Candied Almonds (naturally paleo, vegan)
These candied almonds are lightly naturally sweetened, flavored with cinnamon and vanilla and make excellent last-minute gifts! They’re also naturally paleo and vegan.
If you’re anything like me, you probably still haven’t bought all your Christmas gifts yet and the thought of going shopping at this point doesn’t sound all that fun.
So here’s a homemade treat that you can whip up in no time! You likely already even have everything you need in your pantry. Not only are these candied almonds a great last-minute present, but they’re seriously delicious and made a tad healthier!
A lot of candied nut recipes call for corn syrup and a huge amount of sugar. All the sweetener you need for this recipe is 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and 3 tablespoons of coconut sugar or granulated sugar.
The maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon add a lot of flavor and I can pretty much guarantee you – you won’t miss all the extra sugar found in other recipes!
Don’t like almonds? Feel free to use a different type of nut! These maple walnuts are another great choice. The only ingredients you need for those are walnuts and maple syrup. I think these candied almonds are tastier, though. :)
These almonds hold up very well so you can make them several days in advance. The only problem with them is that they’re so addictive.
If you’re making these as gifts, you’ll probably want to double or triple the recipe! These rosemary spiced nuts also look like a great gift option.
Just make sure your pan is large enough to handle all the nuts. You don’t want to be slopping the hot, cooking candy mixture all over.
I originally posted this recipe in 2012 but the pictures were so bad that I never shared the recipe anywhere. If you’ve made these before, don’t worry – it’s the same exact recipe.
And also, check out the reviews if you need any convincing to make these. I especially like this one: “I’ve been trying different candied almond recipes for several years now, and HANDS DOWN this is the BEST!!!”
Yay! By the way, I LOVE it when you all leave feedback on recipes. I really do appreciate it! And I know the other readers appreciate them, too.
Are you all ready for Christmas? I’m not, but at least I have a few bags of these candied almonds to hand out. :) I think this will be my last post for the year. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a great start to 2017!
Note: Pictures were updated in 12/2016.
Candied Almonds (naturally paleo, vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup (225 grams) almonds
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar or granulated sugar, see notes
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons water
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil or canola or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (176 °C). Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Set this aside.
- On another baking sheet, spread the almonds and bake for 7-12 minutes, stirring halfway, or until they smell toasty. You should smell a nutty aroma coming from the oven when the almonds are ready. Remove the almonds from the oven and set aside.1 1/2 cup (225 grams) almonds
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar and salt. Set the bowl aside.3 tablespoons coconut sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Combine the maple syrup, water, oil, vanilla and cinnamon in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.2 tablespoons maple syrup, 2 teaspoons water, 1 teaspoon coconut oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and add the almonds.
- Cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated, stirring frequently. This will take about 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the nuts to the bowl with the sugar and toss to make sure that they’re well-coated.
- Pour the almonds evenly onto the parchment-lined pan and cool completely. The nuts will be soft while still warm but once completely cooled, the almonds and the coating become crunchy.
Notes
- I’ve made them with both types of sugar and the ones with coconut sugar were much better. They had a slight caramel-like taste and were crunchier than the ones with white sugar. I haven’t tried it with unrefined / raw / turbinado sugar, but since the crystals aren’t as fine as coconut sugar, I don’t know how well that would work out. If you use granulated sugar and they’re taking a long time to harden, stick them in the fridge.
- The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator. This recipe yields about 1 1/2 cups of candied almonds, and the nutrition information presumes a serving size of 1/4 cup (30 grams).
I love these! I even doubled the recipe to make some last night, and my family still made them dissapear within minutes!
I had to laugh about your "gebrannte Mandeln" comment… hahaha… I love the idea of coconut sugar!! I admit I have never tried it before but it sounds delicious…
Lakshmi – I hope you enjoy them! With coconut sugar they're just out of the world. I'd love to hear what you come up as your version. :)
These are exactly what I'm craving for right now! Toasted almonds are great. With sugar…how much greater can they get? I have to make a batch of gluten-free, vegan sweets next week and I might build a recipe around these candied almonds. Thanks for the inspiration. Often the simplest things are the best.
