Earlier this year, my parents flew to Hawaii for a quick vacation. Although we normally stay in condos on Kauai when we go as a family, they decided to try something new and picked out a hotel on the Big Island instead.
Each day, they sent my brother and me lots of photos from paradise. Shots of colorful sunrises and sunsets, lunch from the restaurant’s beachfront patio, blue ocean waves lapping at sandy beaches, white plumeria and red hibiscus flowers as they walked around the extensive hotel grounds… Just to name a few!
To extend their vacation as long as possible, they booked a late evening flight back at the end of their trip, and when they checked in, the airline offered to upgrade their seats to first class for just $50 each, instead of the usual $200 or more. My parents immediately agreed—they love extra legroom and seats that recline further!
Once they boarded the plane, they found a menu on their seats, along with plush blankets and fluffy pillows. The stewardess served their first-class complementary meal shortly after takeoff, and my parents raved about the entire dinner: warm mixed nuts as an appetizer, a macadamia nut kale salad, macadamia nut crusted salmon as an entrée, and chocolate torte brownie for dessert.
Definitely not your standard plane food!
However, in the days that followed, they kept mentioning those warm mixed nuts as the best part of the meal. Although seasoned with savory herbs and spices, I started to think about putting my own sweet spin on them…
So when my parents visited last weekend, I surprised them with these Healthy Raspberry Glazed Almonds! They’re perfectly crunchy with lots of bright fruit flavor, but unlike ones you’d buy from the store, these contain no sugar or artificial ingredients—and they’re actually really easy to make!
I had to hide almost the entire batch until my parents arrived… Otherwise, I would’ve eaten them all before my parents got to my house! ?
Let’s go over how to make these healthy glazed almonds!
You’ll start with—you guessed it!—roasted unsalted almonds. However, it’s nearly impossible to find roasted and unsalted almonds… At least where I live! I can always find natural (aka raw) and unsalted almonds, and roasted salted almonds are even easier to find.
So I buy natural unsalted almonds (like these!) and roast them myself! It’s really simple to do. Line a baking sheet with foil (so you don’t have to wash it later!), spread your raw almonds on top, and pop that in the oven until they’re toasty and fragrant.
Just remember to let your homemade roasted almonds cool completely to room temperature before you start the next step! And if you’re impatient like me, you can always stick them in the refrigerator to speed up the process. ?
Time to mix up the coating! You’ll start with erythritol (like this!). Erythritol is a natural no-calorie sweetener (aka it’s clean eating friendly!), and it basically acts just like granulated sugar. This is the kind I use!
You’ll mix that with finely ground freeze dried raspberries (like this!). Just pop them in a food processor or blender, and turn it on until they’re a fine powder. Freshly opened freeze dried raspberries work best! If your bag has been open for a while (as in a few weeks or months), the freeze dried fruit isn’t quite as crunchy, so it doesn’t grind into a powder quite as well. It’ll still work though! You’ll just have a few larger crumbs.
You’ll also mix in a bit of cinnamon (this is my favorite kind!) to give the coating a fuller flavor, a bit of salt, and some water to make the coating fully come together.
Now it’s time to cook! Add your almonds to a pan, and briefly heat them over medium-high heat until they’re warmed through. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and add in the coating mixture. Stir constantly until the coating has turned into a liquid and almonds are completely coated. Then transfer them to a sheet of foil until they’ve cooled to room temperature and the coating is crunchy. (Again, impatient people like me can pop them in the fridge once at room temperature to speed up the crunchiness process!)
Super easy… Super healthy… Super yummy and addictive! ? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your healthy candied almonds!
| Healthy Raspberry Glazed Almonds | | Print |
- ½ cup (16g) freeze dried raspberries
- 6 tbsp (90g) erythritol
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (15mL) water
- 2 cups (284g) roasted unsalted almonds (see Notes!)
- Cut a large sheet of foil, and place it on the counter.
- Add the freeze dried raspberries to a blender or food processor, and grind them into a fine powder.
- In a small bowl, stir together the raspberry powder, erythritol, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the water until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
- Add the almonds to a small pan, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the raspberry coating. Stir constantly with a spatula until the almonds are completely coated. Transfer the mixture to the prepared foil. Let the almonds cool completely to room temperature, and ensure the coating has hardened and turned crunchy before breaking apart any clumps.
In a pinch, you can substitute roasted salted almonds and reduce the salt to ⅛ teaspoon instead.
It’s best to use a freshly opened bag of freeze dried raspberries! They’re crunchier than ones that have been opened for an extended period of time. Older ones will also work, but they don’t grind into a powder quite as well (so you may end up with some larger crumbs).
This is the granulated-style erythritol that I use. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores or online here. Granulated sugar or brown sugar can be substituted for the erythritol.
The coating will be mostly hardened and crunchy after about 10-15 minutes. However, I’ve found that the texture is the best if you wait at least 2 hours to eat. (You can pop them in the refrigerator once they’re at room temperature to speed up the crunchiness process!)
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low sugar, low carb}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Candied Pecans
♡ Healthy Cinnamon Roasted Almonds
♡ Healthy Cocoa Roasted Almonds
♡ Healthy Gingerbread Spice Roasted Almonds
♡ Healthy Chocolate Honey Roasted Almonds
Would this recipe work using coconut sugar?
I haven’t personally tried, but I think it should! The raspberry flavor might be more subtle though because coconut sugar typically has a stronger caramel-like flavor. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think if you try these almonds, Jacquie!
I’m going to be making these and mailing them to a friend, but I’m worried when I put them in a ziplock they might stick together and turn into a giant lump. Is there anything I can do to prevent this? Or will it even be a problem?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Meagan! You’re so sweet to want to mail these to your friend. Your friend is so lucky to have you! If you follow the recipe exactly as written, use the same ingredients that I did, and let the coating cool until it’s completely dry and crunchy, then you shouldn’t have any issues with them sticking together while being shipped. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these glazed almonds!