These Texan BBQ flavoured candied nuts are my current nibbling obsession. Savoury enough for pre-dinner drinks. Just sweet enough to be an after dinner treat! You could even package them up and gift – assuming they don’t mysteriously “disappear” beforehand….
Texan BBQ candied nuts
Hello weekend. And hello party nuts!
I’ve been meaning to share a candied nuts recipe for ages, being my go-to way to use up half-empty nut packets. I was going to keep it classic with just cinnamon……. but then I made these BBQ spiced ones and couldn’t go back.
Smoky, savoury, sweet and a teeny bit spicy, inspired by Texan barbecue flavours, these nuts have a crisp candy coating (not sticky!) and are dangerously moreish. Put out bowls for pre-dinner drinks and you’ll have to keep topping them up because everyone keeps “just having one more!”
Ingredients in Texan BBQ candied nuts
Here’s my favourite nut combination for these party nuts, but use what you’ve got and what you like, whether roasted or raw. For even cooking, try to use nuts around the same size.
The nuts: Use any unsalted nuts, raw or roasted, but aim for similar sizes so they roast evenly (eg. don’t mix pistachios with Brazil nuts). I used cashews, almonds, and pecans – I like the combination of textures and flavours. Pecans get extra candy stuck in crevices while cashews get a glossy toffee coat – I like this contrast. And yes, different nuts = different flavours!
Raw vs roasted? Raw is ideal as they roast while candying, but I’ve used both (and mixed raw with roasted) and honestly couldn’t tell much difference. I think the candy coating provides protection so the heat that gets inside is more ambient than for naked nuts – strong enough to roast raw nuts but not so harsh that it burns already roasted nuts. Theory – but gosh, does that sound like I know what I’m talking about?!!🤣
Other nuts: I’ve done this with mixed nuts, single types (pecans = fave), and everything in between. I wasn’t a huge fan of pistachios with the spice mix, and Brazil nuts are a bit chunky for my taste. But really, go with what you love!
White sugar works better than brown (bit more sticky). Honey and maple don’t crisp up as well, they are sticky too (in the quantities we need for this recipe).
Butter – Smidge of fat to help the candy coat the nuts a little more evenly and gives it a gorgeous shine. Plus – butter flavour. We like, always! 🙂
Spices – Chipotle and smoked paprika bring smokey Texan vibes to the spice mix, then the other spices are support acts. But don’t fret if you are missing one or two! As with most recipes with a number of spices, you can switch and sub:
Smoked paprika – it’s paprika, but smoky. 🙂 Not spicy. Substitute with regular paprika (aka sweet paprika) or spicy paprika if you dare.
Chipotle powder is spicy and beautifully smoky – sub with more smoked paprika + 1/4 tsp cayenne (skip cayenne for no spicy)
Cumin and coriander – if missing one, leave it out. If missing both, you won’t get Texan Cowboy vibes. 🥲
Garlic and onion powder can be substituted with more of either.
Cayenne pepper – Extra spice kick for the brave.
How to make Texan BBQ candied nuts
The easy way to make candied nuts is to do it entirely on the stove or entirely in the oven. Long ago I used a hybrid method from Chef John of Food Wishes (hilarious and knows his stuff, I love him!) and I’ve never looked back: make the candy coating on the stove, toss with nuts, then finish in the oven.
Yes, it’s one extra step but it’s worth it because the end result is better: no burnt patches (notorious stove problem), lower maintenance, with a light even coating on each nut that’s crisp and dry, not sticky.
BBQ candy coating – Melt the butter then add the sugar, water, all the spices and salt. Give it a mix then simmer gently for 2 minutes, stirring regularly so the base doesn’t catch. Going for the full 2 minutes is key here to get a good dry crispy coating on the nuts, rather than the sticky type that gets stuck in your teeth.
Pour the candy coating straight over the nuts.
Toss well! Take a good 30 seconds and a rubber spatula to toss well and coat the nuts as evenly as you can. The candy coating should all stick to the nuts, no pool at the bottom of the bowl – because we went a little further on the stove to toffee it well.
Bake – Spread the nuts in a single layer on a foil and paper lined tray then bake for 10 minutes at 180°C/350°F (160C fan-forced).
Toss well (I use a rubber and metal spatula together) then bake for further 10 minutes until deep golden. There should be no toffee on the paper, it’s all stuck to the nuts – yay!
Break up and harden – Let it cool for 10 minutes on the tray then break it up with your fingers into individual nuts (easier to do when slightly warm). Then leave it to fully cool so the candy coating crisps up. Then – attack!
Store these in an airtight container in a cool dry place for a couple of weeks. If it’s very hot and humid where you are, they might get a bit sticky but this is easily fixed – just pop it in the oven for 5 minutes then let it fully cool again.
