Can Food Processor Grind Nuts? (And other methods of grinding nuts)

Grinding nuts at home is the best way to ensure that they’re fresh. The buttery crunch of ground nuts can make an ordinary dish extraordinary. However, chopping nuts can be a daunting task and would seem more complicated than it is.

There are different ways you can grind your nuts, some are more tedious than others while some are very simple. So, can a food processor grind nuts? The food processor is the easiest way to grind nuts, but you have to be careful because its power and speed can easily turn your nuts into a paste very fast. However, don’t overload the processor bowl and just pulse them for a few seconds at a time until you get the consistency you want.

Some of the healthiest nuts

 How to use a food processor to grind nuts

• You can use a food processor to grind nuts without turning them into a paste.
• Make sure your food processor bowl and blade are completely dry and cool.
• The nuts should be room temperature not cold from the fridge or hot from being toasted in the oven.
• Don’t overload the processor bowl. Work with small batches of about 1 cup at a time.
• Pulse the nuts for a second or two at a time until you achieve the consistency and size you want.
• Use a chopstick to scrape the sides and corners of your food processor bowl from time to time to remove the stuck nuts.

If you follow this procedure, you don’t have to add sugar or flour to prevent your nuts from turning into butter if that isn’t what you want. You can also use your food processor to make nut flour using the shredding disk instead of the steel blades, but you need to keep the temperature of the nuts and disk cool.

Grinding nuts with one knife

• If you want to roughly cut your nuts, you can use this method.
• Pile some nuts at the center of your cutting board.
• Use a sharp serrated-edged knife and hold the handle with one hand and the tip with the other hand. Keep your fingers arched up and spread out so you don’t cut yourself.
• Hold the tip of the knife to the board and with your guide hand and as you chop, move the handle end of your knife back and forth over the nuts so that you cut them all.
• Keep gathering the nuts back at the center and go over them with the knife until you achieve the right size.

Grind nuts using two knives

This method works best if you want your nuts to have a finer cut and you use 2 knives of the same length.

• On your chopping board, spread the nuts in a single layer.
• Place the flat side of your knife over the nuts and use your fist to press hard over the nuts breaking the nuts into smaller pieces.
• Gather the nuts again at the center of your chopping board.
• Take the 2 knives and place them side by side with their handles against each other.
• Grab both handles with one hand and hold them firmly together so they work well together in unison.
• Hold the tip of the knives with your other hand with your fingers spread out and arched up.
• Hold the tip of the knives to the board and move the handles back and forth over the nuts to cut them into even smaller pieces.
• Gather the nuts back at the center and repeat the cutting until you achieve the size you want.

Grind nuts using a kitchen mallet

This is one of the easiest ways to grind your nuts. This method is fast and mess-free and a quick way of grinding a large number of nuts.

• Put a small batch of nuts in a resealable bag.
• Lay it flat on a countertop.
• Use a rolling pin to roll over the nuts or a kitchen mallet to crush them.
• Repeat this process if you have a large number of nuts you want to grind.

Grind nuts using a bender

There are different blenders you can use to grind your nuts. However, use a blender with multiple speeds so you can choose the speed you want for the texture you want to achieve. It should also have a wide jar with a large capacity so there’s enough room for the nuts so they don’t spill on the counter.

• Make sure that your blender is completely dry and your nuts are cool before putting them in the blender.
• To avoid messes or spills, place a towel over the blender.
• Add only a small batch of nuts, 1 cup, at a time, then pulse for a few seconds until the nuts are ground into small pieces.
• Put the nuts in your blender and pulse for a few seconds or blend for 2-3 minutes depending on the size and texture you want.

Conclusion

Apart from using a food processor to grind nuts, there are other simple and fast ways you can grind the nuts. However, you need to be careful not to process the nuts for too long because they can quickly turn into nut butter.

FAQ

How do you grind walnuts without a grinder?

You can use a sharp knife to chop them or a blender, or if you’re not grinding too many, you can use a coffee grinder for nuts and seeds.

How do you chop nuts without a nut chopper?

Put the nuts in a bowl and use a handheld pastry cutter or blender to softly press the nuts down to break them into smaller pieces. This will work best with soft nuts like pecans.