13 Types of Nuts and How to Cook With Them

Photo by Travis Rainey, Food styling by Emilie Fosnocht

1. Acorns

The fruit of the oak tree—so, yes, they’re tree nuts—acorns are oval in shape with pointy ends and smooth, dark brown exteriors. According to The Oxford Companion to Food, “acorns have been eaten since prehistory times, and still are, but their use has greatly diminished.” Several species are indigenous to North America and were eaten by both Native communities and early settlers.

In parts of Europe—especially Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France—it’s traditional to feed pigs acorns. The high fat content of acorns, particularly oleic acid, is deposited in the pigs’ muscles, creating marbling that makes the meat tender, juicy, and richly nutty—a hallmark of specialties like jamón ibérico.

Because their raw meat is high in tannins and quite bitter, most acorns are processed before being distributed for human consumption. You can find acorn flour on sites like Etsy and Foraged and use it to make pancakes and baked goods, for example. (Note that acorn flour is rather dense, so many recipes may cut it with other flours.) In Korean cooking, acorn starch is used to make a savory jelly called dotorimuk.

Photo by Travis Rainey, Food styling by Emilie Fosnocht

2. Almonds

Slim, oval-shaped almonds have one pointed end and one rounded end and a thin brown skin marked with ridges. It’s relatively rare to find them with their shells on, but if you do, you’ll know they’re almonds if those exteriors are tan and marked with holes. At larger Middle Eastern stores and some farmers markets, look out for green almonds with soft, fuzzy exteriors in the springtime.

When sold as slivers instead of whole, they’ve often been blanched, a process that removes their skins, exposing cream-colored flesh. No matter how they’re sold, though, these good-for-you nuts contain calcium, magnesium, and healthy fats.

Flavor-wise, almonds are mild and sweet, lending themselves to everything from nut mix to kale and brussel sprout salads to herby rice dishes to morning granola. Perhaps you’ve tried the rounder, flatter, and sweeter variety called Marcona almonds, from Spain? They’re usually sold precooked—fried or roasted and then salted—and make for great snacks like these cumin-and-paprika-coated nuts.

You’ll also find almonds processed into a paste called marzipan, powerfully scented almond extract, and a flour, which brings a nutty quality and pleasant crumb-like texture to baked goods like this French almond cake. Almond flour is also key to many gluten-free and kosher-for-Passover recipes like abambar cookies.

Photo by Travis Rainey, Food styling by Emilie Fosnocht

3. Brazil Nuts

The heavyweight of the group, crunchy, mild-flavored Brazil nuts often have some brown skin remaining on their pale flesh. And that size? Just two of them will provide your daily doses of the antioxidants selenium and vitamin E. We think they’re best for snacking, but if you have an abundance, try them in a banana parfait or a roasted nut mix.

Note that, perhaps depending on which part of South America they’re from—Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru are all major producers—Brazil nuts are also called para nuts or cream nuts.

Photo by Travis Rainey, Food styling by Emilie Fosnocht

4. Cashews

Stocky, crescent-shaped cashew nuts have a pale flesh when raw and, like all nuts, they darken when roasted. Cashews split pleasantly into halves thanks to the seam running down the length of each. They’re rich and creamy, making them the prizes in nut mixes like this chaat-masala-spiced one and these Thai fried cashews with chiles and lime zest. Their richness also helps them stand in for dairy in vegan sauces like cashew crema, which we use to top this squash blossom soup, and the “cheese” part of this easy mac-and-cheese. Want to make cashews the star of your table? Simmer them into a Sri Lankan Cashew Curry, where they take on the texture of white beans.

Photo by Travis Rainey, Food styling by Emilie Fosnocht

5. Chestnuts

Often sold with their dark and thin brown shells still on, chestnuts have a soft white flesh and are shaped a bit like figs, with one side that’s typically flatter and the other a bit pudgier. They’re higher in starch and lower in oil than many other types of nuts, so they add a nuttiness to recipes without the richness you would get from pecans, almonds, macadamia, and some other varieties.