Spiced Candied Pecans

This easy spiced candied pecans recipe brings together the warmth of the holidays with a perfect blend of sweet, smoky, and spicy flavors. Coated in rich brown sugar and baked to crunchy perfection, these pecans are a treat for your taste buds and a festive addition to your holiday gatherings.

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Closeup of pecans in a serving dish showing the bumpy texture of the crunchy candied pecans.

Get ready to fall in love with the sweet, buttery crunch of these spiced candied pecans! Perfectly caramelized with a blend of warm spices, these pecans are a salty-sweet treat for snacking, gifting, or topping your favorite holiday dishes. Whether you’re adding them to salads, sprinkling them over desserts, or munching on them straight from the jar, this easy recipe disappears fast!

First published: Dec 23, 2023. Last updated December 9, 2024 for more helpful information and readability.

An up-close photo of candied pecans in a glass bowl.

Table of Contents

🗝️ Key takeaways: why this recipe is your new favorite
🧾 Gather your ingredients: what you'll need
📖 Make it your own: yummy variations
🔪 How to make spiced candied pecans: instructions for success
💭 Insider tips: things to know
🎥 Watch and cook: step-by-step video tutorial
🥫 Leftover love: how to store candied pecans
👩‍🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs
📚 More Southern comfort: related recipes you'll love
🍽️ No waste: creative ways to repurpose spiced candied pecans
📞 Wrapping it up: the last word
📖 Recipe
Spiced Candied Pecans
💬 Comments

Save this recipe by clicking on the ❤️ heart on the right-hand side of the screen or in the recipe card.

🗝️ Key takeaways: why this recipe is your new favorite

Buttery and crunchy with the perfect balance of sweet, salty, and spicy - you just can't stop eating them!
This easy snack is a great addition to an appetizer tray or charcuterie board this holiday season. They make wonderful gifts, too.
A lightly beaten egg white helps the ingredients stick to the pecans and makes the candied nuts extra crunchy!

These candied spiced pecans are a crowd-pleasing recipe for game night, the holidays, or just to have on hand for snacks.

Chipotle powder adds just the right amount of heat, and the smoked salt creates a unique nutty flavor that's irresistible.

🧾 Gather your ingredients: what you'll need

This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.

An overhead image (with text overlay) of the main recipe ingredients in small bowls.

📖 Make it your own: yummy variations

Use maple extract in place of vanilla extract to add another layer of festive flavor.
Use all white sugar in a pinch. However, you’ll lose the hint of caramel flavor from the molasses that you get from the light brown sugar.
You can substitute regular kosher salt for smoked salt. I love the smoky flavor, though!
If you don’t have chipotle powder, use ground cayenne pepper to give your spicy pecans their Southern kick.
If you want more of a pumpkin pie spice flavor, add ¼ teaspoon each of ground nutmeg and ground ginger to the spice mixture. Yum!

🔪 How to make spiced candied pecans: instructions for success

This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page. Click on the image to see it full size.

Whisk the egg white and vanilla extract in a small bowl until frothy.

Mix the egg white with the pecan halves in a medium bowl until coated.

Blend the sugars, salt, ground cinnamon, chipotle powder, and cloves in a separate bowl.

Mix the sugar/spice into the pecan/egg white mixture. Then, spread the coated pecans on a prepared baking sheet in a single layer and bake.

💭 Insider tips: things to know

These easy candied pecans are a lifesaver when you need a last-minute gift or snack. They are great in salads, too!

I don’t recommend using liquid sweeteners like maple syrup or corn syrup—they’ll make your candied pecans sticky, messy, and too sweet!
Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat to prevent the coated pecans from sticking to the pan and burning.
Spread out the coated pecans onto your baking sheet in an even layer and toss them every 10 minutes so they bake evenly.
Resist the urge to pop a sample into your mouth until the pecans have cooled down to room temperature. The candy coating will crisp up to crunchy perfection while it cools.

Marye's Tip o' the day

Make sure all the pecans are thoroughly coated in the egg white mixture before adding the sugars and spices. The dry ingredients won’t stick very well to dry pecans.

🎥 Watch and cook: step-by-step video tutorial

Hey y’all!
If you're looking for a homemade gift that'll have folks thinking you spent way more time in the kitchen than you did—these spiced candied pecans are it. Sweet, spicy, crunchy, and completely irresistible! In this video, I’ll walk you through every step so they turn out perfect every time.
Whether you're baggin’ 'em up for holiday gifts or hoarding 'em for yourself (no judgment), Restless Chipotle Kitchen has your back. Want more crowd-pleasin’, gift-givin’ goodness? Head on over to my YouTube channel and binge the full recipe collection. Just don’t forget to save a handful for yourself!

🥫 Leftover love: how to store candied pecans

Once your candied pecans have fully cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They'll be fine at least a week, but we've never had them last more than a couple of days because they do tend to disappear.

I like to use a pretty glass jar for storage and wrap it with a nice bow as a gift!

I don’t recommend refrigerating or freezing candied pecans because the nuts will get sticky and tacky.

An overhead image of spiced candied pecans in a decorative bowl next to a spoon and baking sheet.

🤫 Marye's secret for zhuzhing it up

Giving as gifts during the holidays? Stir in some small, red and green sprinkles after the pecans have cooled about halfway.

zhuzh: verb. To make something more interesting or attractive

👩‍🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs

Have other questions? Ask me in the comments!

What types of sugar are best in candied pecan recipes?

I prefer to use a mix of white sugar and light brown sugar in my candied pecans. The molasses in the brown sugar adds a little bit of caramel flavor. You can also use other granulated sugars like coconut sugar or maple sugar if you prefer less refined sugars.

Can I use liquid sweeteners in this candied nut recipe?

Nope! These candied pecans are meant to be crisp and crunchy—that’s why they’re made with white and brown granulated sugar. Liquid sweeteners like honey, agave, and corn syrup will make your candied pecans sticky and overly sweet.

Can I use pasteurized egg whites from a carton?

Use a fresh egg white for the best results. Egg whites in a carton sometimes contain preservatives that might change the texture and make them a little harder to whip.

Why are my candied pecans soggy?

If your pecans are still soft and sticky after cooling, you didn’t bake them long enough. Put the baking sheet back in a 325-degree oven for 5-10 more minutes to help harden the sugar-candy coating.