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.
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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.
Lee Z. says
Thanks for this Tori. The almond milk I made with skins on made the back of my throat a little itchy, I suspect due to the almond skin. I will definitely try it next time using blanched almonds next.
Suzanne says
Thanks for the quick tutorial! As a visual learner, I appreciate the pix, too. Cheers!
Leslie says
Hi Tori,,such helpful video and info above! Love how easy it is to remove that irritating skin and so relaxing is right! Question…I eat a lot of organic and sprouted foods–is there a way to sprout almonds (I’ve soaked for few days raw almonds and then have had to remove the skin which isnt easy but so very worth it as they’re delicious!:) without the skin..
Thanks, Leslie
Tori Avey says
Leslie, that’s a great question! I’ve never tried it. I would think they will sprout fine without the skin, but you’d need to experiment with a few to be sure. Let us know if you do!
Janice says
Incredibly easy. I poured the almonds from a colander after draining them onto a paper towel and rubbed the almonds inside the paper towel then kept them sitting on the damp paper towels while peeling them and they stayed nice and moist.
I held the almond in my left hand between my thumb and first two fingers with the pointed end down and squeezed the skin off pushing the almond out into my right hand and only lost a couple that shot across the room.
Thank you for a fool proof idea!
Tori Avey says
You’re welcome Janice! 🙂
JONNO from Oz says
Ladies……and you two gents. While you have enjoyed the process and the resulting products, you are missing out on the BEST of all. ROASTED ALMONDS for snacking.
Preparation
1. In a 9- by 13-inch pan, mix almonds with oil.
2. Bake in a 350° regular or convection oven until nuts are golden, 12 to 14 minutes, stirring once about halfway through. Add salt to taste. Let cool completely.
A Sheila from Yank Land sent me some once and sent me out of this world. She pulled it from a Yank Magazine SUNSET. You will thank me forever!
Jenx says
Was an awful experience! But, having a great husband and little boy made the recovery much easier… I hope my story will bring awareness, even if you are healthy, not to put off UTI’s or kidney infections. It happened to me.
I was reading in the comments about the skins not being good for you. Interesting. When I started eating raw almonds (about a handfull a day), I started getting headaches and found online other people had the same reaction. I wonder if its from those nasty skins.
Anyway – thanks so much for your tip, I cant imagine this not working for anyone! As simple as it gets.
Jenx says
Last year I got a UTI and put off going to the doctor for a day or 2. Unbeknownst to me the infection spread to my kidney which lead to Septic Shock, 10 days on a respirator, and 6m physical therapy to learn to walk again. Since then I’ve been selective with food choices and eating organic.Eating whole raw almonds has many benefits but I hate those skins.
I heated 1c water in the microwave until boiling, took it out and tossed in a handful of almonds for 80 seconds, drained and…. They slid right off like butter. I’m munching right now. 🙂
Tori Avey says
Wow Jenx, what a story! Thankful you got better and that you’re now enjoying the almonds. 🙂
Ann says
Thank you for the tip. It worked perfectly.
Gail Nurnberg says
Thanks Tori,
After looking for a while for blanched almonds, (I remember way back when , when you could buy them), and not having any luck, I got to thinking about blanching, could it be like blanching tomatoes when we can them. So here I am on line finding out, and you can. Thanks for putting this on line. . Now I can make my flourless chocolate cake, I found in a diabetic cook book. Yeah!
Gail
Tori Avey says
You’re welcome Gail! 🙂
Don says
Thanks to you, our chocolate-burned-almond ice cream has been saved! But be warned – if you see any flying almonds, they were launched from our man cave!
Tori Avey says
LOL!
Rick says
Tori,
Glad I found your site on the internet. Excellent “recipe” for blanching almonds. They are drying and awaiting a trip to the food processor to be transformed to a flour and then into macaroon shells. My first go. Thanks!
Tori Avey says
Good luck with the macaroons Rick!
Marnie Schwartz says
Tori,
Not only are your recipes delicious with helpful comments, but your hints & information are very useful & practical. I thank you for helping me cook better than before.
Kol Toov (all good things),
Marnie
Tori Avey says
You’re welcome Marnie!
Emma says
I just used this tutorial to blanch 2 cups of almonds. It worked a treat- thank you Tori!
Melissa says
Thanks for the tip! Was perfect!!
Anna says
Hi, I have read most of the comments and see that some people want to know what to do with the skins and water. Here’s what I do; the skins go into the compost bin, I water my outdoor plants with the water the almonds are blanched in, I was told it’s good for them. BTW I posted a comment in Nov about making almond flour, here’s what I’ve found out since. I make almond milk with the blanched almonds (using my Nutra-bullet), strain the pulp in a jelly strainer, dry the squeezed pulp in a low temp oven ….then put the dry pulp into my Nutra-Bullet, it makes a fine (literally) almond flour, now I’m trying out recipes using the almond flour….I love experimenting with foods!
sheshe says
I will be trying this method, it sounds great!!!
I was wondering, if there is a way to do this and make almond milk as well? I currently don’t have much use for the almond meal, since I just bought a book on almond flour- gf diet for the family. I have a question though. If I needed to make a large batch of almond flour, should I boil and peel the almonds in small batches? Would you say about 1/2 cup at a time?
Tori Avey says
Hi Sheshe, please see my almond milk post and read through the comments, you may find the answers you need: https://toriavey.com/how-to/how-to-make-almond-milk/
VYinLA says
I would. When I did 12 oz. they started to dry and it wasn’t as easy, so I would do maybe a cup at a time.
kiki says
I followed the directions to a T . It has taken me over an hour to peel 1/2 cup of the skins and ruin my manicure. What did I
do wrong? Will not use this procedure again.
Tori Avey says
Hi Kiki– did you let the almonds sit for an extended period of time after boiling? If yes then the skins probably reattached, as they become dry the skins tend to get sticky again. If you skinned them after boiling the skins should slip right off. Other readers have had great success with this method (read the comments above). Sorry it didn’t work for you!
VYinLA says
I agree it was more time consuming than I expected. I did it because I couldn’t find blanched almonds–but just found a source so honestly I think next time I need at least 12 oz I will buy.
Tori Avey says
It only takes a second per almond, but if you have a lot to go through it can be cumbersome. For small amounts I find it quite easy.
Nancy says
I am planning to use a recipe that calls for ground blanched almonds, not almond flour or almond milk. After I blanch my almonds (which I have never done before!) do you have any suggestions regarding successfully grinding the almonds so they don’t turn into either a paste or flour? Thanks!
Tori Avey says
Hi Nancy, just pulse them in a food processor carefully with 1-second pulses till they reach the consistency you’re looking for. Be very careful as they can easily go from ground to flour if you don’t use a gentle touch!
Lavender says
How awesome this is!! I just tried it. It worked fabulously!! Thank you so much!!
Tori Avey says
You’re welcome! 🙂
Kim Taylor says
I have been trying to peel the skin off of my raw almonds for over 30 minutes now to no avail. I finally wised up and googled “easy way to peel almond skins,” which led me to your site. Thank you soooo much!! This worked so amazingly and I finished the rest of my batch in just a couple of minutes. Now it’s time to make Almond butter 🙂