Easy Sugar Free Low Carb Keto Candied Pecans Recipe
These Sweet and Crunchy Keto Candied Pecans are low carb, sugar free and the perfect Holiday Party Snack or Homemade Gift!
Sugar Free Keto Candied Pecans
These sweet, crunchy Sugar-Free Keto Candied Pecans are the perfect low carb holiday season party snack or homemade gift for friends and family.
With simple ingredients and a quick bake time, this recipe delivers that classic candied flavor and texture without sugar — ideal for a keto diet, low carb lifestyle, or anyone who wants a healthier twist on a holiday favorite.
Every year as the holidays approach, I find myself juggling a packed calendar: cooking, baking, hosting, and of course…wrapping gifts.
Thankfully, my husband has taken over wrapping duties since I was pregnant with our youngest — a true Christmas miracle! That frees me up to focus on my favorite part: making delicious low carb and keto recipes to share at parties, give as gifts, and enjoy a sweet treat with my family.
This keto candied pecans recipe has been a holiday staple in my home for years. I love doubling the batch to fill mason jars for gifts, sprinkle over salads, or keep on hand for a sweet and crunchy keto snack.
Unlike traditional candied nuts loaded with sugar, this version uses a blend of sugar-free sweeteners, Monk Fruit Allulose sweetener and sugar-free maple syrup to create that perfect caramelized coating — without spiking blood sugar or kicking you out of ketosis.
Anyone looking to reduce their sugar intake of white sugar during the crazy holiday season whether on a low carb diet or not, this is a great low carb snack!
Why You’ll Love This Keto Candied Pecans Recipe
- Low Carb & Sugar Free: Sweetened with a Monk Fruit Allulose Blend and sugar-free maple syrup instead of refined sugar.
- Simple Ingredients: Just a few pantry staples make these sweet, crunchy, and irresistible.
- Quick & Easy: Prep in 5 minutes and bake until golden.
- Versatile: Perfect as a holiday party snack, on top as a salad topper, as a crunchy topping for keto desserts, or packed into mason jars for homemade gifts.
- Healthy Fats: Pecans provide satisfying fats and a naturally sweet flavor that pairs beautifully with the cinnamon and maple notes.
In Christmas’s Past, we’ve enjoyed these delicious recipes: Zucchini Lasagna, Spaghetti Squash Lasagna, Brussel Sprout Salad, Asparagus Bundles, and of course plenty of desserts! Some of the favorites are my easy recipe for my Grandmother’s Butterballs, Peppermint Brownie Bark.
My Favorite of all, Peppermint Cheesecake Pie! I also have a brand new pecan recipe that is sure to impress anyone with a sweet tooth!
My daughter and I have been baking for a couple for weeks and freezing everything to be ready to deliver goodie trays on Christmas Eve. We made Salted Caramel Cashew Fudge, White Chocolate Coconut fudge, Sugarless Sugar cookies and Gingerbread men.
If I have time I’d like to make my Chocolate Cream pie and I also still need to make ahead my Grain Free Cinnamon Roll Muffins for Christmas morning,
WHEW!! I’m exhausted thinking about it all! But this recipe today is the best candied pecans recipe I can make over and over again with no stress, no worries and honestly hassle free! It’s perfect for gift giving in a cute little mason jar as well as a holiday parties!
Tips for Perfect Sugar-Free Candied Pecans
- Use Parchment Paper: Line your baking sheet to prevent sticking and ensure easy cleanup.
- Stir Midway: Tossing the fresh pecans halfway through baking helps the sweetener mixture evenly coat each nut and creates a crisp, candy-like shell.
- Cool Completely: Let the pecans cool on the pan — as they cool, the coating hardens into that irresistible crunchy texture.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container or glass mason jar at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Perfect for make-ahead holiday prep!
Serving & Gifting Ideas
- Holiday Gifts: Fill small mason jars with candied pecans, add a ribbon, and share them as thoughtful homemade keto gifts.
- Salad Topping: Sprinkle over roasted veggie or leafy green salads for a crunchy topping.
- Dessert Garnish: Use as a keto-friendly topping for pumpkin pie, cheesecake, or sugar-free ice cream.
- Snack Attack: Enjoy a small handful of these keto pecans as a sweet snack over some plain Greek yogurt or cottage cheese that fits your low carb or keto diet.
Sugar Free Keto Candied Pecans
Easy Sugar Free Low Carb Keto Candied Pecans Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1 tablespoon sugar free maple syrup
- 1 tsp maple extract
- 1/2 cup Monk Fruit Allulose brown sugar sub or another sugar free brown sweetener
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2.5 cups unsalted raw pecans
Optional
- 2 tablespoon Bourbon for extra depth of flavor (add to the wet ingredients — will cook off during baking)
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper or for a spicy kick or chipotle powder.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F (163°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar-free maple syrup, and maple extract. If using bourbon, whisk it in here.
- Add Sweetener & Spices: Stir in the Monk Fruit Allulose Blend and ground cinnamon until fully combined into a thick, sweetener mixture.
- Coat the Pecans: Add the pecans to the bowl and toss until each pecan is evenly coated.
- Spread & Bake: Arrange the coated pecans in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15–20 minutes, stirring once halfway through to ensure even caramelization.
- Cool & Harden: Remove from the oven and stir gently while the mixture is still hot, then let the pecans cool completely on the pan. The coating will firm up as they cool, creating a sweet, crunchy shell.
