Toasted Walnuts 2 Ways for Snacking & Recipes - Attainable Sustainable® (2024)

FAQs

What is the best way to toast walnuts? ›

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the walnuts to the hot, dry pan, only toasting as many walnuts as fit in the pan in a single layer. Cook, watching constantly and stirring frequently until the walnuts start to brown and they smell toasted—about 5 minutes.

Two Ways to Toast Walnuts

Whichever approach you choose is based on personal preference, but I find the oven method best for bigger batches with more even results. When I need just a handful and don't want to fire up the oven, I opt for the skillet method.

If you plan on storing them long-term, you can refrigerate or freeze them for 2 to 3 months. If you store the toasted walnuts at room temperature, keep them in a dark, cool place and use them within 1 week.

Enjoy the health benefits of a daily handful of nuts or a couple of tablespoons of seeds by sprinkling them on cereal, yogurt, salads, soups, pasta and vegetables.

Whether raw or roasted, nuts still pack a healthy punch, loaded with good fats, protein, and antioxidants. That being said, roasting does remove some of the antioxidant-rich skin, possibly compromising some of its superfood potency.

A cast iron or other heavy skillet is an excellent choice for toasting nuts. Thinner pans can heat unevenly, making it more difficult to control how quickly the nuts brown.

That astringent note in walnuts comes from the tannins found in the paper-thin skin that covers the walnut. That bitterness is a perfect counterpoint to all the sweet notes in these rugelach.

Always toast your nuts whole and then chop if chopping is needed. Toasted nuts actually chop easier than raw anyway. To oven toast, heat your oven to 400 degrees and put a rack in the upper third of the oven. Lay your nuts in an even layer in a sheet pan.

Add 1 cup raw nut of your choice to the basket of a 6-quart air fryer or 6- to 7-inch-long heat-safe baking dish or cake pan (if needed). Cook at 300 degrees F until golden brown and toasted, giving the basket or baking dish a good shake halfway through, according to the timing below.

Both Have a Similar Nutrient Content

Roasting nuts changes their structure and chemical composition. Specifically, it changes their color and decreases their moisture content, giving rise to their crunchy texture (5, 7). Raw and dry-roasted nuts have very similar amounts of fat, carbs and protein.

How many walnuts should you eat in a day? ›

For a healthy heart, you should eat about seven walnuts a day, or about how many are in a serving.

Q: Do Nuts Expire? A: Nuts can't expire; however, they can change in taste or go rancid. Nuts contain much-unsaturated fat, an oil that makes nuts likely to go rancid.

Tips to Safely Store Nuts. Contrary to popular belief, nuts should be stored in the fridge or freezer as opposed to a room temperature pantry. Why? Because nuts contain a high amount of unsaturated fat, a delicate type of oil, which makes them highly prone to going rancid.

At 325°F, most nuts will only need to stay in the oven 5 to 8 minutes. On the stovetop in a pan, toasting nuts may take a few minutes less, about 5 minutes.

You don't need any oil because the nuts and seeds that you are toasting naturally have a lot of oil in them. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan and pour the nuts on top. Spread them out so that they are in a single layer.

Walnuts have a mild, buttery flavor that makes them perfect for baking into cookies and cakes. They have a high oil content, so they tend to toast much faster than other varieties. Because of this, it's best to use raw walnuts to prevent them from burning during the baking process.