These keto candied pecans are the best sweet crunchy topping to Fall keto salads or the perfect keto pecan candy to snack on with only 0.6g of net carbs per serving! Plus, all you need to make the best keto candied pecans are 5 ingredients, so keep reading to learn more!
The best way to make candied nuts – nuts coated with a sweet crystallized crunchy layer – is to use your oven. While stove recipes are great too, they never achieve the same level of crispiness and you won’t have a thick crunchy layer. You need 5 simple ingredients to make this candied pecan pralines:
The first step to make candied pecan in your oven is to coat each nut with a layer of egg white and water mixture. In fact, this mix helps the sugar mixture, made of sugar-free keto sweetener and spices, to stick to the nuts in the next step. Plus, egg whites crisp and create a thick candy layer around the nuts that makes them even more delicious.
Then, pour the sugar-free mixture over the nuts and all you need is less than 2 minutes of stirring to completely coat the nuts. The sugar-free mix must use erythritol or a combo of erythritol and monk fruit sweetener as a keto low-carb sweetener. In fact, xylitol doesn’t crisp or firm up after baking and it won’t create crunchy pecan nuts.
First, prepare a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper. This is important to prevent the candied pecans from sticking to the tray. You can also melt some butter and brush it onto the paper to avoid having the nuts stick too much but it’s not necessary.
Then, I recommend always baking the nuts at low temperature to preserve their nutrients. It means that the best oven temperature to bake pecans is 250F (130C). Plus, keto candied pecans use Monk fruit or erythritol. These sugar-free sweeteners have a lower melting point than sugar. In fact, erythritol or monk fruit erythritol blends melt at 120C while sugar melts at 180C. Therefore, to avoid the sugar-free sweetener turning brown, it is better to candy the pecans at a low temperature. Finally, always stir constantly the nuts, every 10 minutes during the baking process to roast them evenly on each side.
The nuts will crunch after they are completely cooled down. Remove the tray from the oven and keep the nuts on the baking tray until completely cool. Otherwise, for faster cooling down, transfer the nuts on a cold metallic baking sheet.
This keto pecan pralines must be stored in an airtight container, preferably a metallic or glass container. In fact, plastic containers soften the nuts and they won’t store as long. Keep the container at room temperature and store up to 3 weeks. You can also freeze the nuts and thaw 1 hour before at room temperature.
Both methods are great but deliver very different results in terms of taste, texture, and storage. Pick the recipe that works the best for you, my preference is the oven version.
So if you love crunchy praline candies, use the oven option. But if you prefer a slightly crunchy nut or if you are allergic to eggs or vegan, use the stove option.
The original candied pecan recipe above is not vegan since it is using egg-white. However, there’s another way to make candied nuts without eggs, under the stove.
This is not my favorite option, because the nuts won’t crunch as much and the layer will be more like a thin shiny caramel rather than a crystallized candy crunchy layer.
But since many of you are allergic to eggs or follow a vegan keto diet, I am sharing the vegan keto recipe in this post for you too.
In a large non-stick pan, over medium-high heat, add sugar-free crystal sweetener and water. Stir constantly until the erythritol is melted and the liquid forms lots of bubbles in the center of the pan. If you have a candy thermometer at home, you want to reach 320F-340F (160C-180C).
This is the temperature at which the sugar-free caramel forms. Then, pour the pecan into the hot caramel along with cinnamon and sea salt. Reduce to low heat and stir the pecan to coat.
Transfer the coated pecan onto a large baking sheet or plate covered with parchment paper. Spread with a spatula in a single layer and cool completely. The caramel layer around the nuts will get crunchy after 30 minutes.
This method creates clusters of pecan nuts, with a thin layer of caramel between each. You can simply break them apart to release the candied nuts individually or serve them as a cluster.
These keto-friendly candied pecans are perfect for the holiday season. You can use them on top of keto salad, casserole, or desserts like my keto pumpkin mousse.
Have you made these gluten-free keto candied pecan yet? Share a picture of your creation with me on Instagram and leave me your comments below! I love to read your feedback on my recipes.
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