Dutch Oven Maple Rosemary Roasted Mixed Nuts
Toast mixed raw nuts in a dry Dutch oven over medium coals for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often. Add butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, rosemary and cayenne, then stir 3 to 4 minutes until the glaze coats the nuts and turns sticky-dry. Spread on foil to cool for 15 minutes. Total time is about 30 minutes.
These are warm, sweet-salty nuts with a little piney bite from fresh rosemary and a hint of heat. A Dutch oven holds steady heat and has room to stir, so the nuts toast evenly instead of scorching in one spot.
Make a batch while dinner settles or after the fire burns down to coals. They crisp as they cool, keep for days, and ride well in a pocket on the next hike.
Dutch Oven Maple Rosemary Roasted Mixed Nuts
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Serves
- 10
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Heat
- Medium coals
- Pack weight
- 2 lb
- Campfire
- Camp stove
- Backpacking
- Cooler optional
- One burner
- Low water
- A few dishes
- Shelf-stable
- Prep ahead
Ingredients
Gear you'll need
- 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven
- Grate for the fire ring
- Long-handled spoon
- Heat-resistant gloves
- Foil or parchment sheet
- Cutting board and knife
- Zip-top bag or lidded jar
Steps
-
Set up the coals
Let your fire burn down to steady medium coals, where you can hold your hand over the grate for about 5 seconds. Set a grate over the coals and put the empty 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven on it with the lid off.
-
Toast the nuts
Add the pecans, almonds and cashews to the dry pot. Stir every minute or so for 8 to 10 minutes, until they smell toasty and the cashews turn light gold.
-
Melt the butter
Add the butter and stir for about 1 minute until it melts and coats the nuts. If anything smokes, slide the pot to a cooler part of the grate.
-
Add the glaze
Pour in the maple syrup and sprinkle on the brown sugar, rosemary and cayenne. Stir constantly for 3 to 4 minutes, until the syrup thickens and clings to the nuts. Sugar burns fast, so don't walk away.
-
Salt and cool
Pull the pot off the heat with gloves and stir in the salt. Dump the nuts onto a sheet of foil or parchment and spread them in one layer.
-
Let them crisp
Wait 15 minutes without touching them. The glaze hardens as it cools. Break up any clumps and store in a zip-top bag or lidded jar.
Trail Notes
Measure the nuts into one bag and the brown sugar, cayenne and salt into a small container at home. Butter keeps fine in a cooler or a cool shaded spot for a day or two.
Cooled nuts keep in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks. Make them early in the trip and you have snacks for the rest of it.
Use walnuts or peanuts for any of the nuts, or thyme instead of rosemary. For a no-heat version, skip the cayenne. Use oil instead of butter if you have no cooler.
Cook in an established fire ring and scrape sticky bits into a bag to pack out, since sugar attracts critters. Make sure the ashes are cold before you leave.
Campers ask
Can I make roasted nuts in a Dutch oven on a camp stove?
Yes. Use medium-low heat on one burner and follow the same timing, stirring a little more often since a burner heats the pot's base more directly.
How do I keep the maple glaze from burning?
Add the syrup only after the nuts are toasted, keep the pot over medium (not high) heat, and stir nonstop. Pull it off the heat as soon as the glaze looks sticky and dry.
How long do campfire roasted nuts last?
Stored airtight and cooled completely, they stay crisp for up to 2 weeks. Skip them if you notice a stale or bitter smell.
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