These maple bourbon pecans are one of my favorite things to make around the holidays (or any time of year). They're great as-is but delicious on top of pumpkin pie Greek yogurt, sweet potato casserole, cinnamon spice oatmeal, or as part of a charcuterie board!
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Why You'll Love This Maple Bourbon Pecans Recipe
Not only is this recipe made with simple ingredients, but the natural flavors of the brown sugar, sweet maple syrup, warm bourbon, and cinnamon combine with roasted pecans for an amazing treat! Plus they're made with no corn syrup or melted butter, making this recipe slightly healthier than traditional candied nuts.
These maple bourbon pecans also make great food gifts to give to friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors for any celebration!
Equipment
- Medium mixing bowl(3-quart) - to save on dishes, I like to whisk the egg white and other coating ingredients in the same bowl I'm going to toss the pecans in. Therefore, you want a medium bowl to do this in!
- Whisk - using a whisk really helps to give the egg whites that fluffy texture.
- Parchment paper - this is super helpful to make the recipe! Parchment paper prevents the delicious gooey coating from sticking to the baking sheet. This way you won't need to bother with cooking spray!
- Rubber spatula - you want to use a rubber spatula to toss the pecans while on the baking sheet.
- Baking sheet - a medium or large sheet pan will work great. You want enough space to spread the pecan mixture out into an even single layer before baking to maximize the crunchiness once they cool!
Ingredient Highlights
Full ingredients, measurements, and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Pecan halves - pecans are a great source of unsaturated fats, as well as fiber and copper! You can use pecan halves or chopped pecans. Walnuts also make a good subsitute for pecans! I recommend using unsalted, roasted pecans. If you use salted, you can leave out the salt listed in the recipe below!
- Egg whites - whisking egg whites until frothy will ensure the sweet maple bourbon coating will cover each pecan. Plus egg whites add some high quality protein!
- Brown sugar - while I try to use minimal refined sugar in my recipes, this is a must! It helps create that crunchy sweet sugar coating on each piece.
- Real maple syrup - I'm a big proponent of using pure maple syrup in all of my recipes because it is a higher quality product (cheaper maple syrups are primarily corn syrup with maple flavoring!).
- Bourbon - bourbon adds a slightly buttery, caramel flavor to these candied pecans. Any bourbon will work! You can also omit this ingredient altogether if you don't have or like bourbon.
- Ground cinnamon - cinnamon compliments the flavors in this recipe so well.
- Salt - a little bit of salt balances out all of the sweet ingredients in this recipe and brings out the nutty pecan flavor. You can use regular table salt or sea salt!
- Pure vanilla extract - this adds a wonderful flavor to the candied pecans recipe!
How to Make Bourbon Candied Pecans
1: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk egg whites until they're white and frothy (~90 seconds).
2: Whisk in brown sugar, maple syrup, bourbon, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla extract until combined.
3: Toss pecans in mixture until evenly coated.
4: Spread pecan mixture into a single layer on a prepared sheet pan. There will be extra liquid pooling around the pecans and that's okay!
5: Bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss the pecans with a rubber spatula. Bake another 15 minutes, toss, and then bake 10-15 minutes.
*Be sure to let the maple bourbon pecans cool completely before enjoying! This will allow those delicious nut clusters to form.
Variations & Substitutions
- This recipe is fantastic around Christmas time and the holidays. One way I like to make them even more delicious is by melting creamy milk chocolate and drizzling it on top to make milk chocolate maple bourbon pecans! You can use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate. They're great to serve at holiday parties or pack in small plastic bags and tie with festive ribbons to give as perfect holiday gifts!
- If you like sweet and spicy flavors, add a pinch of cayenne pepper to give these pecans some kick!
- The bourbon flavor isn't overpowering in this recipe so if you want extra bourbon flavor, add an extra splash of bourbon or two!
- On the other hand, if you don't have (or like) bourbon, you can omit it from the recipe altogether!
- You can subsitutate any nut for pecans in this recipe: walnuts, almonds, peanuts, etc.
- You can also use chopped pecans instead of pecan halves for smaller pieces!
Pro Tips
- There will be extra liquid from the egg white coating mixture and this is totally normal! It will slowly turn into a glaze that will coat the pecans and help them become delicious clusters.
- I always recommend using pure maple syrup instead of the cheaper stuff! Look for "pure maple syrup" as the only ingredient under the Nutrition Facts label to know if it's high quality or not.
- Be sure to let the maple bourbon pecans cool completely before eating. They need to be at room temperature for the sweet coating of sugar to crystallize!
