Almonds are a delicious and highly nutritious food and you’ll see them feature in many of my recipes. The health benefits of almonds are many. Several studies have concluded that including almonds in your diet is protective against heart disease and diabetes. Recent research has found that including a handful of almonds in the diet of the participants, reduced hunger and did not contribute to weight gain. In fact, quite the opposite. Many studies suggest that those who include nuts in their diet regularly are less likely to gain weight.
But not all almonds are created equal, so when buying them, try to buy only raw and unsalted varieties. Preferably soak them to increase their nutrient availability. The almonds in many of the ‘snack’ mixes are roasted in vegetable oil or at very high temperatures (which is damaging to the fats in the nut) and very salted – that is they are quite processed.
Coming into the festive season, I thought I’d share some simple and delicious ways to prepare almonds for a healthy snack. These are just so easy to make and you can store them for long periods of time in airtight containers or jars (in the fridge or freezer is best). Double or triple the recipe to make in bulk. These are so much more delicious than anything you can buy.
They are also lovely tossed through salads (or the sweet almonds can be added to desserts).
Take a look at the variations (below the main recipe) for suggestions to alter the recipe to suit your specific dietary requirements.
Roasted Almonds - three ways
Ingredients
- 150 g raw almonds (1 cup)
Tamari Almonds
- 2 tbsp tamari (enough to just cover the nuts, not soak them)
Indian Spiced Almonds
- 1 tbsp coconut oil (melted if solid)
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper -optional for a bit of heat
Sweet Spiced Almonds
- 1 tbsp coconut oil (melted if solid) or macadamia nut oil
- 2 tbsp rice malt syrup, honey or maple syrup
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp mixed spice
Method
Tamari Roasted Almonds
- Place raw almonds on a tray lined with baking paper (in a single layer).
- Roast in a preheated oven (150℃ fan-forced)) for about 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and drizzle with the tamari (enough to just cover the nuts, not soak them).
- Return to the oven for another 20 minutes or until the almonds are crunchy and the tamari has formed a crunchy, salty coating.
Indian Spiced Almonds
- Place almonds on a tray lined with baking paper. (in a single layer).
- Mix together coconut oil (melted if solid), garam masala, cumin powder and a good pinch of sea salt and mix through the almonds until well coated.
- For a bit of spice, add a pinch of cayenne pepper or chilli flakes too.
- Roast in a preheated oven (150℃) for about 20 minutes or until the almonds are crunchy.
Sweet Spiced Almonds
- Place raw almonds on a tray lined with baking paper (in a single layer).
- Mix together coconut oil (melted if solid) or macadamia nut oil, rice malt syrup (fructose free), honey or maple syrup, cinnamon and mixed spice.
- Stir through the almonds until they are well coated.
- Roast in a preheated oven (150℃) for about 20-30 minutes or until the almonds are crunchy.
- As they cool the coating will harden to form a crunchy coating. Warning - these are very moreish!
Store
- In an airtight container or jar in a cool pantry or the fridge or freezer.
Variations
Soy-free
Choose liquid or coconut aminos to replace the tamari.Coconut-free
Choose macadamia nut oil instead of coconut oil.Fructose-friendly
Choose rice malt as your sweetener.Any nut or seed will do
These mixes can be applied to any nut or seed.Love to hear what you think of these flavour combinations? Post a comment below.
tracey says
Ooooo the sweet recipe sounds yummy! Could you use almond oil instead?
Georgia Harding says
Almond oil does not fare well when exposed to heat. Stick with macadamia nut oil or coconut. Keep the almond oil for raw baking or salad dressings! x
Vicki says
I have just made the sweet spiced almonds and am munching on them as I type. You are right — very moreish! And now hubby is going “mmmmmmm”. 🙂
Georgia Harding says
Glad you enjoyed them – all gone by now I suspect? G x
JennieN says
I make something similar as the Indian spiced almonds, except I use blanched broad beans. Delicious too.
Georgia Harding says
I LOVE broadbeans – yum! Thanks for sharing. Chickpeas work well too with the indian spice mix and baked. x
Kim says
These look great! I’d like to make some for christmas – about how long will they keep for?
Georgia Harding says
You’d get a good 4 weeks or so out of them as long as they are stored in an airtight jar in the fridge or freezer. Enjoy! G x
Steph says
HI Georgia… If I wanted to adapt these flavourings to a Sunflower / Pumpkin Seed mix, and I have soaked the seeds first, when would i flavour them? Can you flavour them before putting them in the dehydrator (after soaking)? Thanks!
Georgia Harding says
Hi Steph, yep after soaking, pat them dry and flavour before dehydrating. You just don’t want them sopping wet. Alternatively, dehydrate them for a few hours then flavour them and return them to finish dehydrating. G x
Desiree says
Looking forward to making these! I’ve been reading a bit about nuts (and grains) and worrying about the fact that I’ve really never soaked them. Depending on where you look it’s either good to soak them, or ESSENTIAL to soak them so I’m not sure what to think. I notice you suggest 4 hours soaking (with salt?) but I’ve seen that for most nuts (except maybe cashews?) it’s at least 7 hours. Do you know what this is based on? Because 4 hours would be far more convenient I think, but I want to make sure the soaking is doing what it’s supposed to. Your thoughts on all of this would be so appreciated and I’m hoping you might some day do a post on soaking… (at least I couldn’t find one) – maybe clear up some of the confusion!
Georgia Harding says
My view on soaking grains and nuts is that if I have the foresight and time to soak (and then dehydrate in the case of nuts) then I do. That’s the best case scenario, but most of the time I do eat them without doing so, or I don’t manage to always soak for the full amount of time. I feel my time is most often better invested elsewhere so I don’t stress and I don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good. I wrote about getting hung up on perfection here and how I think it brings so may people to a halt when it comes to eating well consistently – have a read https://wellnourished.com.au/real-not-perfect/ G x