Candied Pecans
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These candied pecans are perfect to serve with cocktails or toss over salads, and the best part is they take just 15 minutes to make!
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
These sweet, spicy, and salty candied pecans are madly delicious. They’re perfect to serve with cocktails, toss over salads, or just keep around the house over the holidays. They also make a fabulous homemade gift. The best part? You only need four simple ingredients to make them — and if you start right now, you’ll be done in 15 minutes. What are you waiting for?
“I made these just as written and they are PERFECT!! Excellent balance of sweet and spicy. Super quick and easy. I made them this morning and plan to make another batch to take on a car trip next weekend. I’ll need to pack them in the trunk so I don’t eat them all before I get there!”
What You’ll Need To Make Candied Pecans
- Pecans
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Salt
- Cayenne pepper
Step-by-Step instructions
Begin by combining the Confectioners sugar, kosher salt, cayenne pepper and 4 teaspoons of water in a medium bowl.
Whisk until combined.
Add the pecans to the sugar mixture and stir until evenly coated.
Place the nuts on a parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the nuts are crusty on top and caramelized on the bottom.
Slide the parchment off of the baking sheet onto a countertop; this stops the nuts from overcooking on the hot baking sheet.
When the nuts are completely cool, use your hands to break them apart.
Transfer the nuts to a bowl and serve, or store in a covered container for up to a few weeks.
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VIDEO TUTORIAL
“I’ve made 3 batches of these pecans in the past couple of weeks. I’ve gifted them, snacked on them, and added them to my salads. So delicious!”
Candied Pecans
These candied pecans are perfect to serve with cocktails or toss over salads, and the best part is they take just 15 minutes to make!
Ingredients
- ½ cup Confectioners' sugar
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 teaspoons water
- 2 cups pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the Confectioners' sugar, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, and water.
- Add the pecans to the sugar mixture and stir until the nuts are evenly coated.
- Transfer the pecans to the prepared baking sheet and arrange in a single layer. Do your best to make sure the nuts are evenly spread out (if they are clumped together, they won't cook evenly). Scrape out every last bit of glaze from the bowl and drizzle over the nuts. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the pecans are caramelized and the caramel on the baking sheet is a rich brown color but not burnt. (The nuts around the edges will darken first; watch closely so they don't burn.)
- Immediately slide the parchment off of the hot baking sheet and allow the pecans to cool completely on the countertop (this stops the cooking process and prevents the nuts from burning). Once cool, remove the pecans from the parchment, breaking apart any clusters if necessary, and store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
- Note: If the nuts are sticky after cooling, that means they are a bit undercooked. Pop them back in the oven for a few minutes and let cool again.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Serving size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 217
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 11 g
- Sugar: 8 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 178 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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These are so good and so simple to make! Everyone asks for the recipe.
5 Stars!
These are amazing and so super easy. I’ve used them as an appetizer or chopped up in salads.
I make this often since they’re hard to resist. Thank you for the recipe!
Delicious and so easy to make. They were a huge hit.
Best recipe EVER for candied pecans!!!
what temp?
Hi Linda, These get baked at 350°F.
These are delicious!
At first they were very sticky, but they hardened up by the next day. Is this always the case? Just curious.
Hi Weezie, If they were very sticky, it sounds like they may have been a bit undercooked. Interesting that they hardened up a bit the second day. Maybe they were still a bit warm when you found them sticky?
We really enjoyed these-thank you! Do you know if almonds would work?
Glad you enjoyed them! You can use almonds here; I like the pecans best because they have so many crevices for the coating to get in, but any nuts will work.
These burnt severely in my oven at 11 minutes, so be careful to watch them like a hawk, the second batch were done perfectly at 8½ – 9 minutes and taste like the title states. Totally fantastic level of sweet spicy and salty!
Hi Jenn. I can’t wait to try these out for our dinner party tomorrow, which will basically feature some favorite recipes from your website. 😊
Question on this one before I try it out: in the video you add the water last, after the nuts, and in the written directions you add the nuts last, after the water. Is one preferable over the other?
Thank you!
