Do you ever eat a couple of handfuls full of walnuts or a few tablespoons of nut butter and wonder why it feels as though you dropped a brick in your stomach? It’s because nuts that have not been soaked contain enzyme inhibitors that can cause uncomfortable digestion.
Now when I first read about this process in Nourishing Traditions I thought it was a bit extreme and unnecessary. Then when I actually tried it and compared it to the raw or roasted nuts or nut butters that I had been eating I was convinced – it really does make a difference.
So far I have tried this with walnuts, pecans and almonds – all with great success. I hope to make nut butter out of them soon.
Soaked & Dehydrated Nuts
from Nourishing Traditions
Recipe Note: You can use a dehydrator or if you have an oven that goes to down to 150 degrees or less use that and leave it on through the day and overnight as needed.
Pecans or Walnuts
- 4 cups of nuts
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- enough filtered water to cover
- Combine nuts, water to cover and sea salt. Soak for 7 or more hours (I did mine overnight).
- Drain and dehydrate 12-24 hours, until completely dry and crisp.
Be sure to store walnuts in the refrigerator as they can become rancid easily.
Almonds
- 4 cups raw almonds, preferably skinless
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- enough filtered water to cover
- Combine nuts, water to cover and sea salt. Soak for 7 or more hours (I did mine overnight).
- Drain and dehydrate 12-24 hours, until completely dry and crisp.
Store in pantry.
Cashews
- 4 cups of raw cashews
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- enough filtered water to cover
According to Sally Fallon cashews can become slimy and disagreeable if you soak them too long or dry them out too slowly, so be careful. I have yet to try this with cashews so I have no personal experience.
- Combine nuts, water to cover and sea salt. Soak for 6 hours, no longer
- Drain and dehydrate at 200 degrees F for 12-24 hours, or until completely dry and crisp.
Store in an airtight container
33 Responses to Soak & Dehydrate Nuts for Optimum Digestibility
Leave a Reply
my cookbook
a must-read
Resources & Sponsors
Find Me Elsewhere
Thank you for this! I think this will make a wonderful difference!
Can’t wait to try it out!
[Reply]
This is interesting, thanks for the info. I always thought that feeling was because nuts are protein which makes you feel full. But sometimes it feels worse than “full.” Will have to try this out.
[Reply]
Great post! I’m bummed. I LOVE nuts and eat them all the time. I want to make crispy nuts, but my oven only goes to 170 and I don’t have a dehydrator.
[Reply]
Thanks! I think I will give it a try.
[Reply]
I love crispy nuts…. I dry them out in my oven with just the oven light on and it works fine.
[Reply]
Hi Shannon!
I just had a quick question for you regarding soaking of nuts – I bake a lot with blanched almond flour because I have Celiac. I still have trouble digesting what I bake. Can you please tell if if you know anything about soaking the actual almond flour and if so, recommendations? Thanks so much!
[Reply]
HI,
Do you have time recommendations for soaking brazil nuts or are they a diet no no for some reason? I can’t seem to find any info on them at all, which makes me wonder if they may be clean eating taboo for some reason.
I hope you are feeling better- strep has been going around here too.
[Reply]
[...] soak almonds & pumpkin seeds, thaw beef, cook turkey [...]
Do you ever make nut butters with these? I’m wondering if that’s possible after soaking and dehydrating. I just bought a big bag of raw valencia peanuts and was planning to make our own PB. I’m assuming peanuts also should be soaked/dehydrated, but then what about making it into PB? Thanks!
[Reply]
Shannon Reply:
April 11th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
Carrie – Yes! I add coconut oil as well and it is delicious. I have not tried it with peanuts, but would love to if I could find some raw peanuts.
[Reply]
SuzieQ Reply:
August 18th, 2010 at 11:25 am
@Shannon,
You s hould NEVER eat raw peanuts; they are a legume, not a nut. Also they are very prone to molds and often have aflatoxins in them.
