Hi, my name’s Cheri and I’m an addict.
The first time I was introduced to roasted pumpkin seeds was when I lived in Phoenix in 2002. Wait, 2002? That was 12 years ago?!?! WTFFFFFFFFl;asdjfosidgj….yikes, time flies.
I was a preschool teacher at Sunrise Preschools in Chandler AZ. My co-teacher, crap, I can’t remember her name now but I can remember her face and her beautiful personality like this was yesterday, I feel like it starts with an H…. anyway we used to try to make fun things for the kids, and for Halloween, we got a bunch of pumpkins, dug out the insides, added olive oil and salt, roasted ’em in the school kitchen, and munched on them all together. Her and I and 20 cute little 4 year olds. I didn’t know anything about pumpkin seeds and became immediately obsessed. Great success.
This way, I ate them with the shells on and really liked them. Plus that adds a ton of fiber, which is always a good thing.
The following years, I would buy several pumpkins in season, just waiting for the day they come in season so I could slaughter them for their delicious seeds to roast up. I hereby apologize to all the slaughtered pumpkins. One time I did make soup out of the flesh and it turned out pretty good, even if you’re supposed to use the smaller ones for soups. Note to self do that again. I don’t like to waste food.
Along that same line of thinking, every time I cut open a cantaloupe (aka muskmelon), I am saddeneed with throwing out all the insides. Figuring there must be a way to use it up, I just did the same with the cantaloupe seeds that I did with pumpkin seeds and lo and behold it TOTALLY WORKS.
And the best part is, there are about a gazillion health benefits to these types of seeds, so you can’t really go wrong. Next time you use a cantaloupe, try it yourself!
Here are some notes that I gathered through the process:
- The seeds, after roasting, are a bit harder to chew and swallow than pumpkin seeds so just make sure to chew throughly. Still super duper delicious though.
- You can sprinkle them on salad too; they’ll add a great crunch.
- Try blending them in a smoothie (my friend Robin at KneadtoCook.com, taught me that trick), to use them raw and maintain all their nutrition. Roasting always lowers nutrition content, but definitely brings out more flavor. Your choice.
- When you roast them on the high heat like I did, they pop like popcorn in the oven. Tent them with foil to prevent this.
- Separating the seeds from the “netting” is a pain in the butt. And you don’t get a ton of seeds. But it’s worth it so deal with it.
- You don’t need to remove every last bit of netting — it will just dry up in the oven and you won’t even notice it.
- The seeds have tons of protein, fiber and nutrients/antioxidants/etc. Don’t just throw them out!
How to Make Roasted Cantaloupe Seeds Video
- 1 cantaloupe
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a small bowl, cut the cantaloupe in half and scoop out the seeds. Squeeze and pick out the cantaloupe seeds from the fruit flesh "netting". Save the rest of the fruit for another recipe or just eat plain!
- In a small mesh colander, wash the seeds to remove any extra netting left behind. Return seeds to the small bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Add olive oil and salt and mix to combine. On a foil lined cookie sheet, spread out the seeds in a single layer. Roast for 10 minutes (checking every 3-5 minutes) until they are golden brown. If your seeds pop like popcorn, avoid this by covering with another piece of aluminum foil.
Nice! Now I don’t have to throw away the seeds from my butternutsquash…. :-)
Hi… i akso make roasted seeds. But the trick is to boil them fir abiut 10 mins then roast..
Ok awesome!! I’ve never boiled them first. What does the boiling do for them?
The 10 minute boiling makes them easier to eat. They are not as fibrous and tough that way. After boiling, I drain them. While they are still warm, I toss them (about 2 cups of seeds) with 1/2 t. Salt, 1 t. Worcestershire sauce, and 3 tablespoons (or less) butter and roast on a cookie sheet @ 225 degrees for 2 hrs or until crisp. 2 cups of seeds will fill my cookie sheet and it yields enough to make it feel like the preparation process was worth my time, but so often a squash, or whatever seed I’m roasting will not have enough seeds for my recipe. No problem, I just label a sandwich bag “raw squash seeds,”put the seeds in the bag and the bag in the freezer, and add similar seeds to it until I have my 2 cups worth and have time to make a proper batch. As long as the seeds don’t stay in the freezer too long (over 6 months maybe?), freezing them first has no effect on texture or taste. I want to try the same thing with my cantelope seeds!
