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
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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love these for a quick sugar fix
I made the Keto Candied Pecans. They are very delicious and addictive. Just wanted to let you know that you said not to use any sweetener that has Allulose in it, that it would make them chewy. The sweetener that you have in the recipe is Swerve Brown and this sweetener has Allulose in it. Didn’t know if you realized that.
This recipe was written before Swerve changed their formula. 🙂
FYI, the new version of Swerve Brown Sugar sold in Canada does NOT contain Allulose, so it’s still perfect for this yummy recipe!
PS Unlike in the States, allulose has yet to be approved for sale in Canada. That said, it’s not illegal for Canadians to order allulose from the States, but the exchange rate and shipping make it very expensive.
Yes, that is true. I am aware that they have yet to approve it.
I just mentioned it, so other Canadians realize that your original recipe still works perfectly 🙂
It’s a lovely to make especially at this time of year to give away as treats. So yummy, quick, and easy.
Thanks!
I made the candied pecans and they started burning by the 2 hour mark. I did it on low. Don’t know what the problem was. I had already stur it several times.
What sweetener did you use?
Just made a batch of these for a wedge salad topping. I’m not sure there will be any left for the salad by dinner time! I made them using your stovetop directions,super quick and easy. Thank you so much for making Keto easy and delicious!!
We love these candied pecans! Sometimes I add chili lime seasoning in place of the chipotle. They make a great snack.
I made these yesterday and I tasted them every time I stirred them and they were great, crazy delicious
At the 2.5 hour mark I went to stir them and they were burnt and terrible tasting
Next time I will make them on the keep warm setting since apparently my low is not low enough
I hate tossing out all these nuts but the burnt taste is too much for me
I am going to make a second batch today and I was wondering is there is a way to tell when they are done, like temp or consistency etc? I don’t want to overcook another batch
What sweetener did you use? If it had allulose in it, then that was the problem.
The new Swerve brown has allulose in it. Which brown do you use?
https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/brown-sugar-substitute/ I make my own now!
May I make a sincere appeal?
I don’t use erythritol anymore because a new study came out saying it changes YOUR DNA!!! No thank you! The more sales for it goes DOWN, the more alternative healthy sweeteners will prevail. Look for Allulose and Monkfruit blends; or stevia if you can handle it. Most Monkfruit in the markets are mostly erythritol . READ LABELS!
Don’t believe everything you read. It’s utter nonsense.
You should listen to the Doctor Ken Berry on YouTube.He has a whole show about.Is that whole
scare true? Apparently it’s not.
Would the Truvia Sweet Complete brown work since the new Swerve brown has allulose in it?
I am honestly not sure, I don’t use it. So check the ingredients.
Love love love these. Taste exactly like Grandma always made at Christmas. Without the extreme amount of sugar
I made it stovetop. I wasn’t sure if i have the old or new swerve, I don’t know how to hehe. But i still made it. And it was sooo good. It worked so well. Better than the recipe I’ve been using. Thank you so much.
Awesome goodness!
What a great gift this would make!!
Yes, it’s great for that!
I only cookied for 2 hours and stirred every 15 minutes but still burned in crock pot… going to try again but definite cool feeling in my mouth when done. Not really pleasant … I used brown Swerve. Any suggestions?
Try cutting back on the Erythritol and adding a little stevia extract? I am not sure what kind of crockpot you’re using but it does sound like you need less time in yours.
I checked on the slow cooker two hours in and found that some of the nuts had already burned. But the ones that didn’t, were very tasty.
Are you sure you had it on low?
I made the mistake of using allulose and have a gooey sticky mess. is there anyway at this point to reheat and add the erythritol to make crunchy?
Sadly, no. Maybe make clusters with them and drizzle some chocolate overtop?
I made these last night and they’re really good. It really upsets me when a manufacturer changes their products. I understand that mixing sweeteners can improve the taste, but I’d rather do the mixing myself! I’m getting groceries tomorrow and I think my store still has some of the original Swerve Brown. If so, I’m going to stock up. I just wonder how this change in the product will affect other recipes that call for Swerve brown.
It is a little frustrating when you are used to a certain product. I find this Purecane Brown tends to be a good sub. But to me, it tastes sweeter so I have to use a little less. https://amzn.to/3RcbArg
Thanks for the suggestion although it’s rather expensive. My store didn’t have any more of the original formula brown Swerve. I should have bought it last week. I DID buy the last of the granular original formula Swerve.
That bag of Purecane is quite large. Please look at the weight on it.