Is It Necessary To Soak Nuts?
Many of us consume nuts for their healthy fats and their good source of protein. They make a great quick snack that can easily be taken with you, making it an ideal snack. But many of us do not know how to properly prepare nuts so that we can better digest them. Is it necessary to soak nuts? The answer to that question is yes, absolutely!
Nuts have phytic acid. Phytic acid is also found in grains and legumes. Just as with grains and legumes, soaking nuts is essential for proper digestions. When eating nuts that haven’t been soaked, the phytic acid binds to minerals in the gastrointestinal tract and can not be absorbed in the intestine and to many bound minerals can lead to mineral deficiencies. By soaking, you are breaking down the phytic acid so it can be absorbed properly.
Nuts also have high amounts of enzymes inhibitors. This is another reason why un soaked nuts are hard to digest. Soaking nuts can neutralize the enzymes allowing for proper digestion.
Signs That You Aren’t Digesting Nuts
Have you ever had a heavy feeling in your lower stomach after eating too many nuts that were not soaked?
Have you noticed the next day that the nuts are in your stool? These are a few signs that the nuts were not properly digested.
It isn’t hard to soak and dry your nuts. It actually only takes a few minutes of hands on work to accomplish this task. Time is what you need to allow the nuts to soak and dry.
How To Soak Nuts
I have learned this method of drying and soaking from the research of Sally Fallon and her great book ~ Nourishing Traditions: The book that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats. If you do not have a copy of her cookbook it is a great resource of information and is an essential cookbook for traditional cooking.
So the basic method of soaking nuts is pretty much the same with some slight variations. Basically, you soak the nuts in salt water (salt is necessary to help neutralize the enzymes) and then you dry them.
Be sure to fully dry your nuts or they could become moldy. You do not want to dry your nuts any higher than 150°F. You can use a Nesco American Harvest Snackmaster Encore Dehydrator or an oven to dehydrate your nuts.
A lot of the newer ovens do not go below 200ºF. You can most likely change the default setting of 200°F. Check your owners manual to learn how for your make and model. You can also set your oven to the lowest temperature and leave it slightly a-jarred. Use an internal thermometer to reach the desired temperature.
One last thing I want to note. Soaking the nuts not only helps with digestion but it enhances the flavor tremendously! They are slightly crispy, have a nice texture, and taste amazing. That alone encourages me to soak my nuts! If you haven’t tried to soak your nuts, give this method a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised how easy and delicious soaked nuts are!
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Recipes
Almonds
- 4 cups almonds – shop for quality nuts here
- 1 tbsp unrefined sea salt – shop for unrefined salt here
- filtered water (enough to cover nuts)
Soak overnight or a minimum of 7 hours
Dehydrate for 12-24 hours or until crisp
Macadamia Nuts
- 4 cups raw macadamia nuts – shop for quality nuts here
- 1 tbsp unrefined sea salt – shop for unrefined sea salt here
- filtered water (enough to cover nuts)
Soak overnight or a minimum of 7 hours
Dehydrate for 12-24 hours or until crisp (do not use temperature above 150°F)
Cashews
- 4 cups raw cashews – shop for quality nuts here
- 1 tbsp unrefined sea salt – shop for unrefined sea salt here
- filtered water (enough to cover nuts)
Soak overnight or a minimum of 7 hours
Dehydrate for 12-24 hours or until crisp (do not use temperature above 150°F)
Pecans & Walnuts
- 4 cups raw pecans or walnuts – shop for quality nuts here
- 2 tsp unrefined sea salt – shop for unrefined sea salt here
- filtered water (enough to cover nuts)
Soak overnight or a minimum of 7 hours
Dehydrate for 12-24 hours or until crisp (do not use temperature above 150°F)
Pine Nuts & Hazelnuts
- 4 cups pine nuts or hazelnuts – shop for quality nuts here
- 1 tbsp unrefined sea salt – shop for unrefined sea salt here
- filtered water (enough to cover nuts)
Soak overnight or a minimum of 7 hours
Dehydrate for 12-24 hours or until crisp (do not use temperature above 150°F)
Pumpkin seeds
- 4 cups pumpkin seeds – shop for quality seeds here
- 2 tbsp unrefined sea salt – shop for unrefined sea salt here
- filtered water (enough to cover pumpkin seeds)
Soak overnight or a minimum of 7 hours
Dehydrate for 12 hours or overnight (do not use temperature above 150°F).
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Thank you for clarifying this!! So, if I only have a gas oven with no pilot, I need to bake them at the lowest setting (possibly with the door ajar) for 12-24 hours? If I can borrow a dehydrator, is that better? (probably cheaper!) Thanks!
if I don’t have a oven can I just lay them out do I run the risk of mold I also don’t have a dehydrator
I think a dehydrator works best. I set mine at 105 and the pecans were actually done in 8 hours and the almonds were done in 15 hours.
Thank you so much for this information! I have Sally Fallon’s book, I need to get into it some more! I had been wondering if it was necessary to soak nuts, so this answered a lot of my questions! Thank you!
Haven’t tried this yet, but it’s on my list! Thanks!
Do you need to dry them before eating them? I suppose I shouldn’t eat 4 cups of nuts in one sitting (should I?), but if I do smaller portions, or if i share the portions, surely i can eat them without drying them. The suggestion to dry nuts in an oven seems to defy holistic lifestyle – no consideration of the environment. Am I wrong?
@Inspired Economies The oven was given only as an alternative method if you do not have a dehydrator. Certainly you can dry them in a warm spot in your house if you would like, but I am afraid that mold might start to form on the nuts if they don’t dry out fully.
