These healthier maple candied walnuts couldn’t be easier! They only take 2 ingredients and 5 minutes.
I’ve said this several times in the past but I don’t like nuts – unless you candy them! I’ve made maple cinnamon candied almonds before, which are diabolically addictive, but they’re a tiny bit more complicated than these. You just need walnuts and maple syrup for these maple candied walnuts. You heat them together in the pan and that’s it.
If you want to get all fancy, some vanilla is a nice addition. So is salt. Being the salt addict I am, I added a fourth teaspoon of salt. I also tried them with pumpkin pie spice, thinking that I’d created the best candied nuts ever, but those just tasted weird. They tasted less strange with just cinnamon, but I oddly preferred them without. One time, I toasted the walnuts first, thinking that the final product would even be yummier but they just tasted too roasted after the candying process.
Are you enjoying the acorns in the background? Mr. Texanerin was so frustrated that I didn’t go out and gather fall props like leaves, acorns, and chestnuts that he went out and gathered them himself and came back with a little bag full of stuff I was to use in my pictures. He so wanted me to use them that he styled these pictures himself. I don’t know why, but he seems to be wanting to take a more active role in the blog as of late. Fine with me. Perhaps I can coax him into making another Even He Can Do It post. :D
I made these candied walnuts as a topping for a cake that I’ll be posting on Tuesday. To maximize the amount of maple syrup covering, it’s important to chop the nuts first (leaving behind any dusty remains) and then candy them. If you candy them first and then chop, you’ll have a lot of exposed walnuts and not enough coating.
I’ve only tried this method with walnuts but I imagine it’d work with other types of nuts – but I’m not positive. If you try it out, let us know in the comments! Do note that it makes a thin coating. It’s not like other candied walnuts where you have a thick sugary coating. Those are definitely nice but not what I was going for here. I was going for healthy, or at least healthier (though they don’t taste healthy!) Sugar is sugar is sugar but I’ll take these over the traditional version any day. Feel free to use more maple syrup or fewer nuts if you want them more sugary!
Here are some ideas on what to do with them, although I doubt most of these will nuts will get past the snacking stage. ;)
Healthier Maple Candied Walnuts
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 1 1/2 cups
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (165 grams) walnuts1
- 1/4 cup (60ml) maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
- 1/8 teaspoon salt (plus up to 1/8 teaspoon more)
Directions
- Get out a Silpat or a piece of parchment or wax paper.
- Preheat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. It's important to preheat it first so that the maple syrup caramelizes properly.
- Add the walnuts, maple syrup, vanilla and 1/8 teaspoon salt to the pan.
- Stirring almost constantly, cook for 2-5 minutes or until the syrup has caramelized. There should be no liquid left in the pan. The maple syrup coating will seem soft but will harden as it cools.
- Spoon the walnuts evenly onto the Silpat and spread. Test one now (making sure that the maple coating isn't so hot that you burn your tongue!) and if it's not salty enough, add more salt. If you don't want the nuts to be clumped together after cooling, make sure to separate them now.
- These harden within about 20-30 minutes but let them cool for about 2 hours before placing them in an airtight container. When not kept in an airtight container, they start to get a little sweaty. Can be kept at room temperature for several weeks.
Notes
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54 comments on “Healthier Maple Candied Walnuts” — Add one!
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I just made these – soooo goood!!! Not sure there will be enough left before I can put them in the air right containers 😅
Haha. I hope there were a few left. ;) Thanks for your comment!
Hi! I was wondering if I can use dark corn syrup instead of maple syrup, would they still turn out fine?
I’ve never used corn syrup so I’m really not sure. It’s quite a bit stickier and thicker than maple, so I’m not very hopeful. Sorry I don’t have a more definite answer!
When the nuts cooled I put them an airtight container but they all stuck together. Is there a way to fix this?
Hmm. I’m stumped! If they were totally cooled and you used an airtight container, that shouldn’t have happened. Had the maple syrup mixture cooked away or was it still very liquidy / sticky? The only thing I could think of is to cook them a little longer and then refrigerate the nuts.
