How to Toast Pine Nuts

Toasted pine nuts have a wonderfully sweet, rich, and buttery flavour that makes them the perfect topping for things like salads, creamy pastas, and roasted vegetables. Toasting really helps to bring out the nuts' natural sweetness. I will show you the two best methods of how to toast pine nuts so you can have perfectly toasted, delicious pine nuts whenever you need them - quick and easy!

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Toasting also enhances the wonderful aroma of the nuts and gives them a pleasant crunchiness. However, pine nuts can be rather expensive, so it's important to know how to toast them properly so that you don't end up with a batch of burnt ones that need to be tossed away.

You should also check out my guide on how to roast and peel hazelnuts, another nut with an amazing flavour enhanced by roasting in the oven.

Jump to:

• What are they?
• What You Will Need
• Instructions
• How to use them
• Storage
• Tips for Success
• FAQ
• 📖 Recipe

What are they?

Pine nuts, also known as piñon or pignoli, are the seeds of pine trees. They are used in various cuisines all over the globe - notably Italian, East Asian, Brazilian, Middle Eastern, and Russian. Pine nuts are mild, sweet, and nutty in flavour, and buttery because of their high fat content.

Only certain pine trees produce seeds large enough to harvest. And it takes at least ten years before a pine tree is mature enough to produce seeds that can be harvested. These seeds are encased in very hard shells inside of pinecones. The difficult extraction of the seeds combined with the lengthly growing time that is required are what cause pine nuts to be expensive.

The image below is of raw pine nuts before they are toasted.

What You Will Need

• Baking sheet or skillet
• Pine nuts - Make sure that the pine nuts you purchase are raw if you plan to toast them yourself at home. Even if buying pre-toasted pine nuts is an option, freshly toasted ones taste so much better. Before buying, smell the pine nuts to check for any unpleasant odours that show they have gone bad.

That's it!

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Instructions

Of the various methods of toasting pine nuts that are out there, the oven method and the stovetop method are the best. You do not need oil to toast pine nuts in any method. These nuts contain enough oil inside.

Oven method of toasting pine nuts

This is my preferred way to toast pine nuts because they will cook more evenly, and it's easy to toast them in large batches this way. (If you are toasting more than 1 cup/140 g of pine nuts at a time you should use this method.)

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Then spread the pine nuts out evenly in a single layer, directly onto a baking sheet. Do not overcrowd them.

Bake them for 5 minutes, or until they get a nice golden colour. Transfer them to a cool baking sheet to cool.

Note: Make sure to not leave them in the oven. The high fat content of pine nuts will cause them to burn quickly.

Note: If you are using a toaster oven, cook at 300°F/150°C for 7-8 minutes.

Stovetop method of toasting pine nuts

The stovetop method is equally easy, but will cook the pine nuts unevenly as there is a one directional heat source. This method works better with small batches (no more than 1 cup/140 g).

Place the nuts directly into a dry skillet (no oil) and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. The pine nuts will become a golden brown in about 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat immediately to prevent burning and transfer them to a cool baking sheet to cool.

How to use them

Toasted pine nuts can be used in so many dishes!

• Use them in pesto. Toasting them first will enrich the flavour of your pesto so much.
• Sprinkle over vegetable dishes, such as roasted broccolini or green beans.
• Toss into creamy pastas for an addition of beautiful nutty flavour and texture.
• Sprinkle over salads for a delicious salad topping.
• Use them to garnish risotto.
• Add some on top of your hummus for a nutty crunch.
• As the garnish for Korean cinnamon ginger punch, a delicious late-autumn / winter beverage.

Storage

Toasted pine nuts will go bad faster than raw pine nuts, so it is important to store them properly.

Make sure to cool nuts completely before storing them. Store toasted pine nuts in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks, or freeze them in a heavy duty freezer bag for up to 3 months.

Freshly toasted pine nuts have the best flavour and crunchiness. So I do recommend making and using them in smaller batches, if possible.

Tips for Success

• Be careful to not overcrowd the nuts, whether on a baking sheet or in a skillet. Keep them to a single layer.
• Don't get distracted. Because these nuts are so tiny and high in fat content, they will burn very quickly so you need to keep an eye on them.
• Don't increase the heat to speed things up. You will also increase the risk of burning these precious nuts.
• You must transfer them to a cool baking sheet to cool. Do not allow them to cool on the hot baking sheet or skillet.

FAQ

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