Sweet & Salty Rosemary Roasted Mixed Nuts Recipe
Last Updated on August 18, 2023
Hello. I would like you to meet some very delicious, highly-addictive roasted mixed nuts! This rosemary roasted mixed nuts recipe is the perfect combination of savory, mildly sweet and salty. It is easy to make, and can be used with many types of nuts. If you’d like, you could spice things up with the addition of chili powder as well.
We make a batch of these rosemary roasted mixed nuts to graze on every holiday season. We love to put them in mason jars to give away as sweet little homemade gifts! Really though, these delicious roasted mixed nuts could (and should) be celebrated any time of year.
Looking for more DIY gift ideas? Pop over to this Homemade Holiday Gift Guide for over 27 fun and easy eco-friendly crafts, edible gift ideas, mason jar gifts, and more.
INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 pounds total of raw, unsalted nuts of choice. In this example we are using raw pecans, walnuts and almonds, though we have also made this recipe using cashews too!
- 2 tbsp “cooking fat” of choice, such as coconut oil, butter, vegan butter, or olive oil. Coconut oil is our top choice for this recipe!
- 2 tsp coarse sea salt
- 3 tbsp real maple syrup
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp finely-chopped fresh rosemary. If attempting to use dry rosemary, use only 1 tbsp and toss with nuts after roasting is complete.
- Optional: a small pinch of chili powder or chipotle powder
- This recipe makes about 3 to 4 pint jars of rosemary roasted mixed nuts.
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INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Combine the mixed nuts in a large mixing bowl.
- In a smaller bowl, melt your oil or butter of choice. Then stir in the maple syrup and minced fresh rosemary. Pour this mixture over the nuts, stirring as you go to evenly coat them.
- Next, sprinkle the brown sugar, salt, and optional chili powder over the bowl of glazed nuts. Again, stir and toss to evenly coat them as you go.
- Spread the coated mixed nuts out evenly on either a greased (e.g. olive oil) or parchment-paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake the nuts for approximately 17 to 19 minutes – until they become toasty and golden brown. Meanwhile, stop to stir and toss the nuts twice during baking to ensure even roasting. *Note that the nuts will not seem super-crunchy until they’ve cooled. Do not over-roast. Burnt nuts are no bueno!
- Once they’re finished baking, set the roasted mixed nuts out at room temperature and continue to toss and stir periodically to prevent them from sticking together (or to the pan) while cooling. During this time, taste-test the roasted nuts and add more salt if desired.
- Serve warm or cool and enjoy!
- Store the finished rosemary roasted mixed nuts in an air-tight container once completely cooled.
Sweet & Salty Rosemary Roasted Mixed Nuts
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds Mixed raw unsalted mixed nuts of choice (e.g. cashews, walnuts, almonds and/or pecans)
- 2 Tbsp Oil or butter. Coconut oil suggested. Other options include butter, vegan butter or olive oil
- 3 Tbsp Real maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp Brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp Fresh rosemary, finely minced (If attempting to use dry rosemary, use only 1 tbsp and toss with nuts after roasting is complete. )
- 2 tsp Sea salt, coarsely-ground preferred
- Optional: a pinch of chili powder or chipotle powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine the mixed nuts in a large mixing bowl.
- In a smaller bowl, melt your oil or butter of choice. Stir in maple syrup and rosemary. Pour the mixture over the nuts, stirring as you go to evenly coat them.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar, salt, and optional chili powder over the bowl of glazed nuts. Stir and toss to evenly coat the nuts.
- Spread the coated mixed nuts out evenly on either a greased (e.g. olive oil) or parchment-paper covered baking sheet.
- Bake the nuts for approximately 17 to 19 minutes – until they become toasty and golden brown. Stir and toss the nuts twice during baking to ensure even roasting. *Note that the nuts will not seem super crunchy until they’ve cooled. Avoid burning!
- Once they’re finished baking, set the roasted mixed nuts out at room temperature and continue to toss and stir periodically to prevent them from sticking together (or to the pan) while cooling. During this time, taste-test the roasted nuts and add more salt if desired.
- Serve warm or cool and enjoy!
- Store fully-cooled nuts in an air-tight container.
