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Sweet and Spicy Chinese Five Spice Roasted Almonds

March 29, 2011 by Nicole 20 Comments

Chinese Five Spice Roasted Almonds

I love plain roasted almonds, but sometimes I crave something with a little more pizazz.  Flavored almonds from the store can be good, but they’re often overwhelmingly salty, not to mention expensive.  So, I decided to come up with my own recipe for spiced roasted almonds.  What I ended up with is a simple recipe that might be just a little too good.  I can’t stop eating them!

When thinking about flavor combinations, I knew I wanted a balance between spicy, salty, and sweet.  So I pulled out some cayenne pepper, fine grain sea salt, and a packet of stevia, which I’ve been using more and more often lately when I need to add a touch of sweetnes.  But I couldn’t decide what to add for extra flavor.  I started searching through my spice cabinet and came across this bottle of Chinese Five Spice.  The moment I opened it and took a whiff, I knew I had found the perfect flavoring for my almonds.

McCormick Gourmet Chinese Five Spice

The five spices included in the McCormick Gourmet blend are: Anise, Cinnamon, Star Anise, Cloves, and Ginger.  It is commonly added to stir-fry dishes, marinades, and meat sauces, but the warm spices also lend themselves well to desserts like these Chinese Almond Cookies.

The spice blend was perfect on my almonds, and I definitely achieved the flavor balance that I was looking for.

Roasted Almonds on Sheet Pan

I have been chosen by McCormick to participate in the McCormick Real Gourmets program. I have been paid by them and I received a big box full of McCormick Gourmet spices. I have been using McCormick Gourmet for years, and am thrilled for the opportunity to explore more of their spices and blends.  I used McCormick Gourmet Chinese Five Spice and Ground Cayenne when creating this almond recipe.

Sweet and Spicy Chinese Five Spice Roasted Almonds

2 cups raw almonds
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
3/4 teaspoon sugar (or 1/2 packet stevia)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, toss the almonds with the olive oil.  Spread almonds out on a sheet pan in a single layer. (Keep the mixing bowl handy – you will need it again.)  While oven heats, mix the spices, salt, and sugar (or stevia) in a small bowl; set aside.

Bake almonds in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.  Remove pan from oven and carefully pour the hot almonds back into the mixing bowl.  Sprinkle spices over the nuts and toss well with a spoon.  Pour the seasoned almonds back onto the sheet pan and return to the oven for 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and let nuts cool completely on pan.  Store cooled nuts in a covered container.

Related Recipes:

  • Maple Rosemary Glazed Walnuts
  • Homemade Kettle Corn

Around the Web:

  • Chinese Five Spice Pickled Cherries from Leena Eats
  • Chinese Five Spice Jamaican Jerk Chicken from Eating Out Loud
  • Zippy Desserts Using Chinese Five Spice from The Kitchn
  • Sweet and Five-Spicy Almonds from words to eat by

Filed Under: McCormick Real Gourmets, Snacks, Vegetarian

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. debbie koenig says

    March 29, 2011 at 1:57 pm

    Ha! Great minds think alike--I made something very similar in December for holiday gifts. Mine were called Sweet & Five-Spicy Almonds, and used honey & sriracha. They are SO GOOD.
    Reply
  2. Maris (In Good Taste) says

    March 29, 2011 at 2:07 pm

    These look so good. I love the added benefit of how healthy they are.
    Reply
  3. Joanne Jones says

    March 29, 2011 at 2:38 pm

    This sounds so very very good! My husband will be going out of town soon and I will have him pick up raw almonds from costco for me. Almonds are always my favorite, but I don't like the way store bought roasted ones taste. Although wasabi are pretty good....
    Reply
  4. Charles G Thompson says

    March 29, 2011 at 6:15 pm

    I really like roasted almonds too. These sound great. Great idea to try the Chinese 5 Spice.
    Reply
  5. Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says

    March 29, 2011 at 7:06 pm

    I love roasted almonds that have a little kick to them and the mixture of spices in the spice mix sound wonderful.
    Reply
  6. kirsten says

    March 29, 2011 at 8:33 pm

    great flavor combo! Love it!
    Reply
  7. Samantha Angela @ Bikini Birthday says

    March 30, 2011 at 10:01 am

    Yum! I love spiced and roasted nuts
    Reply
  8. Karen @ Forty Cloves says

    March 30, 2011 at 1:49 pm

    I'm thinking that this recipe might also be wonderful with cashews. Can't wait to try it both ways!
    Reply
  9. Sense of Home says

    March 30, 2011 at 2:23 pm

    I have made pepper roasted almonds, which I really like, but I think I might like these even more. -Brenda
    Reply
  10. Barbara says

    March 31, 2011 at 11:26 am

    We love almonds and I have some 5 spice in the cabinet. Going to make these ASAP!
    Reply
  11. The Café Sucré Farine says

    April 1, 2011 at 9:30 am

    What a gorgeous picture! I'm not a big fan of plain whole almonds but these look quite amazing! Almonds have such great nutritional value that it's wonderful to find such a tantalizing recipe!
    Reply
  12. Georgia Pellegrini says

    April 1, 2011 at 5:04 pm

    Both simple and tasty! Thanks for posting this. I love the idea of warm ginger on toasted almonds.
    Reply
  13. Mandy says

    April 1, 2011 at 10:02 pm

    Great post! I have NOT tried a chinese five spice seasoning. I love asian flavors so this is must try for me.
    Reply
  14. Caroline says

    April 2, 2011 at 6:26 pm

    Yum. Almonds are a favorite snack
    Reply
  15. Cookin' Canuck says

    April 3, 2011 at 9:15 pm

    I'm certain I would not be able to stop eating this. Great snack.
    Reply
  16. Georgia says

    April 4, 2011 at 2:16 pm

    I have been a long-time fan of this spice blend. Didn't even think to season my almonds with it! What a great idea! I am off to make this now! By the way, I put this spice blend in my oatmeal cookies, in my biscotti dough and on my Asian-inspired oven-fried chicken tenders. Very popular at my house!
    Reply
  17. garyangels says

    April 6, 2011 at 2:09 am

    wow! this is wonderful, planning to make this. good for health! healthy eating habitis a program that that guarantee success
    Reply
  18. Ashley says

    April 12, 2011 at 11:40 am

    Mmmm I just made these on my lunch break and brought them to work. BIG HIT! I doubled the cayenne and used splenda.
    Reply
  19. John Davies says

    April 26, 2011 at 8:35 pm

    I've made this as written and tonight I tried making one batch with a Moroccan spice mix and another batched with a spice mix to blacken steaks. All three turned out great. Next I think I'll try cinnamon sugar or Old Bay.
    Reply
  20. Lisa says

    April 27, 2011 at 6:02 pm

    Those look really good! And it reminds me of an encounter I had a few months ago in the store. A woman was frantically looking for Chinese Five Spice. She couldn't find it and asked if I knew where it was. We both looked and couldn't find it. Then she asked if I knew what it was made of and sadly I had to tell her that I didn't have a clue. Oh well. Better late than never! ; ) I'll have to get this seasoning. I have McCormick's Ground Cardamom and I'm using it on everything now. I used it on rice pudding last night. Loved it!
    Reply

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