Ahhh Shelly those are fantastic suggestions, especially the one about putting them in the freezer to have enough…I agree, it’s a lot of work for only a little bit of seeds otherwise. I will have to try the boiling trick next time!! <3 Thanks again.
In the ‘it’s only icky until you try it’ department: the ‘netting’ is pure cantaloupe meat and is ripe and delicious.
From the ‘cook like a bachelor ‘ angle: dump the seeds (after you’ve eaten the netting) onto your toaster oven pan. Leave the gook: it’s just pre-seasoning. Pour in about a teaspoon or so of oil, stir and smooth out with back of spoon. Roast as previous.
SMARTTTTTTT Jim, and an excellent addition to this post. I thank you!!
I’m making these right now, and they smell delicious! I added a bit of cumin, cayenne pepper, black pepper, olive oil and garlic powder. This was after boiling them for 11 minutes in slightly salted water. Smells great!
AWESOME Ellie!! sounds delish!!!
I eat watermelon, cantelopes, honeydew both green and golden other fruits in the same family. I used to throw the seeds away. But I used to feel uncomfortable having to do this while thinking the seeds I am throwing away could be very useful and good for my body system. So today I determined to google what the seeds can be used for
It is awesome what I Learnt this afternoon about how I can turn what I thought was a waste to something that will be useful for my health forever. I thank Google and everybody that contributed to this new knowledge I just acquired. God bless you
Thank you! I teach small-space food gardening and grow a LOT of melons and squash vertically. Of course I save and sell the heirloom & open-pollinated seeds, but what to do with the hybrid seeds?
They were a little tough to eat, I’ll try boiling them next time, but SOOOOOO delicious!
Hi Kim!
Great question! We don’t have the answer to it, but make sure to let us know what you do with your seeds!
Hello, to whom ever thought of boiling the seeds for 10 minutes first, Great idea! It does make them easier to eat, softer but crunchy. I boiled the seeds for 10 minutes and then seasoned them and put on tray, stuck them in oven for about 10 minutes at 350. The seeds did start popping in last 5 minutes, so keep an eye on them. Crunchy and easier to eat! Thank you!
Sounds amazing Alexandra, good for you! Love to see my community giving these recipes a try! ;)
Thank you for the freezing post, well because you all know why. And you can eat watermelon seeds too?? I did not know what. The skin seems a lot tougher so I’ll try boiling them when they come into season. Love my seeds and exciting the try the netting as well. Thanks Cheri and everyone 😘
You’re so welcome Jeanne!
I bought roasted and salted melon seeds from the supermarket because I thought they would be ready to eat. But the outer shell is too hard for my taste, I am not even sure if it’s edible. Plus it’s too much work to remove the shell individually for each seed for very little payoff. How do you eat them without removing the shell?
I’m not sure Bob, I’ve never bought them myself. I know when I roast my own, they are perfect for eating whole!
This recipe is the best!!! You should definitely try this!!! Ten out of ten!
Yessss I just made this for my daughter this week! :D
This now the 2nd time I made this recipe and they are great thanks for the ideas team. I use the seeds on salads, and put them in crock pot dishes makes them very tasty.
I read this recipe and thought 425° kind of seems high but I’ll give it a go. Not even 6 minutes in to the suggested 10 minutes of cook time I had a smokey kitchen and burnt seeds. I think a much lower temperature would have been a better option.
I do not eat extracted oil of any kind, would it be possible to roast without any oil? Like dry roasted things?
Same for me nowadays! Absolutely. Usually, I just rinse them to get the fruit off, then sprinkle with whatever seasoning I want, usually Mrs. Dash, and then bake the same way but keep an eye and don’t forget to shake them. Nowadays, I use an air fryer exclusively for this type of recipe. Hope this helps!