How To Make Keto Candied Nuts

Candied Walnuts (or any nut for that sake!) are great for salads, baking, snacking, gifting, and more! You only need 4 ingredients and about 5 minutes of hands-on time to make these sugar-free delicious Candied Walnuts! You will be hooked immediately after trying just one bite...crunchy, sweet, and oh so addicting candied nuts!

These crispy crunchy candied walnuts are quite a treat. Toss them into your salad, sprinkle them over any frosting, add them onto your Homemade Granola or just pop them in your mouth for a quick and satisfying keto treat!

I love this easy method of making the candied nuts where everything gets quickly tossed in a bowl and then baked in the oven until perfectly golden brown. Simple, easy and delicious is the name of the game for these candied walnuts!

Since they get roasted in the oven at the same time as they become sweet and crunchy, you don’t have to pre-toast them. One bowl and a 2 step recipe...what is not to love?!!!

It seriously takes about 5 minutes to combine your ingredients and place them in the oven. Then, about 40 minutes later, a perfectly golden brown candied nut product is produced!  

Ingredients for Candied Walnuts:

This recipe can be used to make caramelized walnuts, caramelized pecans, caramelized cashews — whatever your heart desires! Here’s what you’ll need to make the candied nuts:

Walnuts: I used walnuts that I bought in a HUGE bag from Costco. Some of the walnuts were whole entire nuts and some were broken. Feel free to use any type of nut, whether whole or chopped. If using chopped nuts, make sure that the pieces are not too small as they may burn quickly. Also, consider the texture of the nut before deciding what to use. I prefer using walnuts or pecans because the cinnamon sugar topping gets stuck in the nuts little crevices.

Granulated Brown Sugar: I used an erythritol-based brown sweetener for this recipe as the erythritol crystallizes when it cools and therefore adds an extra level of "crunchiness". I have also made these with a combination of white sweetener and brown sweetener so feel free to play around with whatever your heart desires!

Cinnamon: Totally optional, but highly recommend. The cinnamon just gives that extra depth of flavour that I can't help but love!

Egg White -  You only need 1 egg white for this recipe that gets whipped until it forms stiff peaks.

Salt - Since the nuts aren't already salted, we add about 1 teaspoon of salt.

How To Make Candied Walnuts:

• Beat on medium-high speed, the egg white and 1 tablespoons of water to a frothy consistency with very stiff peaks (about 4 minutes)
• Add the the erythritol based sweetener
• Finally, mix in cinnamon and salt.
• Toss in the nuts and mix everything together until every crevice of each nut is completely covered
• Line a baking sheet with heavy duty parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Spread the coated nuts over the lined sheet and bake for 40 minutes at 300 degree F., stirring every 15 minutes to avoid burning (because that would just be absolutely dreadful!!!!)
• Allow the nuts to cool (and they will continue to crisp as they do so) and try not to eat the entire batch!

TIPS FOR MAKING CANDIED NUTS

• If using chopped nuts, don’t chop them up any smaller or else they might burn.
• You want this mixture to be as voluminous as possible because the sugar will weigh it down.
• I’ve only made this recipe using granulated erythritol and I am not sure if other types will work
• If your nuts don’t harden fully, that means the sugar wasn’t cooked long enough and didn’t caramelize. Cook the nuts longer next time!

Different candied nut flavours:

• Add some heat: Add a pinch of cayenne pepper to add a kick of spicy flavor.
• Add some salt: Sprinkle a little sea salt or kosher salt over the caramelized nuts to make them salty-sweet.
• Add different spices: This recipe calls for cinnamon, but I’m sure you could add other warming spices (cardamom, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, etc.).

HOW LONG DO CANDIED NUTS LAST?

If stored at room temperature in an airtight container, these candied nuts should last up to 2 weeks. You can freeze candied walnuts for up to 2 months

HOW TO SERVE CANDIED NUTS

Whether you made caramelized pecans, caramelized walnuts, or another kind of candied nut, there are so many ways you can enjoy them! Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Salads: Sprinkle these candied nuts atop salads like this Healthy Crunchy Roasted Brussels Sprout Salad - Keto and Vegan, Roasted Cauliflower Tomato Salad - Keto & Plant-Based, Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad - Keto, Keto Warm Asparagus Bacon Salad or this Balsamic Beets and Boursin
• Vegetables: Enjoy atop sides like these Keto Caramelized Skillet-Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Caramelized Oven Roasted Carrots (Whole30), Quick and Easy Parmesan Roasted Broccoli, or this Air Fryer Keto Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Onions
• Desserts: These caramelized nuts are delicious atop Keto Caramel Apple Cookie Cups, Keto Pumpkin Cream Cheese Crumb Cake, Keto Zucchini Cream Cheese-Stuffed Muffins or this Keto Lemon Pudding
• Snacking: Pop them in your mouth or add them to my Keto Granola - Nut-Free and Dairy-Free for some extra sweetness. You can also serve these alongside any cheese or snack board.
• Baking: You can stir chopped candied walnuts into your favorite cookie or this keto banana bar recipe.
• Gifting-Place candied walnuts in a cute jar with ribbon and give as a gift during the holidays! They also make a great hostess gift.

MORE EASY NUT RECIPES:

• Copycat Coconut Keto Clusters Recipe with Pecans, Almonds and Pumpkin Seeds
• White Chocolate Peanut Caramel Cups - Keto
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Marshmallow Bars
• Chocolate Covered Peanut Brittle Bars (Keto, Gluten-Free)

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