You’ll love these spiced nuts ’cause they’re crunchy, smoky, spicy, tangy, and zesty. They’re the perfect DIY holiday gift or snack—and you won’t be able to stop munching on them!
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The perfect holiday snack
I’m not a fan of traditional spiced nuts that are coated with an overly sickly-sweet and cinnamon-heavy topping. Instead, I love my spiced nuts like my favorite dishes: perfectly balanced in flavor and texture. That’s why I created this spiced nuts recipe! They’re a great snack to have on hand, especially during the holiday season, when you’re most likely to be tempted by a bunch of less-than-great for you choices.
These spiced nuts are crunchy, smoky, and coated with a zesty mixture of coconut sugar, lime juice and zest, salt, and spices. You can use any combination of nuts you prefer—almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, you name it—and bake ’em in the oven until golden and fragrant.
An edible holiday gift!
These paleo, gluten-free, and low carb spiced nuts make a wonderful DIY holiday gift for your friends and family. In this recipe, I’ll show you how to make this easy and delicious snack in less than 30 minutes. Trust me, you’ll want to make a big batch (or two!) and keep these nuts in a jar for snacking or sharing.
Tips for MAKING the best spiced nuts
- Don’t leave out the egg white! The egg whites help adhere the spices to the nuts and lend them a crispy and crunchy texture.
- Zest the lime before you juice it! If you cut the lime and juice it first, it’s really hard to zest it. So zest first and cut second!
- Don’t overbake the nuts! Use your nose as a guide and don’t let the nuts burn—300°F for 25 to 30 minutes is perfect for a light roast. Your nuts will continue to crisp up as they cool so don’t worry if they aren’t crunchy right out of the oven.
- Extra sauce at the bottom of the bowl? You can either toss in more nuts or don’t pour in all the extra liquid at the bottom of the bowl when you’re transferring the nuts to the pan. If you pour in all the extra sauce, it can make the nuts stick to parchment. Not a big deal, but kind of annoying,
- No need to toss the nuts during baking; just rotate the tray! You may be tempted to toss the nuts halfway through the roasting process, but it’s unnecessary and a waste of your precious time. YOU WILL NEVER GET THOSE TWO MINUTES BACK, PEOPLE. Just rotate the pan 180°. The nuts’ll cook evenly and you won’t need to worry about any stray nuts spilling off the tray!
- Line the trays with parchment paper! It’ll make clean up a breeze. Plus, you can easily transfer the spiced nuts to a storage container after they’re cooled.
Ingredients
- Mixed whole raw nuts: I like using a mixture of whole raw almonds, raw cashews, and raw pecans. If you want, you can definitely substitute other nuts like Brazil nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, and pistachios.
- Coconut sugar: Maple sugar also works!
- Lime zest
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Ground garlic
- Smoked paprika
- Cayenne pepper: These nuts aren’t super spicy, but if you’re averse to any spiciness, you can decrease the amount of cayenne pepper or leave it out completely. (But come on: hot nuts are the best nuts.)
- Large egg white
- Lime juice
Nut allergy?
You can substitute pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and coconut flakes—but if you do, decrease the cooking time accordingly so they don’t burn!
How to make spiced nuts
Heat the oven to 300°F with the rack in the middle position. Line a rimmed baking sheet (a half sheet size or bigger) with parchment paper and set aside.
While the oven is heating up, make the spice blend coating. In a small bowl, stir together the coconut sugar, lime zest, salt, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper.
In a large bowl, beat the egg white and lime juice together until frothy.
Add the coconut sugar, spice, and salt blend to the frothy egg white mixture…
… and whisk well to combine.
Pour the mixed nuts into the bowl of the seasoned egg whites.
Use a spatula or wooden spoon to toss the nuts and coat them well with the sauce.
Pour the entire bowl onto the lined baking sheet…
…and spread the spiced nuts in a single layer. (Extra sauce at the bottom of the bowl? Toss in more nuts! Don’t pour in all the extra sauce into the pan because the sauce can pool at the bottom of the pan and stick.)
