Crunchy and light, roasted squash and pumpkin seeds are a wonderful snack.  Whenever you prepare a squash dish, keep all those delightful seeds. This easy-to-prepare recipe is also a nice appetizer, as well as a great salad topper.

Whenever I cook squash, I’ll have a dish of seeds on the table. I’m surprised at how often I’m asked if I made them. Most people are so accustomed to buying the final product that they’re unaware of how simple the roasted seeds are to prepare from scratch.

Some of my friends told me they throw away these lovely seeds, as they can’t be bothered to peel them. Well, you need not peel the seeds. Roasting makes the husk a crispy edible delight. So save yourself sometime, roast them whole, and enjoy the added source of fibre.

Different squash have different seeds, and I’ve been happy with the results of all of them. I’ve tried butternut, delicata, muskat, hokaido, and of course pumpkin. The seeds vary in size. I’ve found the cooking time is appropriate regardless of seed size. Though watch the small ones a bit more, to avoid over-cooking.

If you find your seeds are not crispy, but somewhat soft, put them back in the oven and roast for longer. Seeds may also absorb moisture from the air, so you may find your snacks getting soft a day later. Throw them back in the oven to restore their lovely crisp.

Don’t worry about perfectly clean seeds either. Remove most of the pulp, but left-over strands aren’t a problem. They’ll dry up during the roasting and add some extra flavour.

Snack away!