Roasted calabaza seeds are much like carving pumpkin seeds in size, but have the more robust flavor of more like a giant butternut squash. There are so many of them in a calabaza that it would be a shame not to make enormous amounts of roasted seeds! Eat them as a snack or use to top off various calabaza dishes.
I usually end up doing a combination of both where I'll eat the seeds in a dish as well as just have a bowl on my kitchen counter to snack on. For these I topped off Curry w/ Calabaza Squash & Habaneros and Curry w/ Calabaza Squash & Chocolate. The crunch is quite nice with curry, although rather fleeting! After all, there is plenty more squash than there is seeds!
But the rest of the seeds I simply snacked on a few at a time. This is one of my favorite snacks and calabaza seeds are maybe my new favorite version! All sorts of squash and pumpkin seeds can be roasted. I have an entire Article on the matter. However, roasted calabaza may stand as my new favorite. At least until I crack into the kabocha squash that I just picked up and will have to keep you updated about!
Variations of Roasted Calabaza Seeds
In my house, every year after we carved pumpkins, we would roast the seeds. I carried over this tradition with carving pie pumpkin seeds. And then with winter squash. And now I roast absolutely everything. There are so many seeds that you can roast and I highly suggest taking full advantage of it!
Calabaza seeds are enormous and perfect for roasting! They have a robust and almost sweet flavor that pairs incredibly well with a dash of salt and pepper for a snack or sprinkled on top of any calabaza squash dish. The seeds aren't nearly as large as the size of the squash might suggest. And really resemble pie pumpkin or butternut squash seeds more than anything else. Just in much larger quantities! Because of the size of the gourd.
Baking Sheet (or oven-safe skillet or baking dish)
Oven
Ingredients
seedsofcalabaza squash(or similarly large squash or pumpkin)
1tbsp.olive oil
dashsalt
dashpepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cut squash in half.
Using a spoon, scoop out the innards to remove all of the seeds and stringy pieces.
Separate the seeds.This can be kind of tedious, but stick with it. The "guts" are still edible, but can be texturally unpleasant and burn faster than the seeds. I will usually keep them to puree into soup or pet food. However, most people will discard them! Just make sure not to toss any seeds!
Add seeds to a bowl and sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and pepper.You want just enough oil to coat them, but not drown them. You're roasting, not deep frying here! You can also do this directly on the baking sheet. Just be careful not to over oil them. You're roasted the seeds, not deep frying them!The exact amount of salt and pepper also depends on the amount of seeds and personal preference. You can always add more after roasting if you under season it.
Spread across a baking sheet so that the seeds aren't touching too much.I will pat my fingers across the seeds to rapidly separate them. It's almost like trying to flatten the pile. The seeds will just slide away from one another. It's alright if they're touching, just not on top of one another.
Roast the seeds for 10-12 minutes, or until just golden brown.
Remove from the oven and immediately the seeds or remove from the baking sheet entirely to let cool.They will continue to cook slightly on the baking sheet. So, if you don't mind them a little crisper, leave on. If they're definitely done or even overdone slightly, remove from the baking sheet as soon as possible!
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