What Are Corn Nuts

Corn nuts, or quicos, are a totally addicting crunchy snack from the heights of Peru. This version, seasoned with chile flakes, is perfect for happy hour!

Though I’ve had corn nuts straight out of the bag, I’ve never had them doctored up with chile flakes. Yes, that does kind of lift them  to Peruvian heights. A great snack in Peru, they are also quite popular here.  Made with a hybrid corn grown in California, they were first introduced into the US in 1936.

Perfect with cocktails or beer these crunchy snacks can be made in 15 minutes and are quite addicting. Chile’d up, so to speak, these giant corn nuts are growing on me. And for some strange reason, they taste better to me a few days after they were made, then the day of. After you try them, you will have to tell me what you prefer. 

What are corn nuts?

Corn nuts have a similar taste to Fritos, and go figure, Fritos are made with corn! Corn nuts or quicos are made from a variety of Peruvian corn that has big kernels. More like giant kernels. They are first soaked in water for a few days, to plump up before they are fried until hard and crunchy. The texture is totally crunchy and it’s kind of fun crunching on a giant corn kernel.

Tossed with chile flakes and nutritional yeast, these quicos or corn nuts, were pronounced a success by Manservant who would not let me throw the last three away. He even suggested I save the last of the seasoning mixture to toss with popcorn, which isn’t a bad idea. 

It only takes three ingredients, minus the chile flakes to make these crunchy nuggets. I buy my corn nuts at Sprouts or Trader Joe’s but I think they are found most everywhere. Another key component is nutritional yeast which gives flavor and more texture to the corn nuts.

Have you ever used nutritional yeast before? Nutritional yeast is made with the same type of yeast that is used to make bread, however the yeast cells are killed so it can be used as a food product. Tasting kind of cheesy and savory, it is full of umami flavor.

Nutritional yeast is a complete protein which makes it perfect for vegans and has 2 g of protein in each tablespoon. Loaded with B vitamins, it is a great way to add antioxidants to your diet. 

Found in the spice aisle of the grocery, nutritional yeast can be sprinkled in soup, over popcorn, and I have even used it for flavoring potato chips. It keeps well and can even be added to dog food. I have to try that!

I don’t know about you, and even though it’s only Monday, I ‘m already planning for the weekend. These chile corn nuts would be a great way to start!

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These corn nuts can be used to make chile corn nuts. I much prefer them with chile! 

Nutritional Yeast:

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A Few More Good Snacks:

Glazed Pecans

Saigon Style Crunchy Chex Mix