I would not recommend eating 4 cups at once. I have about an ounce per sitting. Nuts are very filling and a little should keep you satisfied for a long time.
Thank you for all the info. Just trying to confirm something, is it ok to soak and then let them air dry? I appreciate your help, thank you.
It doesn’t appear anyone has answered your question. Air dry should be fine if you have warm (and dry) enough air. If it takes too long to dry, you are creating an environment for bacteria and mold to grow, and you don’t want that. You could sun dry them, if you’re in a warm climate and season, but thievery and consumption by birds and rodents would possibly be a problem!
I don’t wash any of my nuts but I blend them into dust & sprinkle onto my porridge or eat them with my yogurt & therefore I have no problem digesting them, what do you think please
You may eat them wet. Just soak one serving in a glass in the fridge overnight and eat them the next day. As soon as you take them out of water.
you can use a solar dehydrator
I agree with you. I don’t dry them. I shake off as much of the rinse water as I’m able to and then I put them in the refrigerator and spread the nuts out in a big bowl or in a baking pan and eat some everyday and each day the nuts are less moist and in about a week the nuts are completely dry and none of the nuts have ever become inedible. I think it’s a waste of one’s time and money to try to dry nuts in a oven or buy a dehydrator and run up your electric bill or gas bill (if you have a gas oven).
Thank you for posting this information. I have on my “to do” list to purchase Nourishing Traditions, but it’s just not in the budget right now.
If you haven’t gotten it yet, do what I did before purchasing it. I borrowed it from the library. But once I returned it I purchased it from Amazon.
Question: For pumpkin seeds, are those in the shell or hulled. And if hulled, is there an easy way to do it?
What happens to the nuts if you dry they say at 300 degress until dry?
@Chef Art I am a bit confused by this question? 300F is to high, it would roast the nuts and destroy the good fats.
@hallecottis Hi Halle, I understand it would alter the nuts, but love them roasted in my moring yogurt. They seem to last longer in the frig if roasted a little. No?
@Chef Art Roasting may alter and damage the polyunsaturated fats in the nuts and they are more vulnerable to oxidation. Oxidized fats/rancid oils is what makes a nut taste off or have a “bad” taste. Rancid oils are pro-inflammatory and carcinogenic. Roasted, chopped, and ground nuts go rancid more quickly than raw nuts. You can heat raw nuts slightly on the stove at a very low temp to give it a bit crunchy taste. Also soaking and dehydrating the nuts also gives them a crispy texture.
Wow, all of a sudden nuts got a lot more expensive! They are costly enough but drying them for 15 hours in a gas oven?
so if I don’t have access to a oven or a dehydrator but to a hot pot or electric burner can I just gently women up and roast them to get rid of the water
Thank you for clarifying this!! So, if I only have a gas oven with no pilot, I need to bake them at the lowest setting (possibly with the door ajar) for 12-24 hours? If I can borrow a dehydrator, is that better? (probably cheaper!) Thanks!
Thanks for the info Halle. I am sprouting them, draining and drying them in the oven at a little higher temp to get them dryed quicker. I also like them a little crisper also.
I have the luxury of having a dehydrator. The dehydrator instructions say that for whole live foods to maintain their nutritional integrity you must not dehydrate them at over 115º F..There is some information that says you can go to 125º. After going to the effort to buy good quality nuts, and soaking them overnight, why risk destroying the benefits you have garnered by drying at too high a temperature?
You must use raw nuts, salted dry roasted nuts will not work. If you just want to sprinkle some nuts on a dish for flavor and texture, go ahead and toast them. You will lose most of the nurtitional value that many of us rely on.
A well dehydrated nut or 12 is a flavorful crunchy delight full of nutrition.
Hi…Can you tell me how long soaked raw nuts last w/o drying them. I like to make nut milk, but I don’t drain the nuts. Thank you!
You have to drain the nuts! All the bad phytic acid from the nuts is in the soaking water now! If you don’t drain AND rinse the nuts after soaking, you’re just ingesting all the phytic acid you worked so hard to pull off of the nuts in the first place. Drain and rinse the nuts thoroughly and then blend with fresh water to make nut milk.
Why not edit your article and add that little tidbit of info to your instructions… It is not self-evident, I drained but left unrinsed to leave some salt for taste… As far as I knew, soaking in the salt water draws out and neutralizes the acids…. It’s important to be thorough with your instruction… Thank you!
Oh my Chris that comment was quite condescending, you may want to be careful how you word things? Just a suggestion. I am so grateful that I found this site. Now I know exactly ho to properly take care of my nuts!
Is drying the nuts in kitchen wipes or paper napkins for 5 minutes sufficient ? And can I soak almonds and walnuts together in the same container ? Thank you in advance 🙂
After soaking the nuts, is it sufficient to wipe and dry them in kitchen wipes for 5 minutes (and then its ready for consumption) ?
And can I soak almonds and walnuts together in the same container ? Thank you in advance 🙂
@sutejsharma yes you can soak the two nuts together, just adjust the salt a bit. You can soak them between 2 paper towels, but they won’t be crisp and dry. If you are okay with that, then it should be just fine.
@hallecottis @sutejsharma Hi Halle thanks for your reply. I want to know if it is sufficient to dry them using paper towels after they have been soaked. That is, drying them with paper towels as opposed to using an oven… Thanks !
@sutejsharma @hallecottis no I don’t think they would dry between 2 towels. I think it is important to dry them fully in the oven or dehydrator so mold doesn’t start to form as they dry.