Pumpkin seeds are a flat, dark green seed with a chewy, malleable texture. They have a nutty and subtly sweet flavor. They are good when sauteed in vegetables, mixed in salads, in cereals or just by themselves as a snack. According to The World's Healthiest Foods, a website maintained by the George Mateljan Foundation, pumpkin seeds need to be stored in the refrigerator and are best if eaten within a few months.
Nutritional values are based on a ¼-cup serving of pumpkin seeds without any added salt.
Basic Nutrition
One-fourth cup of pumpkin seeds contains 6.14 g of total carbohydrates and 1.35 g of dietary fiber. Based on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, these measurements represent 2.05 percent of the recommended daily value, or DV, for carbohydrates and 5.4 percent for dietary fiber. One serving also provides 8.47 g, or a large 16.94 percent DV, of protein. A serving contains only 6.21 mg of sodium, or 0.26 percent DV. If you add salt to the pumpkin seeds, you will drastically increase the amount of sodium to more than 40 percent DV.
Calories
One serving of pumpkin seeds contains 186.65 calories. This represents 10.37 percent of the daily recommended caloric intake. Fat accounts for the majority of the calories, with 142.36 calories coming from fat, and 26.93 of those calories from saturated fat.
Fats
The total fat content is 15.12 g, which represents 24.34 percent of the recommended daily value. One serving contains 2.99 g of saturated fat, and contains healthy fats in 4.92 g of monounsaturated fats and 7.21 g of polyunsaturated fats. You'll also gain heart-healthy fatty acids of 0.06 g of omega-3 fatty acids and 7.14 g of omega-6 fatty acids.
Vitamins
Pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of vitamin K, with 17.73 mcg, or 22.16 percent DV. One serving of pumpkin seeds also contains 0.11 mg of riboflavin, or 6.47 percent DV; 19.84 mcg of folate, or 4.96 percent DV; 0.07 mg of thiamin, or 4.67 percent DV; 0.08 mg of vitamin B6, or 4 percent DV. Other vitamins with 1 to 3 percent DV, each, include vitamin A, niacin, vitamin C, vitamin E and pantothenic acid.
Minerals
One serving of pumpkin seeds is a rich source of a number of minerals. It contains 1.04 mg of manganese, or 52 percent DV; 184.58 mg of magnesium, or 46.15 percent DV; 405.03 mg of phosphorus, or 40.50 percent DV; 5.16 mg of iron, or 28.67 percent DV; 0.48 mg of copper, or 24 percent DV; 2.57 mg of zinc, or 17.13 percent DV. Other minerals containing between 1 percent and 10 percent DV each include calcium, potassium and selenium.
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