Candied Pecans

24 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Easy Candied Pecans are tasty holiday snacks and edible Christmas gifts. Crunchy pecans roasted in a cinnamon vanilla caramel. Great ice cream toppings too!

During the holidays, Slow Cooker Candied Pecans are a must have Snack Recipe for parties, Christmas gifts, and baking!

Candied Pecans in serving bowl on wood round

EASY CANDIED PECANS

Why add plain nuts to Brownies or Banana Bread when you could make them with these sweet and addicting candy-coated pecans instead? This step-by-step recipe for Candied Pecans is great to have for making desserts and baked goods next level delicious. You can make a little batch for snacking or store a bunch for year-round baking!

Slow roasted Candied Pecans fill your kitchen and your home with the most mouthwatering holiday aromas. With just a few ingredients from the pantry, these candy coated pecans are ready for the oven in minutes and done in just about an hour. Give them time to cool before you dig in or top Vanilla Ice Cream with hot pecans halves for a melty, gooey nutty treat.

This easy recipe for Candied Pecans is the perfect amount of sweet caramel with a hint of cinnamon. The pecans halves stay crunchy in the sticky sweet coating that hardens like a toffee candy as they cool. Let your pecans cool flat on parchment lined baking sheet before storing so they don’t stick together.

Candied Pecans Collage

You can easily make these Candied Pecans in bulk for holiday gifts or freeze for baking recipes all year long. Once they have cooled, you can store them at room temperature or in the refrigerator for weeks, or freeze them for up to a year! Keep them cool so that the sugared coating doesn’t melt. You can enjoy them frozen or bring to room temperature before using in baked goods like Cookies.

Candied Pecans aren’t just for desserts and holiday gifts! The sweet and savory flavor of this pecan recipe goes great as a salad topping. Use Candied Pecans in place of walnuts in Waldorf Salad or top a fresh green salad with these candy coated nuts instead of croutons.

RECIPES YOU CAN USE CANDIED PECANS IN

Candied Pecans on baking dish with glass bowl

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can I make other candied nuts?

Swap out the pecans and make Candied Almonds, Candied Cashews, Candied Walnuts, or use mixed nuts for Assorted Candied Nuts. You can use raw nuts or cut out the salt in this recipe and use roasted salted nuts.

What other spices can be used for Candied Pecans?

Instead of cinnamon, try Pumpkin Pie Spice, nutmeg, or cardamom. You could make sweet and spicy Candied Pecans with cayenne pepper, sriracha, cracked peppercorns, or ginger powder.

What other flavorings can be used for Candied Pecans?

Add flavoring like orange zest or lemon zest. Swap the vanilla extract with almond extract or cherry extract, or add a bit of bourbon with the vanilla.

How to I make Lavender Candied Pecans?

Use lavender flavored sugar for an extra fancy Candied Pecans recipe. Sift 1 teaspoon ground culinary lavender into ⅓ cup granulated sugar, then make recipe as usual with the lavender sugar mixture.

Can I make Candied Pecans without sugar?

Swap out the white sugar or brown sugar in this Candied Pecans recipe with sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, or a low-carb sweetener. You can fully swap sugar or just add a tablespoon maple syrup or honey for flavoring.

How do I use Candied Pecans as a topping?

Make a pre-mixed topping that’s better and cheaper than any store bought mix. Combine 1 cup chopped Candied Pecans with ½ cup dried cranberries and store in an airtight container in the fridge for weeks. Use on salads, ice cream, or oatmeal. 

Instant Pot Candied Pecans

  • Turn Instant Pot to Sauté function and add butter and sugars. Stir until sugars dissolve.
  • Add salt, cinnamon, vanilla, and pecans. Cook until pecans are slightly tender, 5-10 minutes.
  • Turn pot off and stir in ½ cup water.
  • Close lid, seal pressure valve, and set to Manual High Pressure for 10 minutes.
  • While nuts are cooking, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Once Instant Pot timer goes off, quick release pressure.
  • Spread nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, pour any extra coating over pecans.
  • Bake in oven for 5 minutes, flip and bake for 5 more minutes. Cool completely.

MORE HOLIDAY SNACK RECIPES

HOW TO STORE CANDIED PECANS

  • Serve: Let Candied Pecans cool before serving as the sugar coating can be very hot. Keep at room temperature, in a cool dry place, for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
  • Store: Store Candied Pecans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Let them cool before storing so they don’t stick together.
  • Freeze: Freeze Candied Pecans in a single layer on the baking sheet for one hour. Transfer to a sealed container or freezer-safe storage bag and freeze for up to 1 year. Use and eat frozen or bring to room temperature first.
Candied Pecans in serving bowl on wood round

Pin this recipe now to remember it later

Pin Recipe

Candied Pecans

Candied Pecans are tasty holiday snacks and edible Christmas gifts. Crunchy pecans roasted in a cinnamon vanilla caramel. Great on ice cream!
Yield 24 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar , packed
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 pound pecans

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 250 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.
  • In a large bowl whisk together sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and vanilla extract.
  • Whisk egg white until frothy, about 1 minute.
  • Toss pecans in egg white, then remove with slotted spoon and add to the sugar mixture.
  • Spread pecans over a single layer in your baking sheet.
  • Bake, stirring every 10 minutes, for 45-50 minutes until the nuts are dried and no longer sticky.

Nutrition

Calories: 155kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 27mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 11IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg
Candied Pecans Collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

Categories

Leave a comment & rating

Have you checked the FAQ section above to see if your question has already been answered? View previous questions.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.