Easy Cinnamon and Sugar Candied Pecans
These easy cinnamon and sugar candied pecans taste just like the kind you pay a fortune for at the mall! You won’t believe how easy they are to make at home (how-to video below!).
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I have been making candied cinnamon nuts for several years but your recipe with the butter blew all my previous recipes out of the water! Thank you. -Roshan
These easy candied pecans are literally the best little treat to make for:
- Gift-giving (holiday or otherwise!)
- General snacking
- Set out in bowls for parties or get-togethers
- Served on salads
This cinnamon pecans recipe has skyrocketed to my favorite candied nut recipe ever – they are just as good as the kind you get at the mall or Cabelas! The addition of butter to the recipe changes everything. It lends a caramelly, warm note to the sweet, cinnamon pecans that is extraordinarily delicious (and pretty much dangerous).
Can I Use Another Kind of Nut?
Yes, I think so! I’ve only ever made this recipe with pecans because they are one of my favorite nuts, but you could experiment with almonds, cashews, walnuts, etc.
Is There a Sweet and Spicy Version?
If you want to add a little heat to these sweet, candied pecans, I wholly support you in this! There’s something about that sweet and spicy combo that is fantastic on candied nuts. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper with the cinnamon (more or less to taste). And then try to find it in your heart to share any of the finished batch.
See How Easy It is to Make Them Here!
Easy Cinnamon and Sugar Candied Pecans
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) salted butter
- 2 large egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (159 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4 cups (456 g) whole raw pecans (see note)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Melt the butter and spread on a rimmed half sheet pan (11X17-inches). You can also cut the cold butter into cubes, place on the sheet pan, and pop in the oven while preheating to melt the butter; just watch closely so it doesn’t burn.
- In a large bowl, add the egg whites and salt and whisk until foamy but still liquidy, 30 seconds or so. Add the sugar and cinnamon and mix until well blended and the cinnamon is completely mixed in.
- Add the pecans and gently mix until the nuts are well coated, making sure to get underneath to the bottom of the bowl as you mix.
- Spread the pecan mixture in an even layer over the melted butter in the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and using a flat metal spatula or similar tool, quickly stir the pecans and spread them back into an even layer. Bake for another 10 minutes, stir again, and spread into an even layer.
- Bake for a final 5-10 minutes (watching closely!) until the pecans are sizzling and lightly golden. Remove the pan from the oven, give the pecans another good stir, scraping them up from the bottom of the pan. Spread them into an even layer and let them rest on the pan for 1-2 hours WITHOUT STIRRING AGAIN until completely cooled and the sugar coating has set. The pecans keep for up to a week well-covered in a cool, dry place (not the fridge).
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Teresa, a longtime MKC reader – she’s made them for years and originally got the recipe from a Bon Appetit magainze (I cut the butter down from 8 tablespoons to 6 tablespoons – I found they were a bit too greasy with the full 8 tablespoons)
The video in this post was made in partnership with Inspo
Hello
I have a question about these cinnamon sugar candied Pecans. Your recipe calls for raw pecans. Is that important? I think grocery store pecans have been roasted. I keep finding and printing your recipes. I should just buy your cookbook.
Thanks!
Hi Lynne! You could try with the roasted pecans – I haven’t tried it that way so I don’t know if the pecans would overcook (get *too* toasty) in the oven but it’s worth a try!
These turned out perfect! Everyone loved them!
Thanks for letting me know, Natalie!
I have been working on making every recipe in your cookbook, and these were the last recipe I needed to make. I should have made them way before! They are SO good!!! We ate them by the handful, on salads, in cereal. These are delicious!!! Every recipe in your cookbook is wonderful! What a great cookbook! Thank you, Mel! I had so much fun baking through the whole thing!!
Thank you so much, Jen! I can’t believe you made every single recipe. I’m glad you loved these pecans – they are seriously life changing! Thank you for being so awesome!
This recipe is brilliant. I’d tried many versions and the coating would turn to powder and fall off as soon as the nuts cooled. Butter for the win! It didn’t work as well with almonds, probably because there aren’t nooks and crannies for the glaze to adhere to. They’re still tasty but kind of bland. I will increase the cinnamon and add the pinch of pepper when I do almonds or cashews, but it really is perfect for pecans!
Really enjoyed this recipe. It was very simple to follow and tastes great on its own, to give out as gifts or to throw on a salad. I did sub out the white sugar for light brown sugar (just because I simply ran out), added vanilla and extra cinnamon (more than what the recipe called for), and it came out perfect. I did my 1st batch following the recipe exactly and the 2nd batch with the modifications (following the same baking steps). The house smells wonderful and the recipe is fool-proof, unless you’re not watching your oven.
I make them every Christmas and give them out in holiday bags as a gift. Everyone loves them.
Amazing! Tossed half in brown sugar when they were still hot and they were amazing too!
I made it for the first time and it was fabulous! We put them over cinnamon french toast. The family loved it and they asked for my recipe. I will make again….often!
Theses are amazing! So easy to make, and delicious. Sorry though, we coudn’t wait 2 hours for them to cool. Spreading the baked nuts out on a parchment lined counter top reduced the cooling time quite nicely.
wonderful!
These are fabulous, addicting snacks. I mean who doesn’t love butter and sugar. I first tasted these in Alaska last year. They were warm and we were freezing and they hit the spot. I’ve been dying to try them myself and this was an easy to make recipe. Definitely a Christmas tradition from now on…
Would you be able to make these ahead of time and freeze them? They sound delicious but I am sorely pressed for time a week before Christmas. Thank you
I haven’t tried freezing, but they do keep well for a week or so if they are in a tightly covered container at cool room temperature.
I have frozen them and they do lose some flavor in the freezer.
