How to Grind Nuts with a Food Processor: 4 easy steps

How to Grind Nuts with a Food Processor

Nuts are an excellent addition to many dishes, but they can be difficult to grind with a hand mixer. If you don’t have a food processor, then you’re out of luck. Luckily, there are several ways that you can grind nuts. In this article, we will cover 4 easy steps on how to grind nuts in a food processor.

  • Pulse the nuts in a food processor for 30 seconds to grind them.
  • Use your fingers or the back of a fork to grind nuts into smaller pieces and then sprinkle those by hand over dishes that need nut topping.
  • Zap whole raw almonds on high until they are browned and crisp, which will make them easier to grind more finely later. The flavor is great for roasting vegetables as well!
How to Grind Nuts with a Food Processor
How to Grind Nuts with a Food Processor?

Can you use a Food Processor to Grind Nuts?

I have read that you can put whole raw almonds in the food processor and grind them down into flour. It usually takes approx 5 minutesis this true? I’ve seen it on a few different blogs. I would love to make my own almond flour…would this work?

The answer is yes! I used my small Cuisinart model (three cups). Put about 1/2 cup almonds into the canister and grind away for 5-10 minutes. After the first minute or two, you’ll see the powder turn into a paste as the liquid is released from the nut. Keep grinding until it turns to a fine powder. This is great for almond flour cakes, cookies, and bread!

Can you use a Food Processor to Grind Nuts
Can you use a Food Processor to Grind Nuts?

How do you Grind Nuts into Flour with a Food Processor?

I don’t have a high-powered food processor so I was wondering how long does it take to grind one cup of almonds in my Cuisinart DLC-2ABC model.

To grind 1 cup of whole, raw unpeeled almonds: 5 minutes 30 seconds (8 times). Grind into powder. If you’re trying to make almond flour, you’ll want to keep the pieces somewhat big for that purpose.

2 cups of whole raw unshelled peanuts took me 3 minutes 45 seconds. This made them nice and coarse but not overly so – they worked great out of the food processor in brownie recipes, where they lend a chewiness and slight peanut flavor that you won’t get from using ground peanuts! You can also leave them as a whole half-inch or more in diameter for snacking and garnishing salads.

How do you Grind Nuts into Flour with a Food Processor
How do you Grind Nuts into Flour with a Food Processor?

I‘m assuming you are not using pre-shelled, blanched, or roasted almonds?

If so, then these time estimates are on the long side. But surely they will be shorter if your food processor is powerful enough to actually grind them into powder rather than just chopping them up.

How to make Almond Flour in a Food Processor?

Pour nuts into a food processor and blend for 3-4 minutes. Take out the resulting almond meal and put it through a fine sieve to separate any remaining bits of nut – I leave mine with a coffee filter or cheesecloth but use what you have at home!

How to make Almond Flour in a Food Processor
How to make Almond Flour in a Food Processor?

Can you make Almond Flour in a Cuisinart Food Processor?

Yes! I’ve made almond flour in a Cuisinart food processor several times and it works great. Just process on medium speed until the nuts turn into fine crumbs. Easy peasy!

Can you make Almond Flour in a Magic Bullet?

Yes, if you have time and patience, you can make almond flour in a Magic Bullet blender. Everything I say for the Cuisinart processor applies here as well: keep the speed on low to avoid burning out your motor and only run the blade for about 5 minutes or so at a time to let it cool down before adding more almonds/flour. The texture will be very similar to that of store-bought ground almonds, which are perfectly usable for gluten-free baking.

Read Also: How to Make Perfect Dough with a Food Processor in 8 Easy Steps?

Can you make Almond Flour from Ground Almonds?

Yes, it is possible to grind almonds into a fine flour but the result will be different from using whole almonds. The texture and flavor will slightly change because you don’t get that gritty, nutty bite that often comes with grinding nuts in an almond mill/grinder.

Do you have to Blanch Almonds to make Almond Flour?

No. Blanching almonds is not necessary for making flour out of them – it’s purely for aesthetic reasons (easier to peel the skin off). I have done this recipe with both blanched and unblanched almonds and they taste/look the same in the end.

Why is Almond Flour expensive?

If you are in the Philippines, check out your nearest Asian grocery store for freshly ground almond flour. It’s much cheaper than buying it from regular supermarkets! In my country (the USA), almond meal is affordable and widely available but the flours sometimes cost as much as $10 to $15 per pound which is still a bit steep for those on a budget. I’ve been making my own since 2013 (that’s almost two years!) but I don’t make it often because almond flour can be quite harsh to digest for me so I try not to consume too much whenever I do bake with that.

Can you make Almond Flour in a Blender?

Yes, you can make almond flour in a blender! Like with most things that people question when making at home, the method used depends on how fine of a grind you want for your end product. If I were someone who needed finely ground almond flour for whatever purpose (baking?), and had access to a food processor or high-quality blender, I would simply process the almonds until they reached the desired consistency.

Read Also: Ninja BL770 Mega Kitchen System Blender and Food Processor || Full Detailed Review

How to make Cashew Flour in a Food Processor?

Place raw cashews in a food processor. Turn it on for a few pulses, just to break up the cashews. Don’t grind it into a fine powder. Just break them down so that they are easier to process later on.

