Easy Perfectly Salted Roasted Almonds Recipe (Seriously the BEST)
Discover how easy it is to roast your own nuts at home with this simple and delicious roasted almonds recipe. In just 20 minutes you can create a batch of perfectly salted, golden brown almonds for a protein-rich appetizer or snack that will have everyone asking for more. When you learn the trick to homemade roasted nuts that don’t lose all their salt, you’ll see why they are SO much better than anything you can buy!
✩ What readers are saying…
“This is my go to recipe for salted almonds. I’ve now become the designated roasted salted almond maker in the family!!! Thank you so much for sharing such an easy foolproof recipe especially for an amateur like me.” -Tasneem
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I discovered, totally by accident because I’m cheap frugal..ahem, smart with money, that DIY roasted almonds are WAY better than roasted-salted almonds from the store.
Like, WAY better.
As in, you may find you have trouble eating only a few. But that’s where your small bowls for portion control will come in to play – we don’t need to suffer through blah food in order to practice portion control, do we? This is just fair warning that you will not want to start eating these straight from the jar!
Now, before you go all “can’t we just buy anything for convenience anymore?” on me, let me explain that I don’t make this roasted almonds recipe because it is any more healthier or more ‘real food’ than the basic roasted nuts you can buy. So if you’re needing convenience, buy away.
No, I make these nuts because they save me a couple dollars, but more importantly – they taste amazing.
Really, I had no idea there would be such a difference between home-roasted almonds and store-bought!
And it’s not just me – everyone I serve them to agrees with me – I’ve had guests be so surprised that they “had” to go back for seconds – and thirds.
The Trick to Perfectly Salted Almonds
I’ve made a lot of flavored nuts (this spicy one is great) but I’ve not been happy with basic roasted nuts, mainly because the salt never stuck to the nuts after cooking and cooling.
But when I saw the the price difference between roasted and raw almonds on a Costco shopping trip, I came home with raw almonds and started researching (the “smart with money” part referred to above). And I learned from this recipe that the secret to a salted flavor all the way through roasted nuts is to dissolve salt in hot water first, and then coat the raw nuts with this mixture and cook them.
I then adapted the recipe to cook fully in an oven to be easier and to be able to make a large batch.
Roasted Almonds Recipe Video
Ingredient Notes
- Almonds: You’ll want raw almonds for this recipe, I like the large bags from Costco.
- Fine grain sea salt: or use a pink Himalayan or other pure, non-additive salt.
- Olive oil: Any olive oil works for the final toss – I’ve even used garlic infused olive oil from Trader Joe’s for a garlic salt flavor.
Equipment Needed
- Roasting pan
- Glass tablespoon measuring cup
- Silicone baking mat or parchment paper
- Large metal or wooden spoon
TIP: I LOVE using a little glass tablespoon measuring cup in recipes like this calling for more than one tablespoon – so easy!
How to Make Salted Roasted Almonds
Step 1: Dissolve salt in water as much as possible and then pour onto raw nuts, stirring thoroughly. Spread onto a lined baking sheet.
Step 2: Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes, stirring at the halfway mark.
Step 3: After baking, coat the warm nuts with a bit of olive oil.
Step 4: Add a couple shakes of sea salt, toss, and let them cool. They soak up all that goodness and then look like the perfectly roasted almonds that they are.
Step 5: Spread back on baking sheet to cool completely.
TIP: The one thing you have to be careful of is burning – it’s literally a minute between perfect and slightly burned nuts. (And, yes, I’ve experienced it first hand – but you know what? Brian and I agree that even the slightly “too-browned” almonds are better than commercially roasted. Go figure.)
Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature. These last for us for more than a month in our glass storage container (and maybe more, but they’re always gone by then!).
These amazing roasted almonds have changed our nut-eating life, so I just had to share with you how easy it is to roast your own almonds at home – and how much better they taste from store-bought!
Reader Raves
“Simply the best “Perfectly” Roasted Almonds I have had. Thank you for such a simple and delicious recipe.” -Carolyn
“I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about putting water on the almonds, but my goodness! This is the best roasted almond recipe! So many others are too salty or too oily, but these are perfect. Infinitely better than store bought! Thanks for sharing this!” -Paula
“Finally! A recipe for almonds that tastes delicious with perfect amount of salt. Thank you!” -Ct
You may also like to try this flavor variation: Chipotle Spicy Roasted Almonds – Easy, Sugar Free, 20 Minute Recipe
I’d love to know what you think of these – be sure to leave a rating and review so we can all know!
