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An easy recipe for how to toast walnuts in the oven or on the stove. Enhance the flavor of walnuts, then add to salads, snack mixes, baked goods, and more!
Ingredient notes
- Walnuts: Cooking times vary depending on which method you choose. And keep an eye on your walnuts! They can go from zero to burnt in under a minute. Don’t walk away.
- Oil or butter: Roasting in fat is optional for plain walnuts and helpful when you want to add spices and seasonings.
Instructions
- Oven: Roast in a 350-degree oven for 7 to 10 minutes.
- Stove: Roast in a skillet over medium heat for 2 to 5 minutes.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: The recipe as written makes 1 cup of toasted walnuts (enough for 4 servings, ¼ cup each). It can easily be doubled or tripled as needed.
- Storage: Store raw and roasted walnuts for a year or more in the refrigerator or the freezer (not the pantry). They spoil easily, especially when roasted. If they smell like paint, throw them away immediately.
- Rosemary walnuts: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Add 2 cups walnuts and ½ teaspoon dried rosemary. Toast over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 8 minutes.
- Lemon-garlic walnuts: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil or butter in a nonstick skillet. Add 2 cups walnuts, ½ teaspoon lemon zest, and 1 clove minced garlic. Toast over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 8 minutes.
- Barbecued walnuts: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Add 2 cups walnuts, ½ teaspoon cumin, ⅛ teaspoon chili powder, ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, and a pinch of cloves. Toast over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 8 minutes.
- Spiced walnuts: Heat 1 tbsp butter in a nonstick skillet. Add 2 cups walnuts, 2 tablespoons sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon cloves, and ⅛ teaspoon allspice. Toast over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 8 minutes.
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How to Toast Walnuts
An easy recipe for how to toast walnuts in the oven or on the stove. Enhance the flavor of walnuts, then add to salads, snack mixes, baked goods, and more!
Instructions
To toast walnuts in the oven:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy cleanup.
- Toss walnuts in oil and salt if desired. Arrange in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Toast until browned and fragrant, stirring occasionally, about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and chop or use as desired. Or, store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
To toast walnuts on the stove:
- Toss walnuts in oil and salt if desired. In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat walnuts until browned and fragrant, stirring occasionally, about 2 to 5 minutes.
- Remove from skillet and chop or use as desired. Or, store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Walnuts: Cooking times vary depending on which method you choose. And keep an eye on your walnuts! They can go from zero to burnt in under a minute. Don’t walk away.
- Oil or butter: Roasting in fat is optional for plain walnuts and helpful when you want to add spices and seasonings.
- Yield: The recipe as written makes 1 cup of toasted walnuts (enough for 4 servings, ¼ cup each). It can easily be doubled or tripled as needed.
- Storage: Store raw and roasted walnuts for a year or more in the refrigerator or the freezer (not the pantry). They spoil easily, especially when roasted. If they smell like paint, throw them away immediately.
- Rosemary walnuts: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Add 2 cups walnuts and ½ teaspoon dried rosemary. Toast over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 8 minutes.
- Lemon-garlic walnuts: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil or butter in a nonstick skillet. Add 2 cups walnuts, ½ teaspoon lemon zest, and 1 clove minced garlic. Toast over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 8 minutes.
- Barbecued walnuts: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Add 2 cups walnuts, ½ teaspoon cumin, ⅛ teaspoon chili powder, ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, and a pinch of cloves. Toast over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 8 minutes.
- Spiced walnuts: Heat 1 tbsp butter in a nonstick skillet. Add 2 cups walnuts, 2 tablespoons sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon cloves, and ⅛ teaspoon allspice. Toast over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 8 minutes.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.25cupCalories: 222kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 4gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 14gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gSodium: 1mgPotassium: 129mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 6IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 29mgIron: 1mg
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Easy and quite delicious! Thank you for sharing your creativity!
You’re welcome, Elaine! Take care! – Meggan
Made a big batch of the Lemon-garlic walnuts to serve with caesar salad in place of croutons. Thanks for providing this recipe variation Meggan, they were absolutely delicious.
Hi Carla, you’re so welcome! What a great use of them, I love it! Take care! – Meggan
Can you make the spiced recipe with pecans?
Yes! They may take a little less time than walnuts, so keep an eye on them! Here are some more ideas for pecans, also! https://www.culinaryhill.com/how-to-toast-pecans/
The spiced walnuts were delicious! Can I do the same recipe on pecans?
I am a bit confused. You state up front, “They can go from zero to burnt in under a minute. Don’t walk away.” But when putting them in an oven preheated to 350-degrees, you give the cooking time as 7-10 minutes, which is a range of THREE minutes, which is way longer than the “less than 1 minute in which they can burn”. Having not roasted them before, how do I know when they are done since I may not recognize the right degree of smell you label “fragrant”?
Hi Jimmy, oven and stovetop temperatures vary. I recommend whichever method you use to toast the walnuts, to keep an eye on them as they cook. They will become darker in color, and the nutty flavor will be more intense than when they were raw. I hope this helps! Take care! – Meggan
Meggan, good directions, but I do not see how much salt to add for each cup of walnuts.
Hi Joe, the salt is optional and you just add to taste. Hope this helps! – Meggan
This is the best salad Ive ever had. It is so delicious!!! I could eat it every day. And Im seriously thinking about it. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day.
Thanks Denise, so glad you loved it! – Meggan
Thank you! the instructions on roasting walnuts was very helpful.
Thanks Bonnie, hope you enjoy your walnuts! – Meggan
At what temp????
Hi Kate, the temperature for the oven is 350 degrees. – Meggan