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These Cinnamon Sugar Candied Pecans are sweet, crunchy, and packed with a bold cinnamon flavor. Plus, they are quick and easy! Ready for the oven in five minutes, ready to eat in less than an hour, and they turn out perfectly every time!
I started making these because when my nine-year-old was a toddler, she had candied pecans for the first time. She was OBSESSED. She wanted them every time we went to the Farmer’s Market, which was once or twice a week, and they were like $6.00 for a tiny bag.
Once I realized how simple these were to make, I felt stupid for having paid so much for them for so long. Don’t get me wrong, pecans can be expensive, but I can make an entire pound of these Cinnamon Sugar Pecans for about $11.
Easy Candied Pecans
These are a great snack for any time of the year. The oven only has to be set at 250°F, so it’s not too hot for the summer, and the recipe comes together quickly, so it’s the perfect recipe for the busy holiday season, too.
When I say this recipe comes together quickly, I mean you can have these in the oven in five minutes. I’m a HUGE fan of foods I can make from scratch that are ready for the oven in five minutes. My Easy Drop Biscuits are the same way and they’re SO good!!
Ingredients
These candied pecans only have a few basic pantry ingredients (besides the pecans), which is awesome. They are almost all ingredients I just have on hand most of the time, which makes this a great and easy snack! The full ingredient measurements are listed in the printable recipe at the end of the post.
- Pecans – I prefer using pecan halves, but you can shell and split your own also.
- Egg White – This really dials up the crunch factor! You can omit this completely if needed, but I would recommend keeping it if possible.
- Vanilla – Enhances the overall flavor of the dish
- Sugar – Granulated white sugar is the best option here. Other low-calorie sugars will likely not caramelize the right way to make this recipe work.
- Cinnamon– The star of the show! There are various types of cinnamon powder, so use whichever one you prefer.
Instructions {VIDEO}
Ready in about an hour and with only a few minutes of hands-on effort, these cinnamon sugar pecans are a winner any time of the year! Here is a quick video of the process before we get into the full step-by-step instructions.
- Preheat your oven to 250°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg white, vanilla, and water until it’s really frothy.
- In a separate, smaller bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add the pecans to the egg white mixture and mix until all the pecans are coated.
- Add half the sugar mixture to the pecans and stir to coat them.
- Add the rest of the sugar mixture to the pecans and stir to coat completely.
- Line a large cookie sheet with wax paper.
- Spread the pecans over the parchment paper evenly, and try to separate them as much as possible.
- Bake for 1 hour at 250°F, stirring every 15 minutes.
- Let the pecans cool for 15 minutes before storing or eating the candied pecans. Store in an air-tight container until ready to eat.
Pro Tip: DO NOT SKIP the step where you stir them while cooking every 15 minutes. Otherwise, your pecans will stick to the parchment paper, and it will be a bear to get them off.
Storing Candied Pecans
As long as you keep these in an air-tight container, you can store them for up to a month (or longer) and they will stay fresh. They never last that long in our house, though!
Using Other Nut Types
If you prefer almonds, walnuts, or any other types of nuts, you can feel free to substitute them in this recipe without any other modifications! Easy and delicious!
Even more super-easy recipes!
- Easy Drop Biscuits – I mentioned these earlier, but seriously, they are the best biscuits you’ll ever eat and are ready to bake in 5 minutes!
- Foolproof Pumpkin Roll – One of my most popular recipes because this will be the pumpkin roll recipe that doesn’t fail! Works every time and is so easy!
- Pecan Pie Cinnamon Rolls – Seriously SO good, and you use store-bought cinnamon rolls, which makes them fast!
Easy Cinnamon Sugar Candied Pecans
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound pecan halves
- 1 egg white
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 250°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg white, vanilla, and water until it’s really frothy.
- In a separate, smaller bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add the pecans to the egg white mixture and mix until all the pecans are coated.
- Add half the sugar mixture to the pecans and stir to coat them.
- Add the rest of the sugar mixture to the pecans and stir to coat completely.
- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Spread the pecans over the wax paper evenly, and try to separate them as much as possible.
- Bake for 1 hour at 250°F, stirring every 15 minutes.
- Let the pecans cool for 15 minutes before storing or eating the candied pecans. Store in an air-tight container until ready to eat.
Notes
- Don’t skip the stirring every 15 mins step, or you will spend forever trying to get them off the parchment paper.
- Line your pan with parchment paper, or they will stick to the pan badly because of the sugar.
- Store them once cool for up to a month.
These look so good! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Is there any substitution for the egg whites? (Egg allergy)
Wax paper is what’s traditionally used for thie recipe for decades. You are baking at a low temperature so it shouldn’t matter. However parchment paper works as well.
Yes! This is how I was taught to do it, and I’ve been making these every year for 15+ years now! Thank you for your comment haha
Use parchment paper. It works much better and comes right off of any pan.
Parchment is what I use.
Can you use aluminum foil when making the pecans
You can try – I never have.
Doesn’t the wax paper burn? Wouldn’t parchment paper be a better alternative?
I’ve been making this recipe for 10 years and have never had the wax paper burn. I’ve also not used parchment paper, so if you try that you do so at your own risk haha. I just know this works, which is why I wrote the recipe this way =)
The pecans are delicious, but the wax paper stuck to my pan s. I scraped it off and washed them, but the wax remains. It ruined a pie, smells and tastes like wax
How do you get the wax off the pans?
Been making these for 10 years and have never had this happen. Maybe try sticking the pan in the oven at 250 degrees again and heating the wax back up? New territory for me.