Name: Easy Rosemary Cashews
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 3
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 lb roasted, salted* cashews; 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary; ⅛-¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (up to ½ a teaspoon if you like it hot); 2-3 teaspoons light or dark brown sugar; ½ - ¾ tsp kosher salt; 3 Tablespoons butter, melted; *if using unsalted cashews, increase salt to 2 teaspoons, to taste.

Rosemary Cashews are the ideal recipe for your fall and winter entertaining needs. Perfect as an appetizer, or package them up as a beautiful and tasty hostess gift.

Add the woodsy flavor of rosemary, a teensy bit of brown sugary sweetness and a little cayenne kick and these cashews take you to a whole new level.

If you dig spiced nuts, then please make these Maple Bourbon Pecans – simply amazing!

two sheet pans of cashews, with several stems of fresh rosemary herb sitting on a cutting board.

I started making this recipe back when my boys were in grade school, in fact I think it was a recipe from the school cookbook.

I’ve made well over 50 lbs worth of these delicious nuts over the years. If my memory serves me correctly I think it’s a recipe adapted from the wonderful Ina Garten the Barefoot Contessa, everything she makes is spectacular!

Silver goblet filled with spiced rosemary cashews with a sprig of fresh rosemary laying on a slice of round wood.

PERFECT HOSTESS, TEACHER OR NEIGHBOR GIFT

These cashews are the perfect hostess, teacher or neighbor gift. I like to buy the big bin of cashews from Costco (which is 2.5 lbs) and make up the entire amount*.

After they’ve cooled I return them to the original container and keep them in the freezer; remove and warm when desired or to place in a pretty jar or bag to give to a friend, hostess or neighbor.

Preheat the oven to 325°. Spread cashews evenly on 1 or 2 half sheet baking pans, trying not to crowd them.

*The recipe uses 1 lb of cashews, so adjust your amounts for the herb butter if you are using the entire 2.5 lbs.

Rosemary Cashews, nutty, woodsy, spicy and a little bit sweet. #thefreshcooky #rosemarycashews #appetizer #neighborgifts #teachergifts #hostessgifts #christmas #makeahead #cashews

SALTED VS. UNSALTED CASHEWS

I use the roasted and salted cashews as they are the most readily available and have already adjusted the salt in the recipe to accommodate the extra salt. If using roasted, unsalted you may have to increase your salt slightly.

HOW TO MAKE ROSEMARY CASHEWS

Bake cashews at 325° for 10 minutes, until hot. Remove from oven but keep oven on. Meanwhile, prepare your sweet-spicy slurry.
Strip the wood stems of the fragrant rosemary “needles”…starting at the tip of the sprig, squeeze your fingers along the stem and gently pull backwards, removing off the stem.

woody stem mostly stripped of rosemary pieces.

Chop the rosemary as fine as possible. Measurements are approximate so if you get slightly less or more than 2 tablespoons, no worries. This is my very favorite chopping and all around utility knife!

tablespoon full of fresh chopped rosemary

In a small saucepan, melt butter and add brown sugar, cayenne, sea salt and rosemary; stir around over low heat for a minute.

Adding fresh chopped rosemary to butter, sugar slurry for rosemary cashews.

Remove your hot, roasted cashews from the oven and pour them carefully into a large bowl.
Pour the rosemary butter slurry over the top.

pouring butter, rosemary mixture onto cashews.

Carefully turn the spiced nuts, using a large spoon; coating the cashews evenly with the slurry.

rosemary, salt, sugar slurry poured onto warm cashews.

Once mixed well, return the cashews back to the cookie sheets.

pouring baked cashews onto sheet pan for baking.

Return to oven and heat for 3-5 minutes. Remove rosemary cashews when they look a bit “dry” (though they will still be a little glossy) and the nuts are a bit browned.

Remove from oven and allow to sit for about 5 minutes, cooling. After 5-10 minutes, stir them around on the cookie sheets using a spatula and cool completely.
Return to the container nuts came in and freeze until ready to gift, serve or nibble.

GIFTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR SPICED NUTS

To give as a hostess gift, place several scoops in a cello bag and tie with string, raffia or a pretty ribbon.

Affix a tag and maybe even a leftover little sprig of rosemary. Or place in a small jelly jar or mason jar with a pretty ribbon tied on top.

Pinterest Image for Rosemary Cashews with cello bag filled with cashews with raffia ribbon, fresh rosemary sprig and a wooden tag

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