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, or package them up for a fun homemade gift idea!
Walnuts are a staple in my house. I add them to recipes such as apple crisp, Waldorf salad, charoset, muhammara, baked apples and even rocky road fudge! I also love to make candied walnuts for a satisfying snack.
When I make salad recipes, I like to add some fun ingredients to elevate them from basic greens with dressing. I often toss in some homemade candied walnuts to turn an ordinary salad into a culinary delight! Best of all, it’s so easy to candy nuts at home.
Table of Contents
Candied Walnuts Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need granulated sugar, light brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, egg white, water and walnut halves.
How Do You Make Candied Walnuts?
Preheat the oven, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place both types of sugar, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl, then mix to combine. In a large bowl, whisk the egg white with the water until you have a frothy mixture. Add the walnuts into the egg white and toss to coat evenly. Pour the cinnamon sugar mixture into the bowl and stir to combine. Place the nuts in a single layer on the sheet pan. Bake until the coating on the nuts has hardened, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- This recipe works best with walnut halves. You can use walnut pieces if you prefer, but they may need less time in the oven.
- It’s important to stir the nuts at least once during the cooking process so that they don’t burn.
- Candied walnuts will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
- If you plan to give your nuts as a gift, I recommend packaging them up in little clear bags with a ribbon, or place them into small mason jars.
- This recipe can also be prepared with other types of nuts such as pecans or almonds.
- Feel free to get creative with the spices. Instead of cinnamon, try adding other flavors such as nutmeg, a dash of vanilla extract or ground ginger. You can even add some cayenne pepper for sweet and spicy nuts.
Quick Tip
You can easily double or even triple this recipe if you need a larger quantity.
Recipe FAQs
The standard serving size for nuts is 1 ounce, which is equal to 1/4 cup. This equates to approximately 14 walnut halves.
Candied nuts should not be sticky on the outside. If they are sticky, it means that they were not cooked long enough so the sugar crust did not harden properly.
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Ways To Use Candied Walnuts
- Salads: Try these nuts on fall favorites such as brussels sprout salad, Tuscan kale salad, fennel salad, pear salad or fig salad.
- Appetizers: Use your nuts to decorate a charcuterie board or cheese board. Chop the nuts and use them to coat cheese ball bites.
- Desserts: Add a handful of chopped walnuts as a garnish for eggnog cake, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin cheesecake or pumpkin bars.
- Side Dishes: Candied walnuts pair beautifully with sweet potato souffle, pomegranate brussels sprouts or rice pilaf.
- Breakfast: Add some nuts to your french toast casserole, or sprinkle them over pumpkin pancakes. They also make a great topper for chia pudding.
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!
More Recipes For Nut Lovers
Candied Pecans
35 mins
Pecan Pie Bars
1 hr
Homemade Chex Mix
10 mins
Peanut Brittle
45 mins
Sticky Buns Recipe
3 hrs 30 mins
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
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.
Notes
- This recipe works best with walnut halves. You can use walnut pieces if you prefer, but they may need less time in the oven.
- It’s important to stir the nuts at least once during the cooking process so that they don’t burn.
- Candied walnuts will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
I had another recipe for candied walnuts but it was just ok. I made these and they are so so good!
Absolutely amazing, so easy to make and their delicious. Thank you
These came out very good. I baked them for 35 minutes with a doubled recipe. The coating was not hard at that time but I was afraid they would burn if in longer. They were very good when cooled.
Long lost family recipe has been found! Over the decades, I was told that great grandma made these. Never a written recipe. But various family members rememberd egg whites, vanilla, cinnamon, brown sugar, etc. But no one knew measurements! I’ve been googling recipes for years. Finally stumbled on to yours & then read the one comment about vanilla & Eureka! Made them & had 83yr old mom taste. She says “How did you find great Grandma’s recipe?” Thank you!!!!!
Like my Belgian grandma made, but with vanilla instead of cinnamon! Yum!
Worked beautifully.
Thank you.
I’m currently enjoying mine from this recipe! Can’t wait to make a few pounds of these for treats at work!
How long can you store these??
You can store them for 2 weeks!
Thank you! I had about 3 lbs of shelled walnuts and no clue what to do with them. Very good, and VERY addicting
Very good receipe. I find them a little too hard for my liking so I bake them 8 – 10 minutes on each side (20 min total max), there still crunchy but don’t feel like I’m going to break a tooth! I’m not a huge cinnamon fan, so I prefer them without the cinnamon and 1/2 teas of vanilla in place of 1/2 teas of the water. Very nice!
Amazing recipe! Just like the nuts from the little kiosks in the mall. I love them and they’re so easy to make. I can’t wait to make huge batches in the future! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Is this recipe done with already roasted walnuts or will my freshly cracked ones roast in the oven while candy coating is hardening? Please help!
I typically use regular, unroasted walnuts from the grocery store.
Thank you so much, Sara! My son’s aunt owns a walnut orchard so we got a huge brown paper bag full and I’m going to use your recipe to get them all eaten at a baby shower this weekend. You rock!!
Very good , I just made some for my friend, who wanted them for Christmas. I couldn’t do them until now. Very light crunchy, and better than pecans. I am glad I tried them.
So glad to hear you enjoyed them, thanks for reporting back!
Great recipe. Tonight I’m making 2 1/2 lbs for give aways tomorrow (Christmas Eve). I’m putting in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla although I loved them without. Just wanted to see what difference it makes.
I’m sure it’ll be great, glad you’re enjoying the recipe!
Can you leave them unrefrigerated using egg whites??
Yes because the egg whites are baked!
Finally, YES!!!
I have tried several recipes for candied walnuts lately. Results varied from utter failure to not quite what I was looking for.
I had no interest in the cinnamon/vanilla flavor so I just left them out.
Perfectly crunchy, fabulous taste. Super easy!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Hello,
I’ve been searching for a long time for this recipe because 40+ years ago, my Mom always made the most delicious candied walnuts at Christmas time. I and my younger sister have been trying to find a similar recipe to what Mo used (one that uses egg whites and cinnamon) because Mom unfortunately died before I or my sister got her recipe.
Thank you for this,
Susan Hoyt
I hope you enjoy and that it’s close to the one your mom made!
My daughter made these walnuts on Sunday and it’s now Thurs and the walnuts are gone 😞😞😞. I’m going to make another batch and hide them. They were delish.
Now that’s a snack that I’d love try!
Walnuts are one of my favorite nuts and candied walnuts sounds great. What a terrific gift these would be. I can send you my address if you need it!
These looks so good! Can’t wait to make them!