Smoky Garlic Savory Roasted Pumpkin Seeds with Nutritional Yeast
Savory roasted pumpkin seeds with smoked paprika, garlic-infused olive oil and nutritional yeast. A quick salt-water simmer makes them shatter-crisp all the way through.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Rest
- 20 min
- Serves
- 4
Smoky Garlic Savory Roasted Pumpkin Seeds with Nutritional Yeast is a vegan snack recipe made with fresh pumpkin seeds, water, salt. It takes 50 minutes of hands-on time, plus 20 minutes resting, serves 4, and each serving has 313 calories, 16 g of protein and 4 g of fiber.
Two small moves turn carved-pumpkin seeds into a snack worth saving them for. Simmering the seeds in salty water first seasons them past the shell and softens the fibers so they dry crisp instead of chewy, and infusing the olive oil with grated garlic over low heat gives you real garlic flavor without the scorched bitterness raw garlic develops in a hot oven. The nutritional yeast goes on after roasting, while the seeds are still warm and oily enough to hold it, so it stays savory and cheesy rather than toasting to dust.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups194 gfresh pumpkin seeds, pulp removed and rinsed (from 1 medium carving or sugar pumpkin), packaged raw hulled pepitas work too — skip the simmer
- 1 tbsp14 gextra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves9 ggarlic cloves, finely grated
- 1 tsp2.3 gsmoked paprika
Salt simmer
- 6 cups1.42 kgwater, for simmering
- 1 tbsp18 gsalt, for the simmering water
Seasoning
- ½ tsp3 gfine sea salt
- ¼ tsp0.6 gfreshly ground black pepper
- 1½ tbsp7.5 gnutritional yeast flakes
- ¼ tsp0.5 gred pepper flakes (optional)
Kit: Rimmed baking sheet, Parchment paper, Saucepan, Colander, Small skillet, Microplane or fine grater
Tips
- Shell-on pumpkin seeds from a carving pumpkin are wider and flatter than packaged pepitas; they need the full 25 minutes. Hulled pepitas need only 12–15 minutes at 325°F and no simmer.
- One medium pumpkin yields roughly 1 to 1 1/2 cups of seeds. If yours gives less, scale the oil and spices down rather than under-seasoning a thin layer.
- Crowding the pan steams the seeds. Use two sheets if they won't sit in a single layer.
Swap ideas
- Swap the smoked paprika for 1 teaspoon curry powder and finish with lime zest
- Warmer and more aromatic, with a bright citrus edge instead of campfire smoke
- Use 1 tablespoon tamari in place of the salt, tossed on before roasting
- Deeper savory flavor and a darker, glossier shell; the seeds may need 3–4 extra minutes to dry out
- Replace half the pumpkin seeds with sunflower seeds
- A softer, nuttier mix — add the sunflower seeds for the last 12 minutes only, as they toast faster
- Add 1/2 teaspoon cumin and a pinch of chili powder alongside the paprika
- Pushes the seeds toward a taco-seasoning profile, good over soups and salads
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
313kcal per serving
Everything else · 4 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 4.7 g 24%
- Sugars
- 0.8 g
- Sodium
- 2059 mg 90%
- Potassium
- 455 mg 10%
- Calcium
- 41 mg 3%
- Iron
- 4.7 mg 26%
- Vitamin C
- 2 mg 2%
- Vitamin B12
- 7.04 µg 293%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Seeds, pumpkin and squash seed kernels, dried, Beverages, water, tap, drinking, Salt, table, Oil, olive, salad or cooking, Garlic, raw, Spices, paprika, Spices, pepper, black, Nutritional Yeast Seasoning by BRAGG (fortified; legacy USDA Branded Foods entry as reproduced by NutritionValue.org)
Method
Pull the seeds from the pumpkin and rinse them in a colander under cold water, rubbing between your fingers to strip off the stringy pulp. Pick out any remaining fibers — leftover pulp burns and tastes bitter.
Bring the water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil in a saucepan, add the seeds, and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain well.
Spread the seeds on a clean kitchen towel and pat thoroughly dry, then let them air-dry for about 10 minutes. They should feel barely damp, not slick — surface water steams the seeds instead of crisping them.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 325°F (160°C) and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Warm the olive oil and grated garlic in a small skillet over low heat for 1–2 minutes, just until fragrant and gently bubbling; do not let the garlic color. Take it off the heat.
Toss the dry seeds in a bowl with the garlic oil, smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes if using, until every seed is coated. Spread in a single layer on the baking sheet.
Roast for 20–25 minutes, stirring every 8 minutes, until the seeds are golden at the edges, dry to the touch, and popping and crackling in the pan. Start checking at 18 minutes — they go from toasted to burnt quickly.
Sprinkle the nutritional yeast over the hot seeds right on the pan and stir to coat while the oil is still tacky.
Cool completely on the pan, about 20 minutes. They firm up as they cool — taste one only after cooling to judge the crunch, and add another pinch of salt if needed.
Storage: Cool completely, then store in an airtight jar at room temperature for up to 1 week. If they soften, re-crisp on a sheet pan at 300°F for 5 minutes and cool again. Don't refrigerate — the humidity makes them chewy.
Questions
- How much protein is in smoky garlic savory roasted pumpkin seeds with nutritional yeast?
- Each of the 4 servings has 16 g of protein, 4 g of fiber and 313 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is smoky garlic savory roasted pumpkin seeds with nutritional yeast vegan?
- Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
- How long does smoky garlic savory roasted pumpkin seeds with nutritional yeast take to make?
- 15 minutes of prep and 35 minutes of cooking, so 50 minutes of hands-on time, plus 20 minutes of unattended resting.
- Can you make smoky garlic savory roasted pumpkin seeds with nutritional yeast ahead?
- Cool completely, then store in an airtight jar at room temperature for up to 1 week. If they soften, re-crisp on a sheet pan at 300°F for 5 minutes and cool again. Don't refrigerate — the humidity makes them chewy.
- What can I substitute in smoky garlic savory roasted pumpkin seeds with nutritional yeast?
- Swap the smoked paprika for 1 teaspoon curry powder and finish with lime zest — warmer and more aromatic, with a bright citrus edge instead of campfire smoke. Use 1 tablespoon tamari in place of the salt, tossed on before roasting — deeper savory flavor and a darker, glossier shell; the seeds may need 3–4 extra minutes to dry out. Replace half the pumpkin seeds with sunflower seeds — a softer, nuttier mix — add the sunflower seeds for the last 12 minutes only, as they toast faster. Add 1/2 teaspoon cumin and a pinch of chili powder alongside the paprika — pushes the seeds toward a taco-seasoning profile, good over soups and salads.
- Does smoky garlic savory roasted pumpkin seeds with nutritional yeast contain gluten or nuts?
- None of the ingredients are a source of gluten, tree nuts or peanuts. That is a statement about the ingredient list, not a guarantee about the brands you buy — always read the labels if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published September 20, 2026 ·American
