How to Roast Hazelnuts With Ease

Have you ever wondered about how to roast hazelnuts? Luckily, it’s a very easy process!

Hazelnuts as you may have surmised come from the hazel tree.

Several countries around the world cultivate the hazel and produce hazelnuts. 

Turkey is one of the largest producers today, followed by Italy, and the United States.

Hazelnuts are often used in making confectionery, baked goods, as well as enhancing savory dishes.

They can be eaten roasted or raw, but I definitely prefer eating them toasted, especially on salads.

And with chocolate!

What Can I do with Hazelnuts?

There are so many hazelnut recipes to include the freshly roasted nuts in.

Hazelnuts are a really delicious and versatile ingredient to use in cooking and baking.

Many salads benefit from roasted, chopped hazelnuts, such as hazelnut and pear salad.   

Aside from salads, my favorite dishes to use roasted hazelnuts in are desserts.

The nuts are wonderful in cakes, tarts, and covered in chocolate.

Ground hazelnuts are a wonderful addition to pie crusts, especially chocolate pie.

Hazelnuts can be toasted in olive oil along with rosemary and a bit of honey for a lovely snack.

Or they can be candied by heating them with butter and sugar and a spice of your choice.

Do Hazelnuts have Health Benefits?

Hazelnuts have many health benefits, including the ability to help reduce the risk of cancer.

They can also be good for your heart, bones, skin and digestive health.

Vitamins B and E, magnesium and calcium are all contained in the mighty hazelnut.

However, the same as most nuts, raw hazelnuts have a high fat content, so better consumed in moderation.

How to Roast Hazelnuts

So why would we roast our hazelnuts anyway?

Roasting hazelnuts enhances their flavor, and can also give them a nicer color, and crunch.

When you roast hazelnuts it loosens the skin making them much easier to peel .

Roasting the nuts is a very easy, and straightforward process.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place hazelnuts in a single layer evenly on the baking sheet.

Bake them for roughly 15 minutes stirring once, remove from the oven and let them sit for a minute.

Another way to toast hazelnuts is to heat them in a frying pan while stirring to keep them from burning.

It is best to refrain from using any oil and toast them dry, same as you would in the oven.

This method will usually take five to ten minutes.

After roasting using either option, put the nuts into a clean kitchen towel to remove the hazelnut skins.

How to Remove the Skin from Hazelnuts

Once the hot roasted hazelnuts are wrapped in the kitchen towel, get ready for a little elbow grease!

Rub the nuts together vigorously in the towel, and you’ll notice that the skins will begin to crumble off.

Not all the skins will come off but most will.

Remove the hazelnuts from the towel, and allow to cool completely before enjoying them.

Can Hazelnuts be Frozen?

The answer is yes, hazelnuts can be easily frozen once they are completely cooled.

Simply place in a ziploc bag, squeeze out as much air as possible, and freeze for up to a year. 

To thaw, remove from the freezer right before you need to use them.