Nigella’s Bar Nuts

These Bar Nuts are an outrageously addictive mix of roasted nuts, butter, fresh rosemary, cayenne pepper, sugar and salt flakes. Great quick way to use up random leftover nuts in your pantry! Put out a bowl with wine or cocktails, and watch them disappear. Thanks for the recipe, Nigella!

Nigella’s Bar Nuts

This is a barely tweaked version of Nigella Lawson’s Bar Nuts which she says is adapted from the recipe for popular spiced nuts served at the Union Square Cafe in New York. I first started making them way back in my early corporate days, and though I’ve strayed over the years, when something is this good I inevitably find my way back to it.

I love that it’s quick, that I always have the ingredients (pantry basics + rosemary from the garden) and they’re not so heavily candied you feel ill after eating three. Just enough flavour to be far more interesting than plain nuts, but light enough that you can (and will) eat way too many.

Way too many.

Sorry in advance.

Ingredients in Nigella’s Bar Nuts

Here’s what you need to make these. Note: Nigella (and Union Square Cafe) only use nuts. But then I added mini pretzels, and I never looked back. They might be my favourite thing in this mix. 🙂 You don’t have to include them though!

• Unsalted roasted mixed nuts – Use a store bought mix, or make up your own using almonds, pecans, walnuts, Brazil nuts, peanuts, cashews or hazelnuts. Any proportion of each!

• Mini pretzels – I use mini because they’re closer to the size of nuts than regular ones. If you prefer, you can just use more nuts.

• Fresh rosemary – This brings that special something to this otherwise very simple recipe, so please use fresh! It really won’t be the same using dried rosemary. If I didn’t have fresh, I’d find another recipe instead, or head in another direction like Texan BBQ candied nuts.

  PS. I stray a little from Nigella here. She says to coarsely chop the rosemary, but one day I accidentally chopped it finely and realised it really gets into every nook and cranny, coating the nuts even more evenly. I liked it even more, so finely chopped rosemary it is!

• Cayenne pepper – The faint buzz of warm in these nuts is another thing that makes them so addictive! They are not spicy but it leaves a little warmth on your tongue. If you’re worried, you can reduce the amount.

• Unsalted butter – Melted. Just enough to coat the nuts. Nigella only uses 1 tablespoon but I doubled it as I felt it makes the mixture more fluid so it coats the nuts evenly without leaving little pockets of concentrated salt or fiery cayenne pepper.

• Dark brown muscovado sugar – Adds a lovely hint of caramel sweetness. It’s only a small amount so the nuts aren’t heavily candied or sticky. Substitute with regular brown sugar.

• Salt flakes – I don’t often (have I ever??) insist on using salt flakes, but for this recipe, it really makes a difference. The lighter flakes disperse and coat the nuts more evenly than grains. I’ve provided conversions for using other types of salt though. The safest way is to start with less, taste, then add more bit by bit.

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How to make Nigella’s Bar Nuts

Unbelievably simple. Are you already gathering up those half used packets of nuts in your pantry and reaching for the wine?? 🙂

1. Roast the nuts and pretzels for 10 minutes, until the nuts and pretzels are lightly browned. Don’t skip this step, it brings out the flavour of the nuts and the warm nuts keeps the rosemary butter fluid so it coats everything well.

2. Rosemary butter – Mix the butter, rosemary, sugar, cayenne pepper and salt in a large bowl using a rubber spatula.

3. Coat nuts – Pour the hot nuts and pretzels straight into the bowl. If the butter has solidified, that’s fine because the heat from the nuts will melt it. Mix well using the rubber spatula, tossing until every speck of every nut is coated in shiny butter.

You will be shocked how addictive these are

Serve warm, if you can, though at room temperature they are still highly snack-able. The presence of wine or a cocktail isn’t mandatory, but it enhances the experience.

You will honestly be shocked how addictive they are. For the first few nibbles, you might wonder why on earth is Nagi going on and on about these?? Then a few minutes later, you’ll look down and be horrified to see an empty bowl, then you’ll start accusing everyone around you of eating all your nuts.

No, of course it wasn’t you. 😂 – Nagi x

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Watch how to make it

This is such a simple recipe, I wasn’t going to make a recipe video. But I decided you needed to see how easy it is, and the vision of shiny buttery tumbling nuts is so enticing!

Life of Jaffle

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