I can imagine finishing a big container of these candied stuff. They look so delicious, I love snacking with nuts, healthy and tasty!
Nora – Oh Nora. As I was replying to the comments today, I decided it wasn't right that I had to keep coming back and look at that picture without having some of those almonds. So I made more about two hours ago and they're all gone. They're terrible. Don't make them unless you have a party or something! I just looked up how many calories are in 1.5 cups of almonds (not the sugar and other stuff) and… 1226! I'm not usually worried about calories but that's just horrible. I mean, I could go to Chili's, if they actually existed here, and get some chicken crispers and French fries for that amount of calories. These almonds could probably help explain why I've gained 6 pounds in about a month. No more almonds for me. :(
These look fantastic Erin! I love your use of maple syrup + coconut sugar — I love that combo! YUM!
These little candied jewels wouldn't last long AT ALL in my house…I would probably eat all of them in one sitting! No seriously, these wouldn't stand a chance with me around! :) XO
Baltic Maid – That's what gebrannte Mandeln are?! And I always pass them up at the Christmas markets?! Noooo! I've obviously never had them but I promise these are much less sugary. And with coconut sugar, they're much much tastier. :)
Are these like "Gebrannte Mandeln"? I LOOOVE those. I have never made them myself but eaten tons of them in Germany, especially on Christmas markets… I can see how it would be hard to take a picture… they are so tasty!!!
I love that you reduced the sugar…
Miryam – You definitely won't have that problem with these because there's very little sugar on them. :) What kind of sugar are you going to use? Coconut sugar is the best! It gives them a caramelish flavor that you don't get from white sugar. I think you should make one batch first to see if you like them and then make them again and double the batch. Maybe they're too sweet / not sweet or cinnamon-y enough and I'd hate for you to waste almonds. :)
Georgia – Thanks! What's funny is that I don't like almonds and I love these. :)
I absolutely love almonds and would love to prepare them this way next time I serve em up! Such a great recipe!
OMG, 1 1/2 cup of sugar? I don't see using that much sugar unless you have at least 4 times the amount of almonds. I have tried things like these at Gourmet stores and they taste awful because there is a huge sugar coating around the almond that makes the almond just taste like a big clump of hard sugar.
I am going to get some almonds tomorrow and make this :-) Maybe I will double or triple the batch though otherwise I am sure I will only get to eat one or two :-) NO JOKE!!
Heidi – Yeah, I hope other people also like the low sugar version but really, we already thought they were super sugary the way I made them. I can't imagine there being even more!
Amy – I hope you like them! :)
Becca – I hope you do! They're super quick and easy. :)
London Bakes – Thanks! And haha, don't you love that? 24 tablespoons of sugar for 1.5 cups of nuts. It's crazy.
Such a cute picture! These sound really delicious and I love that you cut down the sugar so much. I really don't need to eat 24 tablespoons of sugar!
Oh, oh! I love almonds! Almonds are one of my favorite nuts (I have yet to meet a nut I didn't like). I can't wait to try these!!!!
these sound delicious! i'll definitely be trying these (+ nomming the heck out of them) ASAP!
Yummy! As if I need nuts to be more addicting, because seriously, I can't get enough. I do love how little sugar there is in these compared to other recipes. Also, maple + cinnamon = delicious :D
Bianca – They're incredibly addicting! So I guess I'm kind of recommending you not to try them. Unless you have people to share with! Then you have to share. :)
Cassie – Thank you! I don't know what those little dishes are actually for so I put everything in there. Maybe they're for mini tarts or something.
Yum. I love these Erin! And your little dishes are adorable!
Candied nuts are one of my favorite things :) and i LOVE almonds, so i can't imagine how addicting these would be! I'm almost afraid to try them. Love your blog!