I bet if you make these, put them in either a tissue lined Christmas tin or those pretty Christmas food gift bags they’d make great gifts😉 OR a great hostess gift if your traveling to someone’s house for Thanksgiving😊
Thank you for all your fantastic recipes!!💕
I love your ideas! I’ll have to try that this year. :) Thanks so much for the tips and your nice comment!
Thank you so much for this yummy maple syrup candied nut recipe. They are so delicious and so healthy! I like to eat them as a snack😋 I also tried this recipe with a curry powder and it was also very yummy and tasted great in my salad!
Yum! I love your curry powder idea. And I’m so happy you enjoy the nuts. :) Thanks for the tip and your comment!
Can recipe.be.doubled or.tripled?
Yes, it can! :)
Hi there. Can I use honey instead of maple syrup? Does the procedure remain the same?
Thanks.
I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure. Maple syrup is much runnier than honey so it may not work. If you decide to try it out anyway, let us know how it goes. :)
This is the 4th time I made these, this time used a mix of pecans, walnuts and whole salted almonds, and used dark maple syrup. Pretty sure they won’t last the day!
Yum! That sounds delicious. :) I’m so happy you’ve been enjoying them! Thanks for your feedback.
Made this recipe with pecans instead and they turned out great!
Yum! Pecans sound even better than walnuts. Pecans are so extremely expensive here that I never even thought about it! But once I find a cheaper source, I’ll have to try that. Thanks for letting me know that they came out well! :)
Love these
Thanks, Kaitlin! :)
Do you use pure maple syrup or artificial syrup?
Pure maple syrup.
I’ve never met a candied nut that I didn’t love. These sound amazing. YUM!
I’m with you! You can never go wrong with candied nuts. :)
These look like addictive little treats!
They are indeed! ;)
I love everything about these! I bet they are amazing on salads too. I can’t wait to make them!
I hope you’ll enjoy them! :)
I would happily eat these nuts plain, on a cake, on ice cream…well you get the idea :)
Oooh! I’m making ice cream soon and these would be amazing on it! Thanks for the idea. :)
I love candied nuts and the fact that your husband has decided to help you. :)
That’s my favorite part, too. :)
We are nut eaters around here, but you are right they are awesome candied!
Maple syrup is always an improvement. ;)
Hello sweet and salty deliciousness!
Right?! Love sweet and salty.
YUM! I bet these would be great on a salad! (you know, so you don’t feel guilty about a giant slice of that cake. ;))
Haha. That would be the healthy approach but I totally tossed mine on a cake. :D
The photos are styled beautifully – great job to your hubby! Also, These walnuts look dangerous. I would eat way too many!
Aww, thanks. I’ll pass on the message. :)
I’m also not huge on nuts unless they are candified :) So THESE I love :)
Yeah! We know how it’s done. ;)
I love that you used so little maple syrup but just enough to give it that traditional taste!
Thanks, Brenda! I have to admit that when I make them again, I may use more syrup, just to see what they’re like. :)
I am also a certified salt addict, so love that you did the salty-sweet thing here. And the maple syrup is a great substitute for brown sugar!
Agreed! I would like to put maple syrup in everything (especially in the fall!)
I love nuts no matter what, but candied nuts are definitely a bonus. The maple flavor would totally make these my nemesis, I’m sure (looooove). And I’m thinking these are the perfect use for the vanilla salt beckoning me from the counter!
Vanilla salt?! Oh my. Yeah. I’m looking into that right now. :)
I don’t think there would be any of such walnuts left for the cake if I would be making them :D
Haha. Yeah. It’s pretty difficult to put them down. ;)
These sure look yummy.
Thanks, Charlotte! :)
oh I love candied nuts but shy away because they are so addicting. These only having a little maple syrup shell sound amazing and a tad healthier like you said. I bet they are amazing with Brie and berries or apples. Thanks for sharing!!
Yes! Exactly. Candied nuts are just way too addictive. And ooh… I need to try combining these with apples! Thanks for the idea. :)