Fall is the season of squash. There are so many things you can do with squashes, they’re almost as versatile as potatoes. Did you know you can also eat the seeds? It’s true!

I had bought a couple pie pumpkins because I wanted to make my own pumpkin puree to use in cooking***. As I was scooping out the “guts” of these pumpkins, I noticed that there were quite a few seeds. Instead of throwing them out, I decided to roast them up.

I first patted them dry to remove the excess moisture then drizzled a little olive oil and sprinkled salt and pepper. That’s it. I mixed them up and spread them out on a parchment lined baking sheet. I baked the seeds in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes, tossing halfway. I took them out when they were golden brown. They also smelled very nutty so I knew they were done.

They get super crunchy and taste so good. To me, they almost tasted like popcorn. They make for a delicious snack or salad topper. It’s also very healthy to eat lots of seeds so make sure you don’t waste them when making squash dishes.

***

As I mentioned before, I made my own pumpkin puree. After I scooped out all the seeds, I quartered my pumpkins and baked them (skin side down) also at 350 for about 45 minutes. You know they’re ready when you can easily stick a fork in them. Once they cool down a bit, it is quite easy to remove the peel. I just roughly chopped the pumpkin and pureed it in my food processor until it was smooth. I had to add a little water because it was too thick, but it came out wonderfully.

From my two little pumpkins, I got about 25oz of puree which is almost as much as a big can of pureed pumpkin. It’s definitely easier and quicker to buy a can of pumpkin, but making my own was actually cheaper and it was a fun experience.

Once you have the pureed pumpkin, you can use it in whatever recipe that calls for canned pumpkin. I used over half of mine in baking. I made this crustless pumpkin pie from a blogger chocolatecoveredkatie. Here is the link for her recipe. I’ve actually made a post about this recipe a couple years ago so I didn’t want to post again, but I will link my post here.

I love love love pumpkin pie and I love it even more when it’s healthy and pretty guilt free. I can eat multiple slices without feeling bad about it. And since it’s crustless, it’s much lighter than traditional pumpkin pie.

With the rest of the pumpkin puree, I may make a pumpkin soup or just toss it in the freezer if I get too lazy haha.

What are your favourite fall/pumpkin recipes? I’d love to hear about them! Also recipe #19 of my love real food challenge will be going up today so keep an eye out for that! I hope everyone is having a good week 🙂

*Update: I used the leftover pumpkin puree and made a delicious soup. It had onion, bell pepper, corn, spinach, garlic and ground chicken. The soup itself had the pumpkin, crushed tomatoes and veggie stock. It was so simple and creamy.