Nuts, macadamia nuts, raw

Macadamia nuts are rich and buttery with a crisp, satisfying bite, eaten raw or roasted straight as a snack, chopped into cookies, blondies, and other baked goods, blended into a smooth nut butter, or crushed to form a crust or coating for fish or chicken. They also work well toasted whole and tossed through a salad, where their size and firmness hold up better than smaller, softer nuts. Their high fat content gives them a smooth, almost creamy mouthfeel compared with leaner nuts like almonds or cashews, and their mild, slightly sweet flavor pairs especially well with white chocolate, tropical fruit, and honey in a dessert setting.

Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer rather than a kitchen cupboard, since their higher fat content makes them more prone to turning rancid at room temperature than most other nuts. At 718 calories per 100g they're calorie-dense, so a full cup of whole or half nuts (134g) is a substantial portion best used across several servings rather than eaten in one sitting straight from the jar. They stand out for fiber at 8.6g per 100g (31% DV), magnesium (31% DV), and iron (21% DV), meaning even a small handful contributes meaningfully to those nutrients within an otherwise calorie-conscious way of eating.