Sweet and Spicy Honey Roasted Cashews are a delicious, wholesome snack for cooler weather. Honey and chili powder give the yummy cashews their sweet heat and crunchy coating.
One of the reasons why I love to travel is the wonderful food experiences every place has to offer. I always return with new inspiration and at least one or two things that I can't wait to recreate at home.
Our recent trip to Cambodia was no different. In many restaurants, we were served roasted peanuts with our drinks - to tide us over until our food arrived. Even while waiting for takeout (or 'take-away' as they call it in here) a small bowl of peanuts was placed in front of me. All for free!
I especially loved the peanuts we were served at our hotel with the poolside cocktails. They were perfectly salty, sweet and spicy all at the same time. I even detected a hint of lemongrass.
For my homemade version, I decided to make sweet and spicy roasted cashews instead of peanuts. For my own personal twist, I used no refined sugar. The raw cashew nuts are coated in a honey chili mixture and roasted to perfection in the oven.
After roasting, the nuts are tossed with salt and coconut sugar (or unrefined cane sugar). This gives the roasted nuts great texture and keeps them from sticking together.
A note about chili powder: here in Thailand chili powder is just straight up ground dried chili peppers, like cayenne pepper. North American chili powder is actually a mix of different spices - which makes it less hot. So either use cayenne or more (North American) chili powder to achieve the same level of heat.
Now that we are heading into cooler seasons (even here in Thailand) nuts are a perfect, weather-appropriate snack. They take over from summer snacks like fresh fruit and popsicles with their warming sweet heat and crunchy deliciousness.
Presented in a mason jar with a cute ribbon and maybe even a recipe card, these Sweet and Spicy Roasted Cashews would also make a wonderful edible gift for the Holidays.
If you tried this recipe and gave it as a gift for the holidays please share any ideas, suggesstions or pictures with me! Â I always love to see what others come up with and try out, too!
Products I Used (affiliate links):
Also, try these other popular recipes:
- Cashew Butter Recipe
- Thai Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
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Sweet and Spicy Roasted Cashews
Ingredients
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon ground chili powder like cayenne adjust to taste
- 12 ounces raw cashew nuts (about 2.5 cups)
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar or unprocessed cane sugar
- 1.5 teaspoons sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Stir together honey and ground chili powder. Microwave for a few seconds to liquify the honey even more. Add the raw cashews and toss to coat.
- Spread the cashew nuts on the prepare baking sheet in a single layer and roast for 10-15 minutes. Stir after 5 minutes and keep a close eye. Take the nuts out when they look just a little darkened. You don't want to burn them.
- While the cashews are roasting, stir together coconut sugar and salt. Let the nuts cool for 5 minutes, then toss in the sugar-salt mix.
- Let nuts cool fully and store in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Camille McIntosh
These are are absolutely delicious and very addictive!! We are vegan so I substituted maple syrup for the honey. Once I removed them from the oven, I immediately tossed in the cane sugar and salt, spread the nuts back on the parchment paper to cool. I make theses constantly and plan on giving them in our neighborhood gifts baskets we hand out every year!
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
Thanks for your lovely review, Camille! They are definitely wonderful for gifting! 🙂
Em
Just made these, been experimenting with roasted honey nut recipes. So far this has been my fave, and the easiest.
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Em! Thanks for letting us know how it worked out for you!
Eileen
These were perfect. Yummy I’m going to try it with almonds too. Thank you for the recipe.
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
Thanks for the great review, Eileen! I think they would make a lovely snack over the holidays.
Sharie Meade
Oh my goodness! I made these at Thanksgiving and they were a huge hit with family and friends. I had to make 3 more batches! My only comments are- have the coconut sugar measured out in a large bowl with a lid and pour the cashews in as soon as you take them out of the oven- don’t let them coolant all.Put the lid on and shake them immediately. I also added more cayenne pepper because we like things hot. These are super easy and delicious. Perfect gift to take to neighbors or parties for hostess gift. I cannot say enough about how delicious they are!
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
I'm so happy you loved this recipe, Sharie. Those are wonderful tips as well.
