Learn how to make our easy candied pecans recipe on the stove. It only takes 10 minutes. These are egg-free, gluten-free, and perfect for snacking, salads, and cheeseboards.
I’ve made this candied pecans recipe so many times, especially during the holiday season! I love these candied pecans for salads, snacks, and cheeseboards. They are perfectly sweet and a little bit salty, plus I add a little cinnamon and orange zest, making them extra delicious.
If you love candied nuts as much as we do, you may also enjoy these candied pecans made in the oven, calling for egg whites, which makes them light and crispy. I love them, but when I’m in a time crunch, the 5-minute recipe shared below is where I turn.
Key Ingredients
- Pecans: I use pecan halves to make this recipe, but you can easily swap the pecans for other nuts like walnuts, hazelnuts, or cashews!
- Brown Sugar: I love the rich flavor of brown sugar with these candied pecans.
- Spices: I combine cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract, and a little orange zest for these candied nuts. I also love a pinch of cayenne pepper for some heat, but that is optional.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Perfect Candied Pecans
Tip 1: Troubleshooting with water for the perfect glaze. You’ll combine sugar with spices, vanilla extract, and a little water in a skillet. Heat everything until it looks like a glaze, and then stir in the nuts. Sometimes you might need to add a tiny bit more water, especially if your sugar mixture starts to get thick and grainy before fully coating the nuts. Add a teaspoon or two of water and keep stirring to help the sugar re-dissolve and give you a smooth, even glaze that coats every pecan.
Tip 2: Knowing when they are done. The most crucial part is knowing when to take candied pecans off the heat. You’ll know they’re ready when the liquid is completely gone and the sugar has formed a shiny coating on the nuts. If they start to look grainy, go back to tip 1 where we suggest adding a teaspoon or two of water to thin the glaze.
Tip 3: Cool them on a baking sheet. Spread the pecans out into a single layer so they cool and harden evenly. If a few nuts stick together as they cool, gently break them apart once they’ve fully hardened.
Ways to Use Candied Pecans
These candied pecans are so simple to make! I add them to salads, desserts, and cheeseboards, and they are also amazing as a standalone snack.
A few recipes that would benefit from a handful of these sweet and salty nuts are this Apple Salad, this Farro Salad, my favorite Quinoa Salad, and this Warm Apple Cabbage Salad. I also love using candied nuts for this Balsamic Strawberry Salad and these coconut oil Roasted Sweet Potatoes.
Easy Candied Pecans
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Thanks to a skillet and the stovetop, you can make this easy recipe in under 10 minutes. You can use it with other varieties of nuts, too. We especially love walnuts and cashews. For an oven-based recipe, try these Oven Roasted Candied Pecans.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
2 cups pecan halves, 6 ounces (170g)
6 tablespoons brown sugar (75g)
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ tablespoons water, or more as needed
2 teaspoons orange zest, optional
Pinch cayenne pepper, optional
Directions
1Prepare baking sheet for cooling: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2Make the glaze: Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, water, orange zest, and cayenne to a medium skillet. Place the skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until the brown sugar melts into a bubbling sauce, about 1 minute.
3Add the nuts: Stir in the pecans so that the brown sugar sauce coats them. Cook, stirring the entire time, until the pecans look candied and smell nutty, 2 to 3 minutes. As the nuts heat up in the pan, the sauce will slowly coat them and turn shiny. Watch closely as the nuts cook so that they do not burn. If the glaze starts to get thick and grainy before coating the nuts, add a teaspoon or two more water and keep stirring to help the sugar re-dissolve and give you a smooth, even glaze that coats every pecan.
4Cool them: Transfer the candied pecans to the prepared baking sheet and spread them out in one layer. Allow the pecans to cool down and break them up before serving.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Store cooled candied nuts in an airtight container. They will last at room temperature for 1 week, in the refrigerator for a few weeks, and in the freezer for a month, if not longer.
- Salt: ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt makes these taste salty-sweet. If you’d prefer to not taste the salt, reduce to ¼ teaspoon of salt.
- Pecans too sticky: If your nuts are still sticky after cooling, heat your oven to 325°F (162°C) and bake for 5 to 10 minutes to help harden the candy coating.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
These taste fantastic and so easy to make!
This was delicious! I scaled back on the cinnamon because I’m not a huge fan so I only added 1/2 tsp and then added a 1/4 tsp instand espresso just for fun!
Amazing!
So happy you enjoyed them, Doris.
I am going to make them again. I love cinnamon but mixed in the caramelized suggar didn’t taste right, so I will just sprinkle it on the top. There was just too much powder, I think.
This Rx needs about 2 more tablespoons of sugar fully coat the pecans. Otherwise it’s pretty good
I used a mixture of pecans and cashews, soooo good! I didn’t have parchment paper on hand, I spread them out on a lightly greased cookie tray, worked great.
Quick, easy, and delicious! I used these to top a pumpkin pie I made for tonight’s Thanksgiving festivities, and will put the leftover pecans on the cheeseboard. I’m thinking of making more and pack them in little boxes as Christmas gifts for coworkers
So gonna get my grandmother to do this for me!
I found this by searching “best candied pecans recipe” and oh boy is this true. I needed these for a recipe but I kept snacking on them and now don’t have enough! Thankfully, it’s really easy to make more. Thank you for sharing this!
Those are soooo goooood!!! I’d love for them to be slightly crunchier tho – would popping them in an air fryer for a couple of mins help? Thanks!!!!!
Yes, but keep an eye on them as they may burn quickly.
Easy and absolutely perfect touch to tonight’s salad.
To the person who wanted them a bit crunchier: I always put nuts (specifically walnuts and pecans, separately) onto a cookie sheet and “bake” them in my table top toaster oven, about 2 minutes at 225 degrees F. Cool, store in a lidded container. So for this recipe, my pecans were already a bit crunchy, so the end product resulted in great, crunchy candied peans.
I made this without the orange zest and my family really loved it