Easiest Candied Pecans

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe!  To tell you the truth, candied pecans have always intimidated me.  I have always felt really uncomfortable toasting them in the oven – all the dishes, all the stickiness to clean up afterwards. And let’s face it, 9 times out of 10 I get distracted and burn them. But with this recipe, you only need one frying pan and three ingredients. They taste delicious, and seriously – no mess!

You’ll need butter, sugar and pecans (the full recipe is at the bottom of this post). I like to keep a big Costco bag of pecans in the freezer. They stay fresh for months!

My absolute favourite thing about this recipe is that you can make the candied pecans in a frying pan. No mixing bowls necessary! Why didn’t I think of doing this sooner!?

Make sure it’s a non-stick frying pan though.  Preferably a teflon pan.  I’ve made these in one of those new ceramic “green pans” and it made a huge mess.  The pecans still turned out great, but everything stuck to the pan and it was a huge mess to clean up.

You can put all of the ingredients in the pan at the same time.  Or you can melt the butter and sugar first and wait until they are well mixed before you add the candied pecans. I’ve tried both methods, and it really doesn’t matter.  Eventually all the ingredients get mixed up and you end up with the same great result.

Cook the pecans on medium-low heat for about five to ten minutes. The exact time will depend on the temperature. You want the pecans to be browned, maybe even a few of them ever-so-slightly burned. The more brown they are, the better the flavour will be, so don’t panic if they burn a bit.

Just make sure the temperature isn’t too hot. I like to let the pecans cool right in the frying pan, but if the pan is too hot, they’ll burn really quickly. If you don’t have a non-stick pan, make sure you remove the pecans from the pan as soon as they are done cooking (you can let them cool on parchment paper). If you let them cool in anything but a teflon pan, they are going to stick and make a mess.

These candied pecans make a delicious snack and are fabulous to add to salads. They are also great to have on hand for the holidays, and even make a wonderful hostess gift if you are ever in a bind.

They are great to curb hunger in the afternoon since they are loaded with protein and healthy fats. And since they are sweet, they’ll hopefully help to satisfy your sweet tooth too. Did I mention they are deliciously addictive?

Print Recipe

Candied Pecans

Use these tasty pecans to garnish your appetizers, add them to fresh salads, or eat them as a snack.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons Sugar
• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 1 cup pecans

Instructions

• Throw all of the ingredients in a non-stick frying pan and cook on low-medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes until the pecans brown, stirring constantly.
• The more toasted the pecans get, the more flavour they'll have.

Notes

Use a non-stick Teflon frying pan. I've made these in the new ceramic "green" pans, and they stick like crazy!

These candied pecans couldn’t be any easier! Just three simple ingredients, one frying pan, and they are ready to eat in less than 10 minutes. Use them to garnish your appetizers, add them to fresh salads, or eat them as a snack. They are oh so simple and taste amazing!