How To Toast Walnuts—Two Easy Ways - The Spruce Eats

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Skip to Content Toasting Walnuts: Enhance Flavor with Oven and Stovetop Methods

Discover how toasted walnuts add richness to dishes, from salads to desserts, with easy oven and stovetop techniques

By Molly Watson Molly Watson An award-winning food writer and cookbook author, Molly Watson has created more than 1,000 recipes focused on local, seasonal ingredients. Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process Updated on 06/3/25 Close

Walnuts on a foil-covered pan — How to Toast Walnuts.
The Spruce Eats / Molly Watson

If you've never toasted nuts before adding them to a recipe, this tip will transform your cooking. Toasting nuts enhances their earthiness and reduces any bitterness found in raw nuts. In just a few minutes, nuts transform from pale, somewhat waxy, and mild in flavor and smell to golden brown, rich-tasting, and aromatic, adding a whole new level of flavor to any dish. You may never serve raw nuts again!

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There are two ways to toast walnuts: in the oven or on the stovetop. Both methods are effective, but they require close attention—walnuts can go from perfectly toasted to burnt in the blink of an eye! Be sure to stay on task and set a timer. The choice of technique may depend on quantity and timing; oven roasting may take longer but can accommodate more nuts.

How to toast walnuts illustration — The Spruce Eats

How to Toast Walnuts in the Oven

Preheat an oven to 375 F. While the oven heats, lay the walnuts on a baking sheet (you can line it with foil or parchment paper for easy clean-up). Make sure to roast only the amount of walnuts that fit on the pan in a single layer—ideally, a single layer with some space between the walnuts so there's room for hot air to circulate them evenly. When the oven is heated, roast the walnuts until they just start to brown and smell toasted, 5 to 10 minutes.

Remember, they go from toasted to burnt very quickly, so start checking them after 5 minutes. Then, check every minute until they begin to brown and smell nutty. Their residual heat will continue to toast the walnuts as they cool, so remove them from the oven as soon as you notice a color change. Let the walnuts cool completely before chopping or using them.

How to Toast Walnuts on the Stove

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the walnuts to the hot, dry pan, only toasting as many walnuts as fit in the pan in a single layer. Cook, watching constantly and stirring frequently until the walnuts start to brown and smell toasted—about 5 minutes.

Transfer the walnuts to a plate or baking sheet where they can remain in a single layer to cool evenly. This will help them finish toasting from their residual heat and become nice and crunchy.

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How to Use Toasted Walnuts

If you're learning how to toast walnuts, you might already have a recipe in mind. If you need inspiration, roasted walnuts can be added to salads, like a pear salad with walnuts and Gorgonzola, or stirred into cereal or granola. Toss them into a healthy grain pilaf or include them in roasted or sautéed vegetable dishes such as Brussels sprouts with walnuts. Toasted walnuts add richness and crunch to broccoli walnut pasta and are a great source of protein in vegetarian dishes.

And let's not forget dessert. A toasted walnut cake filling turns any layer cake into something truly special, and toasting the walnuts for a Kentucky Derby chocolate walnut pie makes a decadent dessert even more irresistible. But let's be honest, a handful of toasted walnuts also makes a wonderful snack!

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