This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
These caramelized, candied walnuts are quite a treat. Toss them into your salad, over popcorn, or straight into your mouth. Crunch. Crunch.
I love this easy method of making the candied nuts where everything goes into the pan at once. Other methods I’ve tried left me with globs of candy on the nuts rather than a more even coating.
It also roasts the nuts at the same time so you don’t have to pre-toast them, then add them back to the pan to be coated, blah, blah. Who needs extra steps?
It seriously takes about 5 minutes on the stove and 5 minutes to cool. The finished product is delicious! My husband was sampling them right out of the pan. P.S. This recipe can easily be doubled.
Ingredients for Candied Walnuts:
1 cup walnut halves/pieces (you can also use this recipe for candied pecans)
1/4 cup white granulated sugar (not coarse sugar)
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
How To Make 5 Minute Candied Walnuts:
1. Heat a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat, add 1 cup walnuts, 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 Tbsp butter.
2. Heat over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently (with a heat proof non-plastic spatula) so your mixture doesn’t burn (especially towards the end). When the sugar mixture starts melting, stir constantly until all sugar is melted and nuts are coated.
3. Transfer immediately onto a sheet of parchment paper and separate the nuts right away. Using two spatulas will make this task go faster.
You don’t want to give the nuts a chance to turn into a wad of inseparable delicious goodness unless you are the only person who will be enjoying the wad ;). Seriously, move quickly from the time the nuts are coated until they are separated out on the parchment paper.
Once the coating hardens (5-7 minutes), you can transfer them to a bowl and either inhale them right then and there or save ’em for a salad or something.
Enjoy, {crunch} pin it to your “recipes to keep forever” board, {crunch. crunch} and let me know how you liked the candied walnuts! {Crunch. Cruuunch. Crunch}
5 minute Candied Walnuts
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnut halves/pieces, you can also use this recipe for candied pecans
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar, (not coarse sugar)
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Heat a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat, add 1 cup walnuts, 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 Tbsp butter.
- Heat over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently so your mixture doesn't burn (especially towards the end). When the sugar mixture starts melting, stir constantly until all sugar is melted and nuts are coated.
- Transfer immediately onto a sheet of parchment paper and separate the nuts right away. Using two spatulas will make this task go faster. You don't want to give the nuts a chance to turn into a wad of inseparable delicious goodness unless you are the only person who will be enjoying the wad ;). Seriously, move quickly from the time the nuts are coated until they are separated out on the parchment paper.
- Once the coating hardens (5-7 minutes), you can transfer them to a bowl and enjoy!
P.S. If you haven’t allready, make sure to try our honey roasted almonds. They are also amazing
You can’t beat this method for quickness and ease. I whipped this up to add to a spring greens and goat cheese salad with raspberry vinaigrette. It took a few minutes more and a little higher heat till the sugar melted. I added salt for that wonderful sweet/salty combo.
Oh that sounds so delicious! I love adding candied nuts to my salads! Thank you for sharing.
I made this to add as a topping for fruit salad and yoghurt. Absolutely delicious and so quick to make. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
I recently had candied walnuts on a cheese board that I ordered as a share instead of dessert. It was a different and tasty addition, along with quince jelly.
This looks an easy recipe, so will definitely try it for home.
Please do try it! I would love to know how it goes.
Hi Natasha. Could you clarify the amount of the unsalted butter. I was taught Tbl was for tablespoon, and Tsp was teaspoon. You listed Tbsp…
I can’t wait to try this recipe in my new air fryer.
HI Vicki, Tbsp always stands for Tablespoons and tsp is for teaspoons. I try to capitalize the T for Tablespoons as well. Tbsp is the culinary abbreviation for tablespoon.
Hi,look forward to making these but have a question. Do you think I could add these glazed walnuts in a cranberry orange bread?
Thank you and have a wonderful Christmas.
Hi Carla, I haven’t tested that but I assume it would be yummy. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas as well.
I love your recipies…when in doubt check Natasha lol So can these nuts be bagged and stored and for how long?
Hi Pat, you can store them at room temperature in Tupperware for 3-5 days. I wouldn’t refrigerate them since the caramel can become sticky in a moist environment.
Love this recipe! Super easy to make and everyone loves them. They are always a favorite either at potlucks or as a homemade Christmas goody!
Thank you!
Easy recipes are my favorite! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Lisa!
