Homemade Candied Pecans are crunchy and with an irresistible cinnamon coating. These come together in about 5 minutes and the oven does the rest. Watch the video tutorial and see how easy it is to make your own praline pecans.
We love Candied nuts from our easy stovetop Candied Walnuts to Honey Roasted Almonds. If you love homemade treats (that are also perfect for gifting) this Candied Pecans recipe is a must-try!
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Candied Pecans Video Tutorial
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What are Praline Pecans?
I always called these candied pecans until I saw the storebought version labeled praline pecans. Praline refers to a crisp caramelized sugar candy. So Praline pecans are essentially candy-coated pecans. You’ll love the texture – it’s easy to chew and has just the right amount of crunch and munch that you’ll find it difficult to stop eating them. The combination of caramelized sugar with toasted nutty pecans is so good.
Ingredients for Candied Pecans
The ingredients for making praline pecans are simple and sweet. If you purchased the pecans, you probably already have everything else in your fridge and pantry.
- Sugar – caramelizes onto the nuts and adds sweetness
- Cinnamon – adds just the right amount of cozy spice and flavor
- Salt – balances the sweetness
- Egg white – combined with a little water, to adds moisture to help the cinnamon sugar adhere to the nuts.
- Vanilla extract – adds great taste and aroma to the nuts. We love using homemade vanilla extract.
How to Make Candied Pecans
- Combine cinnamon, sugar and salt in a small bowl.
- Whisk egg white, water and vanilla in a second large mixing bowl.
- Toss pecans with the egg white.
- Add cinnamon sugar to pecans and stir to coat.
- Spread pecans onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 250˚F in the center of the oven, stirring every 20 minutes.
Why is the Oven-Baked Method Best?
I’ve tried every version of these I could think of from the stovetop to the oven and even boiled them in syrup. I discovered this method from a youtube video by Alex of Sawyer Ridge Farm and it is hands down, the best way to make candied pecans.
Tossing them in an egg white and cinnamon-sugar mixture and baking at a low temperature for an hour caramelizes the sugar and makes them crisp but easy to chew. The texture is perfect and I love that they don’t get stuck to your teeth.
Pro Tip: lining your baking sheet with parchment paper makes cleanup a breeze and keeps the nuts from sticking to your baking sheet.
Common Questions
You can substitute with walnut halves instead. Just be sure to remove all shell fragments.
These are best in the oven. Stovetop pecans would be a very different recipe. For a stovetop version, check out our 5-minute Candied Walnuts recipe.
Yes! You can easily double or even triple the recipe if you have enough room in your oven. Make sure to rotate your trays every 20 minutes when you stir the nuts.
Make-Ahead
Once they have cooled down, transfer candied pecans to an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to a week. I haven’t tested them beyond that.
These Candied Pecans are a real treat. My best advice is to portion it for yourself when you’re munching rather than opening an entire jar and working it down. I know firsthand how dangerous that can be. Ha!
How to Serve Candied Pecans
Candied pecans are great for munching and snacking, but we also love to put them to good use. Try these ideas:
- Gifting – put the nuts in a mason jar, or a clear gift bag, tie a ribbon on top and give the nuts away to your friends and neighbors.
- Salad topping – these are delicious on Beet Salad with Arugula, or Roasted Sweet Potato Salad.
- Dessert topping – these are lovely for decorating desserts or ice cream.
- Charcuterie board – adding these to a snack platter is always a good idea. They will disappear fast.
More Homemade Sweet Treats
- Cream Cheese Mints
- Toffee Recipe
- Sugared Cranberries
- Christmas Coconut Balls
- Candied Bacon Brittle
- Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Candied Pecans Recipe (How to Make Praline Pecans)
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg white
- 2 tsp water
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 lb pecan halves, about 4 cups
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 250˚F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, stir together sugar, cinnamon and salt.
- In a second large mixing bowl, whisk egg white, water, and vanilla until frothy.
- Add pecans to egg white mixture and stir to coat.
- Add cinnamon and sugar mixture to the coated pecans and mix to combine.
- Spread nuts into a single layer on the parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature and enjoy.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
I made these for Christmas 2023. What a big hit! Everyone loved them and couldn’t stop eating them. My husband is allergic to cinnamon so I substituted a combination of equal parts ground allspice, nutmeg, ginger and clove. I used them to top a homemade cheesecake along with homemade carmel/butterscotch sauce and homemade whipped cream. Oh my goodness, delicious! I stored a (small) portion of them in a Rubbermaid (airtight) container for 6 months and they were still yummy. B-T-W, my beloved Girl Scout leaders for 10 years were Elizabeth & Karen Kravchuck (from New Jersey).
