These quick and easy stovetop candied pecans have just 4 ingredients and are done in 10 minutes! Great for a salad topper, chicken salad addition or quick snack!
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Why Candied Pecans?
Store bought candied pecans, other nuts and trail mixes often have more sugar than necessary, so making them yourself with less sugar is a great option to have healthy-(ier) candied pecans.
To be honest, I'm not really a nut person, but these are delicious (thanks Mom) and I often grab a handful to curb my hunger until meal time, or when I'm still cooking but a little hungry and need something to get me through. Even my toddlers like them!
These are also great because they're very low prep, good for on-the-go, satisfy the sweet tooth, have protein, fat and carbs, and can be eaten if you're not really hungry but still need to eat a snack (to keep sugars stable).
Make a Big Batch
Make the recipe as is to try them out and see if you like them enough to make a big batch.
If you do, make the batch so that they're ready whenever you need a quick snack or salad topper.
Storing
These will last for months in a closed container on the counter!
Recipe Modifications
To make it Keto or Paleo, switch out the brown sugar for coconut sugar and the butter for grass-fed or your preferred alternative.
You can leave out the butter completely and still get a lot of flavor from just toasting them, but the butter add a depth of flavor and helps the sugar stick to the pecans.
Stovetop is super easy but if you want to make a big batch at one time you can put them in the oven at 425 for up to 10 minutes.
Nutrition Highlights
Nuts are awesome for the gestational diabetes diet because they're a source of protein and good fat, and they're low carb too! Triple win!
One serving of these has only 6g carbs, 3g of which are fiber. That's pretty awesome, especially compared to the store bought candied nuts that are usually 16-20g carbs per serving.
Related Recipes
Recipe
Stovetop Candied Pecans
- 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 1 cup Raw Pecan Halves
- 2 teaspoons Dark Brown Sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- Heat a medium sized skillet on medium-low heat. When hot, add the butter, pecans and sugar and stir. If the butter sizzles, reduce the heat a little.
- Toast 6-8 mins, stirring every minute.
- Turn off the heat and sprinkle with salt.Transfer all contents, drippings included, to a sheet pan to cool.
- Store in a closed container on the counter.
Carol
I make these ALL, THE, TIME!! Sometimes I use maple syrup instead. Both are delicious
The Gestational Diabetic Chef
I haven't tried the maple syrup because I LOVE the brown sugar so much. Glad you like them!