Don’t you enjoy pumpkin and squash season? We’re loving all the things you can do with these vegetables. And one thing that everyone here counts on is roasting these seeds.

They’re loaded with protein, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber, and they make a great energy-boosting snack or crunchy addition to many meals. Between their health benefits and delicious taste, roasting pumpkin and squash seeds is well worth the time and effort it takes.

In the off chance that some of our readers might not have a lot of expertise in the art of seed roasting, here are the finer points of seed roasting from Mother Earth News:

Step 1: Soak. Scoop out the seed mass of the squash or pumpkin, and rinse the seeds in a strainer under running water. Don’t worry about getting all of the pulp off, because soaking them for a while will make it easier to rub the pulp off later. Allow the seeds to soak in a bowl of brine (half a teaspoon of kosher salt per cup of water) for a few hours.

Step 2: Rinse and Dry. Rinse the seeds in a strainer again, rubbing them between your fingers to loosen any remaining pulp. Scatter the seeds on a clean towel to dry for a few hours, or until they are dry to the touch.

Step 3: Season. Use whatever sounds yummy. Sweet and savory both work — be creative. First, toss the seeds with a little honey or oil to add flavor and help your seasonings stick. Try these tasty combos:

Sweet: honey, cinnamon, sugar; try sweet seeds as a topping on yogurt or applesauce, or add them to cooked oatmeal, granola, or other breakfast cereal.

Savory: olive oil or sesame oil, sea salt, garlic powder, onion powder; try savory seeds atop soups, stews, chowders, chili, and on salads and chopped up for pita sandwiches.

Spicy: olive oil, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, salt, pepper

Zingy: peanut oil, soy sauce, crumbled seaweed, ground ginger, spicy red chili sauce

Addictive: melted butter, thin slices of garlic, coarse sea salt

Step 4: Roast. Depending on the amount of seeds you’re working with, either place them on parchment-lined baking sheets or place them in a baking dish and roast at 300°F for about 10 to 15 minutes, tossing them around once or twice. NOTE: Squash seeds are more delicate than pumpkin seeds, their outer shell being thinner. So they take less roasting time. But both types of seeds will be done when they’re golden, and they’ll become crunchier as they cool.

All this said, some people just take the seeds straight from the pumpkin, with any pulp clinging, and place them into a cast iron skillet along with 3 tablespoons of olive oil or melted butter. To do this, you stir the seeds well to be sure everything is coated, and then transfer the skillet to the oven for roasting the seeds at 275°F until nicely they’re light brown. Finish with a nice sea salt

The question’s been asked, “Can you eat the pumpkin seed shell, or should that be removed?” The best answer: Yes you can, and many people prefer to eat pumpkin seeds whole, along with the shell. In fact, if you toast or roast your pumpkin seeds to perfection, the outer shells don't really need to be removed in order to enjoy the seed inside. And it’s a good approach, because the shell is LOADED with zinc.

But, if you’re not crazy about the shell, then just bite off the pointed tip to split the shell and enjoy the tasty inner seed meat.

Finally, whether sweet, savory, spicey, zingy, or addictive, pumpkin and squash seeds can be added to just about anything:

Add pumpkin seeds to healthy sautéed vegetables.

Sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top of mixed green salads.

Grind pumpkin seeds with fresh garlic, parsley and cilantro leaves. Mix with olive oil and lemon juice for a tasty salad dressing.

Add pumpkin seeds to your oatmeal raisin, or chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Chop them fine and add them to your fruit crisp topping recipe.

Next time you make burgers, whether it be from vegetables, turkey or beef, add some ground pumpkin seeds.