are good on leafy salads, chopped salads, and fall salads with pears, apples, dried cranberries, cheese, or roasted vegetables. Calabrian Chile & Roasted Garlic Parmesan Seasoning Topper is a good choice for seeds headed toward a savory salad.
17. Sprinkle them over avocado toast. Add the seeds after the avocado so they stay crisp. Taco, Cajun, or chile-seasoned seeds all work well here.
18. Put them on oatmeal or yogurt. Save part of the batch for a sweeter version with cinnamon and a little sugar. Let the seeds cool completely before adding them to oatmeal, yogurt, or fruit.
19. Stir them into granola. Green pepitas are usually the easier choice here, but whole roasted carving seeds can work in a chunky granola or muesli if you like the extra crunch.
20. Make chocolate bark. Spread melted chocolate over parchment, scatter roasted pumpkin seeds over the top, and let it set. Simply salted seeds make an easy sweet-salty version.
Whole Pumpkin Seeds and Pepitas Are Different
The seeds you scoop from a carving pumpkin still have their white outer hulls. Roast them whole and eat the hull along with the kernel inside. They are crisp and sturdy, which is why they work so well as snacks and toppings.
Green pepitas are the hulled kernels. They are softer and toast much faster, making them better when you want to stir the seeds into granola or bread or blend them into pesto, dips, and sauces.
Both have plenty of uses. If you have carved a pumpkin, you already have a fresh batch of whole seeds ready to roast.
Browse our Recipe of the Week collection for more seasonal dinners, sides, snacks, and cooking ideas from the Shawhan Farms kitchen.
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