A handful of almonds makes such a great lunchbox addition, or snack on the go to hold kids over til dinner time!
When I read Nourishing Traditions years ago, I learned how rough raw nuts can be on digestion, and how soaking them not only makes them easier on your gut, but also nutrients in the nut more readily available to absorb. I was on a healing journey with my digestion, so I was going to do anything to make things easier on my body.
Nuts are filled with great vitamins, especially vitamin B (which we could all use a boost of!), and if you don’t have nut allergies, they are a nice change up in protein source to add into your week.
As it turns out, soaking and drying out nuts wasn’t difficult at all, and I have gotten in the habit of drying out almonds once a month for my family. My husband takes a jar to work with him, and I keep a jar at home for lunch add-ons or quick middle of the night snacks for the nursing mama 😉 I also like to grind them up to add into granola cereal or breakfast cookies.
Don’t be intimidated if you don’t have a dehydrator! I only recently got one for my birthday this past year! I have been drying nuts out in the oven for YEARS. You do end up going a little higher on the heat than the recommended 150 degrees, but its better than nothing. And until you save up for a dehydrator it definitely works! (And by the way, if it isn’t in the budget for one of the pricier
dehydrators, the middle of the road ones like mine
work fantastic!)
Salted Crispy Almonds
Ingredients
- 3 lb raw almonds about 15 cups
- 3 TB sea salt plus more for sprinkling to taste
- Filtered water
Instructions
- Put the almonds and sea salt in a medium bowl and cover by about 3 inches with filtered water.
- Leave the bowl in a warm area in your kitchen (in the winter I put it under the light in my oven) for about 8 hours.
- Strain the nuts, put them back in the bowl, and add another few teaspoons of sea salt to season.
- Dehydrate in your dehydrator at 105 degrees over night (8-12 hours), OR in your oven on the lowest setting (mine goes down to 170) until dried out (should take a few hours – you can stir them around a few times to encourage them along).
Tips:
- Change up the nuts! The method is the same for all nuts – I like keeping crispy brazil nuts around too for selenium boosts!
- My plan of action is typically to put the nuts in to soak around naptime and then I get them into the dehydrator before I go to bed that night. Before I had a dehydrator I used to put them in to soak right when I got up in the morning and then around naptime-ish I would get them into the oven to dry out by dinner.
- The sea salt is such a great flavor and most of us can use the adrenal support and mineral boost from the sea salt! But you can add other flavors! I often add some heat with cayenne pepper to my husbands.
- HERE
is the dehydrator I have – LOVE it! - I get my raw almonds at Costco or our local grocer in the bulk section.
Hi Renee,
Can you please share how you store your dehydrated nuts? In kitchen cupboard, fridge or freezer? Especially dehydrated walnuts and pecans.
Thanks in advance 🙂
Hi Swarna! I keep them in a cupboard!
We have an old stove with a pilot light. I think the inside temp always hangs around 100, maybe a little less. Do you think that temp would work? It’s where I dry all my herbs too.
Hi Katie! Yes I would give it a try! Take a peek after 8 hours and see how they look – you don’t want them wet/damp more than 24 hours because they will start to mold.
Hello! I have never dehydrated nuts before so yesterday I soaked the walnuts per your directions, drained them, put them in the dehydrator to dehydrate over night. When I woke up this AM, I realized I had forgotten to turn the dehydrator on! Should I go ahead and still dahydrate them or are they spoiled from sitting out all night? Thanks.
Hi Julie! I would still dehydrate them! They should be fine!