Name: Cajun Roasted Nuts
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients: 1 cup cashews; 1 cup almonds; 1 cup pecans; 1 cup brazil nuts; 1 tbsp + 1 tsp cajun spice; 1/2 tsp dried thyme; 1 tsp sea salt; 1 tbsp avocado oil; 2 tbsp maple syrup

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe· 5 from 3 reviews

These Cajun Roasted Nuts are the perfect savory snack. Forget complicated appetizers, these are a great addition to your table as an easy grab and go snack or finger food. Seasoned with cajun spice, extra thyme, and salt. I've also added maple syrup to balance out the flavors. It caramelizes perfectly.

Mixed roasted nuts in a green bowl on an orange and white striped napkin. Pine needles peeking into the shot in the top left, bottom left, and bottom right corners.

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How to roast nuts:

I'm a big fan of roasted nuts. Always have been. Whether they're sweet or savory, it's always a great protein-packed snack full of healthy fats. And there are so many options on how to season them! The options are literally endless.

Raw nuts spread on a baking sheet. Divided in four kinds. Top left are cashews, top right almonds, bottom left pecans, bottom right more cashews. In the middle there's a 1 cup measuring cup with brazil nuts.

To roast them, you just need a baking sheet, a little bit of oil with a high smoke point (I like avocado oil), a touch of maple syrup, and cajun spice, and some extra dried thyme for even more flavor.

Preheat your oven to 350°(175°C) and roast the nuts spread out on the baking sheet for 20-30 minutes. The roasting time will depend on what nuts you're using. Smaller ones like almonds or cashews will take less time than brazil nuts. Pecans and walnuts usually take the shortest.

Raw nuts tossed in oil, maple syrup, and cajun spice on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.

In this recipe I use a mix of nuts and I try to roast them based on the ones that roast the quickest, pecans in this case.

If you want to make sure your brazil nuts don't stay raw in the center, roast them separately. I usually really don't mind.

A close-up shot of roasted nuts in a green bowl on an orange and white striped napkin.

Creative ideas for seasoning roasted nuts?

You can make them sweet with chocolate, warming spices, different extracts for special flavors, or use different sweeteners. You can also make them into a trail mix by adding dried fruits, chocolate chips, pretzels, chopped cookies, marshmallows, or anything else you like.

To make them into a savory snack you don't need much. The basics are just the nuts, some sea salt, and some natural oil (I like avocado oil).

There are ways to get creative though. I like adding a touch of maple syrup to bring out the saltines more and balance the flavor. You can add dried herbs, various spice blends, smoked paprika (a personal favorite!), or spice them up with crushed chili flakes or chipotle powder.

For the recipe I'm sharing today, I chose the Cajun spice mix and they turned out amazing.

What is Cajun spice?

Cajun spice is a blend of garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, dried oregano, paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt. I've also seen people use smoked paprika instead of sweet paprika which is a fun change if you're into smoky the flavor.

The ingredients and ratios are going to vary from brand to brand so you can definitely make your own mix to your own taste. I like to buy my cajun spice from Frontier Co-op as I really like their blend. It doesn't contain too much salt so I can add it separately to taste as I cook.

Mixed roasted nuts in a green bowl on an orange and white striped napkin. Pine needles peeking into the shot in the top right, bottom left, and bottom right corners.

More roasted nuts recipes:

If you like these Cajun roasted nuts, try these other two recipes. The Garam Masala Pecans are my favorite!

Chipotle Roasted Nuts

Garam Masala Roasted Pecans

📖 Recipe

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