SIGN UP TO RECEIVE NEW RECIPES IN YOUR EMAIL!

Privacy Policy

The Café Sucre Farine

A food blog with healthy, delicious recipes.

You are here: Home / Nuts / Easy Candied Pecans (with video)

Easy Candied Pecans (with video)

Total Time: 15 minutes
Jump to RecipePrint Recipe
Pin
Share
Email
13K Shares

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see our privacy policy.

There are so many ways to use these crazy delicious, super easy candied pecans… a crunchy cocktail nibble, fabulous salad topping, an awesome hostess gift, gourmet ice cream and dessert topping… And there’s a video to demonstrate just how easy they are!

We’ve been enjoying these delicious candied pecans for quite some time now. I originally made them for a salad topping, but have found all kinds of other ways to use them along the way. Besides adding a delicious crunch to salads, they’re wonderful on yogurt, ice cream, pancakes, and waffles. They also make a fabulous snack and a nice little cocktail or wine nibble.

I love packaging these delicious candied pecans in little decorative bags or pretty jars for gift giving. They’re perfect for housewarmings, hostess, teacher, hairdresser, etc. gifts. The best thing about them? You can prepare these gifts way ahead of time because the candied pecans keep their shiny glaze and crunch for weeks, stored at room temperature.

Photo of gift bags of Easy Candied Pecans tied with yellow ribbon and surrounded by gift-making supplies.

Be sure to make enough!

You might want to make a double batch as these candied pecans tend to disappear quickly. Each time I’ve made them, I’ve promised myself that I would just nibble on one or two as I’ve packed them up, but I’ve found them almost impossible to resist!

The preparation method is simple and, at the same time, unique. Pecans are briefly toasted in a sauté pan, then combined with a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, corn syrup salt and water. After a few minutes, the sugar will begin to melt and coat the pecans. Keep stirring and the pecans will take on a shiny glaze. At this point, you have just a few minutes left as the nuts take on a beautiful mahogany hue. That’s it!

Closeup photo of a white bowl filled with Easy Candied Pecans.

Want to see how it’s done? We created a short video to show you the easy process.

See what I mean? You can go from raw ingredients to finished product in less than 15 minutes! So put pecans on your shopping list. You probably have everything else you need right in the pantry. Enjoy!

The Café Sucre Farine is a participant in the Amazon Affiliate Program. This program is designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on Amazon. The price you pay as a consumer does not change, but if you make a purchase we will receive a small commission.

Café Tips for making these Candied Pecans

  • You can use pecan halves or chopped pecans in this recipe. I like using the bigger ones for snacking and chopped pecans for salads and ice cream toppings.
  • After you add the sugar/water mixture to the pecans, the sugar will melt and then, after a few minutes, it will form a sugary coating around the nuts. Don’t give up, keep going! As you continue to heat and stir the nuts, the sugar will melt again and form the beautiful shiny glaze.
  • Don’t skip the corn syrup! It’s there for a reason. Whenever you’re melting sugar, there’s a chance that it might crystallize and get grainy. The corn syrup prevents this from happening. Originally, I didn’t include this in the recipe but I learned from trial and error that it definitely makes a difference!
  • Feel free to add different spices to change out the flavor a bit with these nuts. Cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, cumin, rosemary, cayenne or chili spice would all be delicious.
  • Keep a close eye on these nuts as they cook, especially towards the end, as they can go from golden to burned in no time flat.
  • Although these Easy Candied Pecans keep well stored in an airtight container for weeks, they also freeze well and will keep for months in the freezer. Just thaw at room temperature the day you need them.
  • I like to print up a little label to stick on my packages. It makes these candied pecans look like they came from one of those gourmet food/gift shops. (But they taste even better than something you buy at a gourmet food/gift shop because they’re made at home, with love!)

  • If you want to make these candied pecans for gifts and would like the label I used in the picture above (minus The Café logo), just leave me a comment below and I’ll send you the instructions along with the pdf so you can print them up yourself.
  • I used my Fiskars Scallops Lever Punch to cut out a pretty little scalloped circle on black and white scrapbook paper, then glued my label onto that.
  • I use these Wilton Clear Treat Bags to package the pecans.
  • If you’re more in the mood for sweet pecans with a bit of heat, check out these Sweet and Spicy Maple Pecans. Also so… delicious!

This Easy Candied Pecan recipe was originally posted in September of 2017. I’ve gotten comments and emails from lots of people who have fallen in love with this addictive treat and thought it would be a great recipe to reintroduce for the upcoming holidays. 

Here is one comment I received recently regarding these pecans:

“These are amazing…I just made them. Came out wonderfully shiny and super candied/crunchy!”

5 from 22 votes
Print
Easy Candied Pecans

You'll find a zillion ways to use these Easy Peasy Candied Pecans... a delicious cocktail nibble, fabulous salad topping, awesome hostess gifts and so much more!

