Nearly every fall throughout my childhood, my mom drove my brother and me to the closest pumpkin patch, about 30 minutes away, a few weeks before Halloween. Upon arriving in the gravel parking lot, we often walked right past the stables and animals, feeling a little too scared of getting bitten if we let the donkeys or sheep nuzzle food from our hands, and headed straight to the fields instead.
Sometimes we ran through the corn maze first, but we always spent the most time picking out our pumpkins. We looked for medium-large ones (not too heavy so Mom could still lift them!) with smooth bright orange skin, the kind perfect for carving.
During the afternoon on Halloween, we covered the kitchen floor with a thick layer of newspapers, then sat in the middle of them alongside our pumpkins. Dad helped us slice off the tops and pull out the “pumpkin guts” before sketching and cutting faces on the sides. We usually picked fairly simple and classic designs: eyes, a nose, and a smiling mouth with a few teeth.
Once we clapped with excitement, we set our jack-o-lanterns right outside the front door, and Mom placed a candle inside each one. We dashed upstairs to pull on our costumes, and one of our parents headed out trick-or-treating with us while the other stayed home to guard our pumpkins—and pass out candy, of course!
Throughout my entire life, I’ve never once saved the pumpkin seeds from any of my jack-o-lanterns… I never knew what to do with them! Yet this year, that’s definitely changing…
I’m making a batch of these Healthy Pumpkin Spice Candied Pumpkin Seeds! They’re sweet and crunchy with lots of cozy spice flavor, and they’re super simple to make. I use a pan on the stove, so it takes less than 5 minutes of work!
And on top of that… This healthy pumpkin seeds recipe includes no butter or sugar and just 64 calories in a serving!
So let’s go over how to make these healthy pumpkin spice candied pumpkin seeds!
You’ll start with roasted pumpkin seeds. The first few times I made this recipe, I couldn’t find any regular pumpkins to carve and pull out the seeds… That’s what happens when you test pumpkin seed recipes during the summer! So for those batches, I opted for store-bought roasted pumpkin seeds (these!).
However, it’s super simple to roast your own! Once you’ve separated the seeds from the pumpkin pulp (we call that the pumpkin “guts” in our family!) and rinsed them off, spread them in a thin layer on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat. Bake them at 300°F for 30 to 45 minutes or until they’re dry and crunchy. Easy peasy!
Once your roasted pumpkin seeds are at room temperature (aka right away if you use store-bought… or a bit longer if you opted for homemade!), then you’re ready to prepare the coating. It’s a blend of granulated erythritol (I use this one!), homemade pumpkin spice, and water. If your roasted pumpkin seeds lack salt, then you can also add in a little bit of that!
For the homemade pumpkin spice, you’ll use a combination of cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. I love the way those smell together! I prefer to make my own pumpkin spice because (a) I keep jars of those individual spices in my cupboard at all times and therefore (b) I don’t have enough room for jars of store-bought. You’re welcome to substitute store-bought pumpkin spice, if you prefer!
Hint: Pumpkin spice is short for “pumpkin pie spice,” and it simply refers to the spices used to make pumpkin pie. It doesn’t actually include any pumpkin!
As for the erythritol, it’s a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that shouldn’t contain anything artificial or refined (aka it’s clean-eating friendly!). If you use the kind that I do, then it measures cup-for-cup like granulated sugar, and it caramelizes just like sugar does, too! You’ll add just enough water to make a paste, which makes coating the pumpkin seeds easier.
And now it’s time to do that! To make your healthy pumpkin spice candied pumpkin seeds, add your roasted pumpkin seeds to a pan. Cook them for a brief period of time, just enough to get them warmed all the way through, then reduce the heat and pour in your coating. The coating should “melt” and dissolve, which makes it really easy to fully cover all of the seeds!
Then transfer your healthy pumpkin spice candied pumpkin seeds onto a large sheet of foil, and spread them into a thin single layer. Try to minimize big clumps, if possible! But once they’re cool and hard, you can break apart any large clusters.
The day after Halloween is definitely going to be yummy this year! 😉 And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 😊) I’d love to see your healthy pumpkin spice candied pumpkin seeds!
| Healthy Pumpkin Spice Candied Pumpkin Seeds | Print |
- 3 tbsp (45g) granulated erythritol
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground allspice
- ⅛ tsp ground ginger
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- ⅛ tsp salt (omit if using salted roasted pumpkin seeds)
- 1 tbsp (15mL) water
- 1 cup (113g) roasted pumpkin seeds
- Cut a large sheet of foil, and place it on the counter.
- In a small bowl, stir together the erythritol, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Stir in the water until all of the ingredients are incorporated and form a paste.
- Add the pumpkin seeds to a small pan, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 20-30 seconds or until warmed through. Reduce the heat to low, and add the cinnamon mixture. Stir constantly with a spatula until the pumpkin seeds are completely coated. Transfer the mixture to the prepared foil, and spread into a thin even layer. Let the pumpkin seeds cool completely to room temperature, and ensure the coating has hardened and turned crunchy before breaking apart any clumps.
I prefer making my own pumpkin spice, but you can easily substitute 1 ⅛ teaspoons of store-bought pumpkin spice for the cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves if you prefer.
The coating will be mostly hardened and crunchy after about 10-15 minutes. However, I’ve found that the texture is the best if you wait at least 2 hours to eat.
I used these roasted pumpkin seeds as a shortcut (and omitted the salt). I leave the coating / shell on the pumpkin seeds. However, it’s really easy to make your own! After cutting open your pumpkin, scrape out the seeds. Separate them from the pumpkin’s pulp. Rinse the seeds and shake them dry. (Don’t pat them dry with paper towels!) Spread them out on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat, and bake at 300°F for 30-45 minutes. Let them cool before using in this recipe for the best results.
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, sugar-free, low carb}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Candied Pecans
♡ Healthy Cinnamon Roasted Almonds
♡ Healthy Cocoa Roasted Almonds
♡ Healthy Gingerbread Spice Roasted Almonds
♡ Healthy Raspberry Glazed Almonds
♡ Healthy Blender Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter
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