Pop the tray in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes…
…or until lightly toasted and you can smell the fragrant seasonings. Be careful not to overcook the nuts—you don’t want them to burn. And remember: they’ll continue to crisp after you take the tray out of the oven.
Cool the nuts completely and enjoy!
How to store spiced nuts
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. You can also toss in a dessicant packet to keep the nuts fresh longer!
More homemade edible holiday gift ideas
Looking for more DIY edible gifts? Check out my epic roundup of tasty gift-worthy paleo recipes!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipe in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
Spiced Nuts (Paleo, Gluten Free, Low Carb)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar or maple sugar
- 2 teaspoons fresh lime zest
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt use half the amount If using fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 large egg white
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 cups raw whole almonds
- 1½ cups raw whole cashews
- 1½ cups raw whole pecans
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 300°F with the rack in the middle position. Line a rimmed baking sheet (a half sheet size or bigger) with parchment paper and set aside.
- While the oven is heating up, make the spice blend coating. In a small bowl, stir together the coconut sugar, lime zest, salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper.
- In a large bowl, beat the egg white and lime juice together until frothy.
- Add the coconut sugar, spice, and salt blend to the frothy egg white mixture and whisk well to combine.
- Pour the mixed nuts into the bowl of the seasoned egg whites. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to toss the nuts and coat them well with the sauce.
- Pour the entire bowl onto the lined baking sheet and spread the spiced nuts in a single layer. (Extra sauce at the bottom of the bowl? Toss in more nuts! Don't pour in all the extra sauce into the pan because the sauce can pool at the bottom of the pan and stick.)
- Pop the tray in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly toasted and you can smell the fragrant seasonings. Be careful not to overcook the nuts—you don’t want them to burn. And remember: they’ll continue to crisp after you take the tray out of the oven.
- Cool the nuts completely and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This looks delicious! Any suggestions for an egg allergy substitute?
Maybe whipped aquafaba?
Hi!
would it work to use coconut oil instead of the egg white? Family member allergic to eggs. (both whites and yolks). If not coconut oil, what would work instead?
Thanks 🙂
I’m not sure! I would try aquafaba as an egg white replacement first.
Just made them! My husband looked skeptical, but also gave them the thumbs up… They were also very easy to make. Only problem is not eating too many at a time, lol.
I just made these and they taste great, just not spicy enough for me.
Also the egg mixture seems to have adhered to the bottom of some of the nuts.
Mighty tasty though, thanks!
These were a complete hit! My son in law ate half a jar! I’m doubling the batch next time. Thanks for this recipe Michelle!
I was a bit skeptical about the mix of flavors, but these are so so so SO delicious! They remind me of Spicy Chex Mix that I used to make back when I was able to tolerate gluten. I’ve been craving it this holiday season, so it was such a surprise when I tasted these. I cried happy tears. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Easy, good, and addictive!!
These are in the oven and I can’t wait to try them! I wish you had included the size of rimmed pan to accomodate the recipe to make sure you can spread the nuts in a SINGLE layer. I don’t have one pan that is large enough, and I’don’t have two smaller rimmed pans that will fit in my oven together. I’m thinking since there is no need to toss them, I should have put put the parchment paper on my larger unrimmed cookie sheet… then I could have spread them out into a better single layer. They are not in a single layer with the rimmed pan I used. Fingers crossed they will still get roasted evenly and not burnt.
All of my recipes that call for a rimmed sheet pan use a half sheet pan (18 in. by 13 in.). I do recommend that the nuts are in a single layer so they crisp evenly.
Thank you for the tip! I’ll have the right size for the next batch. The nuts are delicous! I did end up spreading them out in additional pans, as my rimmed pans are not that size.
can I use peanuts
Sure!
Can you used nuts that have been soaked first?
I wouldn’t suggest using soaked nuts for this recipe.