Healthy Cashews
Our Healthy Cashews are a full-fledged superfood snack, really yummy, and very addicting! This quick and easy, healthy snack is lightly coated with natural honey and sprinkled with Himalayan pink salt. These nuts have a nice balance of sweet and salty flavor, and the crunchy chia seeds add a lovely mild, nutty texture to this healthy snack or appetizer.
These little spotted nuts may look slightly weird, but they are surprisingly delicious! Because this recipe is filled with superfood ingredients, you may feel a bit less guilty if you enjoy them just a little too much! Want to read more about the health benefits of this little snack? Read more about this in our Blog Comments & Tips.
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RECIPE
(Check out our Step by Step Instructions below the recipe card.)
Recipe Updated: 3/31/22
HEALTHY CASHEWS
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a 3 quart nonstick sauté pan (or 10 inch fry pan) over medium heat, add honey and heat until liquified and hot, but not simmering. Once honey is liquified, add cinnamon, and a pinch of Himalayan pink salt. Using a silicone heat resistant spatula, stir to thoroughly combine. Turn down heat to low.
- Add cashews, and toss well with spatula to evenly coat nuts with honey mixture. As soon as the nuts are coated, add chia seeds, and toss again until evenly coated with seeds.
- Remove from heat and dump coated cashews onto a prepared baking sheet. With the back of a silicone spatula, quickly spread out cashews in one layer. Separate them, as best you can. Bake for 10-12 minutes until fragrant (do not overbake and they will get bitter).
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 1-2 minutes. Evenly sprinkle with remaining ½ teaspoon Himalayan fine pink salt over the cashews, and with a clean spatula, toss to coat. Carefully lift parchment paper onto your counter, and with a clean spatula, spread out nuts on the parchment paper and let cool. After about 15 minutes, wearing protective gloves and using both hands, break apart any nuts that have clumped together, and spread out again on the parchment paper. Allow to cool completely on the counter (total 30 - 60 minutes).
Notes
- Work quickly when tossing in the chia seeds and spreading them out onto your baking sheet, as they will begin to absorb liquid and become sticky.
- Store in an airtight glass container on the counter for up to 1 week.
- 12 Servings (1 ounce per serving).
Nutrition Facts
Calories
175.44Fat (grams)
8.46Sat. Fat (grams)
2.55Carbs (grams)
10.85Fiber (grams)
1.55Net carbs
9.30Sugar (grams)
3.17Protein (grams)
5.26Sodium (milligrams)
176.59Cholesterol (grams)
0.00Nutritional information provided is strictly an estimate and will vary based on ingredient brands and cooking methods.
Step by Step Instructions
PREPARATION
Organize all your tools and ingredients before you begin. Getting all your ingredients in one place at the beginning will shorten your prep time.
STEP 1
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
STEP 2
In a 3 quart nonstick sauté pan (or 10 inch fry pan) over medium heat.
a) Add 1 ½ tablespoons honey and heat until liquified and hot, but not simmering.
b) Once honey is liquified, add ¼ scant teaspoon ground cinnamon, and a pinch of Himalayan pink salt, and using a silicone heat resistant spatula, stir to thoroughly combine.
c) Once combined, turn down heat to low.
STEP 3
Work quickly when tossing in the chia seeds and spreading them out onto your baking sheet, as they will begin to absorb liquid and become sticky.
a) To the combined honey mixture add 12 ounces dry roasted cashews, unsalted (about 2 ¼ cups).
b) Toss well with spatula to evenly coat cashews with honey mixture.
c) As soon as the nuts are coated, evenly sprinkle 1 ½ tablespoons organic chia seeds all over nuts.
d) Then quickly toss again to evenly distribute and coat with chia seeds.
STEP 4
Remove from heat and while still hot:
a) Quickly dump coated cashews onto a prepared baking sheet.
b) With the back of a silicone spatula, quickly spread out cashews in one layer. Separate them, as best you can. Bake for 10-12 minutes until fragrant (do not overbake and they will get bitter).
c) Done and perfectly roasted!
STEP 5
Remove from the oven and let rest for 1-2 minutes on baking sheet.
a) Then evenly sprinkle remaining ½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt over the cashews.
b) With a clean spatula, toss to coat with salt. An easy way to toss them is to lift one end of the parchment paper, then scrape the nuts off the paper and toss them in the salt.
c) Carefully lift parchment paper onto your counter, and with a clean spatula, spread out nuts on the parchment paper and let cool.
d) After about 15 minutes, wearing protective gloves and using both hands, break apart any nuts that have clumped together, and spread out again on the parchment paper. Allow to cool completely on the counter (total 30 - 60 minutes).
Note: Once completely cooled, you may need to break a few of them apart again. Using protective gloves prevents your fingers from sticking to the honey, especially when it’s warm.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Serve as is, and enjoy as a snack!
These nuts are a great light appetizer with cocktails.
Add these Healthy Cashews to a cheeseboard or charcuterie board. Try them with one of our recipes, such as our Simple Cheeseboard, or Charcuterie Board (recipe coming soon)!
Notes:
Store in an airtight glass container on the counter for up to 1 week.
Recipe can be made ahead!
12 servings (1 ounce per serving).
Blog Comments & Tips
Perfectly sweet and salty healthy snack!
In our household, we eat an awful lot of nuts. After a while, one gets a bit bored of eating plain roasted nuts. So at PMR, we have been on a mission to develop snacks that are healthy but super tasty!
I am proud to say that our Healthy Cashews are a full-fledged superfood snack and truly yummy. However, we must warn you...they are thoroughly addicting! These cute spotted nuts are made with ingredients that give them just the right amount of flavor, which makes them the perfect little bite. This quick and easy, healthy snack is lightly coated with natural honey and sprinkled with Himalayan pink salt. These nuts have a nice balance of sweet and salty flavor, and the crunchy chia seeds add a lovely mild, nutty texture to this healthy snack or appetizer.
We found some of the health benefits of cashews somewhat surprising (we really mean that in a good way). Cashews are a great source of plant protein. They are also low in sugar, rich in fiber, and have heart-healthy fats. They also contain copper, magnesium, and manganese, to help boost immunity, brain and bone health.
Chia seeds are also a superfood that are nutrient rich in omega-3 fatty acid, protein, fiber, minerals, antioxidants, etc. Although you can use any type of honey in this recipe, raw honey is also considered a superfood that is reported to have antibacterial and antiviral properties, which are said to boost your immune system. Honey is also rich in antioxidants, which may help lower blood pressure. When compared to table salt, using Himalayan salt reduces the amount of sodium in this recipe. Plus, there are small amounts of important minerals in this salt, and fun fact - it’s the iron oxide that gives Himalayan salt its pretty pink color!
How do you ensure the best results from our recipe?
Our 4 tips to making these wonderful little Healthy Cashews:
High quality ingredients (including nuts, seeds, and honey). For best results, use freshly roasted and unsalted cashews. For the chia seeds, we recommend using Navitas Organics Chia Seeds; they have high quality products that taste great. Wherever you are located, the best source for honey is local.
When ready to roast, let those nuts breathe! They need room around them when on the baking sheet. The heat can evenly roast them and allow the honey to turn into a crust, instead of a sticky mess.
Don’t over roast your prepared cashews, as they will turn bitter.
Don’t forget to break them apart, and then let them cool completely before storing your Healthy Cashews.
Let us know what you think by leaving a comment and rating, and/or following, and liking us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Don’t forget to subscribe to get updates on new recipes and tips & tricks.
Happy Cooking!
Mich
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