In middle school, my best friend’s mom and grandmother hosted a New Year’s Eve slumber party for a few of us close girlfriends at their house across town. Since I practically lived over there (I even called her grandma “Nana” and little sister “Sissy!”), I arrived early in the afternoon and helped out with the last-minute party preparations.
Her mother loved to entertain, so she always bought plenty of festive decorations and accessories from Party City, like “Happy New Year!” banners, themed paper plates and napkins, sparkly tiaras, gold and silver beaded necklaces… And enough colorful silly string and loud party poppers for nearly twenty people to celebrate at midnight, even though there were only six of us girls!
While we counted down the hours, we usually watched a chick flick or two and played card games while nibbling on the appetizers and snacks my friend’s mom set out on the kitchen counter. She supplied us with plenty of food: cheese cubes, crackers, Chex Mix, Goldfish, chips and salsa, a huge hand-sliced crudités platter with dip, and a batch of her famous slow cooker cocktail “smokies.” She always left many bottles of sparkling apple cider in the fridge, too!
Since we all enjoyed our sweets, she also gave us lots of desserts and candy. Chewy chocolate chip cookies, Oreos, fudgy brownies… The mini-sized Reese’s, 3 Musketeers, Snickers, Twix, Hershey’s kisses… And so many Tootsie Rolls. Those were Nana’s favorite, so my friend’s mom always bought the biggest bag she could find since Nana snuck so many from the bowl!
Although I still have a huge sweet tooth and would happily polish off all of those desserts and candies, I don’t want to tempt fate and earn myself a stomachache this New Year’s Eve… So I’ll be making a batch of these easy 5 Minute Candied Pecans to snack on instead! They’re sweet and crunchy, and according to one of my childhood friends, their cozy cinnamon flavor makes them taste just like pecan pie!
In other words… They’re dangerously addictive.
Many traditional recipes for candied nuts require baking them in the oven for an hour and tossing multiple times partway through to prevent burning. But… I don’t have the time or patience for that, so we’re making this easier recipe on the stove instead. This also means you get to start snacking that much sooner!
To begin, you’ll need pecans. Both halves and chopped pecans work, but I prefer the latter since there’s more surface area showing and therefore a larger cinnamon-sugar-to-nut ratio. (Is “cinnamonaholic” a word? Because I’m definitely one!) Since pecans are fairly soft nuts, I break the larger ones into pieces by hand, but chopping them with a knife works just as well.
The sweetness in the candied coating comes from Truvia, which is made from stevia. Steiva is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly. You can find tubs of Truvia on the baking aisle of nearly every grocery store near the regular sugar, as well as online. This is the exact package that I buy.
To the Truvia, you’ll add cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and a tiny bit of water. You just need enough water to moisten the other three ingredients, but not enough to make the mixture runny. This little trick helps the coating process go much faster on the stove!
To start, you’ll toast the pecans for a couple of minutes in a small pan over medium heat. Once they begin to smell fragrant, add in the Truvia mixture. The Truvia will melt almost immediately, so stir constantly with a spatula until all of the nuts have been coated. Then pour the pecans onto a sheet of foil, and let them cool until they’re hard and crunchy.
That’s all there is to it!
Dangerously simple. Dangerously quick. Dangerously addictive!
| 5-Minute Candied Pecans | | Print |
- 3 tbsp (40g) Truvia
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon, or to taste
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 2 tsp water
- 1 cup (112g) pecan halves, left whole or chopped
- Cut a large sheet of foil, and place it on the counter.
- In a small bowl, stir together the Truvia, cinnamon, and salt. Mix in the water until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
- Add the pecans to a small pan, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Reduce the heat to medium, and add the cinnamon mixture. Stir constantly with a spatula until the pecans are completely coated. Transfer the mixture to the prepared foil, and let the pecans cool completely to room temperature and the coating has hardened and turned crunchy.
Granulated sugar or brown sugar can be substituted for the Trvuia.
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low carb, sugar-free}
This recipe looks delicious! Unfortunately, the Stevia aftertaste is completely intolerable to me, even in a blend like Truvia. That said, I’m wondering if anyone has tried using Splenda as a substitute? Like the author of the previous comment, I too have been keto for 3 months now, and am in search of a good snack. Thanks so much for your help!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Cherissa! I’ve also made candied pecans with erythritol (almost the same recipe, which is here!), and that worked really well! Is that an okay sweetener for your tastes? 🙂
I think that erythritol would work just fine! Do you think that there would be as much of a cooling effect since the erythritol is being cooked?
Great!! I’m so glad you think erythritol will work. Just follow the instructions on the recipe that I linked to, and you should be fine! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of those pecans, Cherissa!
Hello, will the recipe turn on the same if I use splenda? Its the only sweetener I use.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Kristen! I haven’t tried using Splenda in this recipe, so I’m not sure and don’t want to lead you astray. I’d love to hear what you think of these candied pecans if you decide to try making them! 🙂
try SWERVE sweetener its awesome
That’s the exact sweetener I use in the recipe I linked to in my comment above Michael! Glad we’re on the same page about it being such a wonderful product! 😉
I am wondering if Honey would work?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Nettie! Unfortunately, honey and other liquid sweeteners won’t work. It stays sticky, even after the nuts have completely cooled. However, I’ve made a similar recipe here with erythritol, if that works for you instead of Truvia! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these pecans!
These are GREAT. I just made this recipe. I used walnuts instead, because that is what I had. Thanks so much.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Josie! Walnuts sound like a great substitute! I’d love to try that myself but… The rest of my family is allergic! 😉
Love these! About to use them on my keto friendly cheesecake. Delicious.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these candied pecans, Annie! That sounds like such a delicious way to use them! 🙂
I would use swerve instead of just erythritol. It cooks like sugar without that cooking aftertaste that it too much for me with just plain erythritol. I was wondering if anyone had tried to sub 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract for some of the water?
If you’d like to use Swerve, then use this recipe of mine instead! That’s the exact sweetener that I used in that recipe. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try it Mary Lee!
Have you ever added a bit of spice like cayenne to this recipe to give that sweet and spicy flavor?
I actually haven’t, but I absolutely LOVE that idea Joelle!! I’d love to hear how these candied pecans turn out if you try that! 🙂
I hate cooking. The only time I really like it is when I’m procrastinating (and I really don’t feel like cleaning my room right now).
This recipe is so easy! I love it!
I also started snacking on the pecans before they cooled completely, if that tells you how good they taste.
I’d suggest adding more cinnamon if using Swerve Brown Sugar. I may also try it with some nutmeg next time.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to put these away before I eat them all.
I’m so glad you loved these pecans Jamie!! That’s the best kind of compliment if you started eating them before they had cooled — and if you had to put them away to stop! Thank you! 😉
I used golden monk fruit sweetner and they were absolutely delicious!! Putting this on my keto pumpkin mousse for Thanksgiving today!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these candied pecans Kerry! Thanks for letting me know about the monk fruit — I always love hearing what recipe modifications work! 🙂 I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving!
How long do the pecans store for in a air tight container and can you freeze them?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Kathy! I’ve actually gone over how long the pecans will keep in the paragraph directly underneath the recipe title in the recipe box. I know it can be easy to miss! I haven’t tried freezing these, so I’m not sure. I’d love to hear what you think if you try them! 🙂
I love these! Great recipe.
I’m so glad you loved these pecans Megan! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know! 🙂