How to Salt Unsalted Nuts Already Roasted

Fret not if you made the mistake of picking up unsalted roasted nuts at the grocery store and are unhappy with the way they taste. It may seem relatively easy to throw a little salt on some unsalted nuts when you’re in the mood for it, but actually, salting nuts is a little trickier than you might think. Sadly, salt sprinkled on unsalted roasted nuts simply ends up at the bottom of the container.

Popcorn Salt

Something as simple as adding a little popcorn salt to unsalted roasted nuts can put the dilemma to an end. What makes popcorn salt an excellent solution is that it’s finely ground. Compared to regular salt, which has larger grains, popcorn salt adheres to the little nooks and crannies of unsalted peanuts already roasted. As a matter of fact, some popcorn salt brands or varieties are being marketed as popcorn and nut salt.

You can turn regular salt into popcorn salt without any trouble. All you have to do is grind regular salt into a fine powder with the help of a food processor or coffee grinder. Keep on grinding and pulsing until you end up with finely ground regular salt.

How Much Salt to Add

According to one website, "apply one-half of a teaspoon of salt per every 3 cups of unsalted nuts, however, this may differ for you according to your preference. Moreover, there are some ways of salting nuts that will add a saltier taste than others. For example, using oil while heating your nuts to salt them will add a saltier dimension to the nut rather than heating the nuts without oil."

Recipe

This is the way I salted some mixed nuts that were roasted, but not salted when I purchased them and it worked quite well, except they did turn out a little salty. Popcorn salt adheres to every little bit of the nut, so be careful how much you use.

I ground some kosher salt very fine in a coffee grinder to make the popcorn salt, then tossed it with the nuts. The nuts looked like they had a very fine dusting of salt. I then spread the nuts out into a flat pan and sprinkled just a bit of oil over the nuts. Not enough to fully coat them (otherwise they may turn out greasy), just maybe about half coated. Then I tossed them around to distribute the oil and put them in a 300 degree F. oven. I roasted them for about 10 minutes, tossing them once or twice to distribute the oil and salt.