Today i was a demonstrator of airfryers and i chose to make this recipe for the custumors to taste.
And no one had tried candied pecan nuts before and it was a huge hit.
So i will defo use the recipe again, i will also use the base recipe for other nuts to test it out.
I added a bit vanillasugar as well.
Perhaps try with some maple sirup instead of vanilla sugar for taste.
I’ve been using your recipes long enough to trust that they will be top notch every single time! I’m soooo excited to try these nuts. I’m wondering if any kind of granulated sugar substitute would work for these. I have xylitol, Monk fruit, and coconut sugar. I know the taste wouldn’t be quite the same (and frankly not as delicious,) but do you think the recipe would set up ok?
I haven’t tried a sugar substitute in these pecans, Kayleen, but I’m guessing it should work just fine! I’d probably suggest coconut sugar as a good starting option.
Simply lovely. My wife loved them!
To die for with cashews and even good with. A good peanut!
We’ve been making these every December since you posted them, and my husband took it over so he does it completely on his own each year. Several friends look forward to getting a tin of these at Christmas, as well. My husband doesn’t cook often, so isn’t super comfortable in the kitchen, but can follow directions fine as long as they’re well-written like your recipes always are, Mel. We usually use pecan halves and it turns out great. I don’t even like nuts, but I find myself snagging a nibble here and there, too, so that tells you something about how yummy they are!
Love this recipe your directions made this easy to make. Making again but this time I’m trying with cayenne. Have used these candy pecans to bake on top of my apple/banana bread just had to watch that they didn’t burn it was so good. Thank you for sharing
Love this recipe your directions made this easy to make. Making again but this time I’m trying with cayenne.
Absolutely amazing! I did mine in my largest cast iron skillet hoping to simplify cleanup. I definitely used the cayenne suggestion because why wouldn’t I? I baked a total of 20 minutes and left them to cool in the hot skillet. Turned out perfectly. Getting ready to transfer to a jar for storage in hopes they will still be around for Christmas!
My pecans were already burned after I took them out a second time 🙁
Anyone know exact baking time if you’re using pecan halves? I just made them in only did the 10 minutes two times… I was afraid to burn them, just wondering if I should have tried to cook them longer. They taste great though!!
I increased the cinnamon to 2 tsp and even bought a new bottle of cinnamon because I wanted lots of flavor and it was disappointing. I hardly taste the cinnamon and they’re not that sweet.
Also, if I make these again, I will cook them at a lower temperature. I use an oven thermometer and found that 325 was much too hot. I lowered to 295 and liked the the way they were turning out much better.
WOW, THOSE are dangerously scrumptious. Thanks for sharing ❤️❤️❤️
Great recipe delicious cant stop eating them..
Love it so quick and easy..
Can’t stop eating them!!!
added a teaspoon of vanilla extract for added flavor.. it was awesome ! thank you for the recipe! i had a bag of pecans from costco, that i was planning to make a pecan pie with, but I made this instead. It was a better choice !
This is a perfect recipe. I used walnuts and it turned out crunchy and delicious. Thank you!
I was sitting at home watching Christmas movies wanting something salty yet sweet and I jumped up and found this online. I ate them all in 3 days!!!
So So So easy and GOODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!
Just pulled these heavenly smelling nuts out of the oven! The look beautiful! Can’t hardly wait for them to cool off! Thank you so much for sharing!!
I have been making candied cinnamon nuts for several years but your recipe with the butter blew all my previous recipes out of the water! Thank you.
These are AMAZING! This is by far the perfect recipe for candied pecans! They turned out better than I had imagined.
These are AMAZING! This is by far the best recipe for candied pecans. You can’t go wrong with both a candied and buttery flavor.
Can the cinnamon pecans be mailed & if so, what do you recommend for shipping?
Yes, they make great treats to mail. I would recommend a padded envelope (package the pecans in a closed bag).
Thankyou soooo much for this!!! This is the best recipe outthere, my mom and I made this ecact recipe amd it tastes exactly like the fresh roasted pecans at navy pier chicago …hah memories ❤️ if anyone wants to make candied pecans this is the best you can find.
Made some today!! Mama loves them!!! She has always loved pecans so I decided to try this and she them.
Hello, can you use pecan halves for this recipe? I am having trouble finding whole raw pecans. What brand do you use?
I get the Kirkland brand from Costco. Yes, you can probably use pecan halves!
Can these be made without egg whites
I’m afraid they won’t turn out the same if the egg whites are left out – they are an important part of the recipe.
I made this druid covid 19 cause I was solo bored. Turned out great!
I’ve made these many times, and they are delish!! I use brown sugar and put in a splash of cinnamon oil….yum yum!!!
Thanks for the great recipe!
I have a question.
Can i use this candied pecan for the cookie Batter? Wouldn’t it be too hard?
I’m sorry, I think I’m a little confused. What cookie batter are you wanting to use these pecans in?
The recipe asks for 4 cups of pecans (16 ounces), 4 cups are actually 32 ounces. Can you please confirm the discrepancy here. Thanks
The 16 ounces is a weight measure not a volume measure.
So delicious! Another winner, Mel! We just made two batches and they are going to be awesome gifts for my husband’s fellow teachers at his high school:). (Assuming, of course, there are any left…). Next we’ll be making your cheese balls which are amazing as well! Can’t believe how many of your recipes I make every week! Thank you so much for bringing such deliciousness into our kitchen! Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family!
Great recipe. I made the nuts this morning. The nuts are delicious.
I will be adding the nuts to a cookie tray.
These r truly sensational, & non nut lovers r actually gobbling these beauties up. I’m finding that it’s kind of festive to have made something that will sit out for a few days. (If they last that long!)