Harvest Bowl with Roasted Sweet Potato, Quinoa and Creamy Gorgonzola. Hearty Sweet Potato and Quinoa Bowl with Creamy Egg Topping. Golden Baked Cauliflower Dip. Sun-Kissed Summer Salad with Zesty Orange-Basil Dressing.

Sunflower Seeds Are Frequently Used With. Pumpkin Seeds. Whole Flaxseeds. Hemp Seeds. Dried Cranberry. Chia Seeds. Raw Almonds. Unsweetened Coconut Flakes. Rolled Oats. Ground Flaxseed. Sunflower Seeds FAQ. Sunflower seeds can be a little tricky to cook with, especially if you're new to them.

Many people wonder whether they should eat the shells, whether they should roast them or not, and how to incorporate them into meals as opposed to just snacking on them. The most common misstep in using sunflower seeds is not preparing them correctly.

It's advisable to shell the seeds before consuming them because the shells can be tough and hard to digest. However, if you buy shelled seeds, they're ready to eat as is, or they can be roasted for an extra flavor boost. To get the most out of sunflower seeds, consider their multiple uses.

They can be used in salads, baked goods, cereals, smoothies, and even as a base for making sunflower seed butter.

Also, slightly roasting them can unlock a deeper, nuttier flavor. One little known trick is to toss sunflower seeds with spices and roast them for a tasty snack.

Does roasting sunflower seeds destroy their nutrients? Can I use sunflower seeds in a smoothie? Can you eat sunflower seeds whole? Should you roast sunflower seeds before eating? What is the nutrition value in sunflower seeds? Are sunflower seeds good for weight loss? How can you cook with sunflower seeds?

What are some health benefits of eating sunflower seeds? Are sunflower seeds safe for everyone? Is it okay to eat sunflower seeds daily? When does sunflower seed expire? Sunflower seeds can remain fresh in their shells for about 2 to 3 months at room temperature. If unopened and kept in a cool, dry place, the pack of sunflower seeds can last up to a year, although you should always check the best by date printed on the package.

Once the pack is opened, the freshness decreases slightly and you should plan to consume them within 3 months. For longer storage, sunflower seeds can be frozen where they will maintain quality for up to a year.

How do you tell if sunflower seed is bad? There are certain clues to look for when determining whether sunflower seeds have gone bad. The easiest is to smell them. They should have a fresh, nutty smell. If the seeds smell rancid or off, they've likely gone bad.

Looking out my living room window one afternoon I saw the strangest sight, a squirrel, about 8 feet off the ground, upside down, with his tail sticking straight up in the air. Quietly walking closer to investigate, I found that the squirrel had climbed up one of my tall sunflower plants, the top of which was bending over due to the weight of the squirrel, who, clutching the plant stalk with his hind legs, now greedily was digging into the sunflower flower to eat the ripening seeds.

Oh, where is the camera when you need it? By the time I had retrieved mine, the squirrel was already heading down the plant. But that did get me thinking, why leave all the sunflower seeds to the squirrels? The sunflower variety the squirrel was enjoying produces small seeds, too small for me to bother with.

But I had other sunflowers, the mammoth variety, which produces big seeds, the kind that can easily be roasted. By the time I got around to it, the squirrels and birds had already eaten all the seeds from every flower except one.

The seeds were clearly visible, I pulled one out to check to make sure the size was big enough, cracked it open and ate the raw seed inside. I then placed the flower head on a table outside, it's rather messy and rubbed out as many of the big seeds as I could.

This would be a fun activity to do with kids if you grow big sunflowers in your garden. I then boiled the seeds in salted water, drained them, laid them out in a roasting pan, and roasted them. The question that you may have, and I certainly did, is, is there any way to easily shell the seeds, so you don't have to go through the painstaking process yourself for each nibble?

There is, but it requires expensive commercial machinery. Oh well. The good news is that in-shell, these seeds are hard to overeat! You have to work for it. Larger varieties of sunflowers, such as Mammoth, produce lots of large seeds and are the best and easiest!

to roast and eat. Boiling the sunflower seeds in salted water infuses the salty flavor into the seeds. If you don't want salted sunflower seeds, you can skip the boiling step and simply roast them for a few minutes less than if you'd boiled them.

If you grow your own sunflowers, the flowers will tell you when they are ready. They'll be droopy, and the petals around the center will be dried. The seeds should be clearly visible. Just cut away the flower head from the stalk, place the flower head on a flat surface, and rub the center to dislodge the seeds from the flower.

