Almonds are an indispensable part of a balanced diet and a well-equipped food cabinet. On the one hand, they are full of healthy nutrients and can, therefore, be described as a true superfood, like almost all nuts . On the other hand, they are also true all-rounders in the kitchen and can be used in an incredibly versatile way.
Whether as a topping for porridge and muesli, plain as a snack in between, pureed into almond sauce or almond drink, processed into cakes, pies, and more, or roasted as a popular Advent market candy, hardly any nut has as many uses as almonds. We introduce you to the most popular 8 recipes that you can prepare with almonds.
Why almonds should not be missing from the menu
Like all nuts, almonds are very valuable for the diet and should be regularly on the menu. The high protein and fiber content in almonds ensures that you stay full longer, and the risk of food cravings can be reduced.
The magnesium content in almonds is also particularly noteworthy. With a handful of the delicious nuts, you already cover one-sixth of your daily requirements – this is sometimes one reason why athletes like to eat nuts so much .
As you may already know, all types of nuts have a relatively high fat content. The almond, with its 52 g/100 g, is even more likely to be one of the lower-fat varieties. However, it is easy to explain why nuts, and especially almonds, should not be labeled as thickeners: the fat they contain is mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and is therefore very healthy for the body, as it has a positive effect on cholesterol levels, for example.
And now we'll tell you how you can easily incorporate this super nut into your diet:
8 great recipes with almonds
Almonds as an ingredient or topping for your porridge or cereal
It couldn't be easier: If you want to ensure that part of your daily nut requirements are covered at breakfast, you can simply garnish your favorite cereal or porridge with a handful of almonds. Or you can choose a mix we have put together, because many of our varieties already contain almonds, such as our gluten-free porridges or our sports muesli almond fig .
Homemade almond sauce
Almond sauce is prepared faster than expected. Simply mix the desired amount of almonds in the blender until a creamy mass is formed. If necessary, you can add a little water or oil. If you keep the sauce in an airtight container in the fridge, you can keep it for a few days. The possible uses of almond butter are versatile – here are a few examples:
- as a topping for porridge, overnight oats, or smoothie bowls
- for binding/thickening sauces
- for refining vegetable dishes & soups
- as an ingredient for desserts
- for spoonfuls of snacking in between
- as a spread (instead of butter)
DIY almond drink – this is how it's done
More and more people are choosing not to use cow's milk. It does not matter whether they eat a vegetarian, vegan, or flexitarian diet – the trend is clearly towards plant-based drinks. The selection on the supermarket shelf is now huge, both in different varieties such as oat, soy, rice, coconut, or almond milk, as well as in different brands. But did you know that you can easily make your own almond drink? Here's how:
Almond milk
Accessories
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Strainer or nut milk bag (alternatively you can use a fine kitchen towel)
Ingredients
- 200 g almonds
- 1 tablespoon dates, agave syrup, or date syrup for sweetening
- 1 litre of water
- 1 pinch of salt
Preparation
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Soak the peeled almonds in a bowl of warm water.
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Leave the water-covered almonds overnight.
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Simply drain the water after soaking the next day.
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Then add the almonds with about twice as much fresh water and some sweetener to your high-performance blender. Also, add some salt to make your almond milk last longer.
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Afterwards, the almond milk is briefly sieved so that the milk no longer contains any pieces. The best way to do this is to use a nut milk bag, through which you squeeze the nut milk over a bowl.
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Don't throw away the little pieces of almond left over! You can combine them with oatmeal, hazelnuts, and other ingredients of your choice to make a delicious porridge.
Marzipan
If you write about almonds, you can't get past marzipan. Because this popular sweet basically consists only of ground almonds, which are peeled and blanched beforehand, and sugar. There are still small ambiguities about who invented the sweet. Although historians largely agree that marzipan originated in the Orient, more precisely in Persia or today's Iran, there is a local legend that says it was created in Lübeck at the beginning of the 15th century.
Wherever it was actually prepared for the first time, marzipan is now widespread and probably one of those foods that you may or may not like. Of course, you can also make it yourself!
Bake with almonds and almond flour
Next to the hazelnut, the almond is probably the most used nut in baking, which is probably due to its fine taste. The ground version, almond flour, is particularly popular with celiac patients, as it contains no gluten and is therefore a great alternative. The carbohydrate content is also much lower compared to conventional flour, which is why almond flour can also support a low-carb diet . Unfortunately, neither low-carb nor gluten-free, but incredibly delicious is our granola tart with yogurt and almonds:
Granola tart with yogurt and almonds
Ingredients
- 120 g oatmeal
- 30g chopped almonds
- 40 g grated almonds
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 300 g yogurt
- Fruit of choice
- Nuts as a topping
Preparation
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First, preheat the oven to 180 degrees convection.
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Put the oatmeal, almonds, maple syrup, honey, and melted coconut oil in a bowl. Then mix all the ingredients together well. Make sure that the mass sticks together well.
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Then place the granola base in a baking pan and press the granola tightly to create a small rim. Make sure that the dough is really well squeezed.
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Bake the granola base at 180 degrees for 35 minutes.
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After the baking time, remove the granola base from the oven and let it cool briefly.
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Then take the granola base out of the mold. As a topping, take 300g of yogurt and put it on the granola base.
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Finally, top the granola tart with fruit of your choice and other toppings such as nuts.
Vegan cream cheese from almonds
Did you know that almonds can even be made into cream cheese? A very welcome alternative for vegans. You can, but you don't have to use the packaged version in the supermarket (which probably doesn't exist everywhere yet), but you can easily make your own fresh almond cheese yourself. By the way, it also works with cashews!
Green pesto with almonds (vegan)
Hardly anything is as easy to prepare as pesto. Because even if there are already countless vegan, vegetarian, and non-vegetarian variants in the supermarket, it somehow tastes best homemade. Incidentally, there are no limits to your creativity here, such as arugula, basil, parsley, or spinach leaves as a green base and almonds, cashews, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds as crispy flavor carriers. How about an almond leaf spinach pesto with pine nuts?
Green pesto with almonds
Ingredients
- 70 g almonds
- 15 g pine nuts
- 70 g baby leaf spinach
- a few basil leaves
- 1 half lemon
- 1-2 cloves of garlic
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Preparation
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First, place the almonds and pine nuts in a small blender and crush them.
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Next, add the spinach and basil leaves and mix everything again.
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Next, squeeze half the lemon and add the lemon juice.
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Place the 2 cloves of garlic in a garlic press and add them to the pesto.
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Finally, add 4 tablespoons of olive oil and mix well in your blender. Season the pesto to taste; we used salt and pepper.
Burnt almonds
At the very end, it will be a little Christmas-like. Because the smell of roasted almonds is indispensable at Advent markets. But what does "burned" actually mean? In this case, the word refers to the preparation of Christmas treats. The almonds are cooked in a sugar-water mixture until the sugar caramelizes (or "burns off") and forms a shiny layer around the nuts.
Homemade roasted almonds are also great as a topping for Christmas porridge or as a zero-waste gift for a sustainable Christmas . In this blog post, we'll show you how.
As you can see, wonderful things can be conjured from almonds. Do you have a favorite?
