Ah, the sweet, sweet pleasure of snacking on a handful of roasted nuts mid-afternoon. It’s the fatty/salty/sweet pick-me-up that I often need to get through afternoons with our adorable and spirited toddler who just dropped from two naps down to one. But a bit of cold brew iced coffee with oat milk and a serving of these sweet and spicy roasted almonds? I’m golden until dinnertime.
Recipe here, and more information after the jump. I’ve been on the internet long enough to know that the most common gripe with food blogs and online recipes is that the blogger rambles on for too long before sharing the recipe. But if you happen to enjoy rambles, there will be some below!
📖 Recipe
Sweet & Spicy Roasted Almonds
Ingredients
- 3 cups raw almonds
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon rosemary
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- ½ teaspoon oregano
Instructions
- Pre-heat your over to 375°. While waiting for oven to pre-heat, measure out spices and blend all of them in a coffee grinder or blender to get a powdery consistency to better coat the almonds.
- Spread almonds on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast for 8-10 minutes depending on strength of oven. Check at 8 minutes -- they should be nice and toasty and golden brown.
- Toss roasted almonds with 2 tablespoon of olive oil, then add spice mixture, tossing to coat thoroughly.
- Return to baking sheet and roast for 10 more minutes.
- Store them in an airtight Tupperware or other container and enjoy!
I mean in a perfect, calorie-less world where food has zero negative health implications, my afternoon snack of choice would, hands down, be purple Doritos. Or as they’re technically called, Sweet Chili Doritos. They’re the perfect snack! I love them! But alas, I only eat them every once in a while. So to satisfy my salty tooth, I’ve taken to roastin’ up all manner of various nut recipes at home.
Sure, I fall prey to the siren song of the Trader Joe’s snack aisle -- oftentimes walking out with some of their best nut mixes: Thai Lime & Chili Cashews, Sesame Honey Cashews, Mesquite Smoked Almonds, Candied Pecans, and the like. But at $7.99 for 1 pound of seasoned almonds, that can add up when you’re trying to be mindful of your grocery budget. So I opt to buy almonds in bulk from Costco -- $12.79 for 3 pounds, which shakes out to $4.26 per pound. That’s half as expensive! No hate on Trader Joe’s whatsoever, heck, I’m obsessed with the store. But I’m also a Frugal Fanny and love reducing spending when possible without going *nuts* (hehe get it, ALMONDS ARE NUTS). Heck, they sell a pound of almonds for $4.99 at Trader Joe’s! You’re essentially paying $3 extra dollars for pennies worth of seasoning. Is it going to break the bank? Nah. But it’s the principle of things.
And the beauty of buying raw nuts in bulk and making your own spice blends? The world is truly your oyster. You aren’t beholden to what The Man thinks the ratio of spices should be. More garlic, I say!! Less sugar, I say! Or more, sometimes. What can I say? I love a good candied nut during the holidays.
The key for this recipe, in my humble opinion, is grinding up the spice concoction, thereby creating a more uniform, powdery blend. I find this coats the almonds perfectly, and the crumbly powder that is left behind is reminiscent of, you guessed it, Dorito dust! Speaking of Dorito dust, one time I had a bag of Beanfield’s (essentially a healthier, vegan version of Doritos, super delicious, made of beans. No idea how they do it other than magic.) and for some reason there was an inordinate amount of nacho flavored chip dust left behind when the chips were gone. I felt like the snack gods had smiled upon me! It was my lucky day. I dumped it straight into my mouth and thanked the chip machine for messing up in such a delicious way.
Rounding it back to Trader Joe’s though, I’m headed there this afternoon to pick up some of my staples from there, which I’ll do a post about next week. That store really has the product selection absolutely dialed in, and I like that it’s small and manageable, unlike the largest Wegman’s in New England, which is where I do most of our grocery shopping currently.
If you try these sweet and spicy roasted almonds, please let me know! I’m always tickled pink when folks make recipes I share, and I’m happy to finally be getting around to documenting all of the goodness that comes out of my kitchen. Usually, only friends and family get to enjoy my creations and I’m happy to share them with you fine people now, too.
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