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Nov 25, 2020 By Stacie Hassing

Holiday Spiced Pecans

Dairy-Free
Egg-Free
Gluten-free
Grain-Free
Paleo
Vegan
Vegetarian
Jump to Recipe

Holiday Spiced Pecans – a special treat for you, and also perfect for gift giving. This delicious snack is crunchy, sweet, and full of toasty warm cinnamon and spice. It’s perfect for the holidays, or any time really! Low in sugar and made with simple, real food ingredients – this is a holiday appetizer that everyone will enjoy!

Holiday Spiced Pecans on a white plate

Holiday Spiced Pecans are roasted to absolute perfection.

They’re infused with maple syrup and a nice blend of spices. The process of roasting the nuts releases some of the natural fats from within the nut, which deepens the flavor, enhances the natural sweetness, and creates the most delicious aroma. The end result is a delicious DIY candied nut that’s much lower in sugar than traditional spiced nuts. Roasting also provides a slightly crunchy texture to the nut, which makes it hold up well in other recipes.

You can enjoy them as is, add them to a mixed greens salad such as our Pomegranate Mixed Green Salad, top them on our Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes, share them at your holiday gatherings or package them in mason jars for a special and simple holiday gift.

These cinnamon roasted pecans are easy to make, dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, and paleo-friendly, and made with no added refined sugar. This is a recipe that you and your family will love and one that you’ll continue to make year after year.

Pecans in a clear glass bowl with maple syrup and cinnamon on top
Pecans with maple syrup drizzled on top ready for baking
All ingredients for spiced pecans mixed together and ready for baking

This post may contain affiliate links that won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Ingredients for Holiday Spiced Pecans

Just a few ingredients are all you need to make these roasted maple spiced pecans. Feel free to substitute additional cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice for the ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom.

  • Pecan halves 
  • Maple syrup 
  • Ground cinnamon
  • Ground ginger
  • Ground cloves
  • Ground nutmeg
  • Cardamom

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How to Make Holiday Spiced Pecans

There really isn’t much to this recipe. Just toss all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl, pour on a sheet pan, and let them roast.

If you happen to be missing a certain spice in your kitchen, no worries, and no need for a special trip to the grocery store. Simply use what spice mixture you have on hand. For example, using a blend of cinnamon and nutmeg, or cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice also works wonderfully in this recipe.

If you’re a fan of the salty-sweet combo, we also HIGHLY recommend adding a sprinkle of sea salt on top of the pecans when you pull them out of the oven!

Overhead view of Holiday Spiced Pecans on a white plate.

Can I use other kinds of nuts?

Yes, absolutely!

We especially love to add other kinds of nuts when doubling the recipe. To add variety, you can mix it up by adding 1½ cups of raw cashews and 1½ cups of raw almonds or any of your favorite nuts (walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, etc.).

How to store this Spiced Pecans Recipe

After roasting, allow the nuts to cool completely. Then, store in an airtight container at room temperature. We tend to gobble these up within a few days of roasting, but they should last for a few weeks. That also makes these a great recipe for gifting, because you can prep the pecans ahead of time and then individually package them when you’re ready to gift (more on this below!).

Holiday Spiced Pecans in a glass jar topped with sea salt flakes

Make gift giving simple and delicious this holiday season!

Holiday Spiced Pecans are one of my go-to’s when it comes to gift-giving. Simply package them in a small mason jar, wrap the jar with a pretty holiday ribbon, include a small card with the recipe and let your friends and family enjoy the heck out of them. Sometimes the best gifts come right from your very own kitchen!

Other Food Gift Recipes You’ll Love

  • Slow Cooker Spiced Pecans
  • Chili Rosemary Roasted Mixed Nuts
  • 3-Ingredient Dark Chocolate Mint Cups

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Let's Get Cookin'

Holiday Spiced Pecans

Holiday Spiced Pecans are roasted to perfection and infused with a blend of spices. Eat them as is, add them to a salad or package them in a mason jar for a special holiday gift.

