Finally the secret to perfectly salted DIY roasted almonds (not just salted on top) that are SO much better than anything you can buy! Make sure to head over to the Quick Healthy Recipes page for more great ideas.
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You may remember when I mentioned that I had discovered, by accident (because I’m cheap frugal smart with money), that DIY roasted almonds are WAY better than roasted-salted almonds from the store.
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 these DIY roasted almonds because they are any more healthier or more ‘real food’ than basic roasted nuts you can buy (though if you were soaking and sprouting them, they might be, but most raw almonds seem to be already steam-pasturized…). So if you’re needing convenience, buy away.
No, I make these because they save me a couple dollars (and we all eat a lot of nuts around here, so it adds up), 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, too. I’ve had guests be so surprised that they “had” to go back for seconds – and thirds.
Make DIY Roasted 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 wanted to stick to the nuts after cooking.
So when confronted with the price difference between roasted and raw almonds, I started researching 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.
TIP: By the way, I LOVE using a little glass tablespoon measuring cup in recipes like this calling for more than one tablespoon – so easy!
Shop this recipe:
- Almonds
- Fine grain sea salt (or use a pink Himalayan or other pure, non-additive salt)
- Glass tablespoon measuring cup
- Olive oil
- Roasting pan
I adapted the recipe to cook fully in an oven to be easier and to be able to make a large batch. After baking, you coat the warm nuts with a bit of olive oil and a couple shakes of sea salt and let them cool. They soak up all that goodness and then look like the perfectly roasted almonds that they are.
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.
This basic DIY roasted almonds recipe has changed our nut-eating life, though, so I just had to share with you how easy and amazing it is to roast your own almonds at home.
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.
I’d love to know what you think of these!
Perfectly Salted DIY Roasted Almonds - seriously the BEST!
Ingredients
- 4½ cups raw, whole almonds
- 1½ tablespoons HOT water
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 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 teaspoon 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 until all are coated.
- Transfer to prepared baking sheet, spreading the nuts 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). 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, shaking on sea salt as you go. 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).
- Leave the nuts to cool in the bowl, or spread out on the pan again if you need them to cool more quickly. The nuts will soak up the oil as they cool.**
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Other healthy snack recipes you may like:
Healthy Maple Sweetened Chili Pecans
Healthy Homemade Chocolate Covered Pecans
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.
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TheMaskedBaker says
This is good! Make it!
The key is the initial hot water-and-salt prep, otherwise it won’t be satisfyingly salty!
Ray says
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.
Jami says
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. 🙂
Ray says
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.
Jami says
Oh, ha! I couldn’t see where I mentioned that salt – thanks for letting me know. I’ve changed it for you. 🙂
maggie says
Thinking of making these for Christmas gifts. How long will they keep? Thanks.
Jami says
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.
Jeanine says
Sounds like a great recipe but you did not list the amount of almonds, salt, water or oil
Jami says
Follow the arrows to the recipe, Jeanine.:)
joe says
What went wrong? Mine was stale
Jami says
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.
joe says
You’re right! I let it baked for another 6-8 min and it came out perfect. Very crunchy and tasty!
Jami says
Great!
sumgal says
These are delicious! My go to recipe. Easy!
Poh Kheng Ong says
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.
Jami says
Sounds lovely!
Chuck says
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.
Jami says
Glad you like it, Chuck!
Linda says
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
Jami says
Yep, go with the full recipe on the blog. 🙂
mel says
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.
Jami says
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!
Sarah says
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.
Jami says
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!
Cindy Chiow says
HI, lemon rosemary sounds incredible. Do you still add the salt to the lemon juice?
Kyle says
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!
Jami says
That addition sounds delicious, Kyle!
Rebecca Stevenson says
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.
Jami says
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!
Barb Brekke says
Turned out perfect!
John says
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.
Jami says
Oh, I’m so glad John -thanks for the review!
Luke says
Awesome! Recommended!
Kim says
Outstanding! Thank you for sharing this recipe. These are absolutely the best. They taste better than store-bought ones. They are delicious. Thank you!
Jami says
Glad you thought so, too!
Amber says
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.
Jami says
I’m so glad you all like these, Amber!
Renee C. says
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! 🙂
Jami says
You’re welcome – I’m so glad to help you save money and have way better nuts. 🙂