These easy Keto Candied Pecans are the perfect crunchy, salty-sweet snack. They take only 5 ingredients and you can make them in your slow cooker or on the stovetop. They make a great last minute gift too!
Chances are that you have all of your holiday menu planned and you don’t need any more ideas to add to the mix. But I just can’t help myself, I have to throw another great recipe your way.
Trust me, though, these Keto Candied Pecans are unbelievably easy to make. They also happen to be unbelievably tasty. Possibly even a little bit addictive. I should know, as I ate nearly the full 3 cups all by myself.
It was over a period of about 2 weeks but still! I love these crunchy, cinnamon-coated pecans so much, I just didn’t want to share. They top my list of delicious and easy keto snacks.
You will love this keto snack
If you do choose to work these into your holiday plans, be prepared. You may find, as I did, that it’s hard to share. Or if you put them out at a holiday party, you may find that one or two guests gobble them all up. They really are hard to resist.
They have everything you want in a snack. A little bit of sweet, a little bit of salt, and plenty of satisfying crunch. And you can add a little spiciness to them as well, if you like.
Best of all, you can make them in your crockpot so that they don’t take up any precious oven real estate. Alternatively, you can make them very quickly on the stovetop.
And they have only 1.3g of net carbs per serving. Now that’s my kind of snacking!
Ingredients you need
- Pecan halves: Use raw pecans, as they will become toasted during the cooking process.
- Swerve Brown: Let me be clear that only erythritol based sweeteners will work for keto candied pecans. Any amount of allulose, BochaSweet, will keep the coating from becoming hard and crunchy. I like brown sugar replacements like Swerve Brown best for this recipe.
- Butter: Use salted or unsalted, as you see fit. I like to use salted, because it goes so well with the pecans.
- Cinnamon: You can adjust the cinnamon to your liking but 1 teaspoon seems about right.
- Chipotle powder: A little spice plays off the sweet and cinnamon really well, but this is entirely optional. Chipotle adds a lovely smoky quality as well, but you can use cayenne instead.
- Salt: Kosher sea salt works well.
Step by Step Directions
Slow Cooker:
1. Place all of the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 3 hours. Stir a few times during cooking.
2. Spread the pecans out on a parchment lined baking sheet and let cool completely.
Stovetop:
1. In a large saucepan, combine the sweetener, butter, cinnamon, and chipotle over medium heat. Cook until the sweetener dissolves.
2. Stir in the pecans and continue to cook another 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Spread the pecans out on a parchment lined baking sheet and let cool completely.
Expert Tips
It is really important to use the right sweetener in these keto candied pecans, as only erythritol-based sweeteners will create a crunchy, hard coating. This includes Swerve, Lakanto, and monk fruit sweeteners that contain just erythritol and monk fruit.
Feel free to double this recipe if you plan on gifting the pecans. It will take the same amount of time in a slow cooker or on the stovetop. Just make sure to use a very large pan if you are cooking them on the stove.
Store the cooled pecans in an airtight container on the counter for up to two weeks. You can also refrigerate them for up to a month or freeze them for 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe for keto candied pecans makes 12 servings of 1/4 cup each. They have 4g of carbohydrate and 2.7g of fiber. This means that each serving has only 1.3g net carbs.
If your pecans are sticky or chewy, it means you didn’t use the right sweetener. Any amount of allulose, xylitol, or BochaSweet will prevent the candy coating from hardening properly. You really need to use an erythritol sweetener for this recipe.
Pecans are an excellent choice for keto diets, as they have only 4g of carbs per serving. They also contain a variety of important nutrients, such as magnesium, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, and folates.
More recipes for pecan lovers
Are you a nut for anything with pecans? Me too! I have so many delicious recipes that include these buttery, rich nuts. Make sure you check out the best keto pecan pie, as it’s one of my most popular recipes. And Keto Pecan Pie Muffins are a delicious breakfast treat any time of year.
Readers also love the shortbread texture of my Keto Butter Pecan Cookies. And I promise that my Keto Maple Pecan Scones are better than Starbucks.
Pecans go so well with caramel too. Check out both Keto Pecan Turtles and my ultra-gooey Slow Cooker Brownies.