Hi Cindy, Sorry for the confusion! I changed the recipe since making the video after getting feedback from readers. It’s easier to add the nuts last. Hope your dinner party is a success!
Hi Jenn.
The dinner party was a GREAT success and everyone loved your recipes ( and asked for them!).
I just got the notice from Amazon that your cookbook has shipped. I am very excited to receive it. Thanks for sharing your passion for good food.
Glad the party was a success and everyone enjoyed the food (and thanks for your support with the cookbook)!! ❤️
Hello, Jenn! I was wondering how long do these keep in an air-tight packaging? Will they still be as crunchy even after a week? Or will they lose their crispiness after some time? Also, won’t they stick together when you package them? Thank you in advanced, I will appreciate your reply! 🙂
Hi Kaye, these are best if eaten within about a week (but you can probably get away with a few extra days tacked onto that). Yes, they will remain crunchy if stored in an airtight container. And if the nuts are cooked correctly (enough time in the oven) they shouldn’t stick together when you store them. Hope that helps!
I have made with pecans…loved!!
I only have walnuts and need to know if I can use them instead. 🧐
Hi Lynn, I prefer pecans but, yes, walnuts will work, too.
Oh my gosh, so good! I made 3 batches of these last Christmas. Even if you use convection bake, make sure to keep it at 350*. Be sure the top of nuts are crusty before cooling or they will end up soft. You want them crunchy but not burned so keep an eye on them. I found that I had to bake for the entire 12 minutes. Everyone loved them.
I have made these for years, great on salads or roasted vegetables. They were a popular Christmas gift this year and a great snack all year round.
Your husband is correct in his name for these nuts!! I can eat these all day! After having some spicy glazed pecans at a high end resort I was hooked. I even got the chef at the resort to give me the recipe. I tried and tried to make them but they never came out the right consistency. I could never get the beautiful glaze I was looking for until THIS recipe!! I was always using regular sugar and they would come out grainy or too sticky.Thank you for “the secret” of using powdered sugar-perfection! Not to mention delicious with the hint of spice!
My family has always loved my roasted pecans from a simple Bon Appetit recipe years I found years ago for pumpkin seeds which includes just peanut oil, butter and kosher salt. Well, along came these nuts and there is a new favorite in town.
This recipe is one of the favorites in my home both with kids and adults. It is so easy to make and everything is gone just like that. No one seems to be able to stop themselves from eating more and more. I added more spice as we tend to eat more spicy food.
I’ve been making a similar version of this recipe for years but Jenn has solved my biggest dilemma: cleaning up after baking. The sugar mixture just adhered to the pan like concrete. I used foil and lost much of the coating as well as breaking lots of the pecans. Parchment paper is a fabulous solution! (Why didn’t I ever think of that? 🙂 Thanks, Jenn!
I made these pecans for Christmas this year, and 5 more times since! The absolute right combo of sweet, salty, and spicy! Incredibly easy to prepare and a favorite to bring to parties! You can adjust the amount of spicy by adding more or less cayenne. I agree with your husband! Totally amazing!
I’d give this 10 stars if I could!! Soooo easy, soooo crunchy, not too sweet and perfectly spicy…You should win an award for this one. I’ve made it 6 times since Christmas, giving a few batches away as gifts. I brought the ingredients to a friend’s house last week. I asked her for a bowl, a spoon and a cookie sheet. 10 minutes later we were munching on these incredible nuts! She wrote down the simple recipe and swore she’s going to make them time and time again. I can’t thank you enough for this recipe!
This recipe is super easy to make and so delicious! I made it as the recipe reads. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and spicy. Whenever I bring this to a party; it goes fast.
These nuts are truly irresistible! I made a batch just before Christmas and really enjoyed them. Then I made some to give as a Christmas gift. Made some for New Year’s Eve gathering. Made some for when we had some guests a couple of days ago. Every time I have made them I get the same response…”I need this recipe!”. I have gladly shared your website with all! These nuts are so easy to make, tasty, with just the right amount of heat and sweet. I’ll be making these often!!!