Well folks, I hope you enjoy these delicious rosemary roasted mixed nuts just as much as we do! Please let us know with a comment or review below. Looking for more holiday party appetizer ideas, or “just-because” tasty snacks? Check out our easy stuffed dates with goat cheese, nuts, honey and thyme. Or, these two-bite garlic and herb roasted smashed potatoes with optional cheese. See a list of over 20 vegan and vegetarian holiday dish ideas here.
Deanna Talerico
Deanna Talerico (aka DeannaCat) is a garden educator and writer with over 15 years experience in organic gardening. She is a retired Senior Environmental Health Specialist, and holds a M.A. in Environmental Studies and B.S. in Sustainability and Natural Resources.
27 Comments
Rebecca Stricklin
Deanna isn’t kidding when she says these are highly addicting! These turned out soo good. The recipe is so easy, this will definitely be in my regular bake list.
Susan Wright
Have you tested how long these will keep in an air tight container? Thanks! 😀
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Susan, they should last at least a few weeks for the best flavor, however, they will last much longer than that, they may just become less crunchy but they won’t go bad. Good luck and enjoy, we will be making a batch this weekend as well!
Wendy Taylor
Wow! This sounds amazing and I love how simple you’ve made the recipe- thank you for sharing it and the beautiful photos / gift ideas!
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Wendy, it really does make for a great gift around the holidays, we always make at least a few batches every year.
Liz
Really great recipe – mine turned out SO good and I sold a bunch at our homeschool holiday faire and they were loved by all! I also ALWAYS make your sourdough pumpkin bread/muffin recipe and it is just amazing! Thanks for all the goodness!
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Liz, so glad the recipe worked out so well for your school faire! We love the sourdough pumpkin bread as well and it’s great to hear it’s a favorite or yours, enjoy!
Marisa
These are soooo tasty! I got ahead of myself and mixed all the non-nut ingredients together first, THEN looked at the directions and realized the brown sugar and salt were supposed to go on later. Oop! I took a chance, mixed in the nuts, and baked. All worked out fine, but I’ll try again and follow the directions next time. The salty sweet + rosemary goodness is inspiring me to add oats and make granola, too! These will be a year-round treat in our house, for sure.
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Marisa, adding oats and making granola sounds like a great idea!
Susan Wright
I just made these for the first time and they’re delicious!!! Great gifts! (If they make it that long haha)
Dubious Pleasure
Hi. This recipe is great! I only had a little over 1# of nuts but I didn’t reduce the other ingredients to componsate for the 1/3 reduction and the recipe was still yummy. I like mine estra crispy but followed the instrucions to the letter and this batch came out perfectly (without burning)! Thank you for creating and sharing.
Michael Marvosh
Oh, man! Be really REALLY careful with the cook time. Even 18 minutes was too much for mine and they burned. Big disappointment 🙁
Watch these like a hawk and don’t have a fussy baby at the same you’re making them (maybe that goes without saying but options are limited these days).
I’ll try again, because what else to do with 6 pound of nuts?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Michael, we are sorry to hear your mixed nuts got overly cooked in the oven. Unfortunately, different ovens can often vary in how well or hot they heat things, our previous oven in our old house ran much hotter than the oven we currently use. I would reduce your cook time to at most 14 minutes total while mixing everything up halfway through. Hope that helps and good luck with your next batch!
Michael
I figured out what I did wrong. I don’t think it was oven temp. It was the way I read the recipe (which apparently is different than most people do).
So: in case any other overly-literal minded folks try this recipe, here’s how to cook them. 18 minutes doesn’t mean cook the nuts for 18 minutes. It means set a single timer for 18 minutes, during which time you will remove the nuts from the oven twice to stir them. So total cook time is probably close to 14 minutes, and they get a couple chances to cool off slightly during the duration.
They’re delicious if you don’t burn them 🙂
Danielle
I’m going to try separating the batches, one using maple syrup and the other using a spruce tip syrup I found from Finland. I’ll update my review once I try them! Btw, if you use spruce tip syrup, it goes amazingllyyyy on a shredded cabbage salad mixed with a mustard vinaigrette!
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Thanks for sharing Danielle!