Serving, Storing, & Making Ahead
- SERVING: These maple bourbon pecans are the perfect snack on their own but also make a great topping. I love serving them as a topping on:
- Sweet potatoes
- Ice cream
- Greek yogurt
- Oatmeal
- Charcuterie board
- STORING: Store these pecans in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days (if they last that long). You can also keep them in the freezer for up to 1 month!
- MAKING AHEAD: These candied nuts are so easy to make ahead of time! I feel like they get better over time too, so you can easily make these a few days ahead of time.
Recipe FAQ
Praline pecans are traditionally made with butter and potentially a combination of brown and white sugars. These pecans may be in a u0022poolu0022 of light caramel while candied pecans have a sugary coating and are toasted until crunchy!
Pecans are a healthy snack, full of unsaturated fats and fiber. This recipe is healthier than traditional candied pecans, but candied pecans are higher in sugar than plain roasted pecans. Therefore, I would be mindful of portion size!
Nope! You can keep them in the fridge but they do just fine in an airtight container at room temperature.
Candid pecans can be chewy if they weren't baked long enough, preventing from all of the liquid from evaporating. I would pop them back in the oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit in 5-minute increments until any noticeable liquid has cooked off. They also have a chewier texture when eaten straight out of the oven before cooling, so be sure to let them cool a little bit longer!
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PrintMaple Bourbon Pecans Recipe
These maple bourbon pecans are one of my favorite things to make around the holidays (or any time of year). They're healthier than traditional candied pecan recipes too!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 ½ cups 1x
- Category: Snacks, Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 large egg whites (68g)
- ⅓ cup (55g) lightly packed brown sugar, light or dark
- ¼ cup (59g) pure maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons bourbon
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups (331g) unsalted roasted pecan halves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and line a medium baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk egg whites until white and frothy (~90 seconds)
- Whisk in brown sugar, maple syrup, bourbon, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla extract until combined.
- Add pecans and toss until evenly coated.
- Spread into an even single layer on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then remove nuts and toss on pan with a rubber spatula.
- Bake another 15 minutes and toss again.
- Bake another 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool for at least 20 minutes.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Serving: These maple bourbon pecans are the perfect snack on their own but also make a great topping. I love serving them as a topping on:
- Sweet potatoes
- Ice cream
- Greek yogurt
- Oatmeal
- Charcuterie board
- Storing: Store these pecans in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days (if they last that long). You can also keep them in the freezer for up to 1 month!
- Making ahead: These candied nuts are so easy to make ahead of time! I feel like they get better over time too, so you can easily make these a few days ahead of time.
- There will be extra liquid from the egg white coating mixture and this is totally normal! It will slowly turn into a glaze that will coat the pecans and help them become delicious clusters.
- I always recommend using pure maple syrup instead of the cheaper stuff! Look for "pure maple syrup" as the only ingredient under the Nutrition Facts label to know if it's high quality or not.
- Be sure to let the maple bourbon pecans cool completely before eating. They need to be at room temperature for the sweet coating of sugar to crystallize!
- This recipe is fantastic around Christmas time and the holidays. One way I like to make them even more delicious is by melting creamy milk chocolate and drizzling it on top to make milk chocolate maple bourbon pecans! You can use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate. They're great to serve at holiday parties or pack in small plastic bags and tie with festive ribbons to give as perfect holiday gifts!
- If you like sweet and spicy flavors, add a pinch of cayenne pepper to give these pecans some kick!
- The bourbon flavor isn't overpowering in this recipe so if you want extra bourbon flavor, add an extra splash of bourbon or two!
- On the other hand, if you don't have (or like) bourbon, you can omit it from the recipe altogether!
- You can subsitutate any nut for pecans in this recipe: walnuts, almonds, peanuts, etc.
- You can also use chopped pecans instead of pecan halves for smaller pieces!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ cup
- Calories: 168
- Sugar: 5
- Sodium: 201
- Fat: 13
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Unsaturated Fat: 12
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 10
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 3
- Cholesterol: 0
Laurel says
Just tried these last night and WOW. I wasn't sure how the spice was going to go (I used 1 tsp because my husband and I like a little kick) and it was absolutely perfect. The sweet/salty/spicy combo is fantastic.
Lauren says
Right?! The spice is *just* enough, and the addition of sweet, salty, and crunchy is soo good!
Samantha Leyh says
Originally made these to top a salad but they were so good we wound up snacking on most of them right off the pan. So delicious and a really creative spice mix. Go to recipe from now on!!
Lauren says
Ahh I'm so glad! I love using these as a salad topper but it's hard to make them last long enough!