Maybe you’ve seen them on our website: 15 pound boxes of organic roasted soybeans. And you’ve thought, “What would I ever do with 15 pounds of organic roasted soybeans?”
Tell you what: with a few simple additions to those soybeans, you’re going to be wondering what to do with the empty box!
Essentially, once the beans are roasted, they can be treated like any other snack nut: peanuts, almonds, cashews and so on. And you can add them to recipes along with or in lieu of any other kind of nuts.
Chicken Feed
My mom–and everyone else’s mom in the late 80s and early 90s–fended off hordes of ravenous, constantly hungry teens with a snack mix called “chicken feed.” (See a mainstream recipe here. Mom had her own way to snack nirvana, so read on.) Apparently, it was so named because that’s what it looked like–something you’d feed chickens.
She combined 4 cups each of rice and wheat cereal squares, a bag of pretzel sticks, and a jar of dry-roasted peanuts in a huge bowl.
Then, she tossed it all with 1 cup melted butter, 1/4 cup Worchestershire sauce and poured it all out onto a giant baking sheet.
Mom shook oregano, basil, garlic powder, and Parmesan cheese over the mixture, and baked it at 350° for 5 minutes. She then stirred it around, baked it for 5 more minutes, stirred it again, and baked 3 to 5 more until it was crisp.
I stuck with Mom’s original idea, but subbed in crushed oil-roasted soybeans for peanuts, and it was amazing. (So good that the dishful didn’t make its photo op. But empty’s good, right?)
I did find that pan-warming the soybeans made them easier to crush. Pour about a half-cup into a heavy pan–cast iron would be best, for even heat–and warm the soybeans, stirring constantly so they don’t burn. Turn them out on a towel, and while they’re still warm to the touch, flip the towel over the beans, and crush them a bit. I used my marble rolling pin. Pour the pieces into your “chicken feed” mix, and go to town!
If you don’t have a giant baking sheet, consider a roasting pan, or the insert from your turkey roaster. Or just do it in small batches.
Be aware that your first batch will most likely be gone by the time your last one is in the oven, if your family is anything like mine was.
9 Ways To Pep Up Organic Roasted Soybeans
Experiment to find your favorite proportions and tastes. You may want to try pan-warming the organic roasted soybeans to see if these suggested stir-ins work better for you.
- Chile powder, sea salt and drizzled with lime juice
- Garlic powder, onion powder; drained, shredded, chopped carrot
- Garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, ground chipotle pepper
- Finely chopped dried tomato, onion powder, garlic powder, fresh ground pepper, sea salt
- Dried Shallot, herbs de Provence, fresh ground pepper
- Chopped dried mushrooms, garlic powder, Yellow Ballpark Popcorn Salt
- Cinnamon, allspice and brown sugar
- Brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice mix
- Whip up homemade ranch dressing, drizzle onto soybeans and add dressed beans to salad
