Take some raw nuts, whatever you like, and coat them in a spicy mixture of olive oil, sea salt, chili powder, and cayenne.
Then simply roast them in the oven until they're wonderfully crunchy. Mmm good!
Nuts are the perfect snack. They are crunchy, flavorful, and very satiating. Honey-roasted nuts are wonderful, and my family loves them. But I recently discovered a flavor combination that we like even better. These roasted spicy nuts are amazing!
They're not overly seasoned, so the flavor of the nuts themselves shines through. But the tasty seasonings and the hint of spice truly elevate them into a very special treat.
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Ingredients
You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this tasty snack. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:
- Raw nuts: Do make sure you're using raw nuts. You can use whatever nuts you like. I happen to like a mixture of almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, and pecans.
- Olive oil: I love the flavor of this oil and use it whenever I can. You can also use melted butter if you'd like, that's also very good.
- Spices: I use sea salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika, chili powder, and cayenne pepper.
Instructions
Making these oven-roasted spicy nuts is easy! Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed directions. Here's an overview of the steps:
- Your first step is to place the raw nuts in a large mixing bowl. Then you add the olive oil and the spices.
- Now, use a rubber spatula or a large serving spoon to mix everything together until the nuts are well coated.
- Spread the coated nuts on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and roast them in a 300°F oven until fragrant and crispy. This takes 25 minutes in my oven, which is fairly accurate, I believe.
- The final step is to let the nuts cool and crisp up some more on the baking sheet. They should be ready after about 20 minutes, but before you store them, make sure they're completely cool.
Expert tip
I use a relatively small amount of spices because I want to let the flavor of the nuts shine through. You can definitely double the amounts listed in the recipe card if you like your nuts heavily spiced.
Frequently asked questions
While it might be tempting to bake them in a hot oven, it's actually best to keep the oven temperature low - 300°F - and bake them for around 30 minutes. This ensures even roasting and prevents them from burning.
I find that by coating them with fat, such as olive oil or melted butter, you ensure that seasonings stick to them.
That's why I prefer using some type of fat when I make them at home. Dry roasting is more challenging, in my opinion.
Not necessarily. Some people like a sweet-spicy combination, and if you're one of them, it's fine to add 1-2 teaspoons of a sweetener.
Personally, I like these nuts to have a decidedly savory flavor profile, so I leave the sweetener out.
Variations
- As mentioned above, you can easily double the amounts of spices I use for more heavily spiced nuts. If you double the cayenne they'll end up very spicy, so you might want to only add a pinch of that.
- You can also vary the spices you use. In addition to those listed above, good spices to add are onion powder and ground cumin. You can add half a teaspoon of each.
- Needless to say, you can use whatever nuts you like! I love the combination used here, but truly anything goes. As long as you use about 4 cups of nuts (roughly 16 oz), you can use the remainder of the recipe as written.
Serving suggestions
These nuts obviously make a wonderful snack all on their own. Another great use for them is to add them to a cheeseboard.
Throw together a few good cheeses, crudites and ranch dip, pork rinds perhaps, and these spicy nuts. I can guarantee that the nuts will be the first to disappear!
Storing leftovers
Once completely cool, you can keep these nuts at room temperature in an airtight container for at least a week.
I actually find that they last for about 2 weeks as long as I keep them in a cupboard, in the shade, in a truly airtight container.
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Recipe card
Oven Roasted Spicy Nuts
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups raw nuts* (about 16 oz total)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper**
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the nuts in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and the seasonings.
- Use a rubber spatula to mix everything together until the nuts are well coated.
- Spread the nuts on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake them in the preheated oven until fragrant and browned, 25-30 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Taste to make sure they are salty enough and if not, sprinkle them with an additional ¼ teaspoon of salt (I usually don’t find it necessary).
- Leave the nuts on the baking sheet and let them cool and crisp up, undisturbed, for about 20 minutes.
- When completely cool, store them at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week.
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NOTES
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NUTRITION PER SERVING
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, and Country Living. 