Maureen
Hi Regina:-)
I just had to review these mixed nuts again this Christmas. I made them the day before Christmas Eve and did them slightly different than last year which seemed to help with the stickiness I experienced. First of all I always use Trader Joe’s 16 oz Raw Mixed Nuts. I used honey and half tsp each cayenne pepper and chili powder. I roasted them 5 minutes, removed and stirred on the parchment paper lined cookie sheet really well for 2-3 minutes to coat everything. At that point I sprinkled the coconut sugar and salt mixture over them, put them back in the oven and roasted another 5-6 minutes. I removed from oven and transferred the entire batch to another parchment lined baking sheet and kept mixing them so they wouldn’t stick together. It took approximately 5 minutes. This method worked! I think it’s important to immediately transfer them from the hot sheet pan to a cool one. Next time I make these the only thing I might change would be to increase the cayenne pepper and chili powder to 1 tsp each but I’d definitely continue to use both.
I use a few other mixed nuts recipes and have for years BUT after this successful experience I will only use this recipe. These are pretty near perfect, and just like last year at this time I’m sitting with the rest of these yummy (and really pretty!) roasted mixed nuts and a glass of red wine!
Thanks Regina!
Merry Christmas!
Maureen
Maureen
I made these for Christmas Eve two days prior. They didn’t seem as sticky as other roasted nuts recipes I’ve made so I was happy. I let them cool completely before storing in a mason jar. When I opened them last night to put into a bowl I could barely get them out of the jar. They were completely stuck togetherHubby even had a tough time. Super sticky....but oh so yummy! I’m actually sitting now with a bowl of them along with a glass of red wine. Perfect combination of sweet and spicy. Wouldn’t change a thing about the recipe. They are so worth making and enjoying...in spite of the stickiness which I’ll try to somehow lessen when I make them again.
Thank you Regina for an awesome roasted nuts recipe, and Merry Christmas!
Maureen
Regina
Oh boy, sorry to hear about the stickiness issues. I think some of it has to do with humidity in the environment. So glad you still enjoyed them though 🙂
Denise
These look dangerously addictive! Can't wait to try them!
Regina
Totally addictive. Something about the sweet & spice combination always makes me want more
Alice
These look absolutelly amazing! One quick question though - are they sticky when you take them out of the oven? Do they dry later on? Because I want to put them into little jars and give them out as stocking stuffers for a few people. Thanks in advance!
Regina
Hi Alice, they are a little sticky still coming from the oven. That's when you add the salt + sugar mixture, which will attach to the slightly sticky outer layer to form another coat that will also keep the cashews separated.
Gabby
Hello, can I use regular sugar instead of coconut or cane sugar? They are difficult to find where I live and I am planning on making some for my dad as a Christmas present, so I don't really have a lot of time on my hands to wait for it to be shipped. If I can, should it be brown or white?
Regina
Hi Gabby, I use coconut or cane sugar because we avoid refined sugar as a family, but you can certainly replace it with any other kind of granulated sugar. Depending on how dark your brown sugar is, it might make the nuts a little more sticky doue to the molasses in it, but either white or brown sugar will work
Hannah
Looks delicious! Will definitely be making some. Does anyone know how long these last when stored airtight?
Regina
Hi Hannah, I think that will really depend on how humid your climate is. We live in the tropics and after a day of repeatedly opening and closing the container the crunchy sweet coating of the nuts will become sticky again. Now, if we weren't to open it so much to snack on, I think they would be good for at least 3 days even in humidity. If you are living in a dry climate you'll probably be good for at least a week.
Christine | Mid-Life Croissant
Trouble is...now I want nuts and a cocktail by the pool and it's only 10:50 am and mid-November. Thanks for adding these to my callout on FBC.
Angie@Angie's Recipes
I might end up eating the whole batch at one go! They look really super, Regina.
Regina
Thanks Angie, it was definitely hard stopping after just a few nuts 🙂
Chantelle | naked cuisine
These look absolutely addictive, yum!
Regina
Umm, yup I admit having my fair share (or more) of these cashews 🙂