Brown Sugar Candied Walnuts for Christmas (10 mins + Vegan)

It's that time of year again: Christmas! And what better way to celebrate this joyful holiday season than by creating delicious snacks for your loved ones? This year, turn up the flavor with some crunchy, caramel-coated brown sugar candied walnuts. With hints of wintery spices to treat your taste buds and an easy recipe you can make at home in minutes, this delightful snack is sure to put a smile on everyone's face - even if it just means a delicious snack break from all the holiday hustle and bustle. So grab your ingredients and get ready to whip up a batch of these sweet treats that also work as holiday presents— they'll be gone before you know it!

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Christmas is a doorstep away, and as it usually happens every year, we haven't done any Christmas shopping yet! Although we just moved to Spain a couple of months ago, we already have a lot of new friends, and we like spreading the love with food.

So, we use our kitchen as a resource to make this delicious snack made with a handful of ingredients in just a couple of minutes. We like snacking on them with a nice cup of coffee, our beloved Argentinean mate, or on top of pumpkin dairy-free overnight oats.

They also make the perfect individually wrapped candy Christmas gift! Who doesn't love candied nuts? Pure comfort food!

Jump to:

• 💚 Why you will love them
• 🧾 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• 💡 Expert tips
• 📖 Variations
• 🥢 How to serve
• 🫙 Storage
• ❓ FAQ
• 🎄 More Holiday Recipes
• 📋 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews and Comments

💚 Why you will love them

• Quick & Easy
• Crunchy Delight
• Sweetly Spiced
• Versatile Snack
• Gift-Ready Goodness

🧾 Ingredients

You only need four ingredients at its simplest, but once you get it, you can easily play with the winter and Fall seasons' cozy spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, or pumpkin pie spice mix.

• Walnuts - use fresh raw walnuts. You can use other nuts such as almonds, pecans, cashew nuts, or a combination. If using salted walnuts, you can skip the salt.
• Vegan butter - we like Earth balance, or you can make your own vegan butter; this recipe from World Vegan is outstanding. You can also use melted coconut oil, olive oil, or avocado oil.
• Brown sugar - you can use white granulated sugar, coconut sugar, or maple syrup instead.
• Salt - use fine sea salt.

Optional

• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Pumpkin pie spice mix
• Vanilla extract

See the recipe card for quantities.

Substitutions

• Walnuts - you can use the same recipe for almonds and cashews. I don't recommend the same method for hazelnuts, though.
• Vegan butter - use avocado oil.
• Brown sugar - coconut sugar works well.

🍽 Equipment

• Skillet - use a non-stick skillet or frying pan.
• Spatula - the only utensil you will need to manage the walnuts. We like using a silicon one.
• Parchment paper - to let the walnuts dry out completely. You can also use an oven-silicon baking mat.

🔪 Instructions

So, it doesn't get easier than this. To make this easy candied walnuts recipe, just measure all your ingredients and use your best non-stick skillet.

Hint: leave the walnuts to cool completely and fully harden before you store them if you make candied walnuts as a present.

📖 Variations

• Cinnamon roasted walnuts - add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon for every cup of nuts. If you love cinnamon, you can add another ¼ teaspoon.
• Spiced candied walnuts - add pumpkin pie spice mix, nutmeg, cardamom, and cayenne pepper to spice it up.
• Maple candied walnuts - add maple syrup instead of brown sugar.
• Vanilla - add ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract to add an extra holiday note.

You can also bake these candy walnuts in the oven using a prepared baking sheet or an air fryer; simply mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and bake. See detailed instructions on the recipe card.

🥢 How to serve

Consume this snack on top of your favorite overnight oats, cinnamon oatmeal, oats and chia pudding, or holiday salads where you can simply replace the walnuts for pecans; check out this vegan kale salad!

You can also add it to a sweet potato crunch casserole during your holidays.

🫙 Storage

Wondering How to store candied walnuts?

You can store candied walnuts in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.
If you plan to keep them for longer, you can store them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Store in an airtight container to keep them fresh and crunchy. If they start to soften, you can briefly reheat them in the oven to restore their crunch.

And... Guess what? You can even freeze candied walnuts! Once the nuts are completely cool, store them in a freezer bag. Squeeze out the air before sealing. Candied nuts will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month. 

❓ FAQ

🎄 More Holiday Recipes

Try out these delicious Holiday recipes: Mediterranean Honey Roasted Vegetables, our Holiday vegetarian roast, Vegan Vegetable Casserole, Green beans with toasted almonds, or Stuffed Onions with tofu and mushrooms.

⭐ If you try this brown sugar and cinnamon roasted walnuts recipe, let us know! 💬 Leave a comment, rate it, and don't forget to tag us @ourplantbasedworld on Instagram. Cheers!

📋 Recipe