Nothing Exotic, Just a Good Snack
I’ve been smoking cashews and almonds since at least 2015 — the oldest batch in my photo archive is dated May 2, 2015. It’s cashews and almonds, a slotted pan, and a smoker already running. Over the years smoked nuts have become a simple, reliable holiday snack — right alongside the smoked cheese, nothing more elaborate than that.
Equipment and Setup
This is a hot smoke, not a cold smoke — different from the cheese process entirely. I run the Weber Smokey Mountain on charcoal, with wood chunks added for flavor: hickory for cashews, cherry for the almonds. Some of my earliest batches ran closer to 275°F, but over time I settled at 225°F as my standard temperature. Everything goes in the same slotted Weber pan every time — the slots let smoke reach the nuts from underneath as well as on top.
The Process
Cashews come in 32 oz containers, one container per batch. Almonds are 3 lb bags, one bag per batch. For both, I’m not a measure-it-out guy — I sprinkle and pour. Enough olive oil to make the nuts shine when stirred, then seasoning added in stages: sprinkle, stir, sprinkle again, stir again, until everything’s evenly coated. Cashews get garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika; almonds get cinnamon and chipotle powder — that combination is what makes it Sweet Heat.
Each batch runs about 90 minutes at 225°F — even at that temperature there’s real risk of burning some of them, which is exactly why the stir matters. Stirring every 30 minutes keeps the heat even across the batch.
One tip worth knowing: cashews don’t taste right straight off the smoker. Let them cool before eating — the flavor settles and improves once they’re not still warm.
How Do I Know When They’re Done?
Ninety minutes at 225°F has become my standard rather than trying to judge them by appearance alone. The bigger concern is keeping them from scorching, which is why I stir every 30 minutes. And don’t judge the cashews straight off the smoker — let them cool before deciding what you think of the flavor.
Running Multiple Batches
At peak, I’ve done as many as six batches in a single day: four rounds of cashews, then two rounds of Sweet Heat almonds. I run all of one nut type before switching to the other — swap the wood chunks once, from hickory to cherry, and that’s the only change needed between types.
During my working years, I usually compressed this production into one weekend day — football on, and it wasn’t labor-intensive so much as a background task: watch some football, go stir the nuts, watch more, stir again, remove one batch, load the next. Each finished batch cools while the next one runs, and cashews go back into their original containers until it’s time to portion them out. Since retiring in 2026, I no longer have to force that schedule.
Storage
Once cooled, cashews go back into their original containers and almonds back into their bags, sealed and stored at room temperature.
A Decade of Smoked Nuts
I didn’t learn this from a recipe card. These are a few batches from my photo archive. Same slotted pan, same idea, years apart.
The Christmas Connection
The nuts go out alongside the smoked cheese every Christmas — nothing complicated, just a good snacking pairing that’s become part of the same holiday tradition.
FAQ
Is this a cold smoke, like the cheese? No. These nuts are hot-smoked over charcoal and wood at 225°F.
Why do cashews taste off right after smoking? They need to cool first. Warm cashews don’t taste right — give them time before sampling.
How many nuts can you do in a day? At peak, six batches — four cashew, two Sweet Heat almond — same smoker, one wood swap in between.
Related: Sweet Heat: Cherry-Smoked Cinnamon Almonds · Hickory-Seasoned Smoked Cashews · Smoking Nuts by the Batch: A Three-Batch Day