Have you ever made Oven Roasted Cashewnuts at home? It’s the easiest thing to do, and is one more thing usually store bought that you can make at home. This one more thing that you can buy at the store that is easily done at home.
I’m a latecomer to roasting cashewnuts at home for myself. I’ve had a pretty good excuse to buy them till a couple of years back. I lived in Goa which is native cashewnut country. I used to get the best cashewnuts I’ve eaten there. The locally available salted and roasted cashewnuts weren’t all that expensive. We Indians love cashewnuts and you can find them in a really good variety of flavours, mostly savoury. Whether plain salted or spiced, crisp cashewnuts air really well with a hot cup of tea, especially on a rainy day.
When we moved to Kochi, I discovered that salted and roasted cashewnuts available here were ridiculously expensive. It’s ridiculous because it doesn’t take all that much to roast cashewnuts at home. The best part of doing this at home is you can decide exactly what oil and how much of it and salt you want in them. You can also flavour the nuts any way you want.
I personally like my cashewnuts plain with just a little salt. For some different flavour variations on this basic recipe, please see the next paragraph. You can use olive oil but I prefer to use either a little coconut oil or ghee to roast the cashewnuts. A small handful satisfies my cravings. The recipe below is for a small batch of cashewnuts. They can burn quickly while baking so do keep an eye on them.
Flavour Variations :
Salt and Pepper Cashewnuts : Add some fresh crushed black pepper to the salt and oil. Toss the nuts in this before baking them.
Spicy Cashewnuts : Toss the Oven Roasted Cashewnuts wth a little red chiili flakes when they’re still hot. Add some fine brown sugar as well for a sweet and spicy flavour.
Indian Masala Cashewnuts (Masala Kaju) : Add some curry leaves to unsalted cashewnuts while baking them and then toss them in a little bit of black salt (kaala namak) and chaat masala.
Garlic Rosemary Cashewnuts : Mix together as much as you need of garlic powder, fresh chopped rosemary (or dried), red chilli flakes, a little brown sugar and a couple of tbsp of oil. Toss the salted roasted cashews in this and serve.
Honey Roasted Cashewnuts : Toss the cashewnuts in a mixture of oil, salt, a little cinnamon, and honey before baking them.
Pizza Flavoured Cashewnuts: Toss the Oven Roasted Cashews in a mixture of garlic powder, red chilli flakes, mixed Italian spices and finely grated Parmesan cheese.
Oven Roasted Cashewnuts
Ingredients
- 3 cups whole cashewnuts
- 1 tbsp coconut oil or ghee
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Add the salt and coconut oil or ghee to the cashewnuts. Toss them well so they’re well and uniformly coated. Lay them in an ungreased or parchment lined baking tray in a single layer.
- Bake them at 180C (350F) for about 20 minutes or so until they’re golden brown in colour. Stir them about half way through baking to ensure the cashewnuts brown evenly.
- Let them cool completely. They will be soft in the middle when hot but will crisp up on cooling. Transfer them to an airtight jar.
I'm Aparna and My Diverse Kitchen is my ovo-lacto vegetarian food blog where you'll find recipes, food stories & photography. I've been blogging since 2007 and believe the kitchen, and the dining table (by extension) is really the heart of a home. 
Thank you very much for your step by step guide on how to roast cashew.
One thing is left unexplained. Cashew shell contains a highly inflammable oil, which is not easy to control during the roasting processes, especially over necked fire. Please explain how this is controlled.
This recipe uses shelled cashews so that is not a problem.
Followed the instructions & my cashews were perfectly roasted. Thank you!
You’re welcome Amy. I’m happy they turned out good.