These dark chocolate cashew clusters with sea salt are made with 3 ingredients and are delicious! Chocolate covered cashews are an easy & healthy treat for the holidays.
We enjoy Christmas so much, ever year I wish I could slow down time and make December last forever. We especially love making Christmas treats, like these dark chocolate cashew clusters.
When it comes to candy, I am about as plane-Jane as they come. You'll usually find me reaching for pure dark chocolate, or some sort of nut covered in dark chocolate.
One of my all-time favorites are sea salt dark chocolate covered cashews from a store in Chicago.
Since we no longer live in Illinois, I recreated many of my favorite candies that I can find here in Utah, like these chocolate peanut clusters , these homemade peanut butter cups), and these chocolate cashew clusters!
Made with only three ingredients, they're the perfect combination of sweet and salty. They're a delicious holiday treat for anyone on your guest list because they're vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free and can also be paleo & refined sugar free too.
How to make Chocolate Covered Cashews
This recipe only has three ingredients, so it's fairly simple, but here are a few tips to get them just right! I chose to make clusters instead of individually covered each cashew for the sake of time and sanity!
- Temper the chocolate. I discovered a method of tempering chocolate in the microwave that has changed my candy-making life. Simply warm the chocolate for 60 seconds, then 60 more until almost all the of it is melted. Then stir until it's completely smooth and let it cool back down to 90 degrees F before using it in the recipe! This method has resulted in the most beautifully shiny chocolate with the best texture! If you don't really care about shine, you can simply melt the chocolate and proceed with the recipe, however I think it's totally worth it.
- Size. Be mindful of the size of your Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Cashew Clusters! At first I used a 1 TBS measure to make the clusters but they were much too large for my liking! So I switched to ½ TBS and they were perfect! Choose a size that you love!
- Topping. Be sure to sprinkle the sea salt on as soon as you form the cluster on the waxed paper! If you wait too long you run the risk of the clusters hardening and the sea salt not sticking!
Store/freeze
Once the chocolate covered cashews are hardened, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Serve room temperature or slightly chilled.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can double it to give away to friends and neighbors as a special holiday treat.
No, not necessarily. They'll still taste great if you don't, but the chocolate coating won't be as shiny.
Chocolate covered cashews: ingredients & substitutions
There are only three ingredients here, but there actually are a couple substitutions that can be made!
- Dark Chocolate. If you're used to sweeter treats I'd recommend using a chocolate that is in the 60-70% dark range. To make this recipe paleo, use unsweetened chocolate and add 1-2 TBS of honey or maple syrup (to taste) when it's melted in the microwave. This will ensure your coating is refined-sugar free. You can also use paleo chocolate (listed below).
- Cashews. Any nut can be used in this recipe. The two I recommend most highly are cashews and almonds. I prefer salted nuts.
- Sea salt. I really don't think this ingredient is optional. I use this flaky sea salt and love it. You can also add crushed cashews or festive sprinkles to the top.
Healthier Chocolate
Sometimes it's hard to figure out which chocolate chips are Paleo, dairy-free, etc. So here are some of my favorite healthier chocolate options.
- Hu Kitchen Chocolate Gems. This is my favorite paleo chocolate. These gems are delicious and easy to toss into cookies (no bar chopping required).
- Hu Kitchen Dark Chocolate Bars. You can also buy dark chocolate bars and chop them up to toss into these paleo chocolate chip cookies.
- Lily's Dark Chocolate. They make chips and bars that are stevia sweetened, low carb, keto, etc.
- Enjoy Life Foods Dark Chocolate Chips are a good option that are vegan, dairy-free but not fully paleo.
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Chocolate Covered Cashews (Cashew Clusters)
Ingredients
- 1 cup dark chocolate chopped (8 oz)
- 1 cup roasted, salted cashews
- flaked sea salt (for sprinkling)
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Set aside.
- Microwave chocolate for 1 minute.
- Stir and microwave for 60 more seconds until most of the chocolate is melted (but not all of it).
- Stir until all the chocolate is melted.
- Let the melted chocolate cool to 90 degrees F, stirring occasionally to speed up the process.
- Once chocolate reaches 90 degrees F, stir in the cashews
- Drop mixture by in ½ TBS portions (about 3-4 cashews per scoop) on to the prepared baking sheet
- Sprinkle with sea salt and let stand at room temperature until hardened.
Video
Notes
Ingredient Substitutions
- Dark Chocolate. If you're used to sweeter treats I'd recommend using a chocolate that is in the 60-70% dark range. To make this recipe paleo, use unsweetened chocolate and add 1-2 TBS of honey or maple syrup (to taste) when it's melted in the microwave. This will ensure your coating is refined-sugar free. You can also use paleo chocolate.
- Cashews. Any nut can be used in this recipe. The two I recommend most highly are cashews and almonds. I prefer salted nuts.
- Sea salt. I really don't think this ingredient is optional. I use this flaky sea salt and love it. You can also add crushed cashews or festive sprinkles to the top.
Store/freeze
Once the chocolate covered cashews are hardened, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Serve room temperature or slightly chilled.Nutrition
There is no way you will be able to eat just one of these Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Cashew Clusters {I know from experience}! 😉
Cat
Very easy! I made these for my son-in-law. He loved them. Making them again for Christmas to give as gifts.
Laura
Thank you so much Cat! I'm so glad you both enjoyed them - what a great gift idea too!
Joyce
SO EASY‼️ Be careful when tasting……you might find yourself eating half a dozen…..like I did. Absolutely delicious. (I skipped the sea salt)
Janet
Awesome and easy!!!! Added pecans peanuts and walnuts.... a traditional holiday must now... the sea salt on top is awesome !!!! Thanks👍🏼❣️
Missy
I'm all about Christmas candy over cookies this year! These sound amazing, especially since cashews are my all time fave. I've got a dark chocolate bark with gingerbread and toffee you should check out too (www.behindtheplates.com). Happy Holidays!
Jennifer Bliss
I can't express how YUM these are! WOW! They look, sound, and I KNOW they will be GREAT!
Emily Swanson
We love to make buckeyes and toffee and sometimes peanut brittle for Christmas, but my new favorite is your cookie dough cups; I made them yesterday and they're so delicious. I have to tell you that I LOVE chocolate too, and I love that you're doing so many chocolate Christmas candy recipes.