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My favorite classic candied pecans recipe is easy to make with 7 ingredients. Perfect for gifting or sprinkling on everything from salads to yogurt, casseroles, ice cream and more!
Raise your hand if you love candied pecans as much as I do! ♡
These sweet treats have always been a favorite of mine, especially around the holidays, and this is is the old-fashioned candied pecans recipe that I fell in love with years ago and have made since more times than I can count. By contrast to my recipe for naturally-sweetened maple candied pecans, this retro recipe unapologetically features a thick and crunchy cinnamon sugar coating made with two kinds of sugar, plus the perfect hint of sea salt and cayenne to balance out the sweetness. And when baked up until perfectly toasty and crunchy in the oven, I’m telling you, these candied pecans are absolutely irresistible.
I always love baking up a few batches at the end of the year to pass out as fun holiday gifts. But they taste great anytime of the year as a sweet snack, or sprinkled on everything from salads to yogurt, casseroles, baked sweet potatoes, ice cream and more. They are also incredibly easy to make with just 7 simple ingredients, the recipe is naturally gluten-free, and these candied pecans have the added bonus of making your home smell absolutely heavenly as they bake in the oven.
I’m warning you now — one you start snacking on these little guys, it’s hard to stop. ♡ You’re going to love them!
Candied Pecans Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Candied Pecans Ingredients:
Before we get to the full recipe below, here is the list of ingredients that you will need to make these easy candied pecans:
Pecans: Candied pecans are traditionally made with raw pecan halves, but you could also sub in coarsely-chopped pecans if you prefer.
Sugars: A combination of both granulated (white) sugar and light brown sugar.
Spices: A simple mix of ground cinnamon and ground cayenne.
Salt: I originally wrote this recipe using one teaspoon of table salt. But if you are using fine sea salt instead, I recommend using a heaping teaspoon.
Egg white: And finally, we will use a whisked egg white to bind the cinnamon sugar mixture to the pecans.
How To Make Candied Pecans:
Full instructions how to candy pecans are detailed in the recipe below, but in a nutshell (sorry, I couldn’t resist)…here is the process for how to make candied pecans:
Mix the cinnamon sugar mixture. First, we will whisk together the sugars, cinnamon, salt and cayenne until combined.
Toss the pecans. Then in a separate bowl, we will toss the the pecans and whisked egg white until the pecans are evenly coated. And then add in the cinnamon sugar mixture, and toss once more.
Bake. When baking candied nuts, it’s important that they be spread out in an even layer on the baking sheet. (So if your sheet isn’t large enough, you may need to do this in two batches.) Bake the pecans for 40 minutes, stirring briefly at the halfway point, until they are fragrant and the sugar coating is cooked.
Cool. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire cooling rack and use all of your willpower to wait until the pecans have cooled to room temperature. (They will continue to dry and harden as they cool.) Then serve and enjoy!!
Possible Recipe Variations:
Want to customize this candied pecans recipe? Feel free to…
Use different nuts: If pecans aren’t your favorite, you could also use this recipe to make candied walnuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts, pistachios, or whatever other candied nuts sound good. Just be sure to always begin with raw nuts and adjust the cooking time as needed depending on the size/type of nuts.
Use less sugar: If you would like to reduce the amount of sugar in this recipe, feel free to use 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1/3 cup packed brown sugar.
Add more heat: I almost always double the amount of cayenne in this recipe to make slightly more spicy candied pecans, which I recommend if you would like the nuts to have a more noticeable kick!
Add different herbs or spices: Feel free to also add any other warming spices (such as cardamom, ginger, nutmeg or cloves) or some pumpkin pie spice if you would like. Or some finely chopped fresh rosemary or sage would also be delicious in there too!
Ways To Serve Candied Pecans:
Looking for ways to put a big batch of candied pecans to use? Here are some of our favorite ways that we like to enjoy this recipe in our home:
On their own: Serve them up in on their own as a sweet treat, or combine them with some of your other favorite snack-y ingredients to make a sweet and savory snack mix.
In salads: These candied pecans also make an amazing sweet and crunchy addition to salads.
In yogurt or ice cream: We also love sprinkling them on yogurt for breakfast and ice cream for dessert.
Sprinkled on potatoes or casseroles: They also make a great topping for baked sweet potatoes or retro sweet potato casserole.
Mix the cinnamon sugar mixture. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, salt and cayenne to a small mixing bowl and whisk until evenly combined.