- Store: Once fully cooled, transfer to an airtight container or mason jars. Store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Bourbon is optional and can be eliminated if desired.
- The photos in this post are a double batch of the recipe below as I plan to give them as gifts in mason jars to family and friends for Christmas.
- This recipe was first published in December of 2014.
Nutrition
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.
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Do you prefer the gold or clear Sukrin syrup?
I just took mine out of the oven and it is great! instead of bourbon i use Bailey and it tastes OK. And I just used whatever sweetener I have in the house and it still taste great! thank you so much for give us such a good treat! My husband is in love with it.
Really good and easy! We have made multiple times skready. Thanks.
I have some log cabin sugar free maple syrup would that work in place of one of the liquid syrups ?
yes I believe it would.
How long do these keep? Planning on getting small mason jars for gifts but also snacks for me.
You could store in the refrigerator at least 1 month.
I so need to make these. I have 40 lbs of Texas pecan halves in my freezer in Foodsaver bags. I sort of got a little greedy picking them this year ….
These are awesome! Reminds me of pralines, without all the work. I used Jack Daniels & Sukrin syrup, as it was what I had on hand. Beautiful!
I love these! Making them again now to take on vacation, using jack Daniels. So good.
How long do thy keep. I want to make them for Christmas
I made these this morning using Amaretto and additional spices for my Mom. They are yummy and I know she will LOVE them. Thanks for posting this recipe. I have seen it before and meant to make them, but didn’t. I saw them on Keto Adapted’s post and decided to make them!
Thank you so much!
This is brilliant. Can see using rum, amaretto, whiskey, other liqueurs as well although sugar content higher from those? I’ve had great success with sugar free roasted cinnamon pecans. Non-diabetic friends/family gobble them up so I’m excited to try these. Thank you for sharing your recipes which are very well thought out.
Thanks! I think another liqueur would also work.
I’m a diabetic so I can’t use black strap molasses, can I sub Brown Sugar Splanda Blend instead?
I’m not sure as I haven’t tried it since I don’t use Splenda.
Brown Sugar version of Splenda is almost half pure sugar. Look at your bag!
It would be really hard for me to stop snacking on these once I started. They sound amazing!
I made these pecan treasures and cooked them at 325. I only had Xylitol so used that. They are excellent. I took them as a hostess gift and we all loved them.
thank you for sharing!
It seems the link to the Sukrin syrup says this product is not available. Can you suggest another sugar-free alternative?
I edited the recipe to use Lakanto sugar free maple syrup.
I made these today and they burnt!! Are you sure that the oven should be 350 degrees or should it be for 250 degrees? I cooked them the specified amount of time and like I said they were burnt. Most of them tasted OK, but a lot of the burnt ones stuck to the pan.
I am so very sorry! I looked at my original notes and it was supposed to be 325 not 350! I feel terrible they burnt on you! I just edited the recipe. Again I apologize. 🙁
This recipe states it is sugar free.
Molassas is sugar.
1 tbls of molassas contains 15 grams of sugar.
So how can it be sugar free.?
I am looking to make coated pecans using xylitol.
One serving does not contain 1 tbsp of molasses. Divided by the amount of serving 1 tbsp is minuscule to the serving.
Mine came out very watery and when it cooled down, the nuts were very grainy (like the swerve didn’t melt). These were not crunchy. What could have I done wrong?
Watery? That’s never happened to me. What did you use for the maple syrup? Sounds like it was the sweetener you used since you mentioned “grainy”. Was it the granulated or the confectioners?
THose would be amazing for my homemade pecan pie!
Would raw honey work?
Yes that would work too.
Looooove spiced nuts! So neat that you did this with Swerve. Happy holidays! 🙂
I love spiced nuts – and with bourbon added – even better! Merry Christmas Brenda!
Bourbon. You had me at bourbon. These look fantastic. I just made some spiced nuts as gifts and I really wish I could go back in time and add bourbon!
These nuts look amazing! I want to sprinkle them all over a giant bowl of ice cream…yum!
It’s always risky to try something new on a holiday with company over! I’m doing it, too! Hoping for the best. Love the candied pecans! I’m doing candied almonds for tomorrow.
Yes, for spiced nuts. My husband would absolutely love these.
There is so much to prepare for Christmas. I know exactly what you mean! Luckily the last couple of years, my daughter has volunteered to wrap gifts! This would be a perfect gift idea!!
Wowers! These look tempting! I can see popping them straight into my mouth or incorporating them into other desserts.
What can I use in place of the molasses? Can I make them without it?
Sukrin Fiber Gold Syrup is a great sub but it can only be found online surkinusa.com
How do you feel about the reviews that say that sukrin is high glycemic when blood sugar is tested after ingesting and that sukrin being a foreign company is untouchable when it comes to any recourse for the false advertising? Could these reviews saying it isn’t sugar free have validity? Personally, I have never tried the syrup or sweetener, but I am now leery because I did order a gluten free cake mix from sukrin’s website and ran it thru an at home gluten free test kit and it came back positive for gluten. Do you still feel comfortable feeding this product to your family?
I’m the one with a gluten sensitivity, but I am not celiac and no one in my family is so I’m comfortable with that. As far as spiking ones blood sugar I have not had that happen to myself, but everyone is different and certainly should check their blood sugar if trying this product for the first time.