[Reply]
Shannon Reply:
August 29th, 2010 at 8:17 am
SuzieQ – Thanks for the tip! I have read about that too and am trying to move away from even roasted peanuts, even though peanut butter is possibly my favorite food.
[...] Soaked and deydrated nuts [...]
your entries could have been written by me. it’s absolutely remarkable, and I love it!
[Reply]
[...] found an article that explains how to dehydrate specific types of nuts and at what temperature. The article suggests adding salt during the [...]
[...] found an article that explains how to dehydrate specific types of nuts and at what temperature. The article suggests adding salt during the [...]
Thank you. My son has gone raw and I am hoping to help dehydrate some of his nuts and seeds. Does anyone have soaking times for dehydrating the many other different nuts and seeds.
[Reply]
Shannon Reply:
September 15th, 2010 at 6:54 am
Villa – I think all are about the same except cashews. I do 6 hours max on cashews and the rest I do 8-12 hours.
[Reply]
[...] generous handfuls of basil leaves 2 handfuls of walnuts (soaked and roasted) (See this resource.)several cloves of garlic (4 or 5 or just what you have on hand) 2 or 3 Tbsp grated aged parmesan [...]
I soak many different kinds of nuts & seeds in salt water, then dry them to resell again. I do almonds, pecans, English walnuts, black walnuts, pecans, cashews, Brazil nuts, macadamia, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds. Then we make trail mix with raisins, and also a seasoned mix with butter, honey and my spice blend. Cashews are soaked 6 hours, and the rest are soaked 7 hours. You can soak & dry practically anything!
[Reply]
By the way, all our nuts & seeds are Organic, except black walnuts and macadamia, which we can’t seem to find.
[Reply]
Hi Shannon,
I love the simplicity of your recipes for soaking and dehydrating nuts. I’m an Acupuncturist / Nutrition Consultant and would like to have such resources for my patients. Could I post this recipe on my blog website with a link and credit to you? Please let me know. It would go here:
http://karasorensen.com/blogs/holistic_health_solutions
Best,
Kara Sorensen
[Reply]
Shannon Reply:
January 13th, 2011 at 7:17 am
Kara – Sure! I do not mind links as long as there is attribution.
[Reply]
Hi Shannon,
I’m new to soaking nuts. Do you know anything about the importance of dehydrating the soaked nuts? Would it be enough to just soak them if I eat them straight away? Or should I definitely dehydrate them, too?
[Reply]
[...] obtain high levels of nutrition and digestibility soaked and dehydrated nuts are better for you. It is actually very easy. It simple requires [...]
Annika,
You do not have to dehydrate nuts after soaking them. Raw food guru and author, Ani Phyo, who I first learned about soaking nuts, suggests using nuts immediately after soaking in protein shakes.
[Reply]
Shannon Reply:
April 13th, 2011 at 4:11 am
Carla – Yep, if you’re just going to blend them up or use them in a moist state you don’t have to drain them. Thanks for letting us know!
[Reply]
I want to make almond flour from my nuts. Do I have to use salt in the soaking? Will the salt affect the recipe? Will the process still be complete without the salt?
[Reply]
[...] like enzyme inhibitors and difficult to digest oligosaccharides in the case of beans. I like to soak and dehydrate nuts and seeds and use these tips for making beans more [...]
Do the almonds need to be dehydrated if you are just planning to bake with them immediately? (I would be incorporating mine into a pie crust that uses almonds, coconut oil, and dates -blended in a food processor and stopping just short of almond butter before pressing into a pie dish and baking.) So, is it possible to skip the dehydrating step?
[Reply]
Do you have to rinse the nuts after they have been soaked or just drain the water?
[Reply]
Shannon Reply:
January 12th, 2012 at 3:30 pm
Some say no and some say yes. I usually do, just because they look a bit like they could use a rinsing
.
[Reply]
Tina – I have never eaten or read about brazil nuts, so I am not sure. Sorry I can’t help.
[Reply]