I was putting a Christmas gift basket together for my boss this week and I thought it would be nice to include something homemade. These maple spiced pecans are just the right amount of sweet and spicy, and once packaged up in a cute jar with some holiday trim, they make really easy personal gifts.
The last few months at work have been crazy for me, and that’s left me little time to blog and try new recipes. The good news is that I have a fair bit of time off over the holidays, and I plan on cooking and blogging up a storm. Stay tuned!
Recipe Notes – Maple Spiced Pecans
- These aren’t overly sweet. Feel free to add a couple tablespoons of sugar if you want them to be more like candied pecans.
- They also aren’t overly spicy. Again, feel free to add more chili and cayenne if you want a real kick!
- Leftovers would be really good sprinkled on a salad. Although I don’t suspect they’ll stick around long enough for that in my house!
Looking for more healthy sweets?
- Puffed Quinoa Peanut Butter Balls
- Healthy Breakfast Cookies
- Quinoa Granola with Coconut and Chia Seeds
- See all my vegan snack recipes
Maple Spiced Pecans
These vegan maple spiced pecans make a great last-minute gift for the pecan lovers on your holiday gift list. Vegan & gluten-free!
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 4 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 4 cups raw pecans
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/8 tsp allspice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine.
- Spread pecans in a single layer on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.
- Remove baking tray from oven and spread the nuts onto a large plate in a single layer, ideally not touching each other.
- Place plate in the fridge for 10 minutes (this cools the nuts and makes them extra crispy).
- The pecans can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container up one week.
Keywords: pecans, maple syrup, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, ginger, chili, cayenne, allspice, maple spiced pecans, diy, gift
These are AMAZING – and so simple to make. I brought them as a gift to a dinner party and they were pretty much GONE in no time. Hostess asked me for the recipe. Only caution is real maple syrup is expensive! But the results are well worth it.
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Yay! I’m so glad that they were so well received. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. It means a lot! 🙂
I just made these as Christmas gifts for friends and family. The nuts taste great and I used your idea for the labelled jars. I now need to make another batch so I can enjoy them all to myself. SO GOOD!
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Can I freeze these to keep them longer?
You can try, but I’m worried that they may go chewy. But if you decide to give it a try, please let me know how it goes!
I have made this recipe many times (and shared the link too). It’s so easy, healthy, and tasty. I made it several times during the winter holidays, and now I make It regularly to add spiced pecans to my morning oatmeal. Our oven runs hot, so I lower the temp a bit and bake for 12 min. Thank you for this recipe!
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Truly excellent recipe. My friends love these. These are great for holiday gifts. Thank you so much for sharing this. Happy Christmas. ❤
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Will these keep longer is kept in the fridge? Or will that make them too crispy? Thanks!
If anything, that might make them too humid/soggy… but if you do try it out, let me know how they turn out!
These are beyond excellent. I needed a Christmas gift and these fit the bill. The recipients are still talking about them 3 months later (after I had forgotten). Just the right balance of sweet and spicy. Thanks so much!!!
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I followed this recipe perfectly and by the second stirring the pecans had burned….Any suggestions? I had to throw them all away.
Oh no! Your oven must be very powerful. I suppose you could make them again but turn the temperature down and watch them closely. I’m so sorry that they burned on you, what a shame 🙁
These are delicious and are now my new favorite way to make pecans. I used to just use maple syrup but all the spices make them really savory. Thank you for sharing this!!
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I’m so glad you liked them! I’ve got a mixed nuts recipe coming in December, so stay tuned 🙂
I discovered this site by chance having found out that I am diabetic at 33. My cholesterol is perfect and I am fit and healthy but my body just can’t absorb sugar very well so it’s lovely to find a site like this where I can cut my carbs and eat healthy but in a tasty way. I just made these Pecans and they are superb, sweet but spicy and satisfying. I’m looking at other recipes on here now to make. Thank you so much for taking the time to share such wonderful ideas and recipes, I look forward to enjoying many more dishes!
Best wishes 🙂
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P.S I’m in the UK so enjoying your lovely recipes from thousands of miles away.
I’m so sorry to hear about your diabetes, it runs heavily on my dad’s side of the family, so I try to be conscious of the type of sugar that I eat as well. I’m glad that you liked this recipe! I’ll have a mixed nuts version coming out in a couple weeks, so keep an eye out for it too. Thanks for your support 🙂
I made these yesterday and they are awesome! I tossed them in some dried coconut to keep them from sticking together, though (I know–it totally changes your recipe). I can’t wait to share these with friends!
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I’m so glad that you liked them. The addition of coconut sounds yummy, thanks for sharing!
These were so good that I made a second batch last night. They were absolutely perfect. I think my oven must not have been hot enough the first time. Yum!
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Awesome! Good to hear they worked out better for you this time 🙂
Hi there! This recipe sounds so good. I always keep away from recipes that call for chili or cayenne because I find them too spicy, but I know exactly who will love these pecans and I’m making them as a gift! I only found your blog very recently and I want to say congrats! I’d try all the recipes that I’ve browsed so far. Happy holidays!
Thanks for the kind words! If you’d like, you can leave the chili and cayenne out and increase the other spices, but they’re really not that spicy. Anyway, let me know how they go over and happy holidays! 🙂
Hi Angela, and Merry Christmas! Hope you’re having a great day, just wanted to say thank you so much for this recipe, I made them for last night’s dinner party and they were a huge huge success!! I used half the amounts of chili and cayenne but was told I should have gone all the way! So that’s what I’ll do for the next batch 🙂
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Yo Angela, how’s it going? I love the sweet/spicy combo, these sound awesome – and I should really consider getting on the Christmas present bandwagon soon, so I’m not madly cooking and baking a day before! Thanks for sharing the recipe, I’m pinning it up! 🙂
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Hi Allysia! Thanks for stopping by! I know what you mean, I haven’t done any baking or present-shopping yet, but making these little dudes has put me in the mood. I’ll be cooking up a storm next week and certainly catching-up on all my blog-reading – including yours!! Hope all is well! 🙂