Although it’s probably not incredibly obvious from my blog posts, I love organizing. Every summer during high school, I stripped all of the novels off of my bedroom’s bookshelf, lined them up across my carpet, and rearranged them alphabetically by author’s last name. (I usually bought quite a few well-worn titles from the used bookstore throughout the year, so it was completely necessary to reorganize each summer!)
In between when I graduated high school and left for college, I did the same thing… With my entire bedroom. I meticulously moved everything into the living room—closet shelves, desk drawers, dresser drawers, bins underneath my bed—to sort through it, dump or donate half of the items, and carefully arrange my remaining possessions into their appropriate drawers or labeled Rubbermaid containers.
Then I moved on to the kitchen pantry with the same routine: pull everything off of the shelves, throw out anything past its expiration date, and organize shelves by theme. I designated space for baking ingredients, canned goods, pasta, cereal, snacks, cookies, chocolate, and more. All of the items were set up by expiration date, with the ones farthest off in the future in the very back.
Proud organizer moment!
Then a year or two ago on one of my visits home, I noticed the pantry had been reorganized—without me. My parents had gone on a health kick, changing out quinoa for pasta, oatmeal for cereal, and nuts instead of cookies… And changed a few of the shelves in the process.
Although slightly shocked, I gamely tried one of my mom’s newest snacks: 100-calorie packs of almonds. She stashed boxes of smoked, cocoa, and cinnamon roasted flavors on the newly improved snack shelf, and she usually slipped a few into her purse for the long hours of errands or commutes to work. I was hooked!
I already made a copycat version of the cocoa roasted almonds, so it was high time to try my other favorite: these Cinnamon Roasted Almonds. Warm, crunchy, lightly sweetened, oh-so-addictive… I almost need those little 100-calorie baggies to store my version in so I don’t eat them all in one sitting!
This recipe is mindlessly easy, and you can even buy roasted almonds to make it even easier. Not that toasting almonds in the oven is very difficult… But since it can be nearly impossible to find raw, un-roasted nuts in some stores, it’s okay to go with the pre-roasted shortcut!
For the cinnamon sugar mixture, I used a combination of ground cinnamon and powdered Swerve sweetener, plus a tiny pinch of salt. Swerve is a no-calorie, plant-based sweetener, and the powdered version behaves just like powdered sugar. It “dissolves” better with the cinnamon, as opposed to granulated sugar or sweeteners, so it sticks better to the almonds.
As soon as the nuts come out of the oven, lightly mist them with nonstick cooking spray. This little trick helps the cinnamon mixture adhere a little better to give you a stronger spice taste. Shake the almonds in the pan; then spray once more to ensure they’re fully coated. Transfer them to a bowl, toss them with the cinnamon sugar, and let them cool!
Then hide them from me… Because otherwise you’ll end up with an empty bowl!
| Cinnamon Roasted Almonds | | Print |
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp powdered Swerve sweetener
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 c (240g) raw almonds
- cooking spray
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, stir together the cinnamon, Swerve, and salt.
- Place the almonds in a single layer on a rimmed baking tray, and bake at 350°F for 5 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven, shake it back and forth to move around the almonds, and continue to bake for another 5-7 minutes, or until the almonds are lightly fragrant and toasty.
- Immediately mist the nuts with the nonstick cooking spray. Shake the tray a few times, and spray again. Pour the nuts into the bowl with the cinnamon mixture, and toss until completely coated. Let the nuts cool completely to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container.
If you can only find roasted salted almonds, that’s okay. Omit the salt, and bake the almonds for just 4 minutes.
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating}
More roasted almond recipes from other food bloggers…
♥ Roasted Almonds with Smoked Paprika & Rosemary by Cookin’ Canuck
♥ Chili Lime Roasted Almonds by Lauren Kelly Nutrition
♥ Rosemary and Smoked Salt Roasted Almonds by Love & Olive Oil
♥ Honey Roasted Almonds by My Whole Food Life
Hi Amy, T
I don’t have powdered sugar, but I do have Truvia calorie-free sweetner. Will it work?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Rosie! Truvia is coarser than the sweetener that I use or powdered sugar, so it won’t stick quite as well. You can try blitzing it in a food processor, blender, or coffee grinder to make it finer and help it stick a little better though!
If you end up making this recipe, I’d love to hear what you think of it! 🙂