These curry crusted pecans add spice to any salad! They make a great appetizer or crouton alternative for people on low-carb, Atkins, gluten-free, LC/HF, ketogenic, Paleo or Banting diets. 

Curry Crusted Pecans

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When I order food at a restaurant I always read the description on the menu and imagine what the food is going to be like when the waiter sets it down in front of me. Sometimes, my imagination is right on and the food I order is exactly as I expected. A few times, the food is even better than I had envisioned. Often, however, the food just isn’t quite what I expected it would be.

It is through one of these disappointments that this recipe was born. I was at a French restaurant in Charlotte and ordered a salad with frisbee, baby arugula, curried cashews, blue cheese crumbles and a chili oil vinaigrette. It looked fairly low-carb and sounded delicious!

While I waited for the salad to arrive, my mind toyed with the idea of what the salad would be like. Most of all, I was excited about the curried cashews. I imagined them as intoxicating crusted nibbles of spice. I couldn’t wait!

The moment came. The salad arrived and I realized immediately that my mind had made a mistake. Instead of the curry crusted cashews I had imagined, the salad was adorned with chopped cashews that had just a glimmer of curry seasoning. Don’t get me wrong–The salad was gorgeous and delicious, but not quite what I had expected.

Curry Crusted Pecans

Still, I was left wanting the intensely flavored nuts I had dreamed up, so I went to work in the kitchen.  I created the intensely flavored crusted nuts and made them a reality. Unfortunately, when I calculated the nutritional values for the recipe, I realized that cashews had more carbs than I had banked on.

No worries! I traded out the cashews for pecans since pecans have about half the carbs of cashews. The recipe is delicious with both types of nuts.

While these nuts make a great replacement for croutons, they also make a great appetizer. They are nutty bits of spicy goodness! Enjoy!

-Annissa

 

These curry crusted pecans add spice to any salad! They make a great appetizer or crouton alternative for people on low-carb, Atkins, gluten-free, LC/HF, ketogenic or Banting diets.

 

Curry Crusted Pecans

These curry crusted pecans add spice to any salad! They make a great appetizer or crouton alternative for people on low-carb, Atkins, gluten-free, LC/HF, ketogenic or Banting diets. 
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4
Author Annissa Slusher

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cup pecans quantity divided
  • 4 teaspoons water
  • 2 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon fresh cilantro minced

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 250º Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.

  2. Using a food processor, process 1/4 cup of pecans (reserving 1 cup for later) until they are very finely ground. 

  3. Add the water to the food processor and process to form a paste. Depending on the moisture content of the nuts, you may need to add an additional teaspoon of water. 

  4. Transfer pecan paste to a small bowl. Stir in the curry powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, sea salt and cilantro. When paste is well mixed, stir in the remaining cup of pecans, coating them with the paste.

  5. Spread the coated pecans evenly over the prepared cookie sheet, using your fingers to press on any coating that falls off.  Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and keep nuts in the oven for an additional 5 minutes while the oven cools to make them crispier.

  6. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

Serving size: about 1/4 cup

Per serving:

Calories: 240

Fat (g): 25

Carbs (g): 5

Fiber (g): 4

Protein (g): 3

Net carbs (g): 1