Author: Chris Scheuer
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Easy Candied Pecans
Prep Time: 3 mins
Cook Time: 12 mins
Total Time: 15 mins
Servings: 12
Calories: 115 kcal
Ingredients
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 5 teaspoons water
  • 1 tablespoon corn syrup
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ cup roughly chopped pecans or pecan halves
US Customary - Metric
Instructions

  1. Spray a sheet of foil with cooking spray and place on a work surface. Spray two spoons (regular table size spoons) with cooking spray. Set aside

  2. Combine sugar, water, corn syrup salt and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir well till all ingredients are incorporated. Set aside.

  3. Add pecans to a small sauté pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant and beginning to toast. S

  4. Add the sugar/spice mixture to the pan and stir with a heat-resistant spatula to coat the nuts. Stir frequently until all the syrup is gone and is coating the nuts (about 2-3 minutes).

  5. Now, stir continuously for another 2-4 minutes, until the pecans deep golden brown and shiny. If the nuts seem to be browning too fast, reduce the heat. (The length of time depends on the heat level but be sure to see notes above in the post.)

  6. Turn out onto prepared foil. With the two prepared spoons, spread nuts apart and separate to a single layer. (See notes above in post.) Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Calories 115kcal
Fat 9g
Sodium 48mg
Potassium 55mg
Carbohydrates 7g
Fiber 1g
Sugar 6g
Protein 1g
Vitamin A 10%
Vitamin C 0.2%
Calcium 10%
Iron 0.3%

You may also like:

Ridiculously Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
The Easy Way to Remove Pomegranate Seeds
Nuts about Nuts!
Easy Candied Pecans (with video)

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Millie Law says

    Hi Chris, these look fabulous and I would love to receive your label pdf.
    Thanks so much for all the goodies you share!! Millie

    Reply

  3. Faye says

    May I please have the PDF labels? I’ve made a similar recipe for years, but really want to try them with the corn syrup.
    Thank you, Faye

    Reply

  6. Baba5 says

    Love these for salad w mixed greens, blue cheese and balsamic vinaigrette! Planning on giving as gifts this year. Thanks in advance for the labels.

    Reply

  10. Patricia says

    I just found your site and delicious recipes this morning. The pecan nuts look wonderful. Could you send me the label for printing as thus will make a wonderful Thanksgiving gift.
    Thank You. Patricia

    Reply

  14. Agnes says

    Have tried this recipe and it’s gorgeous, and so easy to make. This was a trial to see if they would be good enough for small gifts for Christmas – and they most certainly will be. Would really appreciate the ‘know how’ to make the labels as this will just make the gifts more special. Have loved looking at your site and will definitely be making more things from it.

    Reply

  16. Deb says

    Just recently found your site and love it! I am planning on making these for gifts and would like to have the PDF for the gift tag please.
    Thanks so much in advance.

    Reply

  18. Nancy Murray says

    Hi Chris! I have always loved your website and all your amazing recipes. I wanted to create some sugared pecans for salads since we will be eating at home a lot more now with the Covid-19 precautions. Love this recipe and your gorgeous labels. Would you please send me the .pdf and instructions? Thank you in advance.

    Nancy

    Reply

    • Chris Scheuer says

      Hi Nancy, Yes, I believe we all will be eating a lot more at home these days. I’ll be happy to send you the labels!

      Reply

  20. Kathy Haddon says

    I would like the label instructions. We are cracking pecans, this is our first year cracking almost 2 tons of pecans. I will try this recipe to sell next year….Thanks in advance.

    Reply

  21. Sandra Christensen says

    this is my second batch of glazed pecans. the first was another recipe using maple syrup. roasting the nuts first and longer cooking time creates a greater depth of flavor and waaay more crunch. Thanks so munch for this recipe. The shiny glaze was what I wanted. not a fan of the sugary coating on so many of the recipes I see.

    Reply

  22. Alex says

    I can’t wait to try these. Going to give them to my boyfriend and his dad in their Christmas gifts. I would like to print labels to put on them. Can you send me the details? I have found so many great recipes to try from your site. It’s hard to decide which to make next!

    Reply

  25. Arleen Inyard says

    I love this recipe! I followed the recipe exactly except I added a little cayenne powder to add contrast to the sweet flavor. What a great addition to my charcuterie board! I am going to make two batches for holiday gifts, one pecan and one almond. Any suggestions for the almond batch? I would also love if you could send me the pdf to make beautiful labels for my gifts. Your site is one of my favorites!

    Reply

    • Chris Scheuer says

      Thanks so much, Arleen, I really appreciate you taking the time to write and your kind words. Sending you the labels now!

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please leave a star rating if you've tried this recipe. If your comment doesn't show up right away, don't worry, it may go into our moderation que and therefore take a day or so to show up. But we love hearing from you and will respond to each of your comments.




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.