Badam Laddu | Almond Ladoo

When it comes to choosing one nut over the others, I will always opt for almonds or badam. I really love them because they are versatile, and also packed with health benefits. Here’s a Badam Laddu recipe which is super easy, quick and ultra-scrumptious. With badam and other elements few, make this Almond Ladoo, which is something delish and new! Next time you have bag full of almonds, use it for making these ladoo with minimal ingredients.

About Badam Laddu

Here’s what this recipe of Badam Laddu simply is – roasting, grinding and shaping. Yes, with just 4 ingredients, follow this procedure and make lovely ladoos within 20 minutes. That’s quite fast, right? These ladoos make for a healthy sweet snack for kids and adults alike.

I have roasted the almonds for this Badam Ladoo recipe, you can even blanch and then roast them. Roasting is definitely a quicker option as blanching and peeling every single almond will take some good time.

Badam has a warming effect on the body. So, these ladoos are great during winters as well as monsoons. Some of my other winter favorite sweets are Badam Halwa, Dry Fruits Ladoo, Atta Ladoo and Gond Ke Laddu.

You can make ladoo for your family by roasting and grinding other nuts and seeds as well. It is also a good way of not having to add any extra ghee, oil or fat to bind. Since nuts and seeds have their own natural fats to do so.

It is possible to make a variety of combinations using nuts. For instance, this Badam Laddu and then kaju kishmish ladoo (cashew raisins ladoo), badam pista ladoo (almond pistachio ladoo) and so on. You can also have a mix of 3 to 4 types of nuts or dry fruits and make ladoos from these.

Usually when I’m preparing for home consumption, I make a small batch of Badam Ladoo and store them, as ground almonds easily turn rancid. For making on Diwali festival or any other festive occasion, a large batch is possible by scaling the recipe. To keep the ladoo well for a longer time, refrigerate.

When I prepare ladoos, I try and avoid adding sugar to the mixture. My choice of sweetener is jaggery most of the times. For ladoos made with nuts and seeds too, you can easily use jaggery in place of sugar. Thus, Badam Laddu is good with jaggery, or even palm jaggery and coconut sugar.

One more way of adding some sweetness in the Badam Ladoo is by replacing jaggery with raisins, soaked figs and dates or dried berries. These are all natural sweeteners and make these ladoos all the more wholesome. You can also use a combination of some jaggery and raisins like I have done in my recipe. This is completely your choice.

Once you follow this particular recipe of Badam Laddu, you’ll find that the taste of these ladoo is very different than the ones which use sugar or jaggery syrup. The taste that you will get in this Badam Ladoo is somewhat similar to the taste of the ground Peanut Ladoo.

As I mentioned previously, almonds are brimming with benefits because of their nutritional profile. The most noteworthy benefit is that it is super for your brain. Soaking almonds overnight and consuming them in the morning is a common tradition in almost every Indian household.

Apart from this too, badam is extremely useful for the body and mind. So, if you are not regularly consuming it, start from today.

How to make Badam Laddu

Roast Almonds

1. Heat a thick bottomed pan. Keep the heat to low or medium and add 1 cup raw almonds.

2. Stirring at intervals, begin to roast the almonds.

3. Keep on roasting till the almonds become crunchy. Cool and taste a few almonds. Make sure you don’t burn them or brown them too much. You can even roast the almonds in an oven.

4. When the almonds are roasted, add 2 tablespoons raisins. Raisins are optional and you can skip them.

5. Mix well.

6. Turn off the heat. Transfer the roasted almonds and raisins to another bowl or plate. Let the almonds become warm or cool at room temperature.

Make Ladoo Mixture

7. Add both almonds and raisins in a grinder jar. Also, add seeds from 3 green cardamoms.

8. Next, add ⅓ cup powdered jaggery. You can even use palm jaggery, coconut sugar, raw sugar or cane sugar instead of jaggery.

9. Run the grinder for some seconds and then stop. Check the consistency. Continue in the same way, till you get a fine consistency in the almonds with some oil released from the almonds. 

You can also use the pulse option in your grinder. You have to run the grinder in parts till a bit of oil releases from the almonds.

10. Take a small portion of the ladoo mixture in your hands and then press. It should hold shape and not crumble.

Don’t grind at one stretch or grind too much as then much fat will be released from the almonds and you will get almond butter.

Shape Badam Ladoo

11. Remove the ladoo mixture in the same bowl or plate in which we cooled the almonds and raisins.

12. Now, take a small portion of the almond mixture in your palms and begin to shape into ladoos.

13. Make Badam Laddu with the rest of the mixture. This recipe yields 10 small almond ladoos. The recipe can be easily doubled or tripled. Store these ladoos in an airtight jar and refrigerate.

14. Serve the healthy Badam Laddu as a sweet snack.

Expert Tips

1. You have to roast the almonds till crunchy, and not really brown them too much or burn them. During the process, cool a few almonds, taste and check. Roasting can be done in an oven too.
2. It is not mandatory to use raisins. You can give it a miss.
3. In place of regular jaggery, you can use cane sugar, palm sugar, raw sugar or coconut sugar.
4. Avoid grinding the almonds at one stretch for a longer time. More grinding means more release of fat from the almonds. This way you will eventually get almond butter.
5. You can make about 10 small ladoo with this recipe. Scale to make more. Serve immediately or store in airtight boxes and refrigerate for later consumption.

This Badam Laddu recipe from the blog archives was first published in September 2016. It has been updated and republished on January 2024.