Keto Candied Pecans Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups pecan halves
- 1/2 cup brown sugar substitute
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp chipotle powder, optional
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Grease a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker.
- Place all of the ingredients into the slow cooker and set to low for 3 hours. Stir a few times during cooking to coat the pecans.
- Spread the mixture out on a parchment lined baking sheet to cool. Break apart any clumps once the nuts are cool.
Notes
Nutrition
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Does this recipe work with the new swerve brown sugar? I love this recipe and really hope it does!
Sadly, no. The allulose will prevent them from hardening properly.
Hello Carolyn,
If it doesn’t work with the newest Swerve Brown Sugar, what do you recommend we use in it’s place?
Thank you!
I am on a salt restricted diet. do you think it would change the taste too much to leave out the salt?
how do you do them on the stove top?
The directions are right in the post.
These are the absolute best candied pecans and the recipe is a no-fail in the slow cooker! (Can’t tell you how many times I have burned nuts in the oven.) Thanks yet again for a great recipe ❤️
I’ve made this several times in the slow cooker and stovetop. Both are excellent! Very fast on the stove. Bought some dollar store glass jars for great hostess gifts.
I have made the candied pecans & they are wonderful. I want to send some to our son for his birthday on 4/17/23. I want to know if the brown Swerve is hard packed into the measuring cup or if it is a loosely packed? I hard packed it for my first batch & it is a bit sweet for us (still delicious though).
I have to mail the nuts on 4/10 – if you perhaps see this comment in time.
Thank you for an amazing journey with your delights over the years.
Never hard pack things if it’s not specified. 🙂
Before starting Keto, my husband and I would get Praline Pecans from Costco all the time. He still gets those, but now I make these and they are sooooo good. I do love the chipotle or a little cayenne mixed in with it!
We munched on these while we opened presents, and they are killer good. Don’t wait, make them now. Couldn’t be simpler to make, as well.
So super easy and delicious!! Made these for some gifts for my keto peeps. They were a huge hit-even to the non keto-ers! Get your slow cooker out NOW and make these for your New Year’s Eve snacks. GO! NOW!
Hi and thanks for all your recipes! I was just wondering if one doesn’t have Swerve, if just plain erythritol would work. Or if adding a teaspoon of molasses (black treacle in UK) would make it like brown sugar.
Thanks, and happy Christmas!
Yes, that should work!
I Made the candied pecans tonight & they are simply wonderful! I can’t wait to put them in a jar for my daughter so I don’t eat all of them! Soo easy & so yummy!!!
Mmh, yum!
I know what you mean about not wanting to share!🤣
Thanks for this super easy and fast recipe.
What took me so long to make these! Yes ma’am these are good. I’m glad the net carbs are so low bc I don’t think I can just eat one serving. Great gifts!!!
I made them today and they are amazing! My husband and I are thrilled to find a very low carb treat that’s perfect for those times you just want a healthy snack! I didn’t have enough pecans so made the recipe with equal amounts of pecans and walnuts. Thank you so much for all your hard work and delicious recipes. 💕
can you use a mixture of nuts with this recipe
Yes!
Can I use Lakanto brown sugar. It has erythritol and monk fruit?
Please read the blog post, I was very specific about that. Expert Tips section.
Is it a simple switch out if I’d like to try this recipe with almonds?
Yup!
Carolyn,
I am going to make these for tomorrow’s Christmas meal’s dessert plate. I am curious as to whether it matters if I use Pecan halves that are roasted and salted (which I already have) or do I need to get unsalted and/or unroasted Pecan halves.
You can try the salted if you have them but reduce the cooking time if you are doing it in a slow cooker… you don’t want to over cook the pecans.
Thank you. That I will do. Happy Holidays.
This looks wonderful! I don’t have a slow cooker so would be doing this on the stovetop. Do the pecans actually toast as much on the stovetop or might they benefit from some time in the oven?
You can always toast them lightly in a pan first. Not too much as they continue cooking once mixed into the butter and sweetener mixture.
They look wonderful–can’t wait to try. But am I reading this correctly: Three hours in a slow cooker but only five minutes on the stovetop? Is the result very different?
Slow cookers on low cook very slowly… think about it. A soup on the stovetop that may need 30 minutes needs 6 to 8 hours on low in a slow cooker.