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Perfectly Salted Roasted Almonds Recipe – the BEST!
Equipment
- large baking sheet or roasting pan
- silicone liner or parchment
Ingredients
- 4½ cups raw, whole almonds
- 1½ tablespoons HOT water
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, to taste*
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375 degrees and line a large baking sheet with silicone or parchment.** Place the raw almonds in a large metal or ceramic mixing bowl (we'll be adding the hot nuts back into it, so don't use plastic).
- Stir 1½ teaspoons of salt into the hot water until mostly dissolved (it hardly ever completely dissolves for me – it's okay if it doesn't). Pour over the nuts in the bowl and mix well until all are coated.
- Transfer the almonds to your prepared baking sheet and spread them in a single layer.
- Bake for about 8 minutes, stir well and spread back into a single layer. Bake for 6-8 minutes more, depending on how your oven cooks (Ours are usually perfect at about 15 minutes total, but your oven may vary, so may take 5-10 minutes longer). TIP: To test doneness, the nuts should be nicely browned, inside and out (you can cut one open to see if it's browned inside). Keep an eye on them, this is when they can burn quickly – but you don't want them undercooked either or they won't be crisp (once you've made them, the timing is easier).
- When they are done baking, put the hot nuts back into the large bowl and pour the olive oil over them. Toss well until all the nuts are coated and then shake on some sea salt. You can taste one, but they're very hot, so be careful (I usually just like to see a bit of salt on the outsides and that seems to be enough with the original salt-water coating).
- Spread the nuts out on the pan again to cool completely. The nuts will soak up the oil as they cool.***
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature. These last for us for more than a month in our glass storage container (and may be more, but they're always gone by then!).
Notes
Nutrition
FAQs
I don’t often add any flavoring because I usually want a basic nut I can then use to top salads and in my favorite granola, as well as for snacking. Any herb can be added, though, and garlic powder or seasoned salt would probably make them even harder to stop eating as a snack – if that’s possible – so flavor as you’d like.
Some people prefer to soak their nuts before roasting – feel free to do that before proceeding with this recipe.
As for acrylamide formation in roasted almonds, you can always roast at a lower temperature for longer (though long roasting may also cause formation). But the few almonds we eat are a small source of acrylamide in any case – it’s much more prevalent in fried and toasted foods like potatoes and bread. As stated here, “Estimated dietary exposures of acrylamide from roasted almonds are very low.”
Feel free to adjust the oil coating at the end – you can minimize or leave out all together for more of a dry-roasted almond. It does soak up as the nuts cool.
Yes! Though roasting at 350-360 degrees is better for lighter nuts like pecans and cashews (still at 15 minutes). Blanched almonds work well, too.
Readers have made smokey almonds by adding a little liquid smoke to the brine and a bit more to the olive oil. And one made salt-and-pepper cashews by turning the oven down a smidge and adding pepper with the oil.
More Healthy Snacks
- Healthy Maple Sweetened Chili Pecans
- Easy & Healthy Spiced Nuts Recipe (No Sugar)
- Cashew, Cranberry and White Chocolate Granola Bites
Disclosure: affiliate links in this article will earn commission based on sales, but it doesn’t change your price. Click here to read my full disclaimer and advertising disclosure.
This is good! Make it!
The key is the initial hot water-and-salt prep, otherwise it won’t be satisfyingly salty!
Hi Jamie, just wanted to mention that Pink Himalayan salt is not sea salt, it is rock salt mined from the ground and contains somewhat different minor impurities from sea salt, not that it particularly matters. I thought you might like to make that small correction in the ingredient list or in future recipes. Cheers.
Thank you, Ray, I do know that. I don’t mention that in the article, so it must be the video. I think the point I was trying to make was that you can use whatever salt you want. 🙂
Yep, salt is salt when it comes to cooking, that’s for sure, and I don’t mean to be a pedantic ass, but in the ‘Shop this recipe’ links of this article you do refer to it in parentheses as Pink Himalayan sea salt. Just trying to keep you honest, lol.