  • Author: The Real Food Dietitians
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 20 mins
  • Yield: 12 servings 1x
  • Cuisine: Paleo, Vegan, Gluten-Free
A speckled white plate full of holiday spiced nuts and topped with sea salt flakes
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 cups pecan halves
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp. ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp. ground cloves
  • ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp. cardamom

**May sub an additional 1 tsp. of cinnamon for the ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
  2. Place pecans in a large bowl and mix in maple syrup until coated. Add the spices and mix well.
  3. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  4. Spread the pecans evenly over the parchment paper.
  5. Bake 10-15 minutes, stirring nuts every 5 minutes, until toasted and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
  6. Cool until able to handle. Break apart pecans as some may stick together.
  7. After completely cooled, store in an airtight container.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/4 cup
  • Calories: 224
  • Sugar: 6 g
  • Sodium: 0 mg
  • Fat: 22 g
  • Carbohydrates: 10 g
  • Fiber: 3 g
  • Protein: 3 g

 

Pin it now, make it later!

Holiday spiced pecans infused with cinnamon and maple syrup on a speckled white plate


All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to the source recipe here on The Real Food Dietitians.

Photo Credit: The photos in this blog post were taken by Jess of Plays Well with Butter. 

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About Stacie Hassing

Stacie is a Licensed and Registered Dietitian from rural southern Minnesota where she, her husband and daughter reside with their two pups. She’s a co-founder of The Real Food RDs and content creator of simple and wholesome recipes. She loves all kinds of fitness and has a passion to inspire as many as she can live a healthier and happier life both in and out of the kitchen - the driving force behind the co-development of the The Real Food RDs brand.

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  1. JoAn says

    November 29, 2018 at 6:02 am

    These look delicious. The picture looks like they have salt on them. Did you add the salt after they came out of the oven?

    Reply
    • Stacie Hassing says

      November 29, 2018 at 6:05 am

      Hi there! Yes you can definitely sprinkle them with a little course sea salt for a little sweet and salt combo. Totally optional though!

      Reply
  2. Mary Welch says

    December 13, 2018 at 6:23 am

    Can you put this in a crockpot

    Reply
    • Stacie Hassing says

      December 23, 2018 at 8:53 am

      You could, they won’t be as crunchy if made in the slow cooker.

      Reply
      • Renee says

        December 15, 2019 at 9:17 am

        These are delicious! Made them to give as Christmas gifts and they were a huge hit!

        Reply
        • Stacie Hassing says

          December 15, 2019 at 12:17 pm

          This is so great to hear! Glad they were a hit!

          Reply
  3. Rose says

    December 18, 2019 at 5:26 pm

    Did you sprinkle these with sea salt? It looks that way in the photo.

    Reply
    • Stacie Hassing says

      December 19, 2019 at 7:34 am

      Yup! You definitely don’t have to but it does create that delicious sweet and salty experience! So good.

      Reply
  4. Melani says

    December 23, 2019 at 7:41 pm

    How long do you think these pecans will last? I wanted to make them ahead of time for gifts. Do they need to be refrigerated to keep longer?

    Reply
    • Jessica Beacom says

      December 25, 2019 at 7:40 am

      Hi Melani,

      These will keep for a couple of weeks at room temperature in a sealed container.

      Reply
  5. Rebecca says

    December 31, 2019 at 1:52 pm

    This is the easiest and tastiest spiced pecan recipe I have tried. I’ve made it several times and it always turns out beautifully.

    Reply
    • Stacie Hassing says

      January 2, 2020 at 6:49 am

      Hi Rebecca! It’s so great to hear you enjoy these pecans. We love hearing from those who try our recipes!

      Reply
  6. kathleen says

    January 3, 2020 at 6:51 am

    Any opinion on the benefits of soaked nuts(for nutrients and digestion)? Could you make this with raw soaked nuts?
    Look delicious

    Reply
    • Jessica Beacom says

      January 3, 2020 at 12:26 pm

      Hi Kathleen,

      If you have the time and want to soak then dry the nuts, I think that’s great. Being a long-time fan of Nourishing Traditions, I used to soak, sprout and dry all of my nuts and seeds. However, I just don’t have the time to do so anymore and I also don’t consume a lot of nuts either so for me, I opt to skip this process – but that’s just me. You can certainly go the extra steps to reduce the phytic acid in them.

      Reply

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The Real Food Dietitians is the passion-driven product of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists Stacie Hassing and Jessica Beacom. They’ve combined their love of nutrition, health and real food with the concepts of ease and convenience to bring you recipes that are big on flavor but short on ingredients.

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