Crunchy and sweet, these easy maple pecans are made with sweet maple syrup, brown sugar, butter, and warm spices. Perfect for salads, snacking, cheese boards, or even prettily packaged as housewarming gifts. They’re dangerously delicious yet not overly sticky, with lower sugar than many recipes. Make them in just 20 minutes. They’re an easy and irresistible treat you’ll love to share and enjoy.
For catered events, I used this maple pecans recipe (also called glazed pecans) on fall salads, on appetizer buffets as cocktail nibbles, and on charcuterie boards. Sometimes I would bag them in little cello bags with ribbon as a parting dinner gift or holiday thank you. They were always a hit. Many candied pecan recipes use a ton of sugar and egg whites, but it's not necessary for great taste and crunch.
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Why You'll like This Recipe
- Start them stove top and finish in the oven in just 20 minutes.
- So many ways to use them.
- Super easy to make, simple ingredients.
- Swaps maple syrup for refined sugar.
- No eggs or egg whites.
For another tasty treat try the maple roasted cashews. Beware, they are addictive!
Recipe Ingredients
- Maple syrup: Use pure maple syrup for the most robust flavor, not pancake syrup with high-fructose corn syrup or corn syrups.
- Butter: Buy unsalted butter to control the salt yourself.
- Oil: Two options, either extra virgin olive oil or a healthy neutral oil (pass on vegetable oil).
- Pecans: Get pecan halves, just don't get the chopped ones.
- Sugar: Golden brown sugar is better than granulated white sugar for richer flavor.
- Warm spices: Use what you have or add a new one to your collection. Cinnamon is a must, plus nutmeg, ground ginger, allspice, clove, and mace. Use a teaspoon total (or a bit more).
- Salt: A nice coarse sea salt like this kosher salt adds crunch and flavor.
Please see the recipe card for measurements and sea salt.
Substitutions and Variations
- Instead of individual spices, use pumpkin pie spice blend or try Five Spice (it's terrific).
- Make spicy pecans by adding cayenne pepper or ground chipotle pepper for a Southwestern twist.
- Try golden monk fruit for lower sugar.
- Add a little vanilla extract to the melting pot of butter, maple, and oil.
- Swap coconut sugar for brown sugar (for paleo).
Chop and scatter maple pecans over the top of whipped sweet potatoes as a terrific crunchy topping.
Chef's tips: Buying real maple syrup. The grading of maple syrup has changed. The A, B, and C labeling went away. All maple syrup is now labeled Grade A to reduce confusion. Grade A maple syrup has four levels better describing color and flavor. Grade A Golden is delicate, Grade A Amber is rich, Grade A Dark is robust, and Grade A Very Dark is strong.
Recipe Instructions
Pre-heat an oven to 325°F and ready a baking tray with parchment paper or foil.
Serving Ideas
- Sprinkle chopped maple pecans over ice cream or yogurt.
- Use them as garnish for a pumpkin tart or pumpkin mousse dessert.
- Chop as use them over simple green beans or Brussels sprouts.
- Serve in a bowl as a cocktail nibble.
- Use a holiday gifts in jars, tins, or cello bags tied with ribbon.
- Chop and garnish soup.
- Add a few to morning steel cut oats or overnight chia oats.
- Add whole to a green salad as a great garnish.
- Maple pecans are terrific addition to a cheese board.
Storage
To store maple pecans, place in an airtight container to preserve flavor and texture as well as protect the natural oils in the nuts from spoiling (going rancid). Store in a cool dry place like a pantry for 2-3 weeks, or in the freezer 2-3 months in freezer safe bags.
Chef's tip: To re-crisp stale or soft nuts, bake them for a just few minutes in a 350°F oven on a baking tray. Don't bake too long or they could burn because of their natural oils.
Recipe FAQs
If you want vegan or dairy-free candied pecans, use a plant-based butter along with extra virgin olive oil for great flavor.
As excess moisture causes stickiness, the key is to bake them long enough to fully dry out the coating and allow them to cool completely before storing.
Warm spices, such as cinnamon, ginger, allspice, clove, pumpkin pie spice blend, Chinese five spice, star anise, cayenne, nutmeg, mace, cumin, and smoked paprika is nice too for a southwestern flavor.
More Delicious Recipes
Maple pecans are good in this broccoli salad or spinach salad with bacon, and in many places that use nuts as a garnish or to add flavor.
⭐️Did You Make This Recipe?
If you make these maple pecans, please comment and let me know how you liked it. If you loved it, please give it a 5 star rating! They really help other readers and I enjoy hearing from you.
Original recipe published 11-15-15, updated 10-31-24
📖 Recipe
Maple Pecans
Equipment
- Half sheet baking tray
- Foil or parchment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons dark maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar or golden monk fruit
- 1 teaspoon warm spices such as cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg (in total). pumpkin pie spice or five spice
- 2 pinches of sea salt
- 1 pound raw pecan halves
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Instructions
- Pre-heat an oven to 325°F and ready a baking tray with parchment or foil. Over medium low heat in a sauté pan or skillet, add butter, maple syrup, olive oil, brown sugar, spices and salt. Melt and stir until smooth. Add pecans and stir to coat evenly with a non-stick spatula.
- Spread nuts evenly on the baking sheet. Bake until nuts are golden brown and you can smell the spices, about 15-18 minutes. Do not let them get too dark. Allow nuts to cool. They will crisp upon cooling. Package in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
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Emily says
Hi there! Quick question... Is the "1 teaspoon warm spices: cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg pumpkin pie spice or five spice" calling for 1 tsp of EACH of these or combining them all together for ONE TOTAL teaspoon of all of them combined? Thanks!
Sally Cameron says
Use either one spice such as cinnamon, or use a little of several, whatever you have in your spice collection. Hope that helps! I'll make a note to clarify for others so thank you very much for asking!
Anne says
Thank you for great recipes. Please continue with the nutritional labels. If you didn't list the grams of sugar in the glazed walnuts recipe, I would have disregarded the recipe assuming it was too high in sugar, which clearly it is not. I love your site, and have told others about it. Thanks helping me on my quest of healthy living.
Sally Cameron says
Thanks Anne! You are exactly right with this recipe and the sugar. Thanks for the kind words and spreading the word on my site. Really trying to gain new readers to help more people live and eat more healthfully.
Madonna/aka/Ms. Lemon says
I could eat that whole jar. 🙂
Patsy says
Really appreciate the nutritional info.
Kathy says
Yes, thank you for the nutritional information. I am diabetic and following The Daniel Plan. It is always helpful to have the nutritional info so I can fit your recipes into my food plan.