Easy Spiced Candied Pepitas
Spicy, sweet, salty, my Easy Spiced Candied Pepitas hit all the right flavor notes, and they’re so quick and easy to make with just 5 ingredients (including the salt)! Garnish a salad, top a dessert, or eat them plain out of hand…
👩🏻🍳 Tamara Talks – About Candied Pepitas
When I make something as simple as Easy Spiced Candied Pepitas and use them in so many different ways, I feel compelled to share the recipe as a “stand alone.” I used them recently in my Coconut Mango Custard with Candied Pepitas and the last week of May you’ll see them in my Mexican Steak and Arugula Salad with Mango and Avocado. Admittedly, these salty, sweet, spicy pepitas are pretty awesome on their own… by the handful. 🙂
About Pepitas
You are probably aware pepitas are pumpkin seeds, right? Pepitas are so much more than a byproduct of the Halloween jack-o-lantern for those of us that attempt to minimize waste! They’re a healthy addition to your diet.
- loaded with important nutrients – healthy fats, fairly low carbs, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium, and more
- pumpkin seeds are a good source of antioxidants
- may be linked to a reduction in certain cancers
- improved bladder and prostate health
- rich in magnesium, a mineral that can be hard to get even from a healthy diet
- high in fiber
- may aid in lowering blood sugar levels
- may improve sleep due to their high tryptophan level
Pepitas are so easy to add to your diet! I buy them at my local Sprouts market in the bulk section. I try to keep both raw and salted and roasted pepitas. The salted and roasted pepitas are great naked as a snack or tossed into a salad.
Add ground chipotle, cinnamon, and caramelized sugar, and you may be addicted!
📹 How to Make Spiced Candied Pepitas
📋 Ingredients Notes
- pepitas – I start with roasted and salted pepitas. If you use raw pepitas, you will want to toast them on a hot pan. It only takes a couple of minutes.
- sugar – I like turbinado (aka raw or demerara) sugar for its less-processed and well-balanced flavor. It has a hint of honey, molasses, and caramel that works well for candying nuts and seeds. Of course you can substitute white sugar if you prefer. NOTE: The turbinado sugar melts more slowly, and doesn’t coat the pepitas as well.
- ground cinnamon
- ground chipotle powder – You can substitute another ground red chile powder (ie. New Mexico red or ancho), but do not reach for generic “chili powder.” It’s a spice blend with other ingredients that will mess with the flavor of your candied pepitas.
- salt – I use fine sea salt. Avoid coarsely ground salt.
Can you think of one (or more) ways to use these Easy Spiced Candied Pepitas? They’re sure to liven up the simplest tossed salad, but don’t stop there!
Easy Spiced Candied Pepitas
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Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup raw sugar - see notes
- 2 cups roasted - salted pepitas (see notes)
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ to 1 teaspoons ground chipotle powder - see notes
- sea salt - see notes
Instructions
- Add sugar to a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Stir until it is completely melted.
- Add the roasted pepitas, followed by the cinnamon and chipotle powders.
- Stir thoroughly to combine.
- Scoop onto parchment or waxed paper. Salt immediately. Allow to cool completely.
- Break up the clumps with by folding the paper over, and hitting it lightly with a rolling pin.
Notes
Nutrition
NOTE: Macronutrients are an approximation only using unbranded ingredients and MyFitnessPal.com. Please do your own research with the products you’re using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.