It’s Friday. I know you’ve got a hodge-podge of random nuts in your pantry, just waiting to be used. What are you waiting for?!! These nuts and a beer are calling your name!!! 😊 – Nagi x
PS Forgot to mention – they make a great gift too, because they keep for weeks. 🙂 Also excellent to add to platters, roughly chop and sprinkle on salads.
Watch how to make it
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Texan BBQ Candied Nuts
Ingredients
Nuts (Note 1):
- 1 1/2 cups pecans
- 1 1/2 cups almonds , raw unsalted (or toasted)
- 1 cup cashews , raw, unsalted (toasted ok too)
- 1 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt, increase by 50% for flakes)
Texan spiced candy coating (Note 2):
- 25g / 1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup white sugar (Note 3)
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp chipotle (slightly spicy, can sub with 3/4 tsp extra smoked paprika)
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper , optional (for more spicy!)
Optional
- Sea salt flakes , for extra salt to taste
Instructions
Abbreviated recipe:
- Simmer candied coating 2 min, toss with nuts, bake 20 min at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan), tossing halfway. Break up while warm, fully cool. Attack!
Full recipe:
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). Line a large tray with foil then baking paper (parchment).
- Nuts – Put the nuts in a bowl.
- Candied coating – Put the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once mostly melted, add all the remaining candied coating ingredients. Stir, then once it comes to a simmer, reduce stove to medium low so it's simmering gently for 2 minutes, stirring regularly so it doesn’t catch.
- Toss – Pour over the nuts, toss well – take about 30 seconds, use a rubber spatula. It should be quite thick and coat the nuts well, no runny caramel pooling at bottom of bowl.
- Bake – Spread on tray, bake for 20 minutes, tossing well at the halfway mark, until the nuts are deep golden. There should be hardly any candy coating liquid left on the tray.
- Break up – Cool undisturbed on the tray for 10 minutes then break it up while still warm (separates better). Then leave to fully cool on the tray – the candy coating will fully harden (about 30 minutes). (Note 4 if nut surface is not shiny smooth)
- Uses – Serve in bowls for snacking (brilliant bar snack), fill jars for gifting, add to platters, chop and sprinkle on salads. Adding a sprinkle of sea salt is a nice finishing touch.
Recipe Notes:
- Garlic and onion powder can be substituted with more of either.
- Chipotle powder is a spicy and beautifully smoky, sub with more smoked paprika + 1/4 tsp cayenne (skip cayenne for no spicy)
- Cumin and coriander – if missing one, leave it out. If missing both, you won’t get Texan Cowboy vibes.
- Smoked paprika – it’s paprika, but smoky. 🙂 Not spicy. Substitute with regular paprika (aka sweet paprika) or spicy paprika if you dare.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Took Dozer to see the progress on his forever home!
It’s been almost 6 months since he’s been there. Because of his mobility limitations these days – he’s a little unsteady on his feet even on the best of days – I wanted to wait until the ground had been levelled out a bit.
He certainly relished in the attention from the tradies! This is Daniel from Harwood Roofing who are redoing the slate roof – tile by tile, by hand, the old school way. Ah, the joys of heritage homes! 🙂
Yesterday on site was a fun day. JB and I popped over to do burgers for the builders. Double cheeseburgers, complete with homemade special burger sauce!
No bread for Dozer these days, bit risky for him (accidentally inhaling crumbs into his lungs). But we made mini burger patties for him instead. ❤️
3 1/2 months until we are in our forever home! Can’t wait. ❤️
There is only one thing wrong with these nuts—once you start eating them, you can’t stop. They are absolutely delicious!!
In the recipe, the salt is listed with the nuts, but in the video, the salt is included with the spices. Including the salt with the spices makes more sense as this will ensure that the salt dissolves nicely into the coating. I made a batch today and it was sweet and spicy goodness! Thank you, RTM!
These are great, but I did find the caramel hardened very quickly when I was mixing it through the nuts. Next time I’m going to try warming the bowl in the microwave first to help keep the mixture runnier for longer. Admittedly, it is mid-winter here.
I have a problem. I made these this morning, ready to take to a Christmas in July 🌲🌲 event tomorrow evening.
My problem is:
The nuts might not last long enough to be taken to the event! They are just too dang delicious haha 😂😂
Hi I am looking for a dairy free substitute for the butter. I cannot get vegan butter and I don’t like to use margarine. Would oil work? or coconut oil? I have seen the egg white versions but I am quite sensitive to the taste of egg so that doesn’t work for me either. Thanks for any advice
Hi Nagi, Dozer & Team, I’m not usually one for leaving reviews but O.M.G these nuts are actually to die for!!! I admit to adding a teeny drizzle of honey over the nuts for the last 5 mins in the oven but wowzer, they were amazing! Thanks so much, really enjoy all your recipes! Everything I’ve tried has turned out amazing but I just had to give a shout-out for this recipe, I will make this time and time again 🙂
Your builders must love you & you still spoil Dozer & how could you not with those imploring big eyes. The style of your home is very appealing & I wish you many very happy enjoyable years there
Sadly, my coating turned out grainy rather than glossy. Any suggestions for next time?
