How to Roast Hazelnuts & Remove Skins

Roasting hazelnuts brings out their rich nutty flavor and also makes removing their skin quick and easy.  Follow a few simple steps, and you will be creating sweet and savory hazelnut recipes in no time!

I used to avoid recipes that contained hazelnuts because I tried it once and it didn't go well.  And when I have a kitchen fail, I can hold a grudge for a long time.  Since then, I've learned a few tricks to make removing the skins simple so I can get on with my cooking.  In this post, I will teach you how to roast hazelnuts and remove skins with a quick and easy method.

Hazelnuts are slightly sweet and are best known for their perfect marriage to chocolate.  Don't get me wrong, this is a great way to eat hazelnuts, but I love using hazelnuts in savory recipes even more.  Hazelnuts are delicious on top of salads, grain bowls, roasted sweet potatoes, and Jerusalem artichokes.  The extra crunch and unexpected sweetness goes a long way in amping up a recipe.

How to roast hazelnuts

Roasting hazelnuts is a simple process.  Preheat the oven to 350F.  Place the nuts on a rimmed sheet pan.  (Rimmed is essential here so they don't roll off and onto the floor.) Roast the nuts for 10-15 minutes or until the skins are cracked and the hazelnut underneath is lightly golden brown.  Check the nuts at 10 minutes and if they aren't done yet check them every minute until golden brown.  Nuts can turn from lightly golden to burnt very quickly, so don't turn your back too long!

How to remove the skins from hazelnuts

Once you've removed the hazelnuts from the oven and they're cool enough to handle, quickly transfer them to a clean towel and wrap them up.  This will steam the skins and make them easy to remove.  Allow them to rest in the towel for a few minutes.  After a couple minutes use the palm of your hand and rub the outside of the towel vigorously all over.  This will remove the skins from the hazelnuts, so make sure you are rubbing all over and moving the hazelnuts around.  Open up the towel and you will find perfect little hazelnuts with their skins removed.  It's okay if some flecks of skin remain on the nuts, but most of the thin papery skin should be removed.  Pluck the hazelnuts out of the towel and use in your favorite recipe!

How do I store roasted hazelnuts?

After you've roasted your hazelnuts, cool them completely and put them in an airtight container.  Then you've got a couple options for storing them:

• Refrigerator: hazelnuts will last about 6 months in the refrigerator.
• Freezer: hazelnuts will last up to a year in the freezer.

Because hazelnuts are oily, its important to store nuts in a cool place so they don't spoil.

These roasted hazelnuts are wonderful in this roasted sunchokes recipe. What are you going to use your roasted hazelnuts for?  Tell me in the comments below!