Confession...
I love candied pecans.
There are two places I think of when I hear the words "candied nuts"... New York City & the county fair.
I think New York City comes to mind because my first experience having them, was there. When I was 5 years old we took a family vacation to NYC, and I instantly fell in love with the candied nuts the street vendors were selling. You get them in this plastic bag, they're hot, they're crunchy, and they're covered in sugar. How could a 5 year old not love these?! We never went back to New York City after that trip, but luckily I could get my fix at the county fair every summer.
However, around the time I started being more conscious of my diet, I kind of just gave them up. I probably have had them just one or two times in past 10 years honestly. Buuuuut that's all gonna change now. I figured out a way to make healthy, homemade, candied nuts...and it couldn't be easier.
All you're going to need is about some calorie-free or low-cal maple syrup, some sugar substitute, and a tiny bit of cinnamon.
Did I mention it only takes about 15 minutes to make them?
Hooray to that!
If you try these pecans outt, don't forget to snap a pic and tag it #thedietchef
And of course, you can always check out this recipe, and many many more on The Diet Chef YouTube channel.
Macros (per 1 ounce | 28g serving):
185 Calories, 17.75g Fat, 7.5g Carbs (2.5g fiber), 2.25g Protein
5 Weight Watcher PointsPlus
Healthy Homemade Candied Pecans
Healthy candied pecans
- Prep Time: 3 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 18 mins
- Yield: 1 Cup
- Category: Snack
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 Cup (100g) pecans
- ¼ Cup (60ml) low-cal maple syrup - I use Walden Farms
- 1 ½ Tbsp (18g) sugar substitute
- ½ Tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Coat pecans evenly in the pancake syrup
- Add nuts to a pan coated with non-stick baking spray
- Cook on a medium heat setting until the pancake syrup caramelizes on the nuts
- Transfer the nuts onto parchment paper and coat with 1 tablespoon (12g) sugar substitute and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon - I like to mix the two together before adding
- Add the nuts back to the pan and cook until sugar just begins to caramelize
- Top the pecans with the remaining sugar and give them one last stir
- Now bring the nuts back to the parchment paper and allow them to cool and dry
- The longer they dry the crunchier they become
- Store in an airtight jar
Notes
5 Weight Watcher PointsPlus
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Ounce (28g)
- Calories: 185
- Fat: 17.75
- Carbohydrates: 7.5
- Fiber: 2.5
- Protein: 2.25
Debbi says
The recipe says nothing about sugar substitute ...?
The Diet Chef says
Thanks for letting me know my mistake Debbi :) I updated the recipe - I had cinnamon listed twice in the ingredients and one of them was supposed to say sugar substitute. Hope this helps now :D