If squirrels and birds can get to these seeds, so can you! These directions are for salted, roasted sunflower seeds. If you don't want them salted, just rinse them off and roast them. Because they aren't soaked through with water, they'll roast much more quickly, perhaps only a few minutes at °F.

Place sunflower seeds, salt, and water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Drain the water from the seeds and spread the seeds out in a single layer in a sheet pan. Place in the preheated oven on the top rack and roast for 10 to 20 minutes. Starting at about 10 minutes, I recommend taking a few out of the oven to test. If they are not roasted yet to your satisfaction, return them to the oven for another 2 to 5 minutes, or as long as it takes until they are dry enough and roasted to your satisfaction.

Keep checking every few minutes. The seeds can quickly go from done dry and easy to bite to open to charred browned on outside and black on the inside. So as the time gets closer, keep an eye on it. Some of our readers in the comments needed to bake their seeds longer, up to 35 minutes. How did you like the recipe?

How do you roast your seeds?

Many people wonder whether they should eat the shells, whether they should roast them or not, and how to incorporate them into meals as opposed to just snacking on them. The most common misstep in using sunflower seeds is not preparing them correctly. It's advisable to shell the seeds before consuming them because the shells can be tough and hard to digest.

However, if you buy shelled seeds, they're ready to eat as is, or they can be roasted for an extra flavor boost. To get the most out of sunflower seeds, consider their multiple uses.

They can be used in salads, baked goods, cereals, smoothies, and even as a base for making sunflower seed butter. Also, slightly roasting them can unlock a deeper, nuttier flavor. One little known trick is to toss sunflower seeds with spices and roast them for a tasty snack.

Does roasting sunflower seeds destroy their nutrients? Can I use sunflower seeds in a smoothie? Can you eat sunflower seeds whole? Should you roast sunflower seeds before eating? What is the nutrition value in sunflower seeds? Are sunflower seeds good for weight loss?

How can you cook with sunflower seeds? What are some health benefits of eating sunflower seeds? Are sunflower seeds safe for everyone? Is it okay to eat sunflower seeds daily? When does sunflower seed expire? Sunflower seeds can remain fresh in their shells for about 2 to 3 months at room temperature.

If unopened and kept in a cool, dry place, the pack of sunflower seeds can last up to a year, although you should always check the best by date printed on the package. Once the pack is opened, the freshness decreases slightly and you should plan to consume them within 3 months.

For longer storage, sunflower seeds can be frozen where they will maintain quality for up to a year. How do you tell if sunflower seed is bad?

There are certain clues to look for when determining whether sunflower seeds have gone bad. The easiest is to smell them. They should have a fresh, nutty smell. If the seeds smell rancid or off, they've likely gone bad.

Another test you can employ is tasting a small amount. Bad sunflower seeds might have a bitterness or an off flavor. Visually, if you notice any mold or bugs in the package, discard them immediately.

Tips for storing sunflower seed to extend shelf life. A pantry or a cabinet away from the stove and other heat-generating appliances is ideal. Storing sunflower seeds in the fridge or freezer can greatly extend their shelf life, especially if you have a large quantity.

Thaw only the quantity you will consume right away. EXPIRES WITHIN. Sesame Seeds. Black Sesame Seeds. Pine Nuts.

Health Info. Allowed on these diets. WHOLE LOW CARB. LACTOSE FREE. Skip to primary navigation Skip to main content Skip to primary sidebar Recipes About Resources Subscribe Facebook Pinterest YouTube. menu icon. Facebook Instagram Pinterest YouTube.

search icon. Home » Recipes » Snack Recipes. Course Snack. Cuisine American, Gluten-Free, Vegan. Keyword dairy-free, gluten free, seeds, sunflower seeds, vegan, vegetarian. Prep Time 5 minutes minutes. Cook Time 8 minutes minutes.

Total Time 13 minutes minutes. Servings 8 2-tablespoon servings. Calories 82 kcal. Author Sherri Hall. Ingredients 1 cup raw sunflower seed kernels ½ teaspoon avocado oil substitute with olive oil if preferred ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt. Instructions Preheat oven to ° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the raw kernels in a pile in the middle of the baking sheet. Add oil and salt and use your hands to evenly coat the seeds with the oil and salt. Spread the seeds out evenly in a single layer on the baking sheet.

Bake for minutes, until golden brown. Note that the seeds will continue to cook on the baking sheet after removing them from the oven. Allow to cool for minutes on the baking sheet before eating or storing.