Raw nuts are one food that everyone seems to agree are very healthy to eat!
Whether you are vegan, vegetarian, Paleo or someone who eats the standard American diet of burgers and fries, raw nuts are one food that all acknowledge is a good addition to the diet. Hereās where the agreement about raw nuts ends.
The problem is that most people donāt know that soaking raw nuts first before eating them is very important. Soaked raw nuts are far more digestible than plain raw nuts. The soaking process eliminates anti-nutrients and improves nutrition while still maintaining rawness. Note that soaking does not eliminate the high amount of oxalates in nuts, however.
Raw Nuts are Seeds
While raw nuts are an extremely nutritious food, preparation is key in order to unlock maximum nutrient potential. Careful soaking deactivates any substances that could be irritating to the gut. The soaking process followed is in accordance with the wisdom of Traditional Cultures.
This is because raw nuts are a type of seed. Seeds require soaking before eating. The reason is because they contain anti-nutrients such as phytic acid and lectins that can prevent all that wonderful nutrition from being digested thoroughly.
These inhibitors can also cause digestive distress if many raw nuts are consumed. For some people, even a few raw nuts cause digestive distress. Sometimes, eating plain raw nuts can cause a rash around the mouth.
Benefits of Soaking Nuts
Deactivation of the anti-nutrients in all nuts is accomplished through sprouting or soaking. Soaking raw nuts in saltwater for a few hours and then drying in a warm (not hot) oven or dehydrator is all that is required.
According to Nourishing Traditions Cookbook, soaking and drying of raw nuts mimic the wise practice of the Aztecs. This culture soaked pumpkin seeds in brine and then dried them in the sun before grinding into flour or eating them whole.
Soaking nuts is a particularly helpful practice if you find raw nuts irritating to your stomach or mouth. My husband can eat soaked raw nuts with no problem. If he eats unsoaked raw nuts, however, he frequently experiences digestive issues and sometimes irritation around the mouth.
The anti-nutrients in raw nuts really bother some people. Even if you have no symptoms, you are likely not absorbing their wonderful nutrition as well as you could.
How Many per Day to Eat?
While extremely nutritious, it is best to keep the amount of soaked raw nuts consumed each day to a closed handful at most. This is in keeping with the recommendation of Dr. Kellyann Petrucci ND, author of the Bone Broth Diet. The reason is that most nuts contain an abundance of polyunsaturated fats, which are easily overconsumed. Too many polyunsaturates in the diet can contribute to inflammation and weight issues.
The one exception to this is macadamias. These nuts that are native to Australia contain mostly saturated and monounsaturated fats and an extremely small amount of polyunsaturated fats per serving.
By the way, if youāve ever wondered how nuts rank nutritionally, the linked article provides the breakdown of the healthiest to unhealthiest types of nuts.
Where to Buy Quality Soaked Raw Nuts and Nut Butters
Donāt have time to soak and dry raw nuts yourself?
Yes, it is a bit time-consuming!
Check out myĀ shopping guide for quality suppliers of soaked nuts and nut butter. We use 4-5 jars of soaked nut butter in our home every single month. Our family favorites are soaked pecan butter, soaked macadamia nut butter, soaked hazelnut butter, soaked almond butter, and soaked 4 nut blend.
How to Soak Raw Nuts
If you like to eat raw nuts whole, soaking them yourself first is very easy! Below is a recipe on how to soak the 10 most popular raw nuts followed by a video demonstrating the basic process.
Note that the process described below does not apply to a foraged superfood such asĀ acorns. This type of nut requires an extended soaking of up to a week as practiced by Native Americans to properly remove the bitter tannins before drying and eating.
In the video below, I demonstrate how to soak raw almonds and dry them in your oven to greatly improve nutrient absorption, reduce gastric distress. You will be amazed at how soaked raw nuts taste far better than unsoaked raw nuts!
The same process can be followed for macadamia nuts, pecans, brazil nuts, peanuts, etc. The video on soaking raw nuts included with the recipe below shows how easy the process is!
Soaking Cashews
Note that soaking cashews is a bit different. This is because raw cashews from the store are not really raw.
They are heat-treated twice by manufacturers to release and remove a toxic oil between the inner and outer shell.
What to Do with Soaked Almonds?
When you make your first batch of soaked almonds, try this easy recipe for blueberry almond milk!
Blend 1 cup soaked almonds, 3 cups filtered water, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup blueberries.Ā Serve and enjoy!
Soaked Raw Nuts Recipe
The process of soaking raw nuts to improve digestibility and eliminate anti-nutrients.
