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The best Candied Pecans recipe is crunchy, sweet and absolutely addicting, and our version can be made on the stovetop or in the oven.
Upgrade everything with Candy Pecans
Upgrade everything with Candy PecansI love how easy and versatile this Candied Pecans recipe is, and we have two easy ways to make them: stove-top or oven! And, you can use any kind of nuts and candy them in the same way. Try walnuts, almonds, peanuts, cashews, pistachios, or a blend of your favorite.
Obviously they make a great snack, or I've listed a dozen other ways to use candied pecans, at the end of this post. My favorite is as a gift during the holidays, with our cute free label in a nut cone.
Don't miss these other easy treats: Graham Cracker Toffee, Homemade Caramels, or Chocolate Fudge!
How to make Candied Pecans:
Combine: Stir together cinnamon and sugar and set aside. Beat egg white, water, and vanilla in another bowl. Coat the pecans in the egg white mixture then pour cinnamon sugar on top and toss well.
Bake for 45 minutes at 300 degrees F, tossing every 15 minutes. Let cinnamon sugar pecans cool completely before enjoying or storing in an airtight container.
Stovetop Candied Pecans:
- Toast: Add 1 cup of pecans to a pan over medium-high heat and cook for 2-3 minutes, tossing often, to toast them. Transfer to a plate.
- Candy coating: Add ½ cup brown sugar, a dash of salt, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons water to the pan. Stir well and cook over medium heat until bubbling.
- Return pecans to pan and toss to coat. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring to coat all of the pecans in the glaze. Remove from heat and transfer pecans to a parchment lined tray to cool completely.
Storage and Freezing Instructions:
Store candied pecans in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for several weeks.
To Freeze: Place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months.
Uses for Candied Nuts:
- Sprinkle on a Mixed Green Salad with Berries, Apple Cranberry Fruit Salad, or your favorite salad.
- Serve over Pumpkin Pie
- Serve with a Charcuterie Board
- Add to trail mix
- Serve over buttermilk pancakes, pumpkin waffles, French Toast or Coffee cake.
- Stir into your favorite oatmeal.
- Sprinkle over glazed carrots
- Gift to neighbors or friends, with this cute label.
- Top on Ice Cream
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Candied Pecans
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 16 ounces unsalted pecans halves , (about 4 cups)
- 1 large egg white
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Wet coating: in a mixing bowl beat egg white, vanilla, and water until stiff peaks form.
- Dry coating: Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt to a bowl and stir to combine.
- Add pecans to the egg whites mixture and gently toss to coat. Add the cinnamon sugar mixture and stir gently until the pecans are well coated.
- Bake: Spread the pecans into a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the pecans to cool completely on the baking sheet.
- Store candied pecans in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for several weeks.
Notes
- Toast: Add 1 cup of pecans to a pan over medium-high heat and cook for 2-3 minutes, tossing often, to toast them. Transfer to a plate.
- Candy coating: Add ½ cup brown sugar, a dash of salt, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons water to the pan. Stir well and cook over medium heat until bubbling.
- Return pecans to pan and toss to coat. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring to coat all of the pecans in the glaze. Remove from heat and transfer pecans to a parchment lined tray to cool completely.
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe April 2018. Updated November 2021 and December 2024.
Oven method adapted from Two Peas and their Pod.
I just made a batch of these and OH. MY. GOSH. they are SO delicious! I am afraid I will eat them all! And talk about easy. This will definitely be a go to recipe from now on. Thanks!
I make these every year around Christmas. In my house, it is known as “nut crack”!
Wow!! I went in a bit apprehensive but they came out sooo good! It’s like eating candy and 10x much better than store bought.
I will be printing this recipe. Thank you.
Absolutely PERFECT! Not too much or too little of anything. Directions are simple to follow and this recipe was much easier than I anticipated. This recipe isn’t overly sweet either, which I really appreciate. I’d give this recipe 10 stars if I could. Thank you so much!
I’ve made this recipe 4 times now. The first time, amazing!! However, I cannot seem to replicate it again. The last 3 times, burnt. I’ve tried checking/stirring them every 10 minutes for 40 minutes. I’ve tried only putting the pecans in the oven for 30 minutes. Always at 300 degrees. I just burned $30 worth of pecans this year when I had them in for 25 minutes at 300, stirred every 5 minutes. I am now going to try 250 degrees for 20 minutes and hope they do not burn.
Followed to a tee. Set oven at 300 and tossed every 15min they are not only burnt but are not even sweet, I can taste the powder from the cinnamon.
Same here.😢 The first batch came out perfect, but the second one was burnt. I even lowered the temp to 275
thats horrible! mine came came out perfectly!
Can I do half this recipe. Will it work? Not sure how I would do the egg white half.
Yup! Just whisk one egg white, then use about 1½ tablespoons of it. Doesn’t need stiff peaks for a half batch just frothy is fine. Everything else halves easily!
This was my first attempt at Candied Pecans. I tried one recipe in the crock pot, another on the stove top and this one in the oven. This was hands down the best recipe! I took a batch to a party and everyone raved about them. Definitely a keeper.
Can’t see recipe because of your video is in the way and I have 2 pounds of pecans!!! Unfortunately I can’t wait. Get rid of the video!!!!
Love these! I will warn that I made a double recipe, and while the quantities changed for everything, unfortunately, the “4 cups” pecans written in parentheses did not, and that is all I went off of. It does change to 32 oz but I paid no attention to that. It was so wet, and I told my husband that something seemed very wrong but double checked the recipe and didn’t recognize my mistake until after the fact. Boo!
I read your comment after I had made the mistake 🙁 I added some other nut that I had, fingers crossed it works!!
I added extra vanilla extract, and maple syrup to the egg mixture. Then I added orange zest when the eggs started to stiffen, then did the rest.
I make these often, but trust me, the orange zest was a game changer!
simple recipe thankyou ,next time I will leave out the egg white and replace with something else maybe honey or maple syrup to coat the pecans didnt like the taste after baking but it helped coat the pecans very well.
The best recipe!
Great taste and baked perfectly.
Be sure to beat the egg to stiff peaks because that is what coats the pecans and gives something for the mixture to cling to.
I am very disappointed in this recipe. They are dry, not sweet like the old recipe I have used before. I thought the over temp was too high, I found out it was 350 at 45 minutes and my pecans were burnt. I tried this same recipe for peanuts and they are at least not burnt, because I turned the over temperature down, but they are still dry and dusty.
It is 300 degrees not 350. That was probably the reason they burned.
Huge mistake reading recipe. Yes, it would burn at 3:50 for that long.
I read the recipe to a tee they are burnt and not sweet what a waste. So annoyed.