It’s hard to imagine the Christmas season without chestnuts…
At least since 1946, when America was introduced to “The Christmas Song”! Those holiday lyrics — sung by the likes of Nat “King” Cole and Judy Garland — inspire many of us to take on the challenge of eating chestnuts each year.
Chestnuts are nostalgic and lovely, yet they are so hard to prepare and peel! Lovers of tradition still roast their chestnuts over an open fire.
Is that the best way?
How I Came To Love Chestnuts
During my senior year of college, I traveled in Venice, Italy, with my parents.
There we found a street vendor, selling black chestnuts that looked like they’d been roasting on the open grill for hours. We purchased them warm and soft, and ate them out of a paper sack as we wandered the streets and bridges.
Those chestnuts melted in our mouths. And the skins slipped right off — each and every one!
How could I replicate such a simple delicacy at home?
The Secret To Easy-To-Peel Chestnuts
I read that most street vendors boil their chestnuts before roasting them, so that’s what I did too. First, I bought local chestnuts, then boiled them in my Instant Pot.
And that’s the secret… When chestnuts are boiled before roasting, they soften enough to make an easy ‘X’-shaped cut in their bellies. Most recipes require a special knife to cut the ‘X’ in raw chestnuts.
I also experimented with roasting the nuts. A good oven roasting does a beautiful job — better than bottom heat alone can provide. The cut portion of the chestnuts bursts open, making them easier to peel. The nuts also get dark and toasty-flavored.
Although not quite as easy to peel as the chestnuts in Italy (perhaps many hours of slow-roasting would do that trick! 😉 ), this process makes quite the difference!
For the occasional stubborn chestnut that sticks to its shell, my family uses seafood tools to easily separate the meat.
Since fall arrived, I’ve made about 5 pounds of easy-to-peel chestnuts in the Instant Pot. My kids gobble them up with pleasure, and we love sitting around, chatting and nibbling on this seasonal treat!
Easy-To-Peel Chestnuts In The Instant Pot
Finally, Easy-To-Peel Chestnuts! {use your Instant Pot}
It's hard to imagine the Christmas season without chestnuts... This recipe makes easy-to-peel, toasty, warm chestnuts for you to enjoy all winter long!
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 pounds chestnuts
Instructions
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Place 4 cups water into insert pot of pressure cooker.
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Add chestnuts.
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Put on the lid of your cooker, checking that the seals and all components are in good shape, including being in the sealing position.
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If using an electric cooker, set to high for 15 minutes.
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If using a stove-top cooker, bring to high pressure and maintain pressure for a cook time of 15 minutes.
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Once cycle is complete, if using an electric cooker, let pressure release naturally for 15 minutes.
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With a stove-top cooker, remove from heat and let sit undisturbed for 15 minutes.
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Place a towel over the pressure release knob and allow pot to do a quick pressure release.
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When pressure is released, open lid.
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Pour contents into a stainless steel colander.
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Allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Place chestnuts onto large cutting board.
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With a paring knife, cut a medium-size 'X' on the flat side of each nut. Each cut should be about 1/3 to 1/2 of an inch in length. Do not worry about piercing the flesh.
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Place chestnuts on large cookie sheet and transfer to the oven.
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Bake 30 minutes.
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Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving. (Do not cover while cooling, as this makes them harder to peel.)
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Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Each pound of chestnuts is approximately 2 cups, so adjust your measurements accordingly!
- Nutrition facts calculated on 4 servings per pound.
Do you have any traditions involving chestnuts? Do they grow locally in your area?
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I don’t have an IP, how would I do this in just a pot? How long would I boil them? And would it just be on a slow boil or a simmer?
Hi Mirjana, you can indeed simmer/boil chestnuts in water – for 1 hour. The recipes I’ve read say “boil,” yet I haven’t done it myself. My guess is that as long as the water is bubbling and moving it will be effective.
Awesome thanks so much!!
You’re welcome! 🙂
Do you need to cook them? I’ve eaten them my whole life, raw. Just crack it with a nut cracker just like you do a Brazil nut or pecan and eat it. Is there something wrong with that? I’ve never had a cooked one in my life, nor has my 91 yr. old mama.
