How to Roast Cashews
by Robert Daeley, Fri, 2006-03-31
I was casting around for recipes on how to roast raw cashews, either in an oven or on a stove. The ingredient list on a typical can of cashews was starting to get me down, and nuts (in moderation) are both one of my favorite snacks and healthy, too.
(Tangent: I'm obsessing on ingredients on packages at the moment, as in the fewer the better. Like the package of frozen corn I bought the other day. It says: "Ingredients: Corn." That is awesome. Now, the storebought cashews weren't all that bad: cashews, various oils, and salt, but it was the combined vague ingredients plus unknown methods, really. That and I like doing stuff from scratch.)
The googling wasn't going very well, or rather I had to do quite a bit of keyword finagling to find anything useful. I never did locate exactly what I was looking for, which is one reason I wanted to create this page: for other people who are googling for DIY roasted cashews.
One site I found was this Nuts page. Under the preparation section, they refer to "toasting" nuts, in the oven, on the stovetop, or in the microwave. So, using that as a starting point, I proceeded with an initial experiment.
(Tangent 2: my initial Google difficulties might have been a terminology issue, roasted vs toasted.)
Hardware
- Oven preheated to 350degF (~175degC).
- One shallow baking pan or cookie sheet with outer lip.
Software
- One pound (454g) raw cashews. (I bought a pound from Trader Joe's. "Ingredients: Cashews." Nice.)
- Salt (see below).
Method
Pretty straightforward: spread cashews in a single layer over the pan (you might need to use more than one pan, depending on the size). Then cook for 10-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are golden-brown. They can burn quickly, so keep an eye on them.
Salt
One other advantage to this process over pre-packaged is being able to control the amount of salt in it.
In a blind taste test from some guinea pigs family members, popcorn salt and sea salt didn't have significant taste differences. They did want a bit more salt in the initial batch, since I was cautious not to over-do it. So be sure to err on the lower side, since it's way easier to add salt than take it off. :) I expect the popcorn salt, since it is finer, would cling to the nuts more readily, so you might want to experiment yourself. Plain ol' table salt would work great, too.
Addendum
After more experimentation, I came to realize the salt could use some help sticking to the cashews. The nut industry apparently uses a salt-flour mixture to increase adhesion, which is the powdery stuff you find at the bottom of a can. Instead, what you can do is use just a smidgen of oil lightly brushed on them after you take them out of the oven, then sprinkle with your preferred salt. Melted butter would also do, although you can imagine the already high fat+calorie content will be even heftier. Another option is something like I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, which comes in handy spray form -- I've noticed however if you spray it on too soon after taking the cashews out of the oven, the liquid tends to evaporate before you can get the salt on.
Which makes me wonder if you could use a small spray bottle with your oil of choice to get the best of both worlds. Might be worth a try!
Conclusions
A lot of the cashew-roasting (or cashew-toasting) recipes I came across in my searches were part of a dessert or other dish, and included coating them in oil or butter. While I'm sure this would significantly add to the taste sensation, the calorie and fat intake would also jump up in a dish already pretty dense with both.
Besides, cashews -- whether toasted or roasted -- taste awesome as is. :)
Check out that wholehealthmd.com nuts page in the preparation section for toasting on the stove and microwave. In the latter case, you can have a plate of toasted nuts in 3 minutes to go with your DVD popcorn.
And be sure to read through the comment section below, as visitors have had a bunch of cool ideas and variations.
Bon appétit!
Thanks
Robert,
Thank you very much for posting information on roasting cashews.
I just bought a pound of organic, raw whole cashews ($8) and I am going to roast them with no salt or oil.
If you do use oil, I suggest coconut oil. It and butter are the only two cooking oils that, under heat, do not break down into transfats. Preferably organic butter, of course.
Also, the extra virgin coconut oil is more expensive and does taste like coconut. Whereas coconut oil that is not extra virgin has little taste of the coconut. So I would avoid extra virgin in this case.
