These easy candied nuts are are a delicious snack that are perfect for the holidays. Made with a handful of ingredients, it’s so quick to make a huge batch. They make for great Christmas food gifts to give to friends and family.

Easy candied nuts in a jar and on parchment

Candied nuts are one of my favorite snacks. While I love to devour a handful of them alone, I also toss them on salads, ice creams and pies. After buying them at Trader Joe’s for years, I decided to stop buying processed and start making them fresh. Not surprisingly, they’re even better!

Making candied nuts takes just a few minutes, and they keep well when stored in an air tight container. This recipe makes a large batch, so I share the remaining candied nuts in gift jars. If you love these ideas, you will love my Trail Mix Recipe!

I always have a bowl of homemade candied nuts around during the holidays. They are great for everyone to snack on and work perfectly with a glass of wine! They are crunchy, sweet and salty and really are the best snack to have around! I like to add brown sugar in at the last minute for a little extra crunch.

I love giving homemade food gifts to friends and family at Christmas. It’s so much more personal, and you know that it’s a gift that will go to good use! Once the nuts have cooled, simply transfer them to small mason jars, wrap with some ribbon and add a gift tag. Easy!

Ingredients to Make Candied Nuts

Just a handful of ingredients are needed to make these sweet and salty snacks!

Butter – Unsalted is preferred, but you can reduce the salt in this recipe and use salted butter if need.
Salt
Sugar – White granulated sugar and brown sugar.
Nuts: You can use your favorite or whatever you have to hand, I like to use walnuts.

How to Make Candied Nuts

It only takes five minutes to make a big batch of these snacks!

Melt butter and sugars.
Coat nuts.
Let cool.

How Long Do Homemade Candied Nuts Last?

Once the nuts have cooled, store them in an airtight container. Store them in a cupboard and they will be good for about a week and if you store them in the fridge their shelf life will increase to about 4 weeks. This long shelf life means they are ideal to make ahead of time and gift over the holiday season.

Tips

Don’t boil the butter mixture, you just want to melt everything together.
Let the nuts cool to room temperature before storing them.
To help the nuts cool quicker, you can spread them out on parchment paper.

Serving Suggestions

On Endive
On Spring Salad Mix
As a snack
On Ice Cream
On Chocolate Cobbler
On Brownies
In Jarcuterie or with charcuterie

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More Holiday Gift Recipes

5 from 4 votes

Quick and Easy Candied Nuts

By Julie Blanner

These easy candied nuts are are a delicious snack that are perfect for the holidays. Made with a handful of ingredients, it's so quick to make a huge batch.

Prep: 5

Total: 5

Servings:

Pin Rate Print

Ingredients

Instructions

In a saucepan over medium heat, add butter, salt and sugar.
Whisk until smooth and add nuts. Stir to coat the nuts, turn off heat and stir in brown sugar.