Ina Garten's Salted Caramel Nuts Are the Perfect Back-To-School Snack
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School is back in session, work is busy as ever, and fall activities and the holidays are about to ramp up in a serious way, meaning we’re hungry for some fast but delicious snacks that everyone in the house will enjoy. We often keep a variety of flavored nuts around for a quick handful of protein on the go, but what’s even better than store-bought flavored nuts? Homemade ones, of course, and there’s no one we’d trust more to make them than Ina Garten. She just shared her salted caramel nuts recipe, from her book Make It Ahead, on Instagram, and it’s just the tasty pick-me-up we’ve been looking for.
Garten’s salted caramel nuts recipe couldn’t be easier to make. She calls for one cup each of roasted salted cashews, pecan halves, unsalted almonds, and walnut halves, for a precisely calibrated blend of textures and flavors. But if we’re being real…you could also just use a peanut-free mixed nut blend, like this mix of unsalted cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans and pistachios from Planters. Using all unsalted nuts just means you might want to add an extra sprinkle of salt when you mix the nuts and caramel.
The caramel is easy to make, too. Garten keeps things straightforward. She caramelizes sugar in a sauté pan until golden, adds vanilla, then tosses in the nuts and kosher salt. You can play with the recipe a bit, too, adding various spices or your other favorite nuts to the mix. The nuts go on a sheet pan, where they’re spread out to dry cool and are sprinkled with fleur de sel — we like Garten’s favorite finishing salt brand, Le Saunier de Camargue.
Once the nuts are cooled, you can break up any big chunks that have stuck together by breaking them apart into smaller clusters. Store in an airtight container, and snack away!
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Watch: We Tried Ina Garten’s Overnight Mac & Cheese & We Totally Get Why It Broke the Internet