How to Toast Walnuts

In this post, we are going to cover how to toast walnuts in 2 different ways.

When you toast walnuts it gives them a whole new flavor! The nuts brown up a little bit, give them a little crunch, and really enhance the nutty flavor.

It is a very simple and fast process which makes cooking batching or single servings easy!

If you have never done this to walnuts before I encourage you to try both ways and also compare them with raw ones. You will be amazed to see the difference in taste big time!

You can do this on the stovetop or in the oven. You get the same taste but a little different process.

Walnuts are great by themselves or added to any recipe that you would add walnuts to.

They are great on salads, on top of your ice cream sundae or add a little toasted crunch to your pancakes or waffle!

Follow along and I will show you the few easy steps it takes to make amazing toasted walnuts.

Jump to Recipe

Ingredients

• walnuts

Equipment

• frying pan
• sheet pan
• spatula

How to toast walnuts in the oven

Toasting walnuts in the oven is my preferred method as it is quick and easy but more importantly, they toast more evenly.

I find that it is easier to make bigger batches using the oven because you can get more surface area on a baking sheet than you can in a pan.

1. Prepare the walnut to toast

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. You want to make sure to cook them on the middle rack so that they do not burn.

It is not necessary to preheat your pan also.

Spread out walnuts on a sheet pan. You want to make sure that your walnuts are evenly spread out on the pan so that each nut is laying on the sheet.

If you overcrowd the pan you won’t get that nice even toast you are looking for.

A lot of people think that they need to add oil to the walnuts before they put them on the sheet pan but you do not want to add anything!

Walnuts have their own natural oils that will come out while they are toasting.

These toasted walnut would go great in my granola recipe.

2. Toasting in the oven

Go ahead and get them in the oven and let them cook for 12-15 minutes and then check on them. Once they are nice and golden, go ahead and remove them from the oven and let them cool.

ENJOY!

How to toast walnuts on the stove

You can easily toast walnuts on the stovetop in a pan. It takes a little less time than cooking them in the oven but I find that they don’t get as even of a toast.

You will want to stand close by and keep an eye while they are toasting as well. Everyone’s stovetop is a little different so you want to make sure that they do not burn.

I find this process of toasting best for smaller batches as you can only fit about 1 cup into one pan. You can also get a little char on the nut that some people like.

1. Place walnuts in the pan

You want to place your walnuts into the frying pan making sure that each one is touching the bottom of the pan. This is going to ensure that each nut gets toasted.

If you overcrowd the pan you will end up with some burnt nuts and some that didn’t get toasted at all.

2. Toast the walnuts on the stove

You want to heat the pan on medium heat. Remember every stove is a little different so if you think your pan is getting too hot feel free to adjust it.

Keep them moving by using a spatula so that you do not burn them.

Let them toast for about 5-10 minutes once the pan is nice and hot. Start to check a few nuts and see how they look.

You will start to get that nutty smell in the air and you will see the difference in color. Pull them off the stove and the hot pan.

ENJOY!

Why should you toast walnuts?

The main reason that you should toast walnuts is for the taste. It is incredible how it really brings out the nutty flavor of the walnut.

It is a little hard to explain the taste but it’s kind of like an earthy flavor. You really need to try it to see the transformation.

Another benefit of toasting then is the crunch that you get. It really increases the crunch factor. Before you use nuts in your next recipe go ahead and toast them.

How to store toasted walnuts

Storing toasted nuts is pretty much the same as storing nuts in general. Seeing that you have toasted them and altered them it is better to eat them sooner than later.

I like to store mine in a mason jar in the fridge. You need to consider that air is not your friend at this point and storing them in an air-tight container is best.

For me, I say the best way to treat the nuts is to store them in the fridge in an air-tight container. It might also be a better idea to toast them as you need them and not have to store them at all.