Vegan Lime and Coconut Spicy Cashews
Sweet and sour, crunchy, creamy, coconutty, it’s our simply delightful spicy cashews, perfect for gift-giving, snacking, and adding a bright pop of flavor to any day. These savory spiced nuts take about an hour to make, and will last in the jar for a good long while- I think. About a week is as long as they’ve ever managed to last at our house.
Skip the Post, Click for a Print-Friendly Recipe
The Joys of Snacking
I’m not much of a breakfast person, and if my boyfriends not around I often don’t really do much of a lunch either. I do, however, indulge in a steady stream of little snacks from when I wake up until it gets close to dinner time. Little bites of leftovers, chips, fruit, sweets, olives, toast- the list goes onward. A lot of it is me being to lazy and not wanting to put in the mental energy of coming up with a meal- so I push it off to later down the road by just having a small snack, for now. And repeating that until around dinner time, when I usually manage to pull it together and get a full meal made. But another part of it really is just the joy of snacking. Having little bites of one thing, and little bites of another. Not having to commit to a whole plate of anything- like tapas, but much lazier. These cashews have been a great feature in my snacking lately- they hit the salty, sour, and the sweet (a little) notes- what more could a woman want?
Looking for Tasty Vegan Snacks? Try one of these!
- Garlicky Lacto-Fermented Snap Peas Snack
- Flavor-Bomb Vegan Snacking Hominy Recipe
- Homemade Vegan Strawberry Flavored Chocolates
- Spicy Garlic Roasted Chickpeas Snack
- Mushroom Bao from Meera Sodha’s “East“
- Garlic Scape Sweet Potato Pakoras or Fritters (Vegan)
- Savory Vegan Souffle with Herbs
- Homemade Vegan Seaweed Crackers
Making Chili Lime Spicy Cashews
We made our chili lime cashews in the oven, but we’re not actually baking them, more so just drying them out. Traditionally, spiced nuts are often coated with egg whites that helps the spices to stick to the nuts, so we used a great vegan alternatives to egg whites- aquafaba. Aquafaba is the liquid the comes in a can of beans (people most often use chickpeas, as it’s fairly neutrally flavored), and it has some of the same properties as eggs. You can check out my lavender meringues, ranch dressing, and whipped cream for a few more aquafaba ideas! The other less common ingredient I use is citric acid (you can get it here) which is the bright, puckery acid found in citrus fruits. It’s an easy way to get a lot of that lime flavor, without adding a lot of liquid that we would need to dry out.
Mix the aquafaba with sugar, citric acid, lime zest, chili, and salt, and toss your cashews in the mixture so they’re all covered. Place them on a baking sheet in a single layer, and stick it in the oven at a low temperature. Part way through you’re going to remove it from the oven and toss, as well as add some flaked coconut. After another 15 minutes or so, it should be ready to go. Let them cool down at room temperature, and they should turn dry, hard, and shiny. Store them in an airtight container- use a nice jar, and they make a great gift!
Vegan Lime and Coconut Spicy Cashews
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw, unsalted cashews
- 2 tbsp. aquafaba
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- Zest of ½ lime
- 2 tsp. chili powder (or more, to taste)
- 1 tsp. citric acid (or more, to taste)
- 1 tsp. flaked sea salt (or more to taste)
- 1 tbsp. coconut flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250°F (120°C). Line a large baking tray with a silicone mat, and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the aquafaba and whisk a few times. Add the sugar, lime zest, chili powder, citric acid, and salt, and whisk again. Taste a little bit, and adjust- add more salt for a saltier flavor, more chili in increase the spiciness, and more citric acid to make more sour. Add the cashews, and fold until they are all coated in the aquafaba-spice mixture.
- Spread the cashews out evenly on the prepared baking sheet, and cook for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, remove from the oven, add coconut flakes and a little more salt (optional), stir well, and return to the oven. Cook for 15 more minutes, and then remove from the oven and cool. As the nuts cool, the coating on them should become shiny and dry. Once totally cooled, break apart any large pieces and store in an air-tight container.
Click for a Print-Friendly Recipe
Like Spicy Cashews? Pin it!
3 thoughts on “Vegan Lime and Coconut Spicy Cashews”