My Easy Candied Pecans Recipe is the perfect sweet and salty snack, gift, or salad topper! These are quick to make and the perfect garnish for sweet and savory dishes!
This is the BEST Candied Pecan Recipe Ever!
Actually, not only are these candied pecans the best, but they are incredibly easy to make. Today I am going to share all my favorite ways to enjoy these glazed pecans…because there are many! This is an easy recipe that I have been making for years, and I’m not sure what took me so long to share. I use pecans a lot in my recipes like this Pecan Pie Cheesecake, Caramel Pecan Coffee Cake, and of course my Pecan Pie Recipe.
Every time I go to Trader Joe’s I pick up a pack of their Pecan Pralines (I think that’s what they’re called) because they are omg so delicious. If you haven’t tried them, you NEED to. But what I realized, is that candied pecans are incredibly easy to make, and let’s face it, nothing is better than warm, sweet and salty nuts right out of the oven.
How To Make Candied Pecans
Glazed or candied nuts of any sort are really easy to make. I have a fantastic Glazed Macadamia Nut Recipe here on my site that is RIDICULOUSLY good. But these Candied Pecans take two steps…one in the skillet and then a few minutes in the oven.
The oven portion of the recipe is solely to crisp up the pecans. You can skip this step if you want to, but when the sugary coating gets crunchy it’s the BEST!
- You toast the pecans lightly in some butter in a large skillet, this brings out the natural flavors!
- Next you add in some brown sugar and stir constantly until it melts and starts to caramelize.
- Toss in some cinnamon, salt, and water too. You can skip the cinnamon if you want, but definitely don’t skip the salt. You can use kosher or sea salt. OR if you’re sensitive to salt you can wait until the end and salt them to taste when they come out of the oven.
- Don’t forget the vanilla. Add in some vanilla before you out them in the oven for another layer of flavor!
- Spread them on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake them for just a few minutes until the are lightly crisp and a little toasty. It will only take a few minutes.
What Else Can You Add To Homemade Candied Pecans?
You can switch up the flavor profile of these glazed nuts easily! Here are a few things to add:
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika to make them sweet and savory
- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper to give them a little heat
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice to make them a seasonal treat
- 1 teaspoon orange zest for a citrus kick
What Can You Use Candied Pecans On?
Candied nuts are super versatile!
- You can simply use them as a snack, or as a salad topper!
- You can easily chop them up and use them in your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe!
- You can use them as a garnish on a carrot cake.
- Chop them up and sprinkle them on your favorite chicken recipe!
I hope you enjoy these Candied Pecans as much as we do in my house! Give them a try!
PrintCandied Pecans
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Prep Time: 5 minutes -
Cook Time: 15 minutes
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Total Time: 20 minutes
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Yield: 3 cups 1x
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Category: Nuts
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Method: Baking
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Cuisine: Snack
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Method:
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Print Recipe
PinDescription:
These Candied Pecans are the perfect sweet and salty snack. They’re great on their own, on salads, in cookies, or as a garnish to your favorite chicken dish!
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 3 cups pecan halves
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add in the pecans and stir continuously for 3 minutes, to lightly toast the pecans.
- Add in the brown sugar, and stir for an additional 2 minutes to melt the sugar.
- Stir in the cinnamon and salt, and add the water.
- Cook, stir continuously, until the water is evaporated, 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the vanilla and stir to coat.
- Remove from the heat and spread evenly on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 5-7 minutes, until fragrant and lightly crisp.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet.
Notes:
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 7 days
Keywords:: glazed pecans, pecans, cookies and cups, glazed nuts, praline, pecan praline, candied pecans, candied nuts
Hi! I’m Shelly and I’m an addict. Of the buttercream sort. I started this site a few years ago as a way to justify my sugary, buttery obsession with desserts. It has worked out well for me so far, because as it turns out you guys all love sugary, buttery desserts too! It feels good to know you're not alone, doesn’t it?
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Made these today… followed everything except for the vanilla and they turned out PERFECTLY DELICIOUS! Will use this recipe for gift giving this Christmas. Thank you!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed them!
These turned out great! Crispy, coated and roasted. Those having issues of sauce burning, just reduce your heat. I found medium a bit high. The water evaporated nicely and I had no issue with the nuts being gooey or soft. My only tweak would be they need more sweetness. Next time I will try adding a bit of honey to the mix! Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★
If you want gummy and gooey pecans, use this recipe. Otherwise choose a recipe that brings the sugar/cinnamon/ water mixture to a boil and hard crack stage before adding the pecans and you end up with crunchy, crispy pecans. This was a total waste of my time and pecans. Search hard crack step on line. Very easy to accomplish.
Wondering if you also baked the nuts? I don’t bring the mixture up to the hard crack stage because they also go in the oven to crisp up.
When you say ‘until the water is dissolved’ do you mean the sugar is dissolved’into the water, or the water has evaporated?
evaporated! sorry that was a typo! all fixed!
Good recipe, had a couple of problems… First attempt with first instructions on web page didn’t say to add water. The sugar burnt before it melted. Second attempt using the printable instructions with water added turned out great, but took almost an hour in the oven to get crunchy. Tasted excellent.
Sorry you had a bad experience the first time… I definitely recommend following the recipe in the recipe card. The post itself is just a brief walk-through of the process. The recipe at the bottom is the exact recipe. Thanks for your feedback!
They weren’t crispy, are they supposed to be?
They aren’t supposed to be crisp, but they should have crunch if that makes sense!
I followed the directions but the pecans aren’t crispy, are they supposed to be?
I burned the sauce on the stove, then it burned even more in the oven. Not a great first attempt 🙁
These are to die for! I also made them sugar free using Swerve brown sugar or Sukrin Gold. Can’t wait to send them to diabetic friends and family members. Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Thanks for the feedback on making them sugar free! I know this will be very helpful to others!
Do these freeze well, and if so, for how long?
★★★★★
They will freeze, but as they thaw out spread them out onto a baking sheet so they don’t get sticky 🙂
Thanks for this recipe and the great instructions for it. My Nana used to make candied pecans for the holidays and I was always under the impression that they were very difficult to make so I never thought I had time to make them. Wrong. Due to the high price of pecan halves I get so I made a few adjustments to this recipe: 1) pan toasted the pieces for a lesser amount of time; until they were nearly crispy, I had to taste test them periodically 🙂 2) added the salt in the beginning (with the butter) 3) sprinkled… Read more »
My first attempt at candied pecans and they are perfect. The girls are coming over for a bit of wine and conversation and I thought this would be a nice addition to my cheese board. I added cayenne pepper to add a little zip. Thanks for sharing your easy peasy recipe.
Love adding cayenne!! You can try a small pinch of smoked paprika too! So glad you liked them 🙂
Amazing! I mixed pecans and walnut for salads. Husband loved too.
★★★★★
Do these travel well? To send as a gift!
Yes, absolutely as long as they don’t get too humid or hot!
Would this work just as well with walnuts? I just realized I am out of pecans but wondering if it will make a difference. Thanks!
Yep! With any nuts!