Then add 2-4 Tbsp water and pulse again. If you don’t have enough liquid to make the mixture pourable, just slowly add more until all the cashew bits are moistened. Place in refrigerator for 10-15 mins (or freezer if you want to hurry things along). Then take out and process again until nice powdery flour forms!

How to make Cashew Flour in a Food Processor
How to make Cashew Flour in a Food Processor?

How long does Cashew Flour last in the Fridge?

Not very long 🙁 You can refrigerate it but make sure you bring it to room temperature before using it. Most likely it will freeze and thaw well though (but try to use it within the next month or so).

Can I freeze my Cashew Flour?

You can freeze it and thaw it as well. Make sure you leave enough time to let it come back to room temperature before using. If freezing in ice cube trays – I would use said ice cubes within a few months (or transfer them into freezer bags if you have space).

How should I store my Cashew Flour?

Like any other nuts – refrigerate or freeze. The freezer would be better because the shelf life is shorter than most nuts. This means it has a higher chance of going rancid quicker.

Why should I Grind my own Flour?

1. It is cheaper and much fresher. It can last for up to 3 months in the freezer! So, if you make this once every few weeks – you can save money by making your own flour at home.

2. You know how fresh your ingredients are (no preservatives here!).

3. Many store-bought vegan flours have added oil in them as a binder because they are made from pre-ground nuts which often leads to an inconsistent texture and flavor.

4. For those with allergies (notably peanut allergies), this homemade flour provides a safe alternative.

Do I have to Soak my Nuts before Grinding them up?

Yes, if possible. Nuts are notoriously hard to digest without soaking because of phytic acid – an anti-nutrient that keeps them fresh and prevents them from sprouting prematurely.

Soaking is an easy step for many people to reduce the amount of time that they feel bloated after a meal (especially when eating raw). It helps release more nutrients too!

How do you Grind Nuts without a Food Processor?

In a nut grinder! This is how I used to make my own non-dairy, flour before I got a food processor. It is a little bit more work – but you can easily do it in batches at home without special equipment (or the hassle of having to buy some just for this purpose).

How do you Grind Nuts without a Food Processor
How do you Grind Nuts without a Food Processor?

Can I just use a Blender instead of a Food Processor?

If you have a powerful enough blender, sure! However, you may want to fine-tune the measurements as blenders usually require more liquid. It will also grind up your nuts into nut butter so if that’s what you are looking for – go for it! If not, then stick with the food processor.

Can I grind almonds in Vitamix?

Yes, the Vitamix blender is more than capable of grinding nuts into flour. I haven’t made almond flour with it myself, but I’m told that you should keep the speed on low to avoid burning out your motor.

Can you Grind Nuts in a Coffee Grinder?

Yes, I’ve done it before! It just depends on the power of your machine. If you want to grind a small number of nuts (under 1 cup) then it should be okay with a coffee grinder. If you are grinding more than 1 cup of nuts – it might be best to get a food processor or a dedicated nut grinder.

Best Food Processor for Chopping Nuts

Here I listed the top five quality processors which are able to do their job perfectly in terms of cutting and crushing nuts easily whether they’re raw or roasted. The results you get are the same no matter what kind of walnuts or almonds you put inside. It’s fast, efficient, and reliable for every task.

  • Cuisinart DFP-14BCNY 14-Cup Food Processor: If you’re looking for a powerful yet reasonably priced food processor then this one will be an excellent choice for your kitchen. You can use it to chop nuts easily as well as many other products of different kinds. This is probably the best food processor when it comes to chopping nuts after I used all three in this review and I was amazed by their performance; very impressive indeed! Cuisinart is a company that always delivers quality based on its brand name only.
  • Kitchenaid KFP0718ER Food Processor: If you’re looking for high-end quality processors then KitchenAid should be on your list. This one is perfect if you need something under budget but more than enough when it comes to performance and delivery. If you are using this processor every single day then you won’t need to replace it for at least 3 years unless it gives you any trouble. This KitchenAid food processor will give a very nice cutting result in different sizes and shapes of nuts.
  • Cuisinart DLC-2ABC Mini-Prep Plus Food Processor: If you want an extremely small yet powerful processor for food then here is the best one I have ever used. It comes with a blade only, no other accessory as well except of course a glass bowl and lid which look nice by the way. It can chop or grind up nuts very fast to make recipes more colorful and tasty. You can also crush ice cubes with this machine; it feels like shredding cheese when doing that! The size is tiny but it’s powerful enough for its purpose; best mini food processor available in the market right now without any doubt.
  • Hamilton Beach 10 Cups – Bowl Scraper Food Processor: If you want something cheap, but with maximum performance then you can pick up this Hamilton Beach food processor. I’ve been using it for a long time now and it never gave me any problem at all; very easy to use and definitely much easier than the manual method of chopping nuts.
  • The Cuisinart DLC-10SYP1 Classic 7-Cup Food Processor: This is the best processor if you’re looking for something which can chop and grinds nuts with ease; it’s power-packed enough to do anything you want, plus it comes with two bowls too so that you can chop up different foods at the same time just by changing them! This thing will give a beautiful finish when working on almonds or walnuts as well because there are blades for both sizes I mentioned above; they are sharp enough to cut through these types of nuts without any problem.