Toss the pecans. In a separate large mixing bowl, add the pecans and whisked egg white and gently toss until the pecans are evenly coated. Add in the sugar mixture and gently toss until the pecans are evenly coated.
Bake. Spread the pecans out in a single even layer on the baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, then remove the nuts and give them a brief stir. Bake for 20 minutes more or until the pecans are fragrant and the sugar coating is cooked. (Note that the sugar coating will continue to harden and dry once the pecans are out of the oven.)
Cool. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire cooling rack and let the pecans cool to room temperature. Serve and enjoy immediately, or transfer the pecans to a sealed container to store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
These are really good. One family member allergies do not permit cayenne. So I omitted. Used half granulated white sugar, 1/4 maple sugar and 1/4 dark muscovado India brown sugar. Turned out excellent. Thanks for the recipe!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
We’re glad you enjoyed them, Mark — thanks for sharing with us!
Hello! Of all the recipes of candied pecans I saw on the internet, yours was the most appealing to me. I can make it in advance, what a charm! Tomorrow is cinnamon day!!! Thanks… :)
I have the same recipe but mine does not call for the pepper. the one I have calls for 1 TBS. of water add to the whites and beat till soft peaks. I have cook them with just whisking the whites but you get better coverage if they are beating to soft peaks.
I have made these pecans the past 2 years and gave them as gifts. Needless to say, they are a hit and are requested now. Do you think they work in a crock pot? Thanks! Great recipe!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
We’re so glad you enjoy the recipe, Katie! :) We’ve never tried these in a crockpot before, but we’ve seen recipes out there!
I’m making these tonight for gift giving for Christmas. I just love these candied pecans.I’m sure I’ll have to make another batch. I’m making them with Splenda and Splenda brown sugar as my husband is diabetic. Also that will cut the calories down a bit. Thank you so much for the recipe. And it was so easy to whip together. Let’s hope my hubby and I don’t eat them all before I package them up for gifts.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
You’re very welcome, Holli — we hope you enjoyed them!
I wanted to let you know this recipes has become a staple in our household. We use it for gifts, salads, snacks, primavera, and charcuterie. Everyone raves! The recipe turns out perfect every time! Thank you so much for sharing. Love your blog!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you very much, LaVon, we’re so happy to hear that! :D
I made a batch with pecans and a batch with walnuts. I took them to a staff potluck and served them with vanilla ice cream and caramel topping. They loved it!
Very easy to make…
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing, Melody — we’re so glad to hear they were a hit! :)
I made these last night to add to my roasted beet, goat cheese and arugula salad. I only had a cup of pecans so I reduced the recipe. I’m heading to the store today to buy pounds more of pecans because I CAN NOT stop eating them!! They are the perfect combination of sweet, spicy, and cinnamony deliciousness!!!
Just made these for Thanksgiving snack. Awesome! Used McCormick Chipolte Chili Pepper instead of Cayenne. Smoky, sweet, DELICIOUS! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Oh yeah!!! I went to visit family in Georgia for Thanksgiving and stopped by the Magnolia Plantation ( that place is expensive ) on the way home back to Florida. I got 5 LBs of paper shell (shelled) pecans and shelled 1LB yesterday for your recipe. OH MY!!!! They are amazzzzzing! Just WOW!
Made a batch of these for the Thanksgiving holiday. So easy to make, definitely made the house smell amazing, and they barely made it two days! Huge hit, will definitely be making these again. Thanks for another killer recipe!
Wonderful. I changed cayenne pepper to 1/4 tsp and also added 1/8 tsp of powdered cloves. This was my second batch. Never could taste cayenne pepper which is why I added a little more pepper. Giving as Christmas treats. Love this recipe.
I have made these for Christmas time every year for the past 4 or 5 years. They have a wonderful crunch and are a delicious addition to our cookie tins. Thank you for a recipe that I pass along to family and friends every year.
I made these roasted pecans tonight and they were delicious. The recipe was easy and the Cayenne pepper added tremendous flavor for such a small amount. My husband and I had to put the roasted pecans into a tin to keep from eating all of them at once. So good!!
These are wonderful. They have just enough zing from the cayenne pepper. I had friends asking for the recipe after trying them. I actually have a batch in the oven now. They smell yummy!
I have tried other spiced pecan recipes & there was always something I didn’t like!
These are perfect! Made them this AM; took about an hour, counting baking time!
House smells like Thanksgiving or Christmas Day!
