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    Home » This and That » Guide to Soaking Nuts, Seeds for Easy Raw Recipes.

    by Kathy Patalsky · updated: Sep 13, 2019 · published: Jul 9, 2010 · About 5 minutes to read this article. Leave a Comment

    Guide to Soaking Nuts, Seeds for Easy Raw Recipes.

    Here is my how-to guide to soaking nuts and seeds for easy, delicious, raw, vegan dip/spread recipes.

    Get Creative with Healthy Nuts. After reading this post you’ll be able to make hundreds of creative, customized soaked nut recipes. These cravable recipes can be used as dips, spreads, party appetizers, sandwich fillings, faux creamy cheese spreads, nut-hummus and more! Here are a few examples:

    * Tu-Nut Sandwich Filling (faux tuna)
    * Chive “Ricotta” Cashew-Nut Cheese
    * Almond Spreads: 3 Ways

    Plus, nuts and seeds are healthy and satisfying. You’ll forget that you are eating 100% raw, vegan food packed with healthy nut nutrients, fiber and protein. Get my guide as well as a bonus recipe for my Peppy Pepita Avo-Almond Dip…

    My Base Recipe. Below is my base recipe for creating nut/seed dips and spreads – with a full explanation of ingredients to follow…

    Simple Soaked Nut/Seed Base Recipe
    vegan and raw, makes 6 cups

    16 ounces raw nuts/seeds of choice , soaked overnight (see below)
    about 1 ½ cups soaking liquid (salt water that the nuts/seeds soaked in)
    1-4 tablespoon oil of choice
    1-4 tablespoon sweetener of choice
    salt to taste (at least ¾ tsp)
    pepper to taste (at least 1 tsp)
    1-4 tablespoon astringent liquid of choice
    recommended: 1-5 tablespoon powder/concentrated seasonings (garlic powder, harissa, onion powder ect)
    optional: whole herbs/fruit/veggies for flavor (olives, jalapeno, onions, parsley, dill, beans, sweet potato, spinach, mushroom… etc)

    Directions:

    1. Soak nuts/seeds overnight.
    2. Drain liquid, toss. Use fresh water as liquid.
    3. Place all ingredients into food processor (add water a little at a time so that you don’t over-liquefy)
    4. Process until desired texture is reached.
    5. Store in fridge to chill or serve as is.
    6. Serve as a dip, sandwich spread, faux creamy cheese in recipes, and more…!

    How to Soak Nuts: Simply place your nuts or seeds in a large bowl. Add enough water to cover them. Add in a pinch of salt and swirl around. Cover and place in a cool dry place to soak overnight. If you can’t use your soaked nuts quickly the next day place them in the fridge for about another day until you are ready. I personally always like to use my soaked nuts within 1-2 days of soaking.

    Soaked and Drained Cashew Nuts:

    Get the basic idea? Great! Lets get creative…

    Soaking Nuts 101. Learning to make a basic soaked nut recipe base is like learning to make a basic plain muffin mix, vanilla ice cream base or soup base. Once you create a base recipe canvas – you can color your recipe with hundreds of ingredient and flavor combinations. The delicious possibilities stretch far and wide.

    You can shift the basic elements of spicy, sweet, salty, sour, bitter. You can turn up the creamy smoothness or jazz it up with a more rugged chunky, flaky texture. Add in lots of accessory flavors and spices – or keep it pure and simple with just nuts, water, salt and pepper.

    Important Tip: Taste as you go! You’ll want to taste your recipe after processing – then modify the ingredients to suit your taste buds. You’ll have the base recipe to guide you, but I think you’ll really enjoy adding your own spin on each batch of nut spread/dip you create!

    Not only can you modify the flavor ingredients, but the base nut/seed ingredients as well. Check out the wide variety of base ingredients to choose from:

    List of Nuts and Seeds – Ingredient Options:
    almonds
    pepitas, pumpkin seeds
    sunflower seeds
    caraway seeds
    sesame seeds
    brazilnuts
    hazelnuts
    cashew nuts
    walnuts
    pistachio nuts
    pecans
    hemp seeds
    poppy seeds
    macadamia nuts
    cashews
    peanuts

    -> get healthy nut nutrition facts here

    Oils:
    grapeseed oil
    olive oil
    macadamia nut oil
    walnut oil
    almond oil
    sunflower oil
    coconut oil
    and more…

    Acid/Astringent Liquids:
    lemon juice
    lime juice
    apple cider vinegar
    red wine vinegar
    balsamic vinegar

    Sweeteners:
    agave syrup
    maple syrup
    fruit juice
    dried fruit

    Salts:
    pink salt
    grey salt
    white sea salt
    seasoned salt
    herb-infused salt
    smoked salt
    *salt is important in these nut recipes – since you are using raw unsalted nuts you’ll want to add your own salt in to sharpen and tone the flavors and texture in the recipe.

    Beans and Purees:
    Some folks like to add beans and purees to their recipes. Try garbanzo beans or sweet potato puree/mash to get started with this type of experimentation. If you like what you taste, you can get more creative with adding beans and mashes.

    My Tools: Food Processor

    Now onto a sample recipe that I created last weekend. It is spicy and sweet with a hint of garlic and creamy avocado. I actually used the avocado instead of adding oil to my recipe. Delicious! Great with chips, salsa or for a raw taco filling.

    Recipe: Peppy Pepita Avo-Almond Dip
    vegan, makes 3 cups (I halved the base recipe from above)

    8 ounces raw almonds, soaked overnight
    ½ avocado
    ½ cup raw pepitas, soaked overnight
    1 small jalapeno (seeds optional – seeds will make this extra spicy)
    2 tablespoon agave syrup
    2-3 tablespoon lime juice (about 1 small lime)
    splash of apple cider vinegar
    1 tablespoon garlic powder
    1 teaspoon black pepper
    ½ teaspoon sea salt*
    about 1 cup reserved ‘nut soaking water’
    optional: 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
    optional: ¼ cup orange juice in place of the soaking water liquid.
    *note: salt to taste

    Directions:

    1. Soak nuts/seeds overnight.
    2. Drain liquid, toss. Rinse seeds / nuts well with fresh water.
    3. Place all ingredients into food processor (add fresh water + a bit of salt – a little at a time so that you don’t over-liquefy)
    4. Process until desired texture is reached. If you want a creamier dip – add another half of avocado.
    5. Store in fridge to chill or serve as is. Add more lime and/or lemon juice or a layer of citrus slices to top layer when storing to prevent browning.

    More recipes you may enjoy

    • TMT Pita. Tempeh. Mache. Tomato. The Vegan BLT.
    • Smores Ice Cream Sandwich Recipe. Frozen Shmores!
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    • ONE Coconut Water at Trader Joe’s!

    About Kathy Patalsky

    Hey there! I'm Kathy, lover of kitty cats, weekend baking, 90's movies, travel, beach fog and foamy lattes. Since 2007, I have been sharing my vegan recipes and photos. My goal is to make your cooking life a little easier, delicious - and plant-loaded - while sharing some LIFE and conversation along the way.

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