How to Toast Pepitas
Before we get to the toasting part, let’s answer this question first: what’s the difference between pumpkin seeds and pepitas?
Is the first photo a pumpkin seed and the second photo a pepita? Technically, no. Both can be called either pumpkin seeds or pepitas. Pepita is the spanish word for pumpkin seed; a word we’ve adopted into the English language. The difference between the two is that one has the outer shell or husk removed. Although, I just learned there are some pumpkin varieties that produce hulless seeds – how cool is that!
While technically there is no difference, many people choose to call the seed with the husk as a pumpkin seed and the hulless version as a pepita. For ease of communication, I will follow this practice.
While roasting pumpkin seeds is fun at Halloween, I prefer eating pepitas. I know they’re higher in fiber and zinc if you eat the shell – but for use in baking, topping salads, granola or other dishes, I prefer pepitas. I buy raw unsalted pepitas.
They’re even tastier when they’re lightly toasted. They puff up, become a little more crisp and their flavor gets nuttier. Perfect!
You can roast them in the oven or toaster oven, but I find that the direct heat of a skillet really makes them puff up and become nice and round. In fact, some of them even pop a little.
Toasting them in a skillet is easy, but it goes fast so you have to watch carefully. Here’s the “recipe”.
How to Toast Pepitas
Ingredients
- 1/2 to 1 cup hulless pumpkin seeds or pepitas
Instructions
- Place a fry pan over medium high heat. NO oil.
- Add only enough pepitas to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Stay with the pepitas and give the pan a shake every so often.
- As the pepitas heat, they will puff up, some might even pop - don't be alarmed.
- Keep shaking the pan until they've turned mostly golden brown, about 4-5 minutes.
- Pour out of the hot pan onto a plate to allow them to cool. Caution - if you leave them in the hot pan, they will continue to toast and may burn.
Notes
Yield 1/2 to 1 cup
I use toasted pepitas quite often on top of salads like this orange, fennel and celery salad.
Yummy crunchiness.
Getty Stewart is an engaging speaker and writer providing tasty recipes, time-saving tips, and helpful kitchen ideas to make home cooking easy and enjoyable. She is a Professional Home Economist, author of Manitoba’s best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, mom and veggie gardener.
Thanks for the instructions. I thought this would be the method, but needed the internet to confirm. I just made some bark with my leftover melted chocolate: cinnamon, ground cayenne pepper, toasted pepitas, and a little sea salt. I’m singing my own praises! This might not make it into the Christmas cookie plates.
Oh my, Jamie that does sound delicious! May have to give that a try.
Glad you found the instructions helpful, sometimes all you need is someone to confirm what you knew all along.
All the best,
Getty