Because I like the taste of the cashew.
Re: Thanks
Hi, Mark, thanks for the info.
Which oil to use
Try a little rice bran oil, it does not break down under high heat either, and has a very mild flavour!!
Thanks for the great recipe.
Thanks for the great recipe. I used a little of the spray-on I can't believe it's not butter and some Lawry's Seasoned Salt (I had them both on-hand). They are tasty!
Re: Thanks for the great recipe.
Hey, my wife is a big fan of Lawry's -- I'll have to try that out. Thanks!
Thank you!
I was a bit worried that I would have to do an extensive search when I first typed in "how to roast cashews" in google.
yours was the first page that came up.
thank you!
You’re welcome - thanks
You're welcome - thanks for visiting!
cashews
I need help before the cashews are in a bag- I have the tree and need to remove the outer shell first. thanks terry
re: cashews
Hi, terry, thanks for visiting. From what I've read, truly raw cashews in their shells, ones off a tree like yours, have some nasty chemicals that you have to get rid of first. They're in the poison ivy family, so there's a whole process to go through to get rid of the bad oils.
Try googling "shelling cashews" for more info. Good luck!
Thank You
Great info! My dad loves cashews, but the high sodium in salted cashews is no good for him. I'm sharing this with my mom.
Re: Thank You
You're welcome!
Thanks!
You just saved me a package of cashews. I accidentally bought raw cashews from the store and I just can't compare them to the roasted/salted variety and was actually going to give them away and buy the right kind. I'm gonna roast em tonight instead, thanks for saving me the money!
Raw cashews
The cashews that you purchased cannot be raw cashews! They may be plain cashews though. A single raw cashew can kill you! They have already been 'roasted' in their shell to kill off the toxic liquid that surrounds the nut.
These great nuts are part of the poison ivy and poison oak family.
Re: Raw cashews
Well, that's what the package says. :)
Raw Cashews
My cashews are also labeled "raw". I bought them knowing they were raw, (and because they were half price) and I thought I would try roasting them myself. Thanks for the info. BTW, my husband says the raw cashews taste kind of soapy, so he is thrilled that I planned to roast them.
Cashews
Here is an interesting web page on cashews. They suggest roasting at a lower temperature to preserve the healty oils in the nut. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=98
Thank you so much, my Dad
Thank you so much, my Dad knows how to make these, and although it was straightforward i wanted to replenish the roasted stock! As i ate them all. This is about the most useful page on the net for it!!!
Thanks man, I’ll give this
Thanks man, I'll give this a try. I like them raw, but for toppings I think they're better toasted.
Roasting Nuts
I have been roasting my own almonds by adding a tablespoon of olive oil and one of salt, shaken in a plastic bag with 2 cups of almonds and roasted on a baking sheet in the oven at 325 degrees for 30 minutes (turn the almonds every 5 min). Works great. I tried this with the cashews and they were a little over done although not greatly so. I'm going to try them at 20 min and 25 min next time. I like a fine ground salt (popcorn salt) better that regular table salt. I had trouble finding popcorn salt so my wife made some by putting regular salt in a food processor.
Great ideas, thanks!
Great ideas, thanks!
I contacted the Krema Nut
I contacted the Krema Nut Company about offering fire-roasted cashews. (The HEB near us carried them along with roasted cashews from a company in Boerne, TX, but switched companies and they do not offer the fire-roasted type. The difference in fire-roasted process is roasting without oils.) They do taste dramatically different and they were salt-free. They had a wonderful rich flavor. Mr. Brian Giunta from the Krema Nut Company said, " Cashews do cook faster than most nuts, less than 5 minutes, typically...." I wanted to try roasting them over a hot open fire, maybe with a hot oil basket for deep frying with a wire mesh of some sort. Still looking.
