Description
This Roasted Nuts recipe offers a delightful sweet, savory, and spicy mixed nut snack sensation. Featuring raw unsalted nuts roasted with butter infused with fresh rosemary and pure maple syrup, then seasoned with brown sugar, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, sea salt, and cracked black pepper. Perfect for snacking or entertaining, these nuts are aromatic, flavorful, and easy to prepare.
Ingredients
Scale
Nuts
- 2 ½ cups raw unsalted nuts (pecans, walnuts, peanuts, cashews, almonds, or a mix)
Flavoring and Seasoning
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 2 heaping tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped (or 2 ¼ teaspoons crushed dried rosemary)
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, heaping and packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
- scant ¼ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
Optional for Finishing
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
- 2 teaspoons flakey Maldon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the Oven and Prepare Pan: Arrange the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Melt the Butter and Infuse with Rosemary and Maple: Melt the butter either in the microwave or on the stovetop. For microwave, heat at 50% power in 1 minute plus 10-second increments just until melted, then stir in rosemary and let sit for 1 minute before stirring in maple syrup. For stovetop, melt butter over medium-low heat, stir in rosemary and cook for 1 minute until fragrant, remove from heat, let sit 1 minute, then stir in maple syrup.
- Season the Raw Nuts: Place the raw nuts in a large bowl and add brown sugar, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, coarse sea salt, and black pepper. Stir well to combine.
- Butter the Nuts: Pour the rosemary-infused butter over the nuts and stir or toss until nuts are completely coated with butter and spices.
- Arrange Nuts on Baking Sheet: Transfer the seasoned nuts to the prepared baking sheet and spread into an even single layer using your hands.
- Roast Spiced Nuts: Roast the nuts in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove and stir, then spread nuts out again evenly. Return to oven and roast for an additional 8 minutes or until aromatic and light golden.
- Cool and Optional Finishing: Remove nuts from oven, place pan on wire rack, and if desired sprinkle immediately with turbinado sugar and flakey Maldon sea salt while still hot.
- Cool Nuts Slightly: Stir nuts well with a spoon then spread out into a single layer and let cool on the pan for 15 minutes.
- Serve Mixed Spiced Nuts: Transfer cooled nuts to a serving bowl, garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary, and enjoy.
Notes
- Use raw and unsalted nuts to ensure the perfect balance of flavors in this recipe.
- Adjust cayenne pepper to taste: reduce to 1/8 teaspoon for milder spice or increase to 1/2 teaspoon for more heat.
- Roasted nuts improve in flavor after a few hours or a day as they absorb the seasonings better.
- Store cooled nuts in an airtight container at room temperature if prepared in advance.
- You can scale the recipe using a sliding scale tool based on the number of servings needed.
- If you have questions or need clarification, check the comments section or contact the recipe author for support.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ cup
- Calories: 220 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 200 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 15 mg