The final product is DELICIOUS! Cannot wait to share them! ??????
We tried this recipe with whole almond and add some all purpose flour. This recipe is very easy to make and it make a good snack.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe…
Here’s what we did
500gm whole almond
1 whole egg white
Dry ingredients-
50 gm castor sugar
50 gm brown sugar
10 gm all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
I just love these!
I’d love to ad this, keep your nuts in the freezer. Keeps your nuts fresh longer and helps the egg white adhere to them. And that helps all your sweetness attached to your nuts. Yum!
Awesome recipe! Thank you! I was looking for a recipe that did not use butter and you provided. Very hard to keep my hands out of the container. Love these in a salad with fresh fruit!
I make these for the men in our family for Christmas and they love them. I place them in decorative jars and tell them refills are guaranteed just return the jars. ? So simple to make and delicious. Recently made them for my niece’s wedding , she had a candy bar, perfect!
Glad I chose the recipe, The cayenne made the brown sugar and cinnamon come alive. What a wonderful treat for snacking, adding to ice creams or other desserts.
These are addictive for me and there goes my sugar levels so deoicious :)
We’re so glad you enjoy them! :)
These are really good. One family member allergies do not permit cayenne. So I omitted. Used half granulated white sugar, 1/4 maple sugar and 1/4 dark muscovado India brown sugar. Turned out excellent. Thanks for the recipe!
We’re glad you enjoyed them, Mark — thanks for sharing with us!
I have been buying mesquite bbq flavored candied pecans at the store and suddenly they are no longer available . Do you have any suggestions ?
We suggest making these! :)
I am out of parchment. Can I use silpats or will they get ruined?
Thank you.
No, the silpat should work fine — we hope you enjoy!
Oh my gosh!! What a great recipe and so simple!! Thank you!! :)
Thank you, Trudy — we’re so happy you enjoy these!
Hello! Of all the recipes of candied pecans I saw on the internet, yours was the most appealing to me. I can make it in advance, what a charm! Tomorrow is cinnamon day!!! Thanks… :)
Awesome, hope you enjoyed them! :)
I have the same recipe but mine does not call for the pepper. the one I have calls for 1 TBS. of water add to the whites and beat till soft peaks. I have cook them with just whisking the whites but you get better coverage if they are beating to soft peaks.
I have made these pecans the past 2 years and gave them as gifts. Needless to say, they are a hit and are requested now. Do you think they work in a crock pot? Thanks! Great recipe!
We’re so glad you enjoy the recipe, Katie! :) We’ve never tried these in a crockpot before, but we’ve seen recipes out there!
Hello again! The pecans were delicious! Easy and very good, a recipe to keep! Thanks again….
Awesome, I’m so glad you enjoyed them. :)
Just put mine in the oven, I’m excited to try & gift. Really easy recipe and they smell amazing !!
Wonderful Patty, we hope you enjoyed them!
I’m making these tonight for gift giving for Christmas. I just love these candied pecans.I’m sure I’ll have to make another batch. I’m making them with Splenda and Splenda brown sugar as my husband is diabetic. Also that will cut the calories down a bit. Thank you so much for the recipe. And it was so easy to whip together. Let’s hope my hubby and I don’t eat them all before I package them up for gifts.
You’re very welcome, Holli — we hope you enjoyed them!
I just made these for Christmas and they are terrific. This recipe is a keeper.
Thanks for sharing, Cindy — we’re so glad you enjoyed them!
This sounds like a great recipe. I can’t wait to try it.
Thanks, Eveline — we hope you enjoy!
In the oven now and smelling so good! My friend gifted me with a huge bag of pecans grown in her yard.
What a nice friend you have! :D We hope you enjoy these!
Do you mean cayenne as in the pepper or if you don’t care for it can it be omitted or replaced with something else
Hi Dolores! If you don’t care for cayenne, you can just leave it out. Feel free to replace it with another spice you like, if you prefer!
Delicious! Easy to prepare. I have made these several times and they are disappear rapidly.
Thank you, we’re so glad you enjoy them!
I wanted to let you know this recipes has become a staple in our household. We use it for gifts, salads, snacks, primavera, and charcuterie. Everyone raves! The recipe turns out perfect every time! Thank you so much for sharing. Love your blog!
Thank you very much, LaVon, we’re so happy to hear that! :D
This should be called pecan crack!! So good you can’t leave it alone!! So much better than any store bought!!
