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Everybody, meet the perfect last-minute holiday snack, Sweet ‘n’ Savory Roasted Nuts and Pretzels.
Not sure about you guys, but I am such a sucker when it comes to anything salty like nuts and pretzels. Once I start, I just cannot stop, and this snack mix is the worst of them all.
It. Is. ADDICTING.
But it’s cool, because it’s Thanksgiving week and I have decided that anything goes…
Speaking of Thanksgiving week?! Oh my gosh, Thanksgiving is basically just one day away, I am so excited. Currently, my family and I our on our way to Cleveland to spend the holiday with extended family. We don’t normally head back to Ohio for holidays, but with my grandma’s passing in August, this was something my mom and her siblings really wanted to make happen this year. So the Gerard Fam is headed back to CLE for a few days. I’ll be mixing work with family time (as usual), but totally taking Thanksgiving off to cook a (hopefully) delicious meal and hang with family.
We’re staying at my grandparents. Mom and I will be hosting around thirty + people for Thanksgiving dinner, so not exactly a simple meal, but I’m excited to just be cooking for people I love. Curious what you guys do for Thanksgiving? For our family, Christmas is always the more celebrated holiday with the most traditions, but I’m sure this year’s Thanksgiving will be one for the books. It’s a pretty big group, with many, many personalities, so it should be interesting to say the least.
Let’s just put it this way, I expect to have plenty of fun stories to share come Monday.
With so many people coming to dinner on Thursday, I know that having snacks all throughout my grandparent’s house is going to be a must. At Christmas, I always make my mom’s Chex Mix, but for Thanksgiving I like to do something just a little different.
Chex Mix can only be eaten at Christmas…I have rules. Don’t judge.
Here’s the thing, I still wanted that extra salty component that Chex Mix offers, but I thought it would be good to throw in a little heat, a little savory, and even a little sweetness. It might seem like kind of a lot, but trust me, it works.
I used a whole bunch of raw mixed nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, and peanuts…the cashews are my personal favorite) along with the classic pretzel twists. I roasted the nuts until toasted, then added a little soy sauce for saltiness, some spices, plus a little maple syrup for a touch of sweet to balance the spice. Lastly I added some extra rosemary for decoration.
Seriously, I’m really not sure snacks can get any better. These are beyond delicious, and as I mentioned, they’re pretty addicting. Stopping yourself from eating these takes some serious self-control. I know, that sounds a bit dramatic, but at least that was the case for me.
Just make a batch and you’ll quickly understand what I’m talking about. These are spicy, hinted with flavors of rosemary, touched with just a little sweetness, and extra salty…which is how all snack mix needs to be.
My plan is to make a big batch tomorrow, I’m talking a triple batch (again thirty people + very hungry brothers). Then I’ll set the bowls of nuts/pretzels out around the house for snacking. My grandma always had candies and bowls of nuts scattered throughout her house during the holidays, so this feels pretty on point and in good memory of how she used entertain.
Another tradition of my grandmas I’ll be carrying on this Thanksgiving? Setting the table on Wednesday night. I do this every single time I entertain. It’s one of the greatest tips my grandma ever taught me. Well, this and how to make her Dutch Baby (cookbook recipe), which yes, I will be making Thanksgiving morning along with this pumpkin spice french toast.
Cannot wait.
Hoping you are all getting as excited for Thanksgiving as I am!
PS. Do you have your menus set? Are you making some HBH recipes? I cannot wait to hear about how everything turns out. My fingers are crossed that everything turns out delicious!
Sweet 'n' Savory Roasted Nuts and Pretzels
Servings: 6 cups
Calories Per Serving: 804 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 4 cups mixed raw nuts
- 2 cups pretzel twist
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1/4 cup real maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus more for serving
- 1 1/2 -2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon each onion and garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 2. On a parchment lined baking sheet, combine the nuts and spread in a single layer. Transfer to the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden and toast. Remove from the oven and add the pretzels, butter, soy sauce, maple, rosemary, cayenne, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt. Toss well to evenly combine. Return to the oven and roast for another 10-15 minutes or until the nuts are glazed. 3. Serve warm with additional rosemary or cool completely and store in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Nutritional values are based on one cup
Sharing a bowl? Yeah, probably not the best option!
PS. for all those looking for a healthy pumpkin pie recipe, I am sharing my all time favorite over on The Chriselle Factor today. Trust me, you need to give this healthy pie a try!
I’m very confused by this recipe.. I used 10 cups of nuts and pretzels and 1/2 tsp of cayenne, 1/2 of chili and 1/2 paprika. These were tasty with those amounts but still incredibly spicy, even adjusting the ratios by that much. How could it possibly be edible with 1 1/2 tsps of cayenne and chili and only 6 cups of nuts/pretzels?! I am also not a baby when it comes to spice… so this is mind boggling to me haha. Thank goodness I read the comments and had the foresight to adjust.
