How to Toast Nuts in the Air Fryer

By Amanda Neal for Food Network Kitchen

We love using the air fryer for a variety of recipes and cooking techniques, including toasting nuts! The dry, fast-moving, indirect heat provides the ideal toast, for perfectly crunchy, golden brown nuts with minimal time and effort. Most nuts can be toasted directly in the air fryer basket. However, if they're smaller than the air fryer basket holes, like pine nuts and sliced almonds, toast them in a heat-safe baking dish that can sit inside the basket. Here’s our method for toasting nuts in the air fryer, along with time ranges for a variety of whole nuts, halves and pieces.

What Equipment You’ll Need: a 6-quart air fryer, a 6- to 7-inch-long heat-safe baking dish or cake pan

What to Know About Toasting Nuts in an Air Fryer

• Larger nuts can toast directly in the air fryer basket because they won’t fall through the perforated tray. However, if you’re toasting smaller nuts, such as pine nuts, you will need to use a 6 to 7-inch-long heat-safe baking dish or cake pan set inside the air fryer basket. The baking dish needs to be heat-safe (also called ovenproof), such as glass, ceramic, metal or silicone.
• If you’re toasting raw nuts with skins, you will need to remove them once they’ve been toasted. Check out the cook’s note below to learn how to do this efficiently.
• If you’re cooking through a recipe that calls for chopped nuts, it’s best to toast the nuts whole, then chop them. Their uniform size will ensure even toasting in the air fryer.
• Once the nuts are finished toasting, carefully remove them to a plate or cutting board to cool completely. It’s best to not use a bowl because the nuts will be stacked and not easily accessible to proper air circulation.

How to Toast Nuts in an Air Fryer

Add 1 cup raw nut of your choice to the basket of a 6-quart air fryer or 6- to 7-inch-long heat-safe baking dish or cake pan (if needed). Cook at 300 degrees F until golden brown and toasted, giving the basket or baking dish a good shake halfway through, according to the timing below. Transfer the toasted nuts to a plate or cutting board to cool, then use as desired.

Yield: Makes 1 cup of toasted nuts per batch

Active Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ease of Preparation: easy

How to Toast Every Kind of Nut

Nuts You Can Toast Directly in the Air Fryer Basket:

• Raw almonds (whole): 5 to 6 minutes
• Raw cashews: 4 to 5 minutes
• Raw hazelnuts (skin-on): 4 to 5 minutes (see Cook’s Note)
• Raw macadamia nuts: 3 to 4 minutes
• Raw peanuts (shelled with skin-on): 4 to 5 minutes (see Cook’s Note)
• Raw pecan halves: 4 to 5 minutes
• Raw walnut halves: 3 to 4 minutes

Nuts You Can Toast in a Small Baking Dish Set in the Air Fryer Basket:

• Raw almonds (sliced with skin-on): 4 to 5 minutes
• Raw pine nuts: 3 to 4 minutes
• Raw pistachios (shelled): 3 to 4 minutes

Cook’s Note: Raw whole nuts still in the skin, such as hazelnuts and redskin peanuts, should be toasted then rubbed to remove the skins. To do this, place the toasted nuts while still warm in a clean kitchen towel, then rub together until all the skins have fallen off.

How to Use Toasted Nuts

Toasted nuts are great addition to so many recipes. Add them to a Peanut Noodle Salad or on top of a bowl of Perfect Overnight Oats for added crunch. Toasted nuts are also a great addition to sauces, such as this Pantry Pasta with Romesco Sauce, as they help to thicken the sauce and add background nutty flavor. Not to mention, they’re also provide textural appeal in cakes and other baked goods, such as this Flourless Walnut-Date Cake and Spicy Texas Sheet Cake with toasted pecans.

How to Store Toasted Nuts

It’s important to store the toasted nuts in an air-tight container or resealable freezer bag so they maintain the proper moisture level. This will ensure that the natural oils in the nuts stay fresh and so they don’t go rancid. Also, make sure to label the outside of the container with the date of storage, so you know which ones to use first. If you plan to store them at room temperature, they will last 2 to 3 months. Alternatively, you can store nuts in the freezer for up to 1 year.