Oh, ha! I couldn’t see where I mentioned that salt – thanks for letting me know. I’ve changed it for you. 🙂
Thinking of making these for Christmas gifts. How long will they keep? Thanks.
Hmmm, we usually eat them within a month and they still seem great even at the end, so a month? I haven’t tested the longevity of them, though.
Sounds like a great recipe but you did not list the amount of almonds, salt, water or oil
Follow the arrows to the recipe, Jeanine.:)
What went wrong? Mine was stale
I wonder if you didn’t cook them long enough? When you think they are done, you can cut one in half – it should be light brown inside. If not cooked long enough they stay chewy and may make you think of staleness. Just a thought, though there’s no way for me to know for sure.
You’re right! I let it baked for another 6-8 min and it came out perfect. Very crunchy and tasty!
Great!
These are delicious! My go to recipe. Easy!
So quick and easy to make, and absolutely addictive!
Instead of adding more salt when tossing with olive oil, I sprinkled a Japanese spicy mix, which added an exciting punch.
Sounds lovely!
This is a great receipe — I have made this several times — my favorite Almond — except I use Avocado Oil instead of Olive Oil. That is recipe — not receipe — would not let me correct.
Glad you like it, Chuck!
Hi.. I think i will try tomorrow. It looks so yummy
Raw almonds is 4 and half cup? From video i saw only 3 cup 🙂
But anyway im sure your recipe making a great result. Thank you
Yep, go with the full recipe on the blog. 🙂
came to your site from the yt video you posted because you didn’t post any measuring units, looks like it’s the same here… really irritating, but i’ll still give it a go.
PLEASE click the arrows on the top or bottom that say “Skip to Recipe” or “Take me to Recipe” for the full, printable recipe with measurements!
I don’t usually post but this recipe is incredible. We like lemon rosemary almonds, so I substituted lemon juice for the water and added rosemary after the olive oil. The lemon flavor was perfect and the nuts were as crunchy as store bought. Thanks for this – it will become a family tradition.
I’m so glad you tried this, Sarah – and your additions sound wonderful. I’ll have to try that – I don’t think I’ve had that flavor of almond before!
HI, lemon rosemary sounds incredible. Do you still add the salt to the lemon juice?
I’ve used this recipe twice now. I’ve never used the tablespoons of olive oil and additional salts. I merely stirred the salt Water solution in the nuts for several minutes before roasting. The water that absorbs into the almonds was more than sufficient for seasoning all on its own without meeting the second round of oil and seasoning. I will say it in my initial sea salt and water bath I also sprinkled on a mixture of Spice Islands Organic Garlic and Herb seasoning before baking them and it adhearded to the nuts just fine and made amazing almonds!
That addition sounds delicious, Kyle!
i JUST WANT TO SAY RIGHT UP FRONT. I LOVE YOUR SITE AND RECIPES. I am from the old school of cooking from scratch for the past 50 + years. I have made this almond recipe many times and will continue as it is the very best, thanks to you. I am going to try your Artisan bread recipe today. I can hardly wait. Thank you for your time and effort.
Oh, thank you so much, Rebecca – that means a lot to me!! I’m so glad you like this recipe – I’m always amazed how good these taste in comparison to store bought. I hope you enjoy the artisan bread, too!
Turned out perfect!
I’ve made these so many times, the least I can do is say thanks for sharing. They are so good, and so simple to make.
Oh, I’m so glad John -thanks for the review!
Awesome! Recommended!
Outstanding! Thank you for sharing this recipe. These are absolutely the best. They taste better than store-bought ones. They are delicious. Thank you!
Glad you thought so, too!
Wow! Yum! These really ARE better than store bought. I have made this recipe to the letter at least 5 times. I have a batch in the oven and I’m drooling. This is my first batch with added herbs and I hope it comes it as deliciously as the plain salted. Hubs can’t keep his hands of either. Between the two of us these last 3 days at most.
I’m so glad you all like these, Amber!
I just can’t justify the cost of roasted nuts at the stores anymore so I went looking for a good (but quick & easy) recipe to do it myself. All I can say is you’ve got another convert, lol. These are sooooo delicious. I also used your recipe using not only almonds but pecans, and the pecans were to die for! Thank you for sharing. Now we can have awesome roasted nuts more often! 🙂
You’re welcome – I’m so glad to help you save money and have way better nuts. 🙂