Hopefully J.B. or Nagi will comment, but my guess is that either your heat was too hot and/or it cooked too long when making the sugar syrup. Even the size of pan could impact the speed of water evaporation. I wonder if mentioning what candy making stage (soft ball stage?) or temperature the sugar mixture should be at would be helpful or if the water in the recipe makes it irrelevant. I hope you figure it out. I bet they were still delicious though 😉
🙂 From recipe “notes” above: Grainy coating – If yours ends up with a slightly grainy coating on some nuts, that’s no problem. It just means your toffee went a little further on the stove. It’s similar to the texture of candied nuts made using egg whites and is actually considered to be a good thing because it stays crispier for longer and less susceptible to becoming sticky due to humidity!
Hi Nagi
First: love all of your recipes!
I’m going to make the nuts, but I’m not sure how much nuts I need. We don’t work with cups but grams over here, and when I tried to translate, the internet says different things. With some of your recipes I can change it into metric when I print, but not with all of your recipes.
Can you help me out?
Thanks!
Australian cups hold 250ml, so 4 cups total would be about a litre. I hope this helps.
Hi Edith, I’ve just tested again this weekend. I used 500g nuts 🙂
Thanks! I used about that, and it turned out great! Sweet and spicy, who needs more?
The flavours are amazing. Have made them twice! However I must be doing something wrong. I make the candied part and pour over and it doesn’t liquify. The candied part almost grnaulaises. Is that because I’m putting it in a cold stainless steel bowl? Same when baking. Delicious but not coated. Like a powder almost?
bookmarking this recipe to try when it’s not too hot to turn on the oven! gotta ask in the meantime, though: where’d you get your spice bottles?? I’ve been on the hunt for ones exactly like yours but haven’t been able to find any (although I have a feeling I won’t be able to find them here in the U.S. 😔).
I got them from Kmart! They still sell them here in Australia 🙂 But gosh, they have doubled in price so I got mine! – N x
https://www.kmart.com.au/product/4-pack-candy-jars-42609490/
tried checking the American Kmart site, but no luck 🙁 thanks for your reply, though!
your recipes rock!!!!!!!
thank you for sharing your home reno with us ….Dozer is the sweetest dog ….
Thanks Anne! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes – and yes, Dozer’s definitely the real star around here 😄 – N x
I made this a day after you posted it!! just with almonds and cashews as had no pecans – but they would be nice. I did it in the air-fryer – just mixed up the other ingrediants and poured them over the nuts. very very nice
Love that you jumped on it so fast, Elspeth! Almonds and cashews are perfect – and genius using the air fryer! – N x
Can’t wait to see you and Dozer settled into your ‘new’ place! Would love to see a detailed ‘tour’ once you are in! I’m always fascinated with a remodel! Plus I love to envision special people (this to include Dozer of course!) in their creative spaces….🥰
These nuts are on my weekend list of makes!
Thanks Debby! A tour is definitely on the cards once we’re in — and you know full well Dozer will waddle his way into every shot 😄 – N x
I wish for you and Dozer all the best in your forever home. Also, I’m trying these nuts out today. I have raw almonds, pecans and walnuts….yum!
Thank you Sew Kitty — so kind of you! Hope you love the nuts with that combo, sounds delicious! I do love candied walnuts – the slight bitterness of walnuts works so well 🙂 – N x
Hi Nagi, what kind of Chipotle do you use? I have the Woolworths brand Chipotle seasoning mix but it doesn’t seem to be the right colour? Thanks!
Nagi, do you have a recipe for salt and vinegar nuts?
I used to get delicious salt and vinegar almonds but nobody seems to make them any more and all my attempts to make them myself have been unsuccessful.
Please help me in my quest.
No – but I want!
I can’t wait to make these for my trivia team. I make treats for them every week. Dozer looks great. He’s actually the reason I signed up for the emails and now I open them first on mornings that they arrive. Now I have two cookbooks and my cooking is much more adventurous. Thank you to you and your team for all you do and especially to the big boss…Dozer.
That absolutely made my day, Lisa — thank you! Big love from me and the big boss himself 🐾 – N x
Made this the minute it hit my inbox. Absolutely fabulous. Thank you, Nagi! (Love and huge thanks to you and Dozer and all the team) xo
OMG I think you are the first person in the world to make it!!! 🙂 Glad you loved them Julie, thanks so much for taking the time to let me know your feedback! – N x
Texan…we adore you, your sharing, your great food, we cook your food, we give your books, we hug our dogs reading Dozer stories. SO BIG THANK YOU.
Mark, thank you for this lovely message! Sending a big hug back from me and Dozer 🐶❤️ – N x
What a joyful post. So happy to see Dozer having a wonderful life and to see the smile on your face.
Thank you Amanda – he really is living his best life, and he brings the biggest smile to mine 🐾😊 – N x