Ingredients
- 4 cups raw nuts preferably organic
- 1 Tbl sea salt
- filtered water
Instructions
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Place raw nuts in a large glass bowl (I use this one).
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Add enough filtered water to cover.
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Stir in sea salt.
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Leave uncovered on the counter forĀ 8 hours or overnight for almonds, European almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, pili nuts and macadamias.
Soak no more than 3 hours for cashews, and no more than 4-6 for walnuts, peanuts, pistachios and brazil nuts (else they will get moldy and/or slimy).
Do not mix raw nuts while soaking. You may mix while dehydrating.
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Drain water completely.
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Dry in a warm oven no hotter than 150 F/ 66 C until dry. If your oven can't be set that low, use a food dehydrator (I like this one). Dry soaked cashews in a 250 F oven.
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Store crispy nuts in airtight containers in the refrigerator or cool, dark pantry.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Do not mix different types of raw nuts together when soaking. Soak almonds separate from cashews, for example. This minimizes chances for mold developing. Also, the soaking times for various nuts are different.
Instead of soaking peanuts, this traditional boiled peanuts recipe is an option too.
I prefer unsalted nuts. Can I proceed and just nix the salt or is the salt required to properly prepare them? Thanks!
The nuts don’t taste salted after you drain the water and dry them. You do need the salt in the water to soak them properly.
You can also rinse the nuts in a strainer after soaking them, which makes them even less salty.
Sarah I can get raw milk her where I live in Denmark, but I can not make butter because the cream they sell is pasteurized. Cold you help me to make the cream from raw milk, so I could make my owner butter, please.
Thanks
Iva
Just let the cream come to the top of the milk and then suck it off with a turkey baster and make butter with that. I have a video on how to make raw butter so see the video section at the top of the blog.
I did pecans and really enjoyed them. Then I did cashews and they looked so gross they are still sitting in the jar untouched.
Cashews should only be soaked for 6 hours.
Sarah, I wasn’t clear on whether a dehydrator would work or not. I have the same problem as the other lady – my over only goes down to 170 degrees. I do have a dehydrator however. Would that be “wet heat” so to speak and destroy the enzymes?
if you get out your stove’s manual, it may tell you how to lower the temperature of your oven. We had to take the main oven knob off and there are more controls under there. The lowest setting is supposed to be 30 degrees lower now (140) though the digital temperature display still reads 170 as the lowest setting. Haven’t had much experience yet at dehydrating in the stove though. Tried it last night and it still seems to get too hot but also discovered last night that our convection oven has a dehydrate setting so used it instead. The nuts stayed much cooler.
I was here, poking around yesterday, to see if you had a how-to for soaking raw almonds! I should have waited a day. ha.
Anyway, I LOVE soaked/then dried almonds, I have to be careful not to eat too many in a sitting. I eat them when I crave sweets. They totally help!
Whatever the controversies are, all I know is that until I started soaking them, I couldn’t eat more than a few nuts before the inside of my mouth would become sore and start to swell.
There always was a bitterness to them, now, I can enjoy all I want and they have a milder, sweeter taste.
Yes, many who cannot tolerate raw nuts are DELIGHTED to find they can eat them with ease when soaked and dried as traditional cultures practiced. My husband loves nuts and can only eat them raw this way.
How do I know they are dry? Are they brittle, crack/crush easily,, etc. Sometimes when I dry them in the oven, they seem to take 24 hours or else they feel soft and appear damp.
Thanks for this post and video. I’ve heard about the health benefits of soaking nuts and will now soak them first. I’m assuming they should be refrigerated after?
Hi Sarah,
Great video as always and I loved your interview on bone broth yesterday; terrific info!
I’ve been doing the NT Crispy Nuts for about 3 years now and they are the only way to go! I found that after drying them at my oven’s lowest setting all day, by leaving them in the oven overnight with the oven off and the oven light on, it finishes drying them very well. They come out super crispy. That’s also how I do my yogurt, in the oven with just the oven light for warmth; comes out perfect. Also, what is the pan you are using? It doesn’t look like stainless steel, is it enamel? It almost looks like the broiler pan to your oven. Thanks!
Yes, it is enamel.
my silly oven only goes down to 170F, does this mean I need to buy a dehydrator?
Laura,
My oven only goes down 170F too but I found online the owner’s manual which tells a way to manually set my oven so it will go up or down 35F more than what the temperature is reading. Try to find your owner’s maunal to see if you can manually change it.