Honey Roasted Sesame Cashew Clusters are a naturally-sweetened, healthy snack of honey-covered cashews roasted with kosher salt and sesame seeds. Just four ingredients needed for these easy nut clusters!
As one does when one receives a fun new coffee gadget for Christmas (a pour over contraption!), we proceeded to overly caffeinate ourselves on a work night and unintentionally forgo sleep for a night. What my mind tends to do when it won't drift off to sleep is to drift to memories of the food I've eaten, and with it being the holidays, a highlight reel of winter treats paraded through my mind.
In particular I kept thinking about the sesame cashew brittle I made last year, but couldn't justify making another dessert when we're still getting through this year's Christmas sweets.
So! Since the flavor profile is pretty straightforward, I knew it wouldn't be tough to recreate the slight balance between sweet and savory into a healthy snack recipe you can feel good about eating in January (and, of course, year-round).
Recipe ingredients
As a semi-pro snack attacker, I am all about these sesame cashew clusters. One of the best parts of this recipe is the simple ingredient list. You'll need just whole cashews, honey, a little salt, and sesame seeds.
The quantity of ingredients for these honey sesame cashew clusters are customizable to a degree. I wouldn't use more than two tablespoons of honey to one cup of cashews as that could open up the possibility of them being too gloppy. You can add more salt if you like a more pronounced salty flavor...same thing with the sesame seeds.
On the subject of sesame seeds, I've made these cashew clusters with both toasted and raw sesame seeds and I suggest using toasted. The sesame flavor is more pronounced, which I love!
If you don't have store-bought toasted sesame seeds, you can toast them in the oven beforehand, which might seem like overkill since the cashews get baked. However since the oven temperature is on the lower side, the untoasted seeds in the first batch I made didn't toast up on the cashews as much as I wanted them to. So pre-toasted is the way to go.
Easy recipe steps
This recipe is pretty basic, but there are a few tips and tricks to simplify the process even more.
Heating the honey before stirring it into the cashews helps it more easily coat them without leaving globs and ensures they're all covered evenly. It's a key step in making struffoli, and it comes in handy big time here, too.
Once honey-coated, you'll also want to press the cashews into a single layer as much as you can to help them roast evenly, then sprinkle with kosher salt and toasted sesame seeds. Sweet, salty, savory goodness.
As the cashews roast (low heat! 300°F), the honey will bubble slightly and then turn a deeper golden color. Once removed from the oven and set out to cool for around twenty minutes, the honey loses most of its stickiness, leaving behind a slight sweetness and hint of honey flavor.
Recipe notes
- The parchment paper is clutch for easy clean-up. The roasted cashew slab lifts right off to help you break it into clusters in no time.
Honey Roasted Sesame Cashew Clusters
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole cashews
- 2 tablespoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon plus ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Situate an oven rack into the center of the oven and preheat oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add honey to a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 15 seconds, or until the honey flows easily. Add cashews to the bowl with the honey and stir to coat the cashews evenly.
- Pour cashews onto parchment-lined baking sheet and press so they're in a single layer.
- Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt and sesame seeds over top.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cashews become more fragrant and the honey mixture becomes a deeper golden color. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle remaining ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt over top. Let cool for at least 20 minutes on the sheet.
- Once cooled, break cashews into clusters and store at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
Food Safety and Nutrition Disclaimer
Kelly says
Made these with cashew pieces and turned out great! Thank you thank you!
Alyssa says
You're very welcome - I'm so glad you like them!
Annie says
Mmmm! I could snack on these all day, everyday!
Alyssa says
Thanks Annie!