With their versatility, creamy flavour and soft crunch, macadamias are the perfect ingredient for raw food recipes. We looked through the archives to find our favourites.

Why raw?

Advocates of raw food say that heating food above 48C destroys valuable nutrients within the food, so they eat whole foods that haven’t been heated, refined, pasteurised or processed in any way. Instead, raw foodies prepare their fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds by juicing, blending, dehydrating, soaking and sprouting them. 

While we know roasting macadamias doesn’t affect their healthfulness or nutrient content, their creamy flavour, crunchy texture and versatility as an ingredient means they can play a variety of roles in this type of cooking. This is especially the case when you want to prepare raw-food treats to satisfy a sweet tooth!

Master the basics

Of course, a healthy handful of macadamias on their own are the perfect raw food snack. But these two simple recipes for home made macadamia milk and macadamia butter will allow you to enjoy the creaminess of macadamias in a wider variety of ways. 

Macadamia butter

As a savoury spread or a base for adding other flavourings, macadamia butter is the original raw food recipe! To make you own batch, simply blend together raw (not roasted) macadamias with a pinch of sea salt, or try these variations. The butter also adds a creamy mouth-feel to plant-based smoothies.

Macadamia milk 

Macadamia milk is a delicious, creamy alternative to cow’s milk. Making your own at home involves no heating or cooking. While some purists choose to soak the nuts, that’s not strictly necessary. Simply combine a cup of raw macadamias with some vanilla extract, a medjool date (optional) and four cups of water in a high performance blender at medium to high speed until creamy white.

Amazing sweet treats

It’s possible to make a wide variety of treats and snacks without baking, but these raw food recipes go a step further. All the ingredients are completely raw – but the taste is still incredible!

Raw food brownies

These no-bake brownies are delightfully decadent. The macadamia butter helps make them fudgy and chopped macadamias act as a crunchy topping. Raw food purists may wish to skip the ganache. 

Raw macadamia and puffed rice slice

These gorgeous, crunchy treats are full of nuts, seeds and puffed rice as well as the zing of grated ginger. Make sure you use a raw food dark chocolate as you prepare the mix to be truly compliant with raw food principles.

Macadamia bliss balls

Perfect as a post-workout snack or as a sweet treat with a cup of tea, bliss balls are easy to make. Simply blend together the ingredients in a high-powered blender, then roll the ingredients into balls. The balls can be rolled in freeze-dried berries, raw cacao or desiccated coconut for both decoration and extra flavour.

Raw caramel slice

All the best things about raw foods combine in this three-layer caramel slice that is a favourite with just about everyone. The caramel layer includes just five ingredients, but tastes absolutely amazing. If you want to avoid chocolate, this raw caramel slice is a scrumptious alternative.

Lemon and blueberry macadamia cheesecake

If you need a show stopping raw food dessert, this is it! This lemon and blueberry raw ‘cheesecake’ is simple, wickedly rich and extraordinarily beautiful when presented with edible flowers on top. The macadamias make this vegan cake extra creamy. 

What are your favourite raw food recipes using Australian Macadamias? Head over to our Facebook page and share them with you fellow macadamia fans!