Hi Mary, that’s so interesting! I’ve never heard of eating a chestnut raw! Well, as with all nuts and seeds, that only thing that comes to mind is the possible need to soak it, to reduce antinutrients. But as you and your mama sound healthy and happy with your tradition, I don’t know enough to tell you otherwise. Typically, chestnuts are indeed boiled and roasted; but you’ve opened my eyes to something new. I’ll have to look into it more! 🙂
I’ve never soaked them either. Oh well. You can try it raw, and I will try it boiled. Weird but interesting. Thanks. Merry Christmas!
Hi, I was so excited to try this recipe because I recently bought an instant pot. Well I made them yesterday and followed your directions and they came out very hard to peal and skins on when I do get a piece out. I was so disappointed :-(. Wonder why, do you have any suggestions? One thing I can think of, after you put an x in them did you lay them on the baking pan down on the x or x facing up? Thanks
Dolly, my only guess is that the chestnuts were no longer fresh. Is that a possibility? (Sorry for the delayed response! We’ve been on a long vacation for Christmas.) I do face the x up, but I’m not sure that would make such a big difference. So sorry for your disappointment!
Thank you so very much for the amazing instructions… worked like a charm. x
Wonderful! So glad to hear!
We eat chestnuts throughout the winter, but made a change to our process this year after buying a sack from a street vendor near Rockefeller Center in NYC. We noticed that he cut his around the edge (maybe halfway around), not the usual X on top that we always did. They were so much easier to peel after we started doing that. (We just roast in the oven, no soaking first, though I’ll try that next year.)
Have you ever made the in the IP only? If so, how long is the cooking time?
Hello, here (Italy) raw chestnuts are not commonly eaten, maybe because they are so hard to peel. They are also considered hard to digest.
We either boil them OR roast them. Special pans with lots of holes in the bottom are available to roast them on an open fire or a gas flame, but it really makes a mess if you do it in the kitchen! I prefer to make them in the very hot oven, after cutting. If not cut they can explode! What helps making the internal peel separate from the flesh is steam from the flesh, so soaking them before cooking helps. In my experience ten minutes in cold water after cutting already makes a difference. 15/20 minutes in a 200-220 C / 400-430 F are normally enough. Increase time for very big fruits.
Boiled in the uncut peel (20 min in pressure cooker/instant pot, up to one hour in boiling water. Add pinch of salt and a couple bay leaves!) they are eaten cold, biting into them to separate into halves then squeezing the flesh out pressing on the outside with your teeth. Not so elegant, but fun!
To peel them for further use in cooking try cutting the peel and cooking in boiling water for a few minutes, until they peel easily but are not yet cooked through, this way they should not break too easily. Let them sit in the hot water and take them out a few at a time, so to peel until warm. If making a lot, cook a couple pounds at a time or get more hands to help!
You can boil them to cook them or short boil them ( blanch ) to prep for roasting. The theory is the blanching puts water under the inner membrane of the chestnut and causes it to separate from the flash when it steams in the roasting oven. Maybe. I cross cut them raw with a heavy chefs knife by whacking them ( axing ) on a cutting board then place in a vacuum jar. I fill the jar with water to cover he nuts then add salt and a bit of liquid smoke ( the best chestnuts I’ve had had were in Barcelona where they roast them directly in hot wood coals which gives a slightly smoky taste ) and then subject them to a strong vacuum. I place the evacuated jar in the fridge for 48 hours. Preheat an oven on roast to 425 and when it reaches temp put the nuts in on a cookie tray. In 20 to 30 minutes they’re done. Hint of salt and smoke and usually they peel easily. If possible get the chestnuts from Italy as they seem to peel better than those from the USA.
I am trying these for the first time. Is there any good use for the cooking water left in IP after chestnuts have finished cooking?
I just made these as directed, and they were indeed very easy to peel. The one difference was I used a bread knife to make large x-cuts because I didn’t have a suitable paring knife.
I will note that they dried out in the oven more than expected. I’m thinking I should have only baked for 15-20 minutes. Maybe it’s because my chestnuts were on the small side. I’m going to be pureeing them in a cake, so it’s no problem if they are dried out.
I’ll definitely be using this method in the future!
I followed the recipe for the Instant Pot portion but the oven duration at 400 degrees for 40 minutes seemed to be way too long for me. I checked them at 20 min and decided they were roasted enough. Even cutting down the time so much they chestnuts were overcooked. Next time I will cut it back to 15 minutes.