Small Batch Crunchy Candied Walnuts

by Beth - Budget Bytes
4.50 from 8 votes
Pin RecipeJump to recipe →

This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.

These crunchy little devils are dangerous. They’re addictively sweet, rich, crunchy, and nutty. I made this “small batch” recipe to not only keep myself from eating two cups of candied walnuts at once, but also because walnuts are expensive and I wanted to save the rest of the bag for other non-candied purposes. Sometimes you just need a little “sprankle-sprankle” of candied goodness on your meal and not a mountain of candied walnuts with no dedicated use. A mountain is great if you’re having a party, but not for everyday purposes.

A small wooden bowl full of chopped crunchy candied walnuts

What’s in Candied Walnuts?

The super simple candy coating on these walnuts is just brown sugar, butter, and a pinch of salt. Yep, that’s it! That’s all you need to make that delectably rich toffee coating. This is a dangerous piece of knowledge, use it wisely.

You can also play around with adding some other herbs and spices to your candied walnuts. A pinch or two of cayenne pepper would be amazing with the brown sugar and butter candy coating, as would vanilla, cinnamon, or ginger.

How Do You Use Candied Walnuts?

Candied walnuts are a great topping for several things. Most recently I used the sweet and crunchy nuts to top an Autumn Kale and Apple Salad. They’re also great on top of ice cream or ice cream sundaes, yogurt or yogurt parfaits, a bowl of oatmeal, or even added to granola (after cooking). A small bowl of candied walnuts also makes a great addition to a cheese board (hello holiday entertaining!).

How Long Do Candied Walnuts Last?

As long as it takes you to eat them! Ba-dum-dum. Okay, all bad dad jokes aside, these candied walnuts will last quite a while. All nuts do go rancid eventually, but as long as you cool them completely and then store them in an air-tight container, they should be good for about a month.

Close up of crunchy candied walnuts in a small wooden bowl

You might also like our Candied Pecans recipe or Candied Almonds!

Share this recipe

Small Batch Candied Walnuts

4.50 from 8 votes
This small batch of crunchy candied walnuts is just the right amount of sweet, crunchy, and nutty topping for salads, desserts, oats, and more.
Overhead view of a bowl full of candied walnuts
Servings 4 2 Tbsp each
Prep 0 minutes
Cook 5 minutes
Cool Time 10 minutes
Total 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Tbsp butter ($0.07)
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.08)
  • 1 pinch salt ($0.01)
  • 1/2 cup walnuts ($0.60)

Instructions 

  • Add the butter, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt to a small non-stick skillet. Heat over medium until the butter is melted and the brown sugar is just beginning to sizzle around the edges (it should still look grainy).
  • Add the walnuts (chopped or whole) and stir to coat in the brown sugar mixture. Continue to cook and stir over medium heat for 2-4 minutes, or until the brown sugar is fully melted and coating the walnuts (it should look glassy, not grainy). If the sugar is not melting, raise the heat slightly.
  • Remove the skillet from the heat immediately, as the sugar can go from melted to burning quickly. Spread the candied nuts out over a sheet of parchment paper, making sure they are in a flat layer and separated as much as possible.
  • Allow the nuts to cool fully (about 10 minutes). The candy coating will fully harden as they cool.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.


Nutrition

Serving: 2TbspCalories: 135kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 2.5gFat: 11.38gSodium: 109.45mgFiber: 1g
Read our full nutrition disclaimer here.
Email Me This Recipe
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Scroll down for the step by step photos!

Overhead view of a bowl full of candied walnuts

How to Make Candied Walnuts – Step by Step Photos

Brown sugar, butter, and salt in a small skillet

Add 1/2 Tbsp butter, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, and a pinch of salt to a small non-stick skillet.

Walnuts added to skillet with molten brown sugar

Heat and stir the brown sugar and butter until the butter is melted and the brown sugar is just starting to sizzle around the edges. It should kind of look like grainy lava, like in the photo above. Add a 1/2 cup walnuts (chopped or whole) and stir to coat in the brown sugar mixture. Candied walnuts cooling on parchment

Keep cooking and stirring for 2-3 minutes more, until the brown sugar is fully melted and coating the walnuts (it should look glassy, not grainy). If the sugar is not melting, raise the heat slightly. Once the sugar is melted, remove the skillet from the heat immediately because the brown sugar can go from melted to burning quickly. Spread the walnuts out onto a piece of parchment paper, in a single layer, trying to separate them as much as possible. Let the nuts cool completely (about 10 minutes). The candy coating will harden further as they cool.

A small wooden bowl of crunchy candied walnuts from the side.

Enjoy your crunchy candied walnuts on top of salads, yogurt, ice cream, oats, or any of your other favorite foods!

Share this recipe

Posted in: , , , , , , , , , ,

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

Leave a Comment
  1. Loved this recipe, but I would recommend toasting the nuts in the oven or a pan before adding into the sugar mixture. They have a bitter aftertaste, and toasting them would elevate the flavour regardless. Already jotted this recipe down in my little book :)