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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
I made this recipe and the sugar never dissolved, so disappointing! I have been cooking all my life, about 75 years and cannot figure this out. I even put the tray in the oven for 15 minutes, still not dissolved. Not a good recipe!
I’m sorry to hear they, Kal. Did you use granulated white sugar? If you’re using a different sugar, or a larger granule sugar, then the melting point would be different and it could take longer to melt down. I hope you’ll give it another try. We’ve had excellent results with this. You can melt it on lower heat, and mix less often, sometimes this helps.
I have never made candied walnuts but I saw your recipe and had to try it. Easy, quick, and DELICIOUS. Thank you for posting the recipe. I am making it for the second time. I used them on a salad with dried cranberries and feta cheese. Great recipe!
You’re welcome, Char! I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Hello, I’ve made this recipe a few times mostly successfully, but I do sometimes get caramel lumps not stuck to nuts. I am wondering if this may be because of slight variation in the amounts. Could you please provide metric equivalents as it is much more accurate?
If you scroll down to our printable recipe card, most of our recipes have a metric conversion option on the printable recipe card. We are currently working on adding metric measurements to all of our recipes, but it is taking some time to add them one at a time. Thank you so much for being patient! In the meantime, check out our post on measuring which should help.
Delicious recipe! Probably going to be my new favorite snack!
How can I substitute brown sugar for the granulated sugar? Same ratio as with granulated sugar, and same cooking and cooling times? Or is there a difference?
Thank you!!
Hi Kimberly! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. I haven’t tested it to provide the exact instructions. They have different melting points so may have to experiment with it. Let us know how it turns out.
I made as prescribed. It is a very good recipe but the reason for the three stars is the lack of salt. This needs a generous pinch of sea salt of kosher salt either in the pan or after you let the walnuts cool down. The salt makes these delights pop.
These are about the best nut I have ever eaten. Someone bought them to church and I ate most of them. I did share them, but it was hard. I am going to make a double batch of them
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Carolyn! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe is delicious.
Do I need to store them in the fridge because of the egg white?
Hi Denise! These are fine to store at room temperature in an air-tight container for up to a week. Or you can refrigerate/freeze for longer.
Mine did not turn out as expected. There really is no “glaze” per se. My white sugar is fine, not course. I needed to add a little water to it, which helped, but they really didn’t come out right.
I Love your recipe for candied walnuts!!. I haven’t made them in 40 years, but with that first bite those years melted away. Thanks!!.
Hi Deborah! I’m so glad you loved them.
I am very disappointed. I did everything as I should and the sugar did not melt properly. There are clumps of sugar and walnuts without coating. I’m questioning the amount of butter. I do not recommend
Hi Jen! We’ve had great results with this recipe. I’m sorry it’s been a struggle. Are you using granulated sugar? If you’re using larger sugar crystals, they won’t melt as well and they will take longer to reach melting point. Try melting your sugar on lower heat and don’t stir as often, allow it more time to melt before giving it a stir. I hope that helps.
So easy and fast, and I like that I didn’t have to use an egg white. I can see the opportunity for lots of spice variations depending on how these are going to be used. Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Mary!
I made these. First batch I cooked a little too long then the next batch were perfect. I added some cinnamon to the sugar. They turned out great
I just experimented with this recipe as I’ve been asked to bring candied walnuts to a holiday event on Saturday. So first question: How long in advance can I make the walnuts? I’m going to wait till the day before just to be sure, but I’d love to make them a few days earlier. In the past, I’ve made Chinese Candied Walnuts which call for deep frying. This recipe is easier with less mess and less greasy taste.
Hi Jan! They can be stored up to a week in an airtight container. Or longer if refrigerated/frozen.
Thank you! I made these using plant-based butter since I’m vegan and they were a big hit at Thanksgiving (and so easy!).
You’re welcome! So glad you loved the recipe.
It was really good. Very simple. We made it like the recipe said and I thought “well isn’t this caramel on walnuts” and I started anyway. At first it seemed like it wouldn’t work. My mom was unsure of where I got the recipe but when it started melting she started seeing it come together. I almost stopped too soon, because I was relying on the smell of the nuts to tell me when, but I kept cooking until it felt perfect. And yes, they’re very good. As is, they’re fine as they are, but I’ll add some vanilla and maybe a few spices next time and see how they are then. I wasn’t disappointed in the recipe. If you’re wanting to make them, don’t be worried, they’re going to turn out.
Thank you for sharing, Tiffany!
I had troubled emulsifying the butter and sugar and just added a tiny bit of water and they turned out great!
Great to hear that, Jani!
Thank you! 🙂 (it seems you need 50 digits to post) …so this tip was super helpful you are awesome!
Yummy and easy!
I tripled the recipe because I knew double batch would not last!
Thanks for this easy recipe.
Awesome! Glad that it was a huge hit, Becky. Thank you for sharing.
The recipe is alright but I do not recommend the method as the walnuts don’t get toasted properly before the sugar melts, and mixing the walnuts with unmelted sugar means lots of grainy sugar getting stuck in crevices before getting the chance to melt. Toasting the walnuts beforehand is for the best and helps bring out that buttery nutty flavour of roasted walnuts. Then wait for the sugar to melt into caramel. It doesn’t take more than 10min for toasting and caramelising.
I used salted butter and added Maldon seasalt flakes after cooling down and bagging the nuts. It was good.
I just made my first batch of these and, unfortunately, the sugar did not stick to the walnuts. I ended up with somewhat toasted walnuts and a separate slab of caramelized sugar. Very little sugar/butter stuck to the nuts. Is there a trick to getting the two to stick together?
Hi Gordon! Did you use coarse sugar or make any other substitutions? I used white granulated sugar which is more fine, not coarse. Using a coarse sugar will effect how it melts and sticks to the walnuts.
Thank you so very much for the recipe. These were so easy to make and they taste great.
You’re welcome, Pam. Thank you for your great comments and review!
I tried it twice in a row. My sugar did not melt and emulsify with the butter. I tried to keep going but end up burning them and they were inedible. I make various candied nuts all the time with perfect results, not sure why this didnt work…maybe because I used coarse sugar? I tried adding some water to help melt it and it did melt but then didn’t stick to the nuts at all. Nonetheless I’ll try again once I get more walnuts and fine castor sugar. But such a shame for the wasted walnuts…
Hi Isabel, that is a bummer for sure. The main culprit here is using coarse sugar. I would recommend using the one listed in the recipe and I’m glad you are giving it another shot!