Thanks to a skillet and the stovetop, you can make this easy candied pecans recipe in under 10 minutes. They are egg-free and gluten-free and perfect for snacking, adding to salads, other dishes, and cheeseboards.
We make these easy candied pecans a lot and love how quick they are to make on the stovetop. I love them for salads, snacks, and cheeseboards. They are perfectly sweet and a little bit salty, plus I add a little cinnamon and orange zest, making them extra delicious.
If you love this quick method for making candied pecans, you might also enjoy my method for making candied pecans in the oven. That recipe calls for egg whites, which makes them even more light and crispy.
Key Ingredients
- Pecans: I use pecan halves to make this recipe, but you can easily swap the pecans for other nuts like walnuts, hazelnuts, or cashews!
- Brown Sugar: I love the extra rich flavor of brown sugar with these candied pecans.
- Spices: I combine cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract, and a little orange zest for these candied nuts. I also love a pinch of cayenne pepper for some heat, but that is optional.
How to Make Candied Pecans in Under 10 Minutes
My stovetop candied pecans really are so simple to make! I add them to salads, rice dishes, and desserts, plus I love adding them to cheeseboards!
To make our sweet and salty candied pecans, you’ll combine sugar with spices, vanilla extract, and a little water in a skillet. Heat everything until it looks like a glaze, and then stir in the nuts.
Continue to stir the nuts around the glaze for a few minutes, then transfer them to a baking sheet to cool. Once cool, you might need to break apart a few nuts that have stuck together, but other than that, they are ready to enjoy!
Ways to Use Candied Pecans
My stovetop candied pecans are so simple to make! I add them to salads, desserts, and cheeseboards, and they are also amazing as a standalone snack.
A few recipes that would benefit from a handful of these sweet and salty nuts are this creamy apple fennel salad, this easy farro salad, my favorite quinoa salad, and this warm apple cabbage salad. I also love using candied nuts for this balsamic strawberry salad and these coconut oil roasted sweet potatoes.
Easy Candied Pecans
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Thanks to a skillet and the stovetop, you can make these easy candied pecans in under 10 minutes. This recipe can be used with other varieties of nuts, too. We especially love walnuts and cashews.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
2 cups (6oz or 170g) pecan halves
6 tablespoons (75g) brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ tablespoons water
2 teaspoons orange zest, optional
Pinch cayenne pepper, optional
Directions
1Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, water, orange zest, and cayenne to a medium skillet.
3Place the skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until the brown sugar melts into a bubbling sauce, about 1 minute.
4Stir in the pecans so that the brown sugar sauce coats them.
5Cook, stirring the entire time, until the pecans look candied and smell nutty, 2 to 3 minutes. As the nuts heat up in the pan, the sauce will slowly coat them and turn shiny. Watch closely as the nuts cook so that they do not burn.
6Transfer the candied pecans to the prepared baking sheet and spread them out in one layer.
7Allow the pecans to cool down and break them up before serving.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Store cooled candied nuts in an airtight container. They will last at room temperature for 1 week, in the refrigerator for a few weeks, and in the freezer for a month, if not longer.
- Salt: 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt makes these taste salty-sweet. If you’d prefer to not taste the salt, reduce to 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
- Pecans too sticky: If your nuts are still sticky after cooling, heat your oven to 325°F (162°C) and bake for 5 to 10 minutes to help harden the candy coating.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
You May Also Like...
These are absolutely delicious. Incredibly easy to make. I made these for Christmas next week but I think I will have to make another as this one will be gone.
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I am planning on making those next week for our Christmas party and do u have a recipe book out?
You are so welcome! Our cookbook is still in the works 🙂
Super Easy and Delicious. Just don’t walk away … it can burn quickly if not attened.
Do you use raw pecans or roasted pecans? Thanks!
Raw pecans.
WOW! So easy and so yummy!! I was skeptical about the orange zest but it totally knocks them out of the park! The little bit of heat from the cayenne compliments the sweetness 👌 perfectly! Thank you for this recipe!
I modified this a tiny bit. Thanks guys for this wonderful guide. It helped me decide which option to go with. Brining liquid all the way!
I cooked a 19 pound turkey in a bag so I cooked it at 350 for 3.5 hours. Perfect doneness
I liked this recipe because it was fast & easy! It turned out great. Lett off the orange zest but may try it next time. Loved the idea of a pinch of cayenne pepper. I used about 1/4 tsp but would be a bit bolder next time.
I forgot to get our hometown candied pecans, Naylor Nuts, for my famous Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole that I make every year! Quickly looked up candied pecans and found your recipe…..OMG!! I will be using this recipe and these pecans from now on!! WOW;)
I made these for a Benefit Concert/bake Sale and to take for our family Thanksgiving Dinner this past weekend. Man….I cannot express the reception I received from the Candied Pecans. These were a HUGE hit. I really wish I had taken (made) more to the Bake Sale. We would have taken in a lot more money!!! I will be making more of these for Christmas gifts in the next few weeks for upcoming parties. Thank you for posting his recipe!
This is amazing, Catherine! I am so happy you (and your family) enjoyed them so much!
Made these delicious candied pecans in 10 minutes and they are delicious. I plan to serve them over the holidays on salads, cake toppings and snacks, also as hostess gifts,the clean up was easy too. Thanks for this quick and easy recipe.
OMG…seriously yummy delicious! I even used Splenda brown sugar and all the flavors tasted like I had butter in those things! I needed candied pecans for a fall butternut squash/kale/pomegrante salad, and I’ll be making this soon for a Thanksgiving side! Thank you!
I tried this recipe this evening. I’m a little disappointed, but will try it again, paying closer attention to when I think the pecans may have reached the candied stage. Mine never got dull, so I kept stirring and stirring and know I over cooked them.
These are soooo delicious. Thank you for sharing!
Tried this recipe for the first time & love it’s simplicity & the results were great. I’m a spice fiend so I added cloves & nutmeg as well. I’m using for my salads but beware as they are so addicting.
Just made. so easy and clean up a breeze. Make you won’t be disappointed I forgot the vanilla and pecans were still delicious
I love when you try your recipe and it just works perfectly the first time… Thank you