Spanish Almonds – What Jessica Baked Next

Spanish-style almonds flavoured with olive oil, smoked paprika and garlic. A quick recipe to prepare ready for snacking on.

Almendras Fritas is a traditional Spanish tapa. The almonds are usually fried, but instead I’ve roasted mine and once lightly toasted and still hot from the oven, I’ve mixed the almonds with olive oil, garlic and paprika seasoning, and flaky sea salt.

In Spain, you’ll typically find fried almonds (only seasoned with salt) on the side in bars, ready to devour with a beer or glass of wine.

They also make a fabulous, healthy snack to munch on. They’re perfect for all occasions, whether it be for a mid-morning/midday snack to re-engerise yourself with, or served up at a party alongside other tasty nibbles.

Last summer, I went on a holiday to beautiful Nerja in Andalusia. It was on that trip that I discovered the Spaniards’ love of savoury and sweet nuts.

Walking around most cities or towns, there are many stalls selling warm almonds. We also found a shop that sold caramelised nuts. They took anything from almonds, to cashew nuts, to sunflower seeds and coated these nuts and seeds in caramel – some with salt added too.

I brought back a few packs to eat at home, but this is something I’ve wanted to recreate for the blog since my holiday.

But first, I chose to make a savoury version of roasted nuts.

I intended to share this recipe before Christmas/New Year and wanted to post it alongside these Cheese and Mustard Puff Pastry Pinwheels. In the end, time got the better of me, but I made sure this recipe went straight to the top of my 2023 recipe planner.

Spanish Roasted Almonds (Almendras Fritas)

Spanish-style roasted almonds, flavoured with smoked paprika and garlic.

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 15

Servings 6

Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

300 g raw almonds
1 teaspoon garlic granules
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt I use sea salt, but table salt is fine too
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200°C / 180°C Fan / 400°F / Gas Mark 6.
Evenly spread the almonds out on a large baking tray. Toast the almonds for 5-8 minutes until slightly darkened in colour - watch them carefully as the nuts toast very quickly.
While the almonds are toasting, prepare the spice mix. In a small bowl, mix together the garlic granules, smoked paprika and the salt.
When the almonds are ready, transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Add the olive oil and the spice mix and toss to combine.
Serve the almonds warm or at room temperature. The almonds will keep stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

The recipe makes enough almonds to generously fill a medium sized serving dish and will roughly serve about 6 people.

Deliciously crunchy and each almond has a tasty coating of smoky paprika and garlic.

You’ll find these addictive and will be eating them constantly by the handful…