Perfect for cozy evenings, this is my step-by-step guide to making delicious roast chestnuts. Picture a crisp autumn evening, a cozy sweater, and the irresistible aroma of roast chestnuts wafting through the air.
Have you ever tried roasted chestnuts?
They give off a wonderful aroma when roasting and have a slightly sweet, nutty taste almost like a slightly nutty firm sweet potato when they’re roasted.
👩🍳 How to make them
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Place the chestnuts down on a chopping board on thier flat side.
- Make 2 slits in the rounded side using a sharp knife.
- Place the chestnuts on a baking sheet cut side up in a single layer.
- Roast them in the oven at 180C (350F) fan for 30-35 minutes until the shells start to come away from the ‘nut’ inside.
👩🍳PRO TIP You want to choose nice fresh raw chestnuts for roasting. Look for the ones with nice shiny outershells.
Once the chestnuts are cooked, peel off the outer shell and they’re ready to eat.
You could also use them for a Christmas or Thanksgiving stuffing, or I like to serve as a snack dusted with some sweet and salty cinnamon sugar to finish them off.
🍽️ What to serve with roast chestnuts
Roast chestnuts don’t really need anything to go with them but my memories of eating them is walking around Christmas markets in December or at bonfire night with a nice wintery drink so how about serving them with one of these:
Serve them up in some brown paper bags like you’d get from a street vendor.
？FAQs
I find that roasing them in the oven at 180C (350F) fan for 30-35 minutes until the shells start to come away from the ‘nut’ inside works just fine.
Chestnuts un the UK start falling between September and October.
The idea behind soaking the chestnuts in hot water is so that the outer shell comes away easier after roasting. I did not need to do this with my method as I’m using very fresh chestnuts and making sure to properly score through the outershell. Most people who recommend soaking say to soak them for about an hour in hot water.
They have a slightly sweet nutty taste almost like a slightly nutty firm sweet potato.
🍲 More fantastic wintery recipes
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📋 Roast Chestnuts Recipe
Ingredients
- 800 g (1.8 lbs) chestnuts
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F (fan).
- Whilst the oven is preheating we're going to prepare the Chestnuts. Place them on a board, flatter side down, and make a cross in the top of each chestnut with a knife. Try to just go through the brown outer layer.800 g (1.8 lbs) chestnuts
- Place them on a baking tray cut side up, then place the baking tray in the preheated oven and roast them for 30-35 minutes until the shell starts to come away from the 'nut' inside.
- Whilst the chestnuts are in the oven, mix together the salt, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl and put to one side.1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp sugar
- Remove them from the oven and leave on the side to cool for a few minutes.
- Once they're cool enough to handle, peel away the brown skin and husk then place the chestnuts in a bowl. Repeat until you've peeled them all.
- Sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar mix and toss them so they're nicely coated.
- Serve just like that or in brown paper bags like a street vendor would.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I was recently gifted some sweet chestnuts and didn’t have a clue what to do with them. Thank you for this recipe, they were delicious and brought back fab memories of German Christmas Markets.