Hi, Jenn! I made these twice in single batches and they were excellent. Yesterday, I doubled the recipe, and the glaze was thick and gloppy. I whisked the dry ingredients together as I did before, using the confectioners sugar at that time, as I did before. I thought that it seemed a bit thick, even when it was only dry ingredients. When I mixed in the water, it really became gloppy, and when I baked it, it didn’t have that pretty glaze, but was a whitish, thick mess. What could have gone wrong? And can these only be made one batch at a time? Thanks!
Hi Jane, Doubling this recipe shouldn’t be a problem; did you double the water too? If not, that would account for the thick glaze. If you try it again and find it to be gloppy, add just a few more splashes of water until it reaches the right consistency.
Hi, again. Yep, I doubled to 8 teaspoons. What concerned me is that when I whisked the dry ingredients today, it already did not look as smooth as usual. Every ingredient I used was brand new. I only had coarse kosher salt on hand, but I did pound that so that it was a lot finer. Any ideas?
Hi Jane, that’s a head-scratcher because it sounds like you did everything right. I don’t think the salt would have an impact. Is there any chance you could’ve made a measuring error? Also, although this doesn’t really sound like it was the issue, when you bake these, it’s important that you separate the nuts so they’re not overlapping (as they don’t crisp up that way).
Just want to say that I am throwing away and deleting most of my recipes with flavored nuts. This one is perfect, and I don’t need any others. Thank you!!
🙂 So glad you like them!
I found this recipe on Pinterest and made these for the first time today. They are absolutely wonderful! My mom came by and said didn’t want to try them. She said they didn’t sound good to her. I convinced her to try them. She couldn’t stop eating them and went home with the recipe!! I’m making a second batch now. Can’t wait to check out your other recipes!
I made 16 8oz jars full of these to give to my family at Christmas and they LOVED them! Many attested to the irresistible quality and I myself returned to the “sample batch” over and over. Thank you for posting, the simplicity of the recipe made for easy, pleasant gift-giving.
When your guests ask if they can take home the leftovers, you know you have a winner. Amazing how one little nut could be ‘sweet, spicy, salty and candied.’ Absolutely delicious!!!
I’ve made them 3 times now – I find I like them better with a few more minutes in the oven, and with an extra 1/4 tsp of cayenne. Soooo good.
I tried this recipe and a savory one I had found on the web which included worcestershire sauce. Hubby and I agreed this recipe was the better one.
These are flat out delicious. Deceptively simple ingredient list, so easy to make and highly irresistible. I’ll admit we had to make extra batches because the batch meant for guests disappeared. Thanks for this excellent recipe!
Super easy and delicious. Followed some of the suggestions and whisked the dry ingredients with the water before mixing in the pecans. Also, used approximately 2-1/2 cups of pecans (this was about how many there were in a 20 oz. bag I purchased.) I found that 17 minutes worked perfectly and gave the pecans a nice crisp coating. Too little water, a mistake I made with one batch, caused the coating to look crackly and not shiny. Still tasted good but I didn’t want to use them for the gift bag I was making (that’s okay, my family enjoyed the rejects!) This is incredibly easy and the only painstaking step is when the pecans have to be put down individually on the parchment paper. I look forward to experimenting with, perhaps, a little less sugar and a little more cayenne. Finally, I have an easy recipe for holiday gift-giving! And my husband thanks you too, Jenn.
Delicious. Added extra spices: cumin, Chinese 5 spice, and smoked paprika. So tasty!
These were so delicious! I made them for a holiday party. They went fast. They are now in our party recipes file along along with several other recipes from your site. I’ve been singing your praises at home and on Facebook for quite some time. My husband does too! He regularly searches your site for his next recipe. We look forward to receiving our copy of your cookbook in April. Happy New Year!
If you don’t mind sharing, I’m curious about other recipes you’ve found good for your parties!
These nuts are excellent. Followed the recipe. They took 12 minutes in my oven and they are perfect as is, but you could probably add a few more pecans, 1/4 to 1/2 cup possibly, as there was a little more of the sugar mix in the bowl. Will make them again for sure.
Followed recipe and made several times; gave them as hostess gifts! Very popular. Easy and delicious!