I was putting together a few homemade canned goods to gift to some friends stopping by later this morning and decided to look up a candied walnut recipe… of course I went to Natasha’s recipe first and didn’t bother looking at any others! It’s absolutely perfect! I ended up making two batches and on the second, I added 1/8 tsp of maple extract to just change it up a bit. I ended up just mixing the two together after they were cooled and container as one! I’ll be making a few more batches as little gifts for others that stop by as well. Absolutely lovely!
Aww! Thank you for that wonderful compliment and review! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Toni!!
I made this is it didn’t turn out at all like the second picture, it stayed more like the first. I added more butter and added more time. Not sure where it went wrong, maybe the elevation.
Hi Michele, if it stayed like in the first photo, it means it needed a longer time on the stove – maybe the heat was too low? Make sure you are using a non-stick skillet and I would turn up the heat a little and let it sautee longer until the sugar melts.
What is the best way to make this recipe in bulk? Does it only work well in these smaller batches?
Hi there, you may go to the recipe card and click the number of servings to adjust the ingredients too!
Totally delicious and so easy. I used Demerara sugar. Had the walnuts with stewed apples and thick Greek yoghourt. Think I may be addicted. Thank you.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Karen!
Just made these for my Thanksgiving holiday salad. Turned out perfectly. Great easy recipe. Hope I can leave them be till Thursday.
Hi Karla, yes that would work great to leave them at room temperature in a low humidity area.
Thanks for sharing that with us, Karla. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Absolutely perfect! I’ll never buy pre-candied walnuts again!
Thanks a lot, Lynn for the review!
Giving them away for Christmas yea wonerdful, can you use almond’s to vicky
Hi Victoria, I think you could make that work. My favorite almonds recipe is our Honey roasted almonds.
My butter separated and made the walnuts very greasy, although I followed instructions precisely. I wonder if it wouldn’t have been better to melt butter and sugar first, then add walnuts. Still, my kids liked them.
Hi, did you possibly use a course sugar? Make sure to use granulated so it melts at the same time as the butter and incorporates better. Also, make sure not to heat over heat that is too high.
Hi! I used granulated sugar as per the recipe but it really never melted with the butter ,to coat the nuts … it coated them but the nuts aren’t gooey … we will still eat them but I’m not sure why it didn’t work .. bummer
Hi Trisha, make sure to try the recipe as written with the same measurements of all the ingredients. If you did, it sounds like the sugar and butter didn’t melt adequately and needed some additional time, see step 2 for instructions, and avoid using very high heat to speed up the process as this could burn your sugar syrup. I hope you give it another try, with better results this time.
After the first attempt, after waiting for 53 minutes for the sugar to melt, my walnuts were burnt. I threw it out and with the next batch, toasted the walnuts first, set them aside, then made the syrup and added them back. Worked
Holy how I didn’t expect this to turn out so good –I don’t work with sugar much, so this was my first time making candied walnuts. I was worried it wouldn’t turn out when it came out of the pan still gooey and soft, but I came back and it was perfectly crunchy, a little salty, and delicious! Thank you for making your instructions so clear and easy to follow. I love a low effort high yield recipe!
Love it! Thank you for sharing your experience trying out this recipe, Jessica. I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed it!
Followed recipe exactly and results were amazing – so easy ! I had to fend the husband off to have enough left to top roasted butternut squash !
Thank you for a wonderful easy recipe! If there is any left , how long would this keep for ?( in fridge) Will double next time !
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! You can store them at room temperature in Tupperware for 3-5 days. I wouldn’t refrigerate them since the caramel can become sticky in a moist environment.
You might want to add a half tablespoon of butter. Otherwise it was great!
Being food-challenged, I thought this sounded super easy, and I wanted to add them to a beet/goat cheese salad. I found it took an eternity, and my walnut were just coated in sugar! Eventually, after re-reading the instructions, I threw them back in a hotter skillet, and this time, after another 3-4 mins, finally saw the sugar caramelize. Hurrah! I think I finally got it! Hopefully they’re still edible, as I must’ve cooked them for 15+ minutes! I’m not sure cooking should be this stressful, though!
I’m so glad it worked out for you, Samantha!
Very easy and delicious. I did use salted butter because that’s what I had and they tasted great. Thanks.
Glad you liked the result, Marilyn. Thanks for sharing that with us.