Description
When creating your own spice mix, think about your favorite flavor profiles and recipes. It’s all about proportion: For example, experiment with making one tablespoon of spice mix. Once you are satisfied with the taste, keep the proportion of spices the same when you increase the volume. You will need two to three tablespoons of spice mix. (Remember that one tablespoon is made up of three teaspoons.)
Make ahead: Make one cup of dry spice mix to keep on hand for several batches of spiced roasted nuts.
Ingredients
Spiced Roasted Nuts
2 c. shelled nuts (raw* pecans, cashews, walnuts, or almonds)
2 T. oil (I like olive oil, but any oil will work)**
2–3 T. dry spice mix (see below), to taste
Pinch of salt or salt to taste if your spice mix does not contain salt (Note: If you are using salted nuts, watch how much extra salt you add.)
VARIATIONS:
Chili Spiced Nuts
1 ½ teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Pumpkin Pie Spiced Nuts
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon coconut sugar
Indian Spiced Nuts
1 T. Garam Masala (which includes coriander, black pepper, cumin, cardamom, and cinnamon)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Combine the nuts, oil, and salt (optional) in a large bowl. Stir to coat all the nuts.
- Spread the nuts in a shallow baking or roasting pan. (Line the pan with aluminum foil for easy clean up.)
- Roast for 15 minutes, then remove from oven and stir in dry spice mix.
- Roast for another 5 minutes.
- Store in tightly-closed glass container, like a mason jar.
Notes
*You can use pre-roasted nuts but reduce the oven time merely heat the oil and nuts — approximately five minutes — before adding the spice mix.
**If you do not like the oiliness of the nuts, replace the oil with 2 tablespoons melted butter. This doesn’t increase the calories or fat grams, but it replaces the good monounsaturated fats from the olive oil with the not-so-healthy saturated fat in the butter.