My roasted cashews came out fabulous
Yours was the first website that came up when I typed "roasting raw cashews" into my Yahoo browser. I bought a 1 lb. bag this week at Trader Joes to put into an Indian vegetarian dish I was making. Anyway, a good portion of the bag remained, hence my desire to roast them. I read everyone's comments and decided to improvise a bit. With the oven at 350 degrees, I spread the raw cashews on a foil lined cookie sheet (the kind with the lip around it) and then sprayed the foil with canola oil in the can. One layer of cashews - another spritz of oil spray - and then sprinkled with Kosher salt (which is all that I use). Roasted maybe 10 minutes, stirring around three times. They roast very quickly. I am now eating them hot and it is worth the little tongue burn. DELICIOUS!!! A thousand times better than what is sold already roasted. I will go this route with every nut from now on - raw nuts for me.
Cashew Roasting
Here's what I did. Mixed 2lbs cashews with canola oil and sea salt in a large bowl to coat evenly. Roasted in glass baking pan (about 3 batches) single layer, about 20 minutes at 250 degrees, stiring about half way. Can't get enough!!!!
great recipe
Just read your page, it was the first I came across.
Just bought some roasted cashews today from my health store
in Porthmadog, Gwynedd, Wales, UK
They were so expensive I'm going to roast plain casherws in future!
Thanks very much for your recipe, sounds awesome
re: great recipe
Cool! Thanks for stopping by and good luck!
Wow! Thanks!
Many thank yous for this page. i found myself rummaging my cabinets for a snack, i saw the salt and the raw cashews....Ding! Light bulb goes off and i find myself looking online for the how-to (i'm not the best cook in the world @_@) haha! so again many thanks!
Thanks!
I had alot of raw cashews around and followed this recipe and it worked like a dream, thanks!
-Francis
spices? cayenne pepper?
I want to try a batch with cayenne pepper. Should I oil & pepper the cashews before roasting, or after? I was thinking before, but since you say to apply the salt after, I'm questioning it now.
Re: spices? cayenne pepper?
Good question -- I'm guessing before would be good, but you could try half a batch before and half after, then see which is better.
toasting nuts
I followed your instructions for toasting cashews. I am using them in a salad, so I didn't want them "flavored". However, rather than using more oil so that salt or other flavorings will adhere, I suggest using egg white. Just beat an egg white until frothy, and then stir the nuts into it, and THEN, sprinkle with desired flavorings. The egg white does not add any taste, nor does it increase the fat content of the nuts. Egg white is mostly protein, and tasteless. I usually use soya sauce for "salting" nuts. A little goes a long way!!! Thanks for your help. b
re: toasting nuts
Great idea, thanks!
Thanks.
Thanks for sharing.I am doing it almost exactly how you do it, but before putting them into jar, I mix them with our Philippine product, Boy Bawang cornicks with garlic flavor, to avoid overeating cashew nuts. It's one of my healthiest yet tastiest snacks.It's good to know there is website like this. At first, I opened an ad about cashew.Thanks.
roasted cashews
Dissolve 2 tsp in 1/4 cup of water.Wet nuts with this solution in a plastic bag.Drain by making a small hole in the bag.Let nut dry in air,when completely dry,roast as suggested.
Thanks!!
This is awesome- our office was looking for instructions on how to roast cashews becuase we all got a clamshell of free whole cahsews and we all pulled up yours! Perfect thanks for all the recipes too.
re: Thanks!!
You're welcome!
cashews
omfg
love cashews!
Thanks! & they do burn quickly...
tossed w/ pure olive & salt. 10 min barely looked cooked but at 17 they got a little burned. (were a bit sparsely spread over tray.) be careful! but yes, raw way cheaper... thanks for all the info!
WONDERFUL
I just love seeing humor, good writing, and intelligence...all in one. Thank you so much! Just received a pound of cashews from Atlantic Spice Co (check them out) but realized, foolishly, that they were totally raw. We will experiment with your advice. Again, thanks.
Love it, love it!
