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Cinnamon Pecans

4.97 from 29 votes

Today I’m sharing my family’s recipe for crockpot cinnamon pecans that we make every year for the holidays:

crock pot pecans
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I played around with the original recipe to make it much healthier and lower in sugar, and no one could tell a difference.

That’s my goal with all of the recipes I publish here on the blog.

It’s a sign of a successful healthy dessert if the people to whom you serve it don’t feel like they’re missing anything and would gladly pick the healthy version over the original.

These slow cooker pecans–completely vegan and free of refined sugar–make such an excellent gift.

People appreciate the cinnamon pecans because they are homemade and taste delicious… and all you have to do is throw everything in the slow cooker and sit back as the machine does all the work for you!

Also Try This Healthy Sweet Potato Bread

katie dr oz
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This family-favorite Christmas recipe is one of the three recipes I made for my holiday recipe appearance on Dr. Oz this past month.

Here are a few more photos from my segment on The Dr. Oz Show.

santa jar
Christmas nuts
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Craft stores such as Michaels or JoAnn are great places to go if you want to package the pecans up and hand them out as gifts.

Most craft stores will sell holiday-themed paper and tin boxes (like the santa box above) at a pretty good price.

Another option is to place the nuts in clear bags tied with holiday ribbons. I could honestly spend hours in craft stores.

**If you don’t have a crock pot, I’ve also included oven instructions in the recipe below.

The Best Easy Crock Pot Cinnamon Pecans Recipe
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Cinnamon Pecans

This easy cinnamon pecans recipe is one of my family's favorite holiday snacks.
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours
Yield 3 1/4 cup
5 from 29 votes

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 3 cups sliced raw pecans, or other raw nuts
  • optional 1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil

Instructions

  • Slow Cooker Version: Lightly coat the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray. Place all ingredients except pecans inside, and stir to combine. Stir in the nuts, and turn the heat to low. Put the lid on and cook 2 hours, stirring once after the first hour. Remove the lid and stir, then cover again and continue cooking an additional hour on low. Pour the contents onto a cookie sheet or large platter, and break up any large clumps. Allow to cool completely, and they will harden as they cool. Transfer to decorative tins for gifts.
    Oven Version: Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Stir together all ingredients in a large bowl, then spread out on the cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes, turn with a spoon, then bake another 5-10 minutes as needed.
    Store leftovers in a decorative tin for up to 2 weeks, or freeze up to 4 months.
    View Nutrition Facts

Notes

Leftover pecans? Make this Vegan Pecan Pie.
 

Have you made this recipe?

Tag @chocolatecoveredkatie on Instagram

More Easy Holiday Recipes:

The Ultimate Vegan Gingerbread Recipe

Vegan Gingerbread

6 Ingredient Lemon Snowball Cookies

Lemon Meltaway Cookies

cranberry orange bread recipe

Cranberry Orange Bread

Frosted Vegan Sugar Cookies

Vegan Sugar Cookies

Snowball cookies that literally MELT in your mouth.

Snowball Cookies – 60 calories each

Published on December 21, 2017

Meet Katie

Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Fox, The Huffington Post, and ABC's 5 O'clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

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54 Comments

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  1. Kathryn says

    I made these for Christmas gifts last year, but we ended up eating a lot ourselves! So I totally plan to make them again this year! I don’t know why I don’t make them any other time. Maybe this weekend…

  2. Kat says

    Coconut oil is at the bottom of the ingredient list, but never mentioned in the instructions. Just curious as to what it is for?

  3. Scott says

    Why is everyone giving this recipe five stars when nobody in the comments have actually made it? I actually made it and the nuts were not sweet and burnt. I followed the oven recipe exactly. $13 in nuts wasted. Please don’t rate a recipe unless you have actually made it! For the future, syrup burns at 350 degrees rather quickly, about 10 minutes. They may be good in the crockpot. However, I am unable to tell by the commenters because they only state how great they look but I’m concerned the photo isn’t even a photo of the actual recipe. If it is, what are the sprinkles on the pecans? Salt? Don’t think so, as the syrup quickly smooths it out. Have you actually made this in the oven or did you just create another option and estimated the times/temp?

  4. Nancy says

    OMG! Where have these been all of my vegan life?? So easy and so delicious! I just made them and could easily eat all three cups right now. Thank you!

  5. Margaret says

    Your cinnamon pecans were a delightful addition to our holiday munching and meals, Katie! At the last minute, I threw a handful in a coleslaw along with sweetened dried cranberries, grated carrot and apple, cabbage, and my mayonnaise coleslaw dressing, and it was a positive hit that I will repeat next year. I also added them to a pumpkin oatmeal this morning–delicious! Thank you for sharing!

  6. Millican Pecan says

    I think the key to this is the “Just 5 Ingredients”. People try to complicate cinnamon pecans. Less sometimes can be more. I am a big fan of the maple/pecan combo so I am glad to see it here. Well done! We are always looking at how people candy their pecans. PS: Did you know that pecans are the only native tree nut to America? …and did you know that pecans have more vitamin E than any other nut? Just a couple of little fun facts for your readers.

  7. Danielle says

    I’m a little late posting this, but I wanted to let you know that I made these as part of my vegan Christmas tins for my coworkers in 2018. Everyone raved about these pecans! First of all, the house smells soooooo good when making these– very similar to the nut stands at the mall. These pecans are so addicting & perfectly crunchy! Thanks for an amazing recipe!!

    • Jason Sanford says

      Hi, hope they turned out well! The directions in her post say three hours: Put the lid on and cook 2 hours, stirring once after the first hour. Remove the lid and stir, then cover again and continue cooking an additional hour on low.
      🙂

    • Jason Sanford says

      If you halved the nuts and used the full amount of spices (and salt!), they would almost definitely be overpoweringly cinnamony and salty. Did you possibly accidentally leave something out? I’ve done that before with recipes!
      Jason

  8. Robin says

    I followed the recipe exactly, cooked in Crockpot, but the nuts burnt quite badly. I do know that my Crockpot cooks pretty hot. I think 2 hours would have worked better. So, just be wary if your Crockpot is like mine. Did the recipe again but cooked in the oven. This time they were fab!

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4.97 from 29 votes (16 ratings without comment)

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