This recipe for candied walnuts is walnut halves coated in a sweet cinnamon sugar mixture and baked to crispy and crunchy perfection. Candied walnuts are perfect for salads, snacking or package them up for a fun homemade gift idea!
There’s a restaurant nearby that serves an amazing salad, I have to order it every time I go! It’s butter lettuce with blue cheese, apples and candied walnuts. I decided it was time to stop paying $10 for a salad and set out to recreate it at home. Most of the ingredients are easy to come by, but I had trouble locating the right kind of candied walnuts. Some candied walnuts have more of a hard sugar glaze on them, but this restaurant used walnuts with a light and crunch coating. I’m happy to say that this candied walnut recipe did the trick! These candied walnuts are light, perfectly sweet and have a hint of cinnamon to them. I have to admit, aside from a salad topper, I’ve even been eating them as an afternoon snack!
How do you make candied walnuts?
This recipe is pretty straightforward – walnut halves are tossed in egg white and then coated in a cinnamon sugar mixture. Make sure you get the cinnamon sugar mixture into all the little nooks and crannies in the nuts! The nuts are baked in the oven until the coating firms up, make sure you check frequently towards the end of the baking time so that they don’t burn! This recipe is great because it can easily be doubled or even tripled; these walnuts are great for salads and snacks, but are also a unique holiday gift. Package them up in a pretty bag with a bow and hand ’em out to all your family and friends.
Whether you’re looking to recreate your favorite restaurant salad or simply looking for an addicting snack (hey, nuts are healthy at least!!), try whipping up a batch of these cinnamon sugar nuts. You’ll be glad you did!
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More great nut recipes
Candied Walnuts
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg white
- 1 teaspoon water
- 8 ounces walnut halves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a sheet pan with a silicon baking mat or parchment paper.
- Place the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg white with the water until the mixture is frothy. Pour the walnuts into the egg white mixture and toss to coat. Pour in the cinnamon sugar mixture and stir until nuts are thoroughly coated in the sugar.
- Place the nuts in a single layer on the sheet pan.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, stirring halfway through the baking time, until the coating on the nuts has hardened.
- Cool completely and store in an airtight container until ready for use.
I was wondering if you could replace the sugar with a little maple syrup instead.
I haven’t tested it this way, but my concern is that the liquid from the syrup would make the coating wet and not adhere to the nuts.
Perfect amount of sweetness. I make the recipe with pecans as I prefer them over walnuts. And I like to do some replacing the cinnamon with about 1- 1.5 tsp of yellow curry powder for a more savoury option. We snack on them. But they’d make a good salad topping, I’m sure.
great recipe will be using this to make candied pecans as well!
Does this recipe work with pecans?
Yes pecans will work!
This recipe is soo good! I ate them fresh out of the oven and had to stop myself. I made them specifically to go on my yogurt and it hit the spot.
I did take the suggestions of other commenters and substituted half the water for vanilla extract and added the cayenne. *chefs kiss*
Very good. Like another reviewer I substituted half of the water with vanilla extract. And I threw in a 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper. They have to cool to get that crunch but then thay are a little addictive.
I used this recipe for Christmas. They turned out so great,the flavor was perfect! I put them in mason jars which Carla made such a special extra gift. Everyone enjoyed!!
Excellent recipe as written. I made it for a Strawberry and Mandarin Orange Salad for a baby shower brunch. As soon as I tasted it, I knew it would be an awesome homemade party favor for the holidays, too. Thanks for the recipe!
Delicious! I left out the cinnamon and added 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and reduced the water to 1/2 teaspoon. Used as a garnish with a lamb rib and tzatziki dish. Ate the rest of the candied walnuts for breakfast!
These turned out perfect. Love this recipe, quick and easy. I’m making more for Christmas 🎄.