Who needs an open fire to roast chestnuts? You can do it yourself using your oven! Roasting and peeling chestnuts is a relatively simple process. Homemade roasted chestnuts will fill your home with a wonderful aroma– they smell like the winter holidays!
Did you know that chestnuts are sometimes referred to as the “bread of the mountain”? This is because, unlike other fatty tree nuts, chestnuts are much higher in carbohydrates. In northern Italy, before the arrival of corn, ground chestnuts were a key component in making polenta. In early 19th century America chestnuts were very common; so common, in fact, that farmers would allow their pigs to fatten up by eating the extra chestnuts that had fallen to the forest floor. The high quality lumber produced from chestnut trees was often used in furniture making and construction. During the first half of the 1800s a blight that arrived with Asian-imported trees nearly wiped out the American chestnut. Those trees were eventually replaced with heartier and more resistant chestnut trees, which are the type we see most often today. Chestnuts are now viewed as more of a seasonal holiday luxury. If you’ve ever traveled to New York City, you’ve surely noticed the sweet smell of chestnuts being roasted and sold by street vendors. It’s intoxicating!
If you would rather not go through the work of roasting and peeling your own, you can generally find pre-roasted and shelled chestnuts at major supermarkets and gourmet shops. Keep in mind that roasted chestnuts are best eaten right away, as they mold and spoil fairly quickly. NOTE: edible chestnuts are very different from horse chestnuts (commonly found in back yards), which are terribly bitter and toxic. Only use edible culinary chestnuts for roasting!
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How to Roast and Peel Chestnuts
Ingredients
- 1 pound raw chestnuts, in shell
- sharp knife, pot and strainer, large bowl
NOTES
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. To prepare your chestnuts, grasp them firmly between your thumb and index finger and carefully make a long slice across the rounded top of the chestnut with a sharp serrated bread knife. Careful, the shell is slippery. You should be able to slice it in one motion. If you have trouble cutting through, use gentle sawing motions, don't force the blade down or you run the risk of cutting your hand.
- Be sure to cut all the way through the shell.
- Once all of your chestnuts have been cut, place them into a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a simmer.
- Once the water begins to simmer, remove the chestnuts from the water using a mesh strainer or slotted spoon and transfer them to a baking sheet.
- Roast for 15 minutes, or until the shells begin to peel back where you cut into them.
- Remove the chestnuts from the oven. Place them into a bowl and cover with a towel for 15 minutes. Allowing them to steam a bit will make them easier to peel.
- Once the 15 minutes have passed, simply pull on the shell and slip the chestnut out. Some will be easier to peel than others. Both the outer shell and the tough brown skin around the chestnuts should be peeled off. If you run into any nuts that seem gooey or disintegrated inside, it means that they have spoiled. Chestnuts tend to have a short shelf life, spoiled nuts should be tossed.
- Voila! You now have freshly roasted and peeled chestnuts. They're not the easiest things to peel, but these tender, sweet and fragrant nuts are a welcome treat during the winter months.
Robert E Evans says
This recipe looks great! But the bigger question is, how do you differentiate a horse chestnut from the edible ones we’re talking about here? There is a chestnut tree on the corner near me that is loaded this year with big round spiked pods that are beginning to split open, releasing the chestnuts. The chestnuts look like the ones in your photos, but how can I tell if these are the edible ones and not the poisonous variety?
Tori Avey says
That I’m not sure of Robert… sorry I can’t help you out more!
Angela says
It’s really easy to tell the difference between sweet chestnuts and horse chestnuts. Horse chestnuts, also known as Conkers, are round, like little boulders. Their cases look like the medieval weapon called a mace – they have large spikes that look like thorns poking out from them. Sweet chestnuts are in a case which has lots of tiny spikes that look almost like spiky fur. The sweet chestnuts are shaped like a little bag, with a rounded bottom and a pointed top.
Simon says
Hello, my name is Simon. I’ve had great success with this recipe over the last couple of weeks – I’m just nuts about chestnuts now that I’ve found this method. I fondly remember as a wee lad, back in England, playing conkers ( these are horse chestnuts which are poisonous) in the school years. I’m ever so happy to have found this recipe and chestnuts here in Australia to cook with my family!!!
Chalsie says
Thanks for sharing this method. It was absolutely beautiful. However in my opinion, if you cut along the chestnuts they will be easier to peel then cutting across.
Maggie says
I tied the long cut and it’s just not for me. With the crosscut is working fine.
This time I didn’t boiled them, I just poured boiling hot water from the kettle and I waited about 5min and thereafter I put them in the oven. 200 degrees for 15min.
It’s working well ?
David E Richey says
I Love Chestnuts!!!!
Della B. says
Does this work with all varieties of chestnuts? I bought some chestnuts from China and could not get the skins off at all. I end up using a potato peeler.
Tori Avey says
This method is meant for traditional edible chestnuts sold in American markets. I am not sure about the Chinese variety, sorry!
Tonya says
Hi! Just followied this recipe. Just used kitchen shears to cut the chestnuts. It worked great so wanted to pass it on. They came out delicious!!
Tori Avey says
Great tip Tonya!
