Sweet and buttery pecans with a candy coating that is egg-free and ready in less than 20 minutes. Homemade candied pecans are perfect for snacking or topping your favorite dishes.
With only six ingredients, these candied pecans are easy to make and take little time. Keep these on hand for adding to your favorite dishes.
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Why Make Your Own Candied Pecans?
These do-it-yourself candied pecans not only taste better than store-bought, but they are also cheaper.
We did the math for stores near us and found that it was almost half the price to make these ourselves than to buy pecans already candied.
And making them yourself means the candied pecans are fresher than store-bought.
How Are These Homemade Candied Pecans Different?
The difference with these candied pecans is that this recipe does not use egg whites. We make these pecans without using egg whites and they turn out perfect every time.
We also make this recipe on the stovetop instead of baking in the oven. This takes less time than waiting for the pecans to bake.
Ingredients For Candied Pecans
To make this recipe you will need a total of six ingredients:
- Pecan halves.
- Brown sugar.
- Cinnamon.
- Sea salt.
- Water
- Vanilla extract.
How To Use Candied Pecans
There are so many uses for candied pecans. These are just a few of the ways we used them.
- As a snack. We have a hard time resisting the urge to eat these as soon as we make them. When making these we usually triple the batch so that we have enough for all the ways we like to use these.
- Salad Topping. These pecans are the perfect topping to add sweetness and crunch to a salad.
- Add to popcorn. Candied pecans add sweetness and extra crunch to popcorn, especially caramel corn.
- Cookies. Adding chopped candied pecans to chocolate chip cookies is one of our favorite ways to use these. The pecans complement the chocolate chips and add a bit of crunch. They can be mixed into the cookie dough or sprinkled on top before baking.
Storing Candied Pecans
After completely cooling, store these pecans in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to one month.
Candied Pecans As A Gift
Yes, these homemade candied pecans make a great gift. We like to make a large batch and have them on hand to add to gift baskets or to give to friends and neighbors during the holidays.
We package them in mason jars with festive lid covers to give as gifts.
Add a gift tag with suggestions for using these pecans or add them to a gift basket with popcorn and other snacks.
Homemade Candied Pecans
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp water
- 1 cup pecan halves
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except pecan halves in a small skillet.
- Cook over medium until sugar melts about 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in pecan halves and stir to combine.
- Continue cooking stirring constantly about 2-3 minutes.
- Pecans will start to look shiny and sauce will thicken and coat the pecans.
- Remove from heat when the sauce has coated the pecans and there is very little left in the pan.
- Spread pecans onto a parchment line baking sheet in a single layer and allow to cool.
- Store in an air-tight container at room temperature.
