When a recipe calls for “blanched almonds,” do you run to the store to buy a bag? No need! You can easily skin a batch of almonds using the simple method outlined below.
Certain dishes require the use of skinless almonds. Removing the skin gives the almonds a smooth texture, which is helpful in making dishes like almond flour, almond butter, or marzipan.
Blanching your own almonds is more cost-effective than buying the skinless kind at the grocery store, and it only takes a minute… literally, just one minute! You’ll never spend the extra money on pre-blanched almonds again.
Recommended Products:
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
How to Blanch Almonds
Ingredients
- Raw unsalted almonds, more or less as needed
- pot for boiling, strainer
NOTES
Instructions
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil.
- Place your raw almonds into the boiling water. Let them boil for exactly one minute. Don't boil for any longer than 60 seconds, or your almonds will start to soften.
- Drain the almonds immediately in a colander or strainer and rinse them with cold water to cool them.
- Blot the almonds dry with a paper towel. You'll notice that the skins will be slightly shriveled.
- Use your fingers to gently squeeze the almonds and loosen the skin from them. Careful, if you squeeze too hard they'll shoot across the room-- which is fun, but not super practical! You can squeeze them from one hand into another to keep them from "launching" too far.
- Once you remove the skins, let the almonds dry off completely. Discard the skins.
- Now the almonds are blanched and ready to use in your recipe!
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Note: Nutrition information above is for 1/4 pound blanched almonds.
After skin the almond, do we need to roast them in the oven to totally dry them?
Hi Julia, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. You don’t need to roast the almonds, they will dry on their own.
I first read about this method back in the 1970s. But had forgotten all about it. I do not have a stove. So just boiled the kettle and soaked the almonds for one minute. Still worked. Although 45 minutes to shell one cup almonds was a tad boring. Nah next time I will buy them peeled 🙂
Of course, it does take longer than a minute, when you add in the time to remove the skins. On the other hand, it works amazingly well, and is very satisfying on a primal level, kind of like popping bubble wrap, but with something useful to show for your efforts at the end. Thanks for a great tip!
Hi
Really easy. Thanks a lot.
Lola
works unbeleivably! can’t thank you enough! how often does a website instruction site do exact what it says it will??!!!
I’m getting ready to make mixed sugar nuts for Christmas and found my husband got me raw skin-on almonds at the store. The recipe says “blanched” almonds. And so must blanch. Your instructions for blanching look extremely easy and straightforward….and reading many of the comments by other neo-blanchers, makes me very confident I can do it. Thank you for putting the information in short, direct sentences; and for explaining WHY we are doing each task. Very helpful!
I was so happy with the results!! It works perfect and it was very easy . Thank you for your tip.
How does higher altitude affect blanching?
Hi Judithanne– I don’t think that altitude should effect the blanching process, but I’m not 100% sure. I don’t live at altitude but generally speaking baked recipes tend to be the most problematic at altitude. A simple blanching process shouldn’t be an issue, I wouldn’t think.
An quick and effective method to remove the skins after blanching is to rub them (altogether) in a slightly damp dish towel. Place them on the towel and roll both hands over the covered nuts. They come off super easily. I imagine a paper towel would work, too. This method works well for filberts/hazelnuts, too, after roasting them.
This worked well. I’m making Horchata. It took about 2 minutes of soaking with 180 degree water to loosen the skins. 1 cup in about 3 minutes. It was fun squirting them into the sink.
I soak the almonds overnight using cold water right out of the faucet.
Eight hours is a good minimum soaking time, but you can leave them soaking for much longer. (If you’re going to let them soak longer than 12 hours try to change the water once.)
The texture and “bite” of the almonds is much better.
I like this “cold blanching” method much better than using hot water because the almonds, in cold water, slowly absorb water and become wonderfully softer, smooth, and a bit plump. I can then easily peel and eat them as is, or I sliver them and mix them into my yogurt or kefir along with some fresh fruit for breakfast. Delicious. I eat 5-10 almonds almost every day.
I did the same way but it tasted bitter 2 days later…any tips?
This is great! Could you use the same method to blanch other nuts? Hazelnuts for example.
The blanching technical is awesome and so easy thanks lots . . . .
Hi,
I would love to try to make almond butter with blanched almonds.. I have raw almonds(truly raw that were imported)
After blanching them, should they be dried in an oven? Any suggestion as to temps and for how long? I don’t have a dehydrator. Would there be too much moisture to make an almond butter?
I’ve made almond butter with the skins from light toasted almonds that started out raw. I’m guessing that part of the “after taste” was from the skin. So, I thought blanching might be the way to go.
Thanks
It’s a very interesting method which I’ve come through.thanks for sharing.
Thankz for the wonderful tip..saved a lot of time..and became a hero in front of my family 🙂
How do you dry the blanched almonds?
I made amaretto cookies not too long ago and after blanching them, I peeled them and used them right away.
When you say dry, does using paper towels enough ?
I want to make the cookies again on the 23rd of Dec but I’d like to blanch the almonds tonight to save time.
Can I dry the almonds with paper towels and then put them in freezer bag and leave them in the fridge or on the counter over night?
Awaiting your response,
Thanks
Louise
I’m very sorry it has taken so long to respond. I got very backed up with comments over the holidays. I usually just pat them dry with paper towels, and I usually keep them in the fridge after peeling.
I just did a couple of pounds of almonds this way. Here are my tweaks:
After boiling them for about 75 sec (so the water would come to a boil after putting in the nuts), I drained them and put them into a bowl of ice to cool and stay wet.
Being a bit lazy, I wanted a faster way to peel the skins than one at a time. I didn’t have an exfoliating glove as one of the readers suggested, but I did have one of those micro fiber cleaning cloths. I placed about a quarter cup at a time onto it, rolled and massaged it on the counter and voila!, peeled blanched almonds en masse.
Thank you for posting and teaching this easy (once you learn it) lesson.
Thank you for such a time saving post!
i was looking for peeled almonds and my granddaughter said why don’t you google how to peel an almond. I’m going to try this but after peeling them put them in the oven, lightly salted.
Thanks! I bought 2.5 pound of raw almonds yesterday that need to be blanched. I saw another site that said to just boil them for exactly 1 minute (like yours) but they implied the skins would then magically disappear.
I’m going to try making almond extract – even though it’s usually made from cherry and peach seeds. I’ll let you know how it goes (both the skin removal and the extract)! I will be working in small batches since this will be the first time removing almond skins and I don’t want them reattaching because I’m too slow 🙂
Update: I blanched about 2 pounds of almonds. I did three batches so they were roughly 12 oz per batch. Boiled 1 minute, rinsed under cold water. Worked fabulously. I found a few almonds that a completely intact skin so I had to tear a wee bit for the almond to slide through. Out of all the almonds, about 5 ended up on the floor as “man overboard”s when they really shot out of the skin. The first batch or so was fun, but by batch 3 it was completely just a job to be done. Luckily it was a really easy job. 🙂
Once I had the almonds blanched and skins removed, I let the almonds dry a bit on paper towels or kitchen towels. Then a gave them a slight buzz in the food processor (which I should have also done in batches – live and learn) and baked them at 350F for 15 minutes to toast the almonds. That’s supposed to help bring out the oils which I wanted for the extract. Then, I divided the almonds between a 1/2 gallon mason jar and a 1 quart mason jar and filled each jar with 40 proof vodka. Shimmy shake, store in a cool, dark place, shake once a day or so and … hopefully … in a month or so I’ll have a ton of unbelievably good almond extract 🙂
Great Chandra! Enjoy the extract!