Eugenia says
This is the easiest and more successful chestnut roasting recipe I have tried! Thanks so much!
Ahmed says
Thanks you made my day
TERRI R. says
Most successful roasting ever!! Will use this method from now on!
Fred says
This relatively quick method worked great! I did a cross shaped cut. Most of the chestnuts popped out intact. A few were reluctant. Thanks!
Crafty42 says
Looking forward to giving this a try. I recently purchased a new piece of property that has two asian chestnut trees in near the house. I’ve tried 2 methods of roasting them in my oven so far and have not had much success. I think the problem I am having is with how long to roast them and at what temperature. The first batch I did came out tasting earthy (under cooked?), while the second batch I tried came out very hard (over cooked?).
Arlene says
Helpful tip. Place chestnut on damp towel while cutting. Keeps everything from slipping.
San ball says
Dad used to use a sharp paring knife and make an X on the chestnuts instead of making one large cut across the top. Once steamed, it was easy to peel the four corners back instead of having two halves to pull. Those corners are easier to grasp! I still use this method with great success.
Seana Daley says
This is great for you to write cos we have forever done that too!! Its sooo easy to peel!!!
chrisgg says
I found cutting across the middle of the chestnuts as shown in the picture did not work well for peeling. I tried cutting across the base, where the scar is, and they were much easier to peel. Also, you don’t necessarily need a high roasting temperature of 425F for 15 minutes. A low roasting temp of 250F for 30-40 minutes works just as well. The sweet smell you get from the street vendors selling chestnuts is due to caramelizing of the shells and part of the nuts as they scorch on the coals, not due to any fragrance of the nuts themselves..
Michelle says
I have been peeling mine this way for years and my only thing different is that I add a tbsp of kosher salt to the water because I like the salt with the sweet and I think it makes them taste a bit more intense. A super easy way to candy them is to bring 1 cup dark brown sugar and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Let boil over med/low heat for 5 mins. add your dried peeled roasted chestnuts to the thick syrup and toss them till they are all coated. Lay them out in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and pop them into a pre heated 350 oven for 5 mins. Pull them out, flip them around and lay out in a single layer and pop them back in for another 5 mins. Pull them out and let them cool. You can add spices to The syrup but I find just the brown sugar is enough. I want to taste the chestnut and find too much seasoning other than salt or brown sugar just covers the actual taste of the nut.
Margaret says
This was my first experience with Chestnuts, I was amazed how wonderful they taste. I did not really get a large scent from baking them. I can smell everything. Found this recipe for my 1st time, after looking at many and I am so thankful I found this for my first attempt. Wow those are some delicious nuts. I live in the South, and I see no chestnut trees here. Bought my nuts, many were bad. Wonder where I can order these from? I am moving and going to see if a tree will grow in Texas? Have pecans, enough for 10 families or more every year. Moving will lose that tree, some were planted at my son’s. They may bear soon. Thanks for this recipe and so glad I found it.. Has to be an old one from a family recipe. Need to find how many nuts make 50 carbs?
Doreen says
Wow to be able to have my favourite nut growing in my back garden sounds like heaven. I live in England so growing nuts is out. Lol
Mary Ann says
8 carbs per nut so about 6 for 50.
Susie says
Hi Tori,
We tried the method and did not have a good outcome. I heard some loud popping coming from our oven. It was the chestnuts alright. They started popping out violently. I filled the recommended temperature an de time. What I ended up with was a huge mess in our oven and kitchen. 🙁
Joeyfingers says
If you cook them till they pop , U cooked them to long …. when baking them the point is to allow the liquid in them to steam them therefore freeing the shell, and baking to intensify the sugar flavor of the nut ! Good luck!
David Marin says
If they pop that means the shells were not cut through and steam was trapped within The whole reason for cutting the shells is to release pressure from the steam as they cook.
Kelsey says
Thanks to your recipe, I just finished successfully roasting chestnuts for the first time ever! All the other recipes I’ve tried in the past have ended in disaster for one reason or another. This time I’m left with nothing but beautiful, whole, easily-peeled nuts which taste incredible and have an amazing texture! I’ll only ever be using your method from now on!
Ann says
First time every roasting chestnuts. My family and myself have really enjoyed to the whole process. Thx! From Mississippi!
Linda says
Don’t know if it was the quality of my chestnuts, but this was a disaster! I’ve been roasting chestnuts for years, and always destroyed my hands. Hands were saved, but the results were horrible. Not easy to peel and I ended up with chestnut crumbs. The upside is that I don’t have to chop them!
Tori Avey says
Linda, I’m sorry to hear that! It must have something to do with the chestnuts themselves, as we have used this method many times (as have other readers) with great results. You can see how it works in the recipe video above, and see other comments below from satisfied readers. Disappointed it didn’t work out for you!
Anne J says
Tried this tonight, absolutely by far the easiest way. They were already starting to open after the water bath on the stove. After years of struggling to peel, with this recipe most of the peels just fell off. A few tough ones but they were either bad or I had not scored them enough with the knife, used the bread knife this year, wonderful! My thanks. Will be great to add to my stuffing tomorrow. I ate a couple as well.