Homemade Cinnamon Sugar Pecans

This homemade Cinnamon Sugar Pecans Recipe is made with only 6 ingredients & is WAY better than the nuts from the mall or fair! Plus, they’re gluten & dairy-free & freezer-friendly! Make a batch, store them in the freezer and use as a salad topper or enjoy as a sweet snack!

You know when you’re walking through the mall and you smell something amazing? You look around and realize that the heavenly aroma is coming from a glazed nut stand…so you casually  walk by because you know there will be a free sample…oh, don’t mind if I do…

Well, these Homemade Cinnamon Sugar Pecans are better than those nuts you find at the mall or fair! They are so easy to make and have very few ingredients! This recipe has been a staple in my life for about 9 years now.  I always have these on hand. Always. They’re totally freezer friendly, so you can make a batch, eat some warm from the oven {of course} and freeze the rest to toss on salads or enjoy as a sweet snack!

They also make amazing gifts for friends and neighbors for the holidays! Wrap them in a cute cellophane bag or mason jar and give your loved ones an extra special treat this year!

Easy cinnamon sugar pecans

One of the things I love the most about these Homemade Cinnamon Sugar Pecans is just how remarkably simple they are…but they are anything but ordinary in regards to taste and texture! The only wet ingredients for an entire batch  is 1 egg white and 1 TBS vanilla! No butter! No oil! But definitely NO sacrificing on taste!

The dry ingredient list is short too…sugar, salt, and cinnamon! I recommend regular organic sugar for these, but coconut sugar is a possibility for a refined-sugar free option!

How to make Homemade Cinnamon Sugar Pecans 

Like I’ve said before, these beauties are really easy to make, but here are a few tips to ensure the best results.

1. Amount of pecans. Be sure to evenly & complely coat the pecans with the wet ingredients before adding the dry. Start by adding a little less than 4 cups of nuts, and slowly add the rest to be sure there are no dry pecans. The amount of nuts can vary slightly depending on the size of your egg white…so be careful!
2. Do not use parchment paper/foil!  DO bake these Homemade Cinnamon Sugar Pecans directly on the pan. When you stir the pecans, you need to reincorporate the syrupy goodness from the pan onto the nuts, and parchment paper/foil soaks up the liquid, which results in less coated nuts and a big old mess.
3. DO NOT adjust baking time. Bake at 250 for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Even if they seem done after 45 minutes…the extra 15 minutes gives these Cinnamon Sugar Pecans the perfect crispiness that’s retained even after freezing.

Cinnamon Sugar Pecans: Substitutions

I absolutely do not recommend any substitutions in this recipe! My sincerest apologies to all my friends out there  who can’t bring yourselves to follow recipes to a “T,” but this one is not to be tampered with! 😉

However, you could use coconut sugar in place of organic sugar for a refined-sugar free option!

Serving suggestions: 

• Serve with this balsamic vinaigrette on a salad for a delicious combo. 
• Sprinkle some on these roasted beets! SO GOOD!
• Add a few to this burrata salad or this roasted vegetable quinoa salad! 
• Sprinkle some on top of these overnight oats with yogurt!

IF YOU MAKE SOMETHING FROM JOYFOODSUNSHINE I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR CREATIONS! DON’T FORGET TO RATE THIS RECIPE AND LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW! ALSO, FOLLOW ALONG WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE AND  TWITTER FOR MORE RECIPE INSPIRATION AND A GLIMPSE INTO OUR EVERYDAY LIFE!

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4.5 from 10 votes

Cinnamon Sugar Pecans

This homemade Cinnamon Sugar Pecans Recipe is made with only 6 ingredients & is WAY better than the nuts from the mall or fair! Plus, they're gluten & dairy-free & freezer-friendly! Make a batch, store them in the freezer and use as a salad topper or enjoy as a sweet snack! 

Course condiment, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword candied nuts, candied pecans, christmas gift, cinnamon sugar nuts, cinnamon sugar pecans

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 4 cups pecans

Calories 119.2kcal

Author Laura

Ingredients

• 1 egg white
• 1 TBS pure vanilla extract
• 4-5 cups pecan halves
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet. (Do NOT use parchment paper or foil. Bake directly on the greased pan)!
• In a large mixing bowl, whip egg white and vanilla with a whisk until frothy.
• In a separate bowl, combine sugar, salt, and cinnamon, set aside.
• Add pecans to wet mixture 1 cup at a time, stirring to coat the nuts evenly. Depending on the size of your egg white you may use slightly more or less than 4 cups pecans. Just make sure all nuts are well coated before adding more.
• Once pecans are completely coated, add in the dry ingredients and mix until the nuts are evenly coated.
• Spread the pecans evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake at 250 degrees F for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes (you will stir 3 times before removing from the oven).
• Smell the air and try not to burn your mouth eating them straight from the oven!

Notes

Please follow baking time exactly. Even if they seem done at 45 minutes do not skip the last 15 minutes of baking.
I bake these, let them cool, then toss them in a ziploc bag and put them in the freezer. Then when I want to use them on salads I take a handful out of the freezer and use!

Nutrition

Serving: 2TBS | Calories: 119.2kcal | Carbohydrates: 8.3g | Protein: 1.4g | Fat: 9.7g | Saturated Fat: 0.8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5.5g | Sodium: 68mg | Potassium: 56.9mg | Fiber: 1.4g | Sugar: 6.8g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Fun fact: Before blogging was a thing {or before I knew it was a thing}, Ritch and I used to take pictures of our recipes and submit them to allrecipes.com. We had so much fun doing it! I would get so excited when our pictures won “photo of the day” or when they were chosen as the key photo for very popular recipes.

The picture above was taken 7 years ago! I adapted this recipe to make these Cinnamon Sugar Pecans that I’m sharing with you today, and submitted this picture. It’s been the key photo ever since! Ahhh the little things!

Seriously, everyone in your life would love to receive these Homemade Cinnamon Sugar Pecans as a gift this Christmas! And I promise that once you make a batch, you will want to be sure that you are never without some in your freezer! We love eating them on salads, for a snack or as a special little dessert! Try them warm over ice cream or just plain!