Thanks for this recipe’n
Thanks, Carol, we’re so happy you enjoyed them!
Made these to use as an accent for a 4 tier carrot cake. Incredibly easy to make, plus mouth watering to boot!
Thanks for sharing, Valerie — we’re so happy you enjoyed them!
I made a batch with pecans and a batch with walnuts. I took them to a staff potluck and served them with vanilla ice cream and caramel topping. They loved it!
Very easy to make…
Thanks for sharing, Melody — we’re so glad to hear they were a hit! :)
Delicious! I can’t stop eating them!!!
I made these last night to add to my roasted beet, goat cheese and arugula salad. I only had a cup of pecans so I reduced the recipe. I’m heading to the store today to buy pounds more of pecans because I CAN NOT stop eating them!! They are the perfect combination of sweet, spicy, and cinnamony deliciousness!!!
Just made these for Thanksgiving snack. Awesome! Used McCormick Chipolte Chili Pepper instead of Cayenne. Smoky, sweet, DELICIOUS! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Oh yeah!!! I went to visit family in Georgia for Thanksgiving and stopped by the Magnolia Plantation ( that place is expensive ) on the way home back to Florida. I got 5 LBs of paper shell (shelled) pecans and shelled 1LB yesterday for your recipe. OH MY!!!! They are amazzzzzing! Just WOW!
Made a batch of these for the Thanksgiving holiday. So easy to make, definitely made the house smell amazing, and they barely made it two days! Huge hit, will definitely be making these again. Thanks for another killer recipe!
They turned out perfect, thankyou so much for posting, Sharon Dodd, from Alabama
Wonderful. I changed cayenne pepper to 1/4 tsp and also added 1/8 tsp of powdered cloves. This was my second batch. Never could taste cayenne pepper which is why I added a little more pepper. Giving as Christmas treats. Love this recipe.
Thank you I love pecans❤
I have made these for Christmas time every year for the past 4 or 5 years. They have a wonderful crunch and are a delicious addition to our cookie tins. Thank you for a recipe that I pass along to family and friends every year.
just took a batch out of the oven…the house smells as terrific as this treats taste
I made these roasted pecans tonight and they were delicious. The recipe was easy and the Cayenne pepper added tremendous flavor for such a small amount. My husband and I had to put the roasted pecans into a tin to keep from eating all of them at once. So good!!
These are wonderful. They have just enough zing from the cayenne pepper. I had friends asking for the recipe after trying them. I actually have a batch in the oven now. They smell yummy!
I have tried other spiced pecan recipes & there was always something I didn’t like!
These are perfect! Made them this AM; took about an hour, counting baking time!
House smells like Thanksgiving or Christmas Day!
The final product is DELICIOUS! Cannot wait to share them! ??????
I and my husband love it,it was so easy. Thank you and have a blessed Christmas ??⛄️
Third batch in the oven now….delicious.
Omg! Easy and awesome!
So good, they’re addictive!
We tried this recipe with whole almond and add some all purpose flour. This recipe is very easy to make and it make a good snack.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe…
Here’s what we did
500gm whole almond
1 whole egg white
Dry ingredients-
50 gm castor sugar
50 gm brown sugar
10 gm all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
I made this recipe minus the cayenne, but the pecans came out so delicious!!!!! Will make again, it was so easy!
Thanks for the amazing recipe
I make these for Christmas every year. They are delicious and so easy to make.
I just love these!
I’d love to ad this, keep your nuts in the freezer. Keeps your nuts fresh longer and helps the egg white adhere to them. And that helps all your sweetness attached to your nuts. Yum!
These are amazing! I used the recipe with almonds too.
Awesome recipe! Thank you! I was looking for a recipe that did not use butter and you provided. Very hard to keep my hands out of the container. Love these in a salad with fresh fruit!
Delicious!
Fabulous! Just what I was looking for! Thanks!
I make these for the men in our family for Christmas and they love them. I place them in decorative jars and tell them refills are guaranteed just return the jars. ? So simple to make and delicious. Recently made them for my niece’s wedding , she had a candy bar, perfect!
This is a great and easy recipe. I cut the amount of cayenne in half and next time will use the full amount. Thank you!
They came out so crunchy and sweet! We’ve made them twice in one week.
Glad I chose the recipe, The cayenne made the brown sugar and cinnamon come alive. What a wonderful treat for snacking, adding to ice creams or other desserts.
Great recipe! It’s my go to!