Oh boy, just tried this after googling and finding your page! AWESOME and many thanks! We used 2 cups raw cashews, set oven on 350 and baked them for 10 minutes, put them in a glass bowl, added 1 tsp. sunflower oil and a few shakes of sea salt --- simply AWESOME! Thank you so much for this great, simple recipe and your most helpful expertise! We'll be using this forever more!
Roasted Cashew Nuts
I was amazed to find "how to roast cashew nuts" so easily! I was expecting to have to look through numerous Oriental recipe websites. Thank you very much.
let them cool
let them cool after roasting - they may seem soft when hot. Nice and crunchy when cooled. Did mine with olive oil, herbed salt (herbamare), chili flakes and black pepper. yummy.
Cashews Cashews
Am in the middle of roasting my 'raw' cashews, Excellent ideas here! Thank U!
Lower temperature
This site suggests using a lower temp to retain healthy fats.
http://rouxbe.com/tips-techniques/342
Cashews - roasting and smoking?!
Great idea this page! On my next trip to the shops I'll get a big bag of raw cashews...
Has anyone tried to make smoked cashews and would share his/her recipe? As I really love the flavour of smoked food, I think I'll try to smoke a batch over hickory smoke.
Cheers,
Tom
Now that’s a cool thought.
Now that's a cool thought. If you happen to come back by, please let us know how it went.
Smoked cashews
I flavoured a half-dozen batches of cashews in my smoker lately using various wood chips -- almost every batch was amazing. But I started out with already roasted cashews, so the process was VERY delicate. Smoke at lowest possible temperature, and if your smoker has a water tray in the bottom fill with ice-water. The previous posts here describe how quickly cashews go from perfect to burnt and I can attest.
But today I bought a big batch of raw cashews, so will be experimenting in small batches in attempt to smoke to perfection.
Just one other note, I not only smoked but flavoured one recent batch with 'Northwoods Fire' seasoning from the Penzey spice company. They were a big hit at Christmas.
Any one know hot to roast Cahsew Nut
Doest anyone know how to roast cashew? I use Vagetable oil with lowest heat, however only around 15 second those cashew are done, but only skin outside which turn to golden brown, but inside is still white and quite not done. Anyone had experieces for that????
Great Cashew Recipe
How great does this recipe look.....
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/french-chocolate-bark-recipe/index.html
Making it for Thanksgiving tomorrow and needed advice on roasting cashews. I am sure most people just leave them raw, but roasting will make a big difference.
Cashews are great alone, but add them to chocolate and dried fruit and it's like heaven!
Thanks for the tips!
Thanks
Thanks for the page it was very helpful. :)
Just a comment to an above post. If you do use coconut oil, please only use the virgin types. Processed coconut oil can contain trans-fat where as virgin coconut oil is actualy a health benefit.
You can use sugar to stick the salt on...
When they're almost roasted, put them in a hot fry pan along with some caster sugar and salt, and toss: the melting sugar sticks the salt to the nuts.
Quantities: hmmm... for about 350g of nuts I use about 8 teaspoons of caster sugar and quite a few good pinches of salt... try half a teaspoon? Depends how salty you like them.
Good for those with a sweet tooth. Make it more interesting with a few teaspoons of fennel seeds thrown in.... :-)
raw black pepper corns
Our local golf course has an exceptionally large black pepper tree fro which I have collected a quart of raw berriers.
I have googled and found no receipe for roasting or drying the pepper corns. Would appreciate any help for HOW DO YOU DO IT!
Re: raw black pepper corns
After a quick googling, apparently it depends on what species of pepper tree it is, as there are some which can cause some pretty nasty physical effects. Not being an expert, I can't tell you which is which, but I would research which one it is pretty closely first. :)
See this link for some info and maybe starting points:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/higard/msg1020274825644.html
Lov it!... Thanks!!!!
Lov it!... Thanks!!!!
Post new comment