Candied Walnuts

Candied walnuts, sometimes known as sugared walnuts or caramelized walnuts, they only take a few minutes to prepare and a handful of ingredients.

 

Why You’ll Love These Candied Walnuts

With a sugar coating that is perfectly sweet and only a few ingredients like raw walnut halves, what’s not to love about these walnuts?

• Protein – Walnuts are a great way to add a little more protein to your salad, or even just have as a high protein snack.
• No oven needed – These candied walnuts are made on the stove, not the oven, so no need to heat the room with the oven.
• Versatile – You can serve these walnuts just about any way you’d like! One a cheese tray or charcuterie board, in an apple salad

Ingredients

You only need a handful of simple ingredients to make these perfectly crunchy candied walnuts.

• Walnuts – You want to make sure you are using raw walnuts. You can use either whole or halved, whichever you prefer.
• Butter – I like to use unsalted butter. That way when I sprinkle a little fleur de sel at the end, they aren’t too salty.
• Dark brown sugar – I like the strong molasses flavor of dark brown sugar, but you can also use light brown sugar for a more mild flavor.
• Cinnamon – This is optional, but I love sprinkling a little cinnamon over the walnuts at the end for a warm flavor. Nutmeg is another complementing flavor.
• Fleur de sel – This is also optional, but a sprinkle of good salt at the end really finishes off the walnuts nicely. We all know how much I love sweet and salty.

Variations

There are plenty of ways to make these candied walnuts your own. Here are a few suggestions.

• Different nuts – Not a fan of walnuts? Try using other nuts! Pecans or peanuts would be a good alternative.
• Spicy – Add a little spiciness to these walnuts! A sprinkle of cayenne pepper, or other spices will take these up a notch for sure.
• Xxtract – Stir in a teaspoon or two of vanilla extract or almond extract into the sugar mixture. to add even more warmth and flavor.

How to Make Candied Walnuts

You are going to love how easy it is to make these candied nuts. You may even want to make two batches- one to snack and the other for your intended recipe.

1. Melt butter. Heat the butter in a heavy bottom skillet or saucepan over medium heat.
2. Toss walnuts & sugar in butter. Add the walnuts and sugar, tossing with a wooden spoon to coat. Allow the sugar to melt and become sticky and smooth. If it is grainy, then you’ll need to cook a tad longer and reduce heat to low.
3. Coat parchment with nonstick spray. Spray a piece of parchment paper with cooking spray before adding to baking sheets.
4. Pour walnuts onto pan. When the walnuts are evenly coated, turn out onto the parchment in a single layer. Alternatively you can use a silicone baking mat.
5. Top with cinnamon or salt. Sprinkle the tacky walnuts with cinnamon or fleur de sel (both optional.) Allow to cool, then crumble using your hands.

How to Serve Candied Walnuts

They are super versatile, great for snacking on their own, they are also perfect on salads and for dessert recipes. 

Use candied walnuts in salads or even desserts, like my Pear Salad with Honey Balsamic Dressing or a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream. You can use them to top your a large bowl of your morning yogurt too.

You can add them to a mason jar tied up with a ribbon and gift them during the holiday season too.

Storage and Freezing

How to Store Candied Walnuts

This recipe is good for up to a week. Since they aren’t packaged with preservatives and other nonsense, they don’t last as long. Store in an airtight container.

Can I Freeze Candied Walnuts?

You sure can! However, the sugar part will get super hard and need to come up to room temperature before eating. 

Other Recipes That Use Walnuts

Whether added to a salad or baked into a bread, recipes that use walnuts can elevate almost any dish. Here are a few of our favorites.