Hi you store for 6 months.
In the fridge or countertop
Or freezer.
What’s the proper way of storing these for long-term?
Once they have cooled down, transfer candied pecans to an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to a week. I haven’t tested them beyond that.
I made this today and followed your recipe and it turned out amazing! Thank you! My family loves them!
You’re so welcome! I’m so happy you all enjoyed this recipe!
I love candies and I love pecans. I bought a praline pecans at BJ’s and I want to do it on my own so I tried your recipe, and it is good… Thanks for your recipe
I’ve made this twice. My husband is diabetic so the second time I used Splenda in the place of sugar. The results were perfect, delicious, so light and crunchy. Thank you for your videos.
PS I’m loving your cookbook.
Hi Karen, I’m happy to know that splenda worked well too! Thanks a lot for sharing!
I followed the recipe exactly and it came out perfect. Taste is so yummy tempting to eat all of it in one day and best part it made the house smell so good. I’m no cook so Natasha Kitchen is my go to for recipe , so easy ..
Delicious! I used 1/2 white sugar and 1/2 light brown sugar. I also used half pecans and half cashews (raw, whole). Pecans were perfect. Temperature and time is spot on. It was my first time making cashews
and they weren’t as good as pecans, the sugar mixture just doesn’t stick as well. But I really enjoyed the final product, cashews added a nice balance because they weren’t as sweet. This mix was a great addition to my charcuterie board. Looked festive. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Al! Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Normally never use or have parchment paper as its too expensive and don’t see the point of it in most of my baking, but had a bit so tried it. I ended up taking if off halfway thru as it just kept sliding around making it difficult to move the nuts around. THEN it was much easier to do so.
Don’t let lack of parchment paper stop you from making these because they are REALLY GOOD!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Margie!
If you’re a fan of the spiced nuts sold at fairs and that sporting goods store that rhymes with a-bellas, this is exactly the recipe you want to make NOW! It should come with a warning: nobody can stop after eating one! Soooo good! Thank you for figuring out this recipe, Natasha!
You’re very welcome, Donna! Thank you for the feedback.
Unbelievable with Pecans! Wicked easy to make and perfect for holiday gatherings. Can’t wait to try it with other nuts.
I put the candy crumbs in a bowl and snacked on them by themselves.
Hi Trent! I’m so glad you loved the recipe. It’s versatile and works great for so many other nuts too. Let us know what you experiment with.
So delicious and easy to make! I just made a slight variation and added a 1/2 tsp of cardamom to the recipe.
I took them to a gathering today. Everyone loved them and asked for the recipe.
I will definitely make again this holiday season.
So glad they were enjoyed. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Thank you Natasha! I’m going to make a batch today for my family, then I plan to make a bunch to gift away for Christmas. I know these will be a Spectacular, Cinnamony, Sugary, Sweet, Splendid Treat! I know I will need all my will power to not eat too many. Thanks for all the experimenting you’ve done to bring us the best and easiest recipe! Merry Christmas to you and all your family!
This is the best treat to gift, Steven! Merry Christmas!
So I made your candied pecan recipe and wow they came out so good!! My wife and I only eat a small portion at a time. You can easily eat a whole jar of these if you let yourself. Lol
Yes! I can eat these by the handful! Thank you for sharing.
I just made these! DELICIOUS! I used pecans, walnuts and peanuts. I will be making them again.
Great to hear that you enjoyed them!
Oh my goodness. My family and I were just blown away at how delicious these were. Such an easy recipe, too!
I’m so glad your family enjoyed it!
These have become one of my top pregnancy snacks! I’ve made them both with the original recipe, and also substituted a flax egg for the egg white in the recipe. The flax egg version turns out not quite as crunchy as the original, but totally still works if you’re looking to make these vegan.
Hi Kate! That’s great to know, thank you for sharing!
Made these for my family and they were gone in the same day!
All your recipes that I’ve tried are great! Thank you
Hi Wendy! I’m so glad they were a hit! You’re very welcome!
Made these for the first time tonight and they came out perfectly. Added a dash of cayenne, but otherwise followed the recipe as written.
Hi Steve! That sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing.
Love this recipe. It’s super easy. You can use any kind of nuts and the very best part they are super tasty! Every recipe of yours I try my whole family loves.😋 Thank you.💖
You’re welcome, Terry. I’m so glad you love this!
These candies pecans are amazing. Have made them several times and they always come out perfect. Not at all sticky but nicely sweet. So easy too!
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed them.