Hi Bri,
Thanks for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear this was not enjoyed! You can always adjust the measurements to your liking, this is just worked for my family:) Please let me know if there is anything I can help with! xT
Wow…spicy is an understatement! Shame to have spent so much on nuts that had to be thrown away. Take my advice and use only a pinch of cayenne!
Hi Linda,
So sorry to hear these were spicy for you! You could definitely reduce the heat to your liking! xT
I doubled the recipe and combined everything together in a large mixing bowl before second time in. Reduced cooking times by a few minutes. Switched trays after half cooking time. Spicy and good! Some pretzels got a little too browned. Just used dried Rosemary. Nuts were Costco large bag of unsalted mixed nuts.
Hey Alyssa,
Happy Monday!❄️🎄 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
Someday I will learn to read comments before following a recipe! I made these nuts as part of refreshments after a Christmas ceremony. I like the spice level, but some of the people in the group I am serving it to will find it mouth-burning. Luckily, I checked the comments before baking and set my oven to 320 F. Still had some mild burning problems but nothing serious.
Hey Keith,
Wonderful!!❄️ Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, I am so glad it was enjoyed, sorry about the spice! xx
Delish!!…However they are freaking spicy!!! Like freaking!…I used a pinch of cayenne and less chilli then the recipe said!…warning you will actually die if you do what the recipe says!…. however I made again and eliminated the cayenne and did less chilli and they where 10/10!!
Just my opinion:) no offense cause it’s a greay recipe!
Hey there,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for trying it out! Sorry about the spice:) xTieghan
I don’t like rosemary, what could I use in its place?
Hey Valerie,
You could use thyme or sage in place of the rosemary or just skip it. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Love the recipe. It’s salty, savory, and a touch sweet making for an addictive snack.
I used the nuts I had on hand (walnuts, cashews, and no shell sunflower seeds). None were raw and all had salt so I cut back the amount of salt in the seasoning to compensate. I roasted the nuts/seeds for 10m on the bottom rack and that was plenty of time in my oven. I did the same after dressing the mixture, though I switched to the top rack to avoid issues described by other commenters and kept an eye on it while it bakes. It was just starting to get a bit burnt in a couple spots when I pulled it out of the oven, which is fine.
I was nervous about the seeds but with the dressing it worked out well. They stuck to the nuts and pretzels, and a nice flavor to the bite. And also clumped into clusters so it’s easier to eat them.
Hey Lauren,
Awesome!! I am so glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you. Have the best weekend! xTieghan
Like Miss B on 1/6/2018 post…mine burned as well. My oven was set at 350 and was measuring 350. It has quite the charr taste to it; also all I pick up on it the kick of the cayenne. Sad to have wasted all those nuts
Hi Karen! I am really sorry to hear that. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help! xTieghan
Best recipe ever! I make this for all parties! Thank you for recipe!
That is so great! Thank you so much Lori! xTieghan
Another awesome easy recipe! Made this as a little snack for Xmas and they were so easy but looked expensive if that makes sense. Spicy with a touch of sweetness…so addicting!!! My only comment would be to check the nuts at 10 mins bc I set my timer for 15 and they looked a little too dark – taste was still good but another minute or two and they would have been burnt.
Thank you so much Beata! I am so glad you loved this recipe!
BEST SNACK EVER!!! Omg! I’ve made this 3 times and every time it gets fantastic reviews!!! I cut the cayenne back to 1 tsp and it’s plenty for us. Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you so much Lori! I am so glad you loved this recipe!
It burned! I only roasted it for 9 minutes after I tossed the peanuts and pretzels with the butter, syrup, soy sauce and herbs & spices and something in that mix burned. Now the nuts and pretzels are coated with whatever burnt and have a charred taste. And I didn’t really taste the sweet, just the cayenne and rosemary.
Sorry for the trouble. What temp did you cook this at? Do you know if your oven runs hot? Sorry this didn’t work out for you. Please let me know if you have other questions. Thanks! 🙂
I cooked it at 350 degrees and even had an oven thermometer in my oven. I’m guessing it was the rosemary (I did finely chop it) or the soy sauce that burned. I want to try making this again, but for my personal taste I will increase the maple syrup for a sweeter taste and only bake for 5 minutes after adding the pretzels, liquids and herbs & spices and see if that helps with it not burning.
i made this last nite and OH MY GOODNESS….SOOOO GOOD!!!
sadly i forgot to buy pretzels…but i had some wheat chex i used instead…..DELICIOUS!!
definitely keeping this in my “snacks to make”….
tieghan~ keep those fabulous recipes comin’!!! you are a rockstar!!!
Thank you Lisa!! So glad you loved this!
Made this for Thanksgiving as an appetizer and my family LOVED it! I already got requests to make this for Christmas Eve. Thanks for the recipe.
P.S. I love your cookbook and can’t wait to cook my way through the whole book.
That is amazing! Oh and I am so happy you are loving the book!! Let me know what you make! Thank you Neha!
Best holiday snack ever!! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! 🙂
Thank you Laura! I hope you did as well!