I added 1 t gr cinnamon and subbed 2 T egg whites for the water. I cut the cayenne to 1/4 t as many do not like a lot of heat. I upped the pecans to 3 c (approx) since I had so much coating in the bottom of the bowl. A great hostess gift, ready in no time.
Last minute decision to search for a candied nuts recipe. I’m so glad this is the one I picked! Delicious and easy with all ingredients on hand. Thank you and Happy Holidays Jenn! I’m excited that I stumbled upon your site … I’ll be back for sure 🙂
I don’t have any kosher salt. Would sea salt work just as well? Excited to make these for Christmas.
Sure, Jennifer – you’ll need a generous half teaspoon of sea salt.
Could I add some cinnamon?
Sure!
Made 3 batches. Modified method, as suggested by several reviewers, by first mixing the powdered sugar, salt, and cayenne together using a whisk; then added the water. Tried all pecans (wonderful), pecans & walnuts (wonderful) & mixture of walnuts, almonds & cashews–the almonds were just OK. Also compared non-stick foil, parchment, & Silpat. All worked. For a slightly more savory profile try 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp finely minced rosemary, 3/4 tsp kosher salt plus the 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Very nice! Can definitely use up to 2 1/2 cups of nuts for a batch. Thanks for a great recipe! Can’t wait to serve them to guests.
thanks for your recipes, so nice not to have to join anything or pay for just a few recipes. I love it.
Jen, I have a recipe for Swedish nuts. They are made with egg whites, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Just when I think mycegg whites are stiff peaks, they deflate and turn glossy but still taste good in final product. Any suggestions on what I am doing wrong and how to correct. Thanks. I am goingvtovtry your recipe and see how they turn out. Sounds much easier.
Hi Diane, I’m not sure you’re doing anything wrong, especially if it all works out in the end — when egg whites and sugar get stiff, they should be glossy. I’m eager to hear your thoughts on this recipe; it is definitely less of a to-do.
Could I cook two pans of these at the same time in the oven? Would that affect the cooking time? Thanks! (I will rate this once I’ve had a chance to eat the pecans. But they look as if they’ll be excellent.)
Sure – I’d suggest rotating the trays one while they’re in the oven to ensure even roasting. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn, wondering how long these keep and if these would work as Christmas gifts? Or are they better served the day of?
Hi Kristin, these definitely don’t need to be served the day you make them. They keep nicely for about a week. Hope your recipients enjoy!
Made these for Thanksgiving, wished I had doubled the batch. That good! Didn’t and wouldn’t change a thing.
This were tasty, though not perfect for me due to texture. I really wanted them to be drier with a harder/crunchier glaze when finished, but much of my coating stayed sort of tacky, sticky, and chewy like caramel. Which is the intention? My measurements were correct, but I’m guessing a lighter glaze coating would help since the nuts that got less coating were crunchier and more to my taste.
Hi Erin, if they were sticky, they probably needed just a few more minutes in the oven. If you prepare them again, extend the baking time by a couple of minutes.
I love these! They are the perfect vegan go-to and you can make them in minutes. I will be making them for a mid-week work party tomorrow and love the fact that you don’t have to refrigerate or keep them balanced as you walk up several flights of stairs.
I like to mix the water into the sugar mixture before I add the nuts. If you don’t do this, you risk having the occasional white spot on a nut, or you have to take some extra time and wait for it to dissolve. Also, I really don’t measure the nuts and they come out fine when I over and under measure. If you double the batch, make sure to cook one layer at a time.
Hi Cameron, I feel silly that I didn’t think to do this! I have re-tested the recipe using this method and have updated the photos and recipe – thank you!
I have made these nuts more times than I care to remember now. The only complaint people have had about them so far is that they cannot stop eating them. Of course I now know better than to make them when I’m alone. These should really come with a warning sign: you can’t stop at one!
These really are amazing. For example, after Thanksgiving dinner, we were all stuffed…nevertheless, as we sat around and talked, the bowl of pecans was emptied. So simple, and perfectly timed at 10 minutes.
Love this recipe!!!!! My wife asked for recipe for 2 coworkers at her job. I’ve recently retired and now have time to cook more. I’ve made 4 of your meals-snacks and couldn’t be more pleased. Thank you, sincerely Dave Moore