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Home » Recipes » Baking & Desserts

Candied Nuts (Vegan + Gluten-Free)

Modified: Jul 15, 2021 · Published: Dec 8, 2018 by Rhian Williams

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Photo of caramelised nuts on a green plate against a red background

These Candied Nuts are salty-sweet, perfectly crunchy, incredibly moreish and satisfying. They're super easy as they take less than 10 minutes to make, are made using basic ingredients and are made in a frying pan (not the oven). They're vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar free optional, not too sweet, a good source of protein and fibre and are much healthier than the shop-bought version. They're perfect for sharing as an appetizer or dessert, great as a snack for meal prep, and make great edible gifts.

Candied nuts on a green plate against a red background

How to make this recipe

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

  • Heat the water, oil and agave syrup in a large frying pan until it starts to bubble (should take around 30 seconds).

Tip: You can use any type of oil eg. coconut oil, vegetable oil, olive oil etc and the agave syrup can be substituted with honey if you're not vegan.

A silver frying pan with water, oil and agave syrup
  • Add the nuts and stir until they’re coated with the oil and syrup mixture – do this for around a minute until they’re slightly brown and crispy.
A silver frying pan with nuts and pumpkin seeds inside
  • Mix together the sugar, salt and black pepper in  a small bowl, then add to the pan and stir into the nuts.
A silver frying pan with nuts and pumpkin seeds and sugar
  • Keep the pan on a medium heat and stir continuously for a few minutes – the nuts should become nicely caramelised quite quickly.
  • Remove the pan from the heat as soon as you think the caramel coating has turned a nice golden brown colour.

Tip: Be careful to not heat for too long as the sugar will burn very quickly.

A silver frying pan with golden brown nuts and pumpkin seeds
  • Spread the nuts out over a plate or a sheet of baking paper, separating out any clumps, and leave them to dry out for a while until completely cooled.

Tip: This step is crucial to make the nuts crispy and crunchy - if you don't spread them out until cooled, the heat from the nuts will create moisture and they won't get as crispy.

Candied nuts spread apart against a sheet of brown baking paper

What nuts can you use?

  • Almonds.
  • Peanuts.
  • Hazelnuts.
  • Macadamia nuts.
  • Pecans.
  • Walnuts.
  • Brazil nuts.
  • Pistachios.
  • Pumpkin seeds.
  • Sunflower seeds.

How to make these refined sugar free

For a refined sugar free version, you can use the same recipe but replace the sugar with 3 tablespoons agave (or maple syrup) and instead of using a frying pan, mix together all the ingredients and roast in the oven on a rectangular baking tray at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for around 10 minutes.

I have tried the recipe in a frying pan replacing the sugar with coconut sugar/maple syrup/agave syrup, but unfortunately it just doesn't seem to work!

How long do these Candied Nuts keep for?

They keep in an airtight container for about a week.

More vegan appetizers

  • Muffin Tin Sushi Cups
  • Sausage Rolls
  • Cashew Cheese Ball
  • Lazy Samosa Lettuce Cups
  • Vegan “Crispy Duck” Lettuce Wraps

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Watch how to make it

 

Candied nuts on a green plate against a red background

Candied Nuts (Vegan + GF)

These Candied Nuts are an incredibly moreish and satisfying snack that takes less than 10 minutes to make! 
4.72 from 7 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: candied nuts, caramelized nuts, christmas appetizer
Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes minutes
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 256kcal
Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or sub olive, vegetable or rapeseed oil)
  • 1 tablespoon agave syrup (or sub honey if you're not vegan)
  • 300 g (10 oz) mixed nuts
  • 3 tablespoons sugar *see notes for substitution options
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Pinch ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Heat the water, oil and agave syrup in a large frying pan until it starts to bubble (should take around 30 seconds).
  • Add the nuts and stir until they’re coated with the oil and syrup mixture – do this for around a minute until they’re slightly brown and crispy.
  • Mix together the sugar, salt and black pepper in  a small bowl, then add to the pan and stir into the nuts.
  • Keep the pan on a medium heat and stir continuously for a few minutes – the nuts should become nicely caramelised quite quickly.
  • Remove the pan from the heat as soon as you think the caramel coating turns a nice golden brown colour - be careful to not heat for too long as the sugar will burn very quickly.
  • Spread the nuts out over a plate or a sheet of baking paper, separating out any clumps, and leave them to dry out for a while until completely cooled – they may be quite soft at this stage, but ready to eat once they’ve cooled down. This step is crucial to make the nuts crispy and crunchy - if you don't spread them out until cooled, the heat from the nuts will create moisture and they won't get as crispy.
  • Keeps in an airtight container for up to a week.

Video

Notes

*For a refined sugar free version, you can use the same recipe but replace the sugar with 3 tablespoons agave (or maple syrup) and instead of using a frying pan, mix together all the ingredients and roast in the oven on a rectangular baking tray at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for around 10 minutes.
I have tried the recipe in a frying pan replacing the sugar with coconut sugar/maple syrup/agave syrup, but unfortunately it just doesn't seem to work!
Nutrition Facts
Candied Nuts (Vegan + GF)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 256 Calories from Fat 180
% Daily Value*
Fat 20g31%
Saturated Fat 2g10%
Sodium 73mg3%
Potassium 264mg8%
Carbohydrates 14g5%
Fiber 4g16%
Sugar 7g8%
Protein 7g14%
Calcium 99mg10%
Iron 1.4mg8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.

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Comments

    4.72 from 7 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Emma

    November 24, 2015 at 11:37 am

    This looks really yummy. I'm definitely going to try this

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      November 24, 2015 at 11:45 am

      Please do! Hope you like them 🙂

  2. Dan

    April 04, 2018 at 12:11 am

    5 stars
    so easy and nice 🙂

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      April 04, 2018 at 9:50 am

      Thank you!

  3. Becca

    April 04, 2018 at 12:12 am

    5 stars
    really great recipe

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      April 04, 2018 at 9:49 am

      Thank you!

  4. Pat Connolly

    July 16, 2019 at 9:48 am

    5 stars
    Difficult to stop eating these delicious candied nuts. Very easy to prepare with Rhian's recipe

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      July 16, 2019 at 10:53 am

      Thank you, so glad you like them!

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Hi, I’m Rhian! I make easy, undetectably vegan + gluten-free recipes, including healthy comfort food and naturally sweetened desserts using plant-based ingredients.

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