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Roasted Pumpkin Seed Brittle

By Melissa

No ratings yet

on Oct 23, 2012, Updated Aug 22, 2024

This delicious Pumpkin Seed Brittle is just like traditional peanut brittle, but with roasted pumpkin seeds instead of peanuts. It’s so good!

Roasted Pumpkin Seed Brittle Recipe

I’m so excited about today’s post! I actually woke up at 4:30 am to the old windows in our room whistling and rattling in a wind storm. I laid in bed for a while but kept thinking about working on this post, so here it is, just before 5 am and I’m out of bed blogging. 🙂

Peanut brittle. I love the stuff. Roasted pumpkin seeds. I love the stuff. Have you ever thought to marry the two? I sure hadn’t until my friend Carrie asked how we like our pumpkin seeds on her Facebook page. I answered roasted with butter, garlic powder, and salt. Another person said in brittle, and I was completely intrigued. It has never crossed my mind, but after that I just had to try it.

I really loved how it turned out. The seeds are hard and crunchy inside of an equally hard and crunchy candy shell, and they almost taste like popcorn to me. If you don’t love roasted pumpkin seeds normally, or if the shell is a bit too much for you, then try pepitas. Pepitas are the green raw pumpkin seeds left when the outer shell has been removed. You can buy them at health food stores or Mexican markets. I’m sure it’s completely different, but I bet the pepitas would taste more like traditional nut brittle (I wouldn’t roast the pepitas before adding them either…).

There you have it – a beautiful and tasty way to use your pumpkin seeds and a great excuse to start the candy-making season just a few weeks earlier than normal. Are you going to try it?

Here is my professional pumpkin seed extractor. This model isn’t available in stores.

The night we did this the sky was amazing! It was perfect for carving pumpkins and making candy.

Tips for Making Pumpkin Seed Brittle

• I recommend calibrating your candy thermometer. I did this and realized my thermometer was off by 12 degrees (which is a lot!). So now I adjust the temperature accordingly and I haven’t burnt a batch of candy since. Here’s a great post on how to calibrate your candy thermometer with lots of pictures.
• If you don’t want salt on top of the brittle then feel free to stir it in with the soda, vanilla, and butter.
• Putting the pumpkin seeds in a strainer and then running water over them is a good way to clean the pumpkin goo off.
• No pumpkins carving in your life? No worries! You can use pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds) instead of pumpkin seeds you’ve scooped out of a real pumpkin. You won’t need to roast them first, just toss them in the brittle when it calls for the roasted pumpkin seeds. You can find them in the bulk bins of most health food stores. They are awesome on salads, trail mix, and my favorite easy pomegranate pear salad, too, just fyi!

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Roasted Pumpkin Seed Brittle

By: Melissa Griffiths

This delicious Pumpkin Seed Brittle is just like traditional peanut brittle, but with roasted pumpkin seeds instead of peanuts. It's so good!

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 40 minutes mins

Total: 55 minutes mins

Servings: 12 (Makes 2 cups)

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Ingredients 

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• ▢ 1 1/2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
• ▢ 1/2 cup water
• ▢ 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• ▢ 1 cup sugar
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 T. pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 T. butter, plus a little more for the pan
• ▢ 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

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Instructions 

• Wash the pumpkin seeds well and remove any bits of pumpkin pulp.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Lay the seeds out on an unlined, ungreased metal baking sheet and let them dry while the oven is heating. Once the oven is hot place the pumpkin seeds inside and bake for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes stir the seeds around and then continue to bake until seeds start to brown slightly and begin to have an aroma, 20 to 30 minutes. Once the seeds are cooked, remove from the oven.
• Butter a large metal baking sheet and set aside.
• Measure out the baking soda, vanilla, and butter into a small bowl and set it aside.
• In a medium saucepan, bring the water, corn syrup, and sugar to a boil over medium high heat. Stir the mixture while the sugar is dissolving. Once the sugar is dissolved and the mixture begins to bubble, don’t stir anymore.
• Using a candy thermometer, allow the mixture to reach 285 degrees (soft crack stage). Stir in the toasted pumpkin seeds and continue cooking. Cook until the mixture reaches 300 degrees (hard crack stage), and be sure to stir often once the seeds have been added to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• Remove the sugar and seed mixture from the heat and stir in the baking soda, vanilla, and butter. The mixture will puff up and foam; that’s normal. Stir until it almost stops foaming and then quickly pour the brittle, as thin as possible, onto the buttered baking sheet.
• You can pick up the edges of the pan and tilt it back and forth to help the brittle spread, just don’t spread it with a spoon. While the brittle is still hot, sprinkle on the kosher salt.
• Let the brittle completely cool and then break it into pieces. Store in an airtight container or a plastic freezer bag at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Notes

I recommend calibrating your candy thermometer. I did this and realized my thermometer was off by 12 degrees (which is a lot!). So now I adjust the temperature accordingly and I haven’t burnt a batch of candy since. Here’s a great post on how to calibrate your candy thermometer with lots of pictures.
If you don’t want salt on top of the brittle, then feel free to stir it in with the soda, vanilla, and butter.
Putting the pumpkin seeds in a strainer and then running water over them is a good way to clean the pumpkin goo off.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 of 12 servings, Calories: 161kcal, Carbohydrates: 29g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.04g, Cholesterol: 3mg, Sodium: 103mg, Potassium: 67mg, Fiber: 0.5g, Sugar: 28g, Vitamin A: 30IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 6mg, Iron: 1mg

Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

Such a fun idea and I hope you love pumpkin seed brittle, too! Enjoy from my kitchen to yours!