Nuts are perfect for snacking! This easy cinnamon spiced walnuts recipe is no exception! They are full of sweet delicious flavor. With just a few simple ingredients, you can enjoy these cinnamon sugar walnuts in about 20 minutes!
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I love making spiced walnuts. I leave them out on the counter in a bowl, and everyone loves to grab some. Candied nuts also make great gifts! If you love candied nuts as much as we do, you will also want to try my Honey Roasted Cashews recipe.
Walnuts are really healthy and they are a great way to get some nutrition into the kids. You can easily adjust the amount of sugar you use in the recipe, making this cinnamon roasted walnuts recipe easy to customize.
Why this recipe is one of my favorites:
I love this recipe because it is so easy to make, and it is much cheaper to make flavored nuts than to buy them in the store. Not only are these cinnamon spiced walnuts easy to make, they are perfect for snacking!
These candied walnuts also make a really good DIY gift for the holidays, teachers gifts, etc. They are naturally gluten free, dairy-free, and egg-free!
Ingredients and ingredient notes:
- Walnuts - You can use walnut halves or pieces in this recipe. If you don't have walnuts, you can really use ANY type of nuts for this candied nuts recipe.
- Sugar - White sugar works in this recipe. Coconut and brown sugars will not work well so I do not recommend substituting them.
Recipe step by step directions:
Step 1: In a small saucepan, heat the water, sugar, and cinnamon over medium heat.
Step 2: Place a candy thermometer in the pan and allow the ingredients to melt. DO NOT STIR until it reaches 238º F. This will take about 8 minutes.
Step 3: Preheat your oven to 350º F. Place the walnuts (or any nuts you plan to use) onto a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes or until the nuts are lightly brown.
Step 4: Pour the nuts into a large bowl and pour the liquid sugar mixture on. You can see my photo in step 4, the steam sort of blurred the photo. Mix well.
Step 5: Spread the walnut mixture onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Try to make sure the walnuts are not too bunched up so they harden individually.
After the walnuts have cooled you can serve whole or crush them into small pieces and place them in a serving dish.
Check out my candied walnuts web story for more tips!
Ways to enjoy candied nuts:
- Sprinkled on yogurt
- Crushed to make a praline topping for cake or pie
- On your favorite ice cream
- By the hand full plain!
Tips and Recipe FAQ:
You can easily use any nut in this recipe. Try macadamia nuts or pecans next :-).
You can use either whole walnuts, halves, or pieces to make this recipe!
These walnuts should keep up to 1 week in a sealed container.
If your nuts turned out sticky, it means your sugar mixture didn't get hot enough to create that hardened brittle effect.
Yes, you can fix the nuts by putting them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake them at 325º F for 5-15 minutes. Allow them to cool completely.
You can easily freeze these nuts. I put them into a freezer safe baggie and freeze them. They should keep up to 2 months.
More delicious snack ideas:
- Gluten Free Blueberry Scones
- Homemade Cinnamon Granola
- Gluten Free Zucchini Muffins
- Gluten Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Recipe
Cinnamon Spiced Walnuts
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups walnuts * see note
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F.
- Place the walnuts on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly brown.
- In a saucepan over medium heat add the sugar, water, salt, and ground cinnamon.
- Place a candy thermometer in the pan and allow the ingredients to melt. DO NOT STIR until it reaches 238 degrees. (This will take roughly 8 minutes.)
- Remove from heat and immediately stir the hot sugar mixture into the walnuts.
- Lightly spray a cooled baking sheet with non-stick spray. Spoon the walnut mixture onto it. (You can put the mixture onto parchment paper if you prefer for cooling.)
- After the walnut mix has cooled you can serve whole or crush them into small pieces and place in a serving dish. Snack on it, or add it as a topper to yogurt or ice cream!
Notes
- You can use walnut halves or pieces in this recipe.
- If you prefer, you can use pecans or any nuts you have on-hand. If you want to get fancy, you can add seeds like chia and sunflower to make a brittle.
- If your nuts mix turns out sticky, it means you didn't cook the sugar mixture until it was hot enough. To fix sticky nuts, place them onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake at 325º F for 5-15 minutes. Allow them to cool.
- These nuts will keep in an air-tight container up to 5 days. If you freeze them they will keep up to 2 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Susie Fasanaro
Did I miss something?
when do you add the sea salt?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Susie, Add the salt to the cinnamon and ingredients in the pot. I will make it more clear in the recipe.
Hanna
I've been using these as a topping for my salad and they work perfectly. Thanks for the great recipe!
Sandi Gaertner
I love these on our salads too!
Nellie Tracy
This is a great recipe for spiced nuts. LOVE it!
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you like them!
Ella Jeans
Will this work if I substitute Xylitol or Erythritol instead of sugar?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Ella, I have never used those sweeteners so I am not sure how they would behave in my recipe. If you try it, please let me know how it works.