Sweet and Spicy Rosemary Nuts (Stovetop Option)
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If you love rosemary and nuts, you'll go nuts (see what I did there?) for this Easy Rosemary Nuts Recipe. With the perfect blend of spices, one thing for sure is that they won't stick around for long.
So be sure to make at least two batches.
This easy recipe makes a great healthy on the go snack or a tasty appetizer, but they're special enough to gift at the holidays, or for any occasion whatsoever.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
This truly is a great recipe for so many reasons. Let's count the ways.
Customizable Nut Blend
There are 3 in our household who just love mixed nuts. So much so that if a container of roasted mixed nuts ever makes it into our home, it's basically a fight to see who gets most of the nuts, especially the cashews.
Well, with this recipe you can make your nut mix with extra cashews (or whatever your family's favorite nut is) to avoid that problem, or you can avoid nuts that you can't eat.
For example, our oldest is deathly allergic to most nuts, but he can have almonds and macadamias, so making this recipe with those alone or some pumpkin seeds as well is the perfect thing.
Sweet and Spicy Options
It's also variable and can be made only salty or you can add your sweetener of choice to make the perfect sweet and salty blend.
You can also add the optional cayenne or other hot pepper for an added kick of spice.
Frugal
Let's face it. Money is really tight for most people these days. You could buy Trader Joe's Nuts About Rosemary Mix, for example, but it's a cool $7.99 for only 12 ounces.
You can easily buy non-organic almonds (the main ingredient in TJ's mix) for about $3 a pound at Sam's Club, so you'll definitely save money making this yourself.
Wholesome Ingredients
Trader Joe's is well known for being a healthier store, but there are ingredients in many of their products that aren't that wholesome.
For example, TJ's uses non-organic almonds which likely have PPO sprayed on them. They also have gum arabic and sugar in their mix, both of which I prefer to avoid.
Directions
Here are the basic directions for making these delicious nuts. For the full directions, head to the recipe card.
Oven Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Place nuts in a large bowl.
- Drizzle olive oil over nuts.
- Add seasonings to the bowl.
- Toss the nuts thoroughly.
- Spread the nuts on a baking sheet.
- Roast the nuts in the oven.
Stovetop Directions
- Follow all instructions for making the nut mix.
- Spread the nuts on a large shallow pan or a large griddle. You might have to do this in two batches.
- Cook the nuts over a low-medium or medium heat, stirring occasionally until done.
Recipe Notes
- My favorite way to make this recipe is with butter, cayenne, and the added sweetener.
- Make sure to use raw unsalted nuts for this recipe. If you buy already roasted nuts, they'll cook too much plus they're already salted and typically are coated with seed oils, which many people are trying to avoid.
- You can use any nuts you like for this spiced nuts recipe, but in my opinion a variety is best for flavor and presentation.
- The cayenne pepper is optional for an added kick, but you can use any other hot pepper like aleppo, ancho, etcetera. However, you will need to adjust the amounts so experiment carefully starting with less and increasing a little at a time.
- Use whatever optional sweetener that you like. We avoid refined white and brown sugar, but they will work as well.
- How much salt you use will depend on the type that you choose. I recommend starting with half the amount in the recipe and increasing from there.
- I highly recommend that you at least double the recipe since these for sure will not stay around for long.
- To serve these rosemary mixed nuts warm they've been stored, simply spread them out on a baking sheet and toast in an oven until warm. You can also heat them up in a shallow pan on the stovetop over low heat.
- Nut-free option: You can make this same recipe using only seeds. Even pumpkin seeds on their own would work out well.
- If using butter, you might want to dry the nuts out in a low-heat oven or dehydrator after baking.
Roasted Rosemary Nuts
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsalted raw nuts (for example, almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (melted butter can also be used and in fact, I prefer using butter)
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary (or 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/16 – 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- 2 teaspoons sweetener use any regular or low-carb sweetener; optional, but highly recommended
Instructions
Oven Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Place nuts in a large bowl.
- Drizzle olive oil over nuts.
- Add spices to the bowl.
- Toss thoroughly to ensure nuts are evenly coated with the oil and seasoning mixture.
- Spread nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet.
- Roast in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, stirring halfway through, until golden brown and fragrant.
- Remove from oven and either cool a bit to serve warm or let the nuts cool completely to room temperature on the sheet pan before serving.
- Store in an airtight container.
Stovetop Directions
- Follow all instructions above, aside from preheating the oven (of course).
- Instead of spreading nuts on a baking sheet, spread the nuts on a large shallow pan or a large griddle. You might have to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your pan.
- Cook the nuts over a low-medium or medium heat, stirring occasionally until done. You'll know they are done when they are lightly toasted and very fragrant.
Notes
- My favorite way to make this recipe is with butter, cayenne, and the added sweetener. Truly delectable.
- Make sure to use raw unsalted nuts for this recipe. If you use roasted nuts, they'll cook too much plus they're already salted and often have oil on them which can often be seed oils, which many people are trying to avoid for health reasons.
- You can use any nuts you like for this spiced nuts recipe, but in my opinion a variety is best for flavor and for presentation.
- The cayenne pepper is optional for an added kick, but you can use any other hot pepper like aleppo, ancho, etcetera. However, you will need to adjust the amounts so experiment carefully starting with less and increasing slowly.
- Use whatever optional sweetener that you like. We avoid refined white and brown sugar, but they will work if that's what you choose to use.
- How much salt you use will depend on the type that you choose. I recommend starting with half the amount in the recipe and increasing from there.
- I highly recommend that you at least double the recipe since these for sure will not stay around for long.
- If you'd like to serve these rosemary mixed nuts warm they've cooled down or been stored, simply spread them out on a baking sheet and toast in oven until warm. You can also choose to heat them up in a shallow pan on the stovetop over low heat.
- If using butter, you might want to dry the nuts out in a low-heat oven or dehydrator after baking.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may vary depending on ingredient brands, substitutions, and preparation methods. Optional ingredients are not included. Net carbs are typically calculated by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols (such as erythritol) from total carbohydrates. This information should not be relied upon for medical or nutritional purposes.
More Holiday Recipes for Gifting
Of course these rosemary nuts are great all year round, but they're particular nice for gifting and in my mind, they make the perfect holiday gift. Here are some other great giftable holiday recipes that everyone will love.
- Keto Crescent Cookies – so delicious they won a bake sale award. You can make these with any sweetener you like so if you aren't low carb, that's fine too!
- Keto Snowball Cookies – an easy melt-in-your-mouth cookie.
- Sugar-free Peppermint Bark – easy and so yummy. Make extra for sure. Some for gifting and some for you!
- Healthy Dark Chocolate Bark – another super simple recipe that's so delicious. One of my friends said that it's the best chocolate she'd ever had!
What's your favorite kind of nut?
Since you didn’t mention it, just wondering if it matters whether the sweetener is a dry one or a liquid. I would think this would affect the roasting time.
Hi Naomi. Since it’s so little sweetener, I don’t think the time will change much at all. Just check and see how they are doing or maybe turn the temp down 5-10 degrees and go a bit longer. Good question!
This is our favorite roasted nuts recipe. Savory and a tad bit of sweet. I do use melted butter, and I throw them in the dehydrator for a couple hours after baking, to dry them out a bit.
I’m so glad you like them! The butter does make them extra special! Interesting dehydration tip. Did you do that the first time and do you do that with other roasted nuts?
Yes, I did. it seems oil isn’t as messy. But when I use butter, I do that extra step.
Maybe less butter but perhaps we don’t want to do that :).