A Clean Bake

Sugar Free Candied Walnuts (Gluten Free, Low Carb, and Paleo)

Anti Candida
Dairy Free
Egg Free
Gluten Free
Low Carb & Keto
Paleo
Vegan
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Sugar free candied walnuts make a great sweet, yet low-glycemic snack! (gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan)

Hey, remember when I promised you more savory posts? That doesn’t count this week.

Sorry to totally confuse you, but I have had this week’s posts in the queue for a while now, since I knew this week would be kind of a crazy one (I’m in Dallas today. Any dinner recommendations!? If not, I’ll probably go to my beloved Torchy’s Tacos).

But the good news is that, while these candied walnuts are not exactly savory – which is to say they are not at all savory – they are sugar free because, wait for it, granulated stevia and monk fruit sweeteners actually melt (!!!). If this is old news to you, I apologize, but it was a wonderful discovery to me, one which opens up a brave new world of low-glycemic, non-stomach-irritating candied things and simple syrups.

It may depend on the brand (I tried these with both Norbu granulated monk fruit sweetener and Natvia granulated stevia – my two favorites), but the products I used are indistinguishable from sugar in the finished dish.

You guys are smart people and can certainly deduce for yourselves how exceptionally addictive these can be: chewy nuts encased in a rich, yet crisp, outer sweet-spicy shell. Imagine cinnamon toast crunch, but 100x better, and made with nuts instead whatever processed garbage they make those little squares out of. That’s what we have going on here.

I tried to hide these from myself in the back of my pantry, but ended up eating most of them (my husband ate the rest), a handful at a time, long before this post was even written. I guess that just means it is time to make another batch, because there are so many other ways to use them that don’t involve standing in a dark pantry licking the crumbs of cinnamon-“sugar” crust off of the palm of your hand. You could:

  • Garnish fruit salad, yogurt or ice cream
  • Or, while you’re at it, add an extra layer of crunch to rice pudding or banana pudding
  • Add them to brownies, cookies, or banana bread
  • Toss them in with fruit salad
  • Replace regular nuts with these in nearly any granola recipe
  • Spread these in a single layer (nearly touching) on a nonstick pad or wax paper, and pour melted dark chocolate over them (the spiced version would be great, because of the cinnamon in the nuts) to make bark
  • Replace (or augment) the almonds in this popcorn snack mix

What will you use them for?

Sugar free candied walnuts make a great sweet, yet low-glycemic snack! (gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan)

Sugar Free Candied Walnuts (Gluten Free, Vegan and Paleo)

Sugar Free Candied Walnuts

Yield: 1 cup
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 12 minutes

Sugar free candied walnuts make a great sweet, yet low-glycemic snack! (gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan)

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons butter or coconut oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 Tablespoons granulated monk fruit sweetener, or granulated stevia
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • pinch salt
  • 1 cup walnut pieces

Instructions

  1. Melt butter in the bottom of a heavy-bottomed pan over medium high heat.
  2. Stir in vanilla, sweetener, cinnamon and salt until sweetener is melted.
  3. Remove pan from the heat and add the walnut pieces. 
  4. Use a spatula to gently toss the walnuts until they are fully coated with the syrup. At first, not much syrup will adhere to the nuts, but keep working. The syrup thickens and adheres as it cools.
  5. Cool nuts completely before serving.

Notes

  • You can try to sub coconut oil for the butter, but I haven't tried it so I'm not sure how it will turn out.
  • If you'd prefer to use coconut or raw sugar, double the amount (1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons) since it is not as sweet.
  • Do not use Splenda in this recipe. 
  • Store fully cooled nuts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
  • Yield: 1 cup

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1/8 of recipe
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 130Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 40mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 2g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave me a comment and rating, or tag me on Instagram using @nora_acleanbake or #acleanbake!

© Nora (A Clean Bake)
Cuisine: Dessert


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Comments

  4. Julia says

    I am ALLABOUT candied nuts!! I’ve only used honey and maple syrup to candy them, which makes them turn out more squishy than crunchy – still tasty, but squishy nonetheless. I’m loving the idea of using stevia and will definitely be making these once I can handle nuts in the ol’ brace face over here 😉

    Reply

  6. Taylor says

    Yummmmm! I love the idea of adding them to brownies – or a rich, fudgy, cake-like cookie? Or add them to blondies? I’ve been playing around with blondie recipes lately and I could totally see adding a huge batch of these and a sprinkling of mini chocolate chips…I. am. so. hungry. now. Hope you had a great time in Dallas!

    Reply

  7. Monica says

    Yummm!!! I love candied everything (actually, I’ve always wanted to try making candied bacon…does that sound weird? It’s delicious). It’s awesome that you made it sugar-free and non-stomach irritating too! What a win (:

    Reply

    • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

      Oh, man I’m so sorry they didn’t work out! Different brands use different compounds to make the stevia granulated. The brands I recommended in the recipe (Norbu and Natvia) melt really well and worked very nicely in my test batches, so if you want to try it again, see if you can track down one of those products. (I get them on Amazon –> http://amzn.to/1TP441z) Good luck!

      Reply

  10. E says

    Hi! Thanks for the great recipe, I could have missed it, but how many grams/cups is each serving for the nutritional info?
    Cheers

    Reply

    • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

      Hi! So, I provided the nutrition info for the entire batch and you can estimate how much you are eating to get the per-serving nutrition. There are a couple ways these can be eaten, so there is no clear serving size.

      Reply

  11. Tim says

    Made these with almonds and walnut haves for a sweet craving treat, scaled it to 4 cups. Worked really well, surprised at how good these are, might make these as Christmas treats for my friends and colleagues!

    Reply

  13. G.B says

    These were awesome! I almost couldn’t believe I wasn’t eating sugar, these tasted like such a cheating desert! I made one cup and ate the whole serving. Wonderful recipe.

    Reply

  17. Frank J Caba says

    I think that they would be great if the coating stuck to the walnuts instead of clumping into brown bits. I used a granulated stevia/monk fruit and it appeared to be dissolved. I may try again another day.

    Reply

  19. Christie Yogi says

    I just made these using cashews and coconut oil, in my cast iron pan. They taste just like the ones you buy from the vendors with carts! They’re not as crunchy but they are still warm. Can’t wait to try peanuts and Mac nuts!
    Thanks for posting this all those years ago- still making people happy.

    Reply

    • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

      Hi Jay, yes you definitely need to use a brand of stevia that you like the taste of! I like Natvia (which is hard to find in the US, if you’re located here, but can sometimes be found online or Lakanto monk fruit).

      Reply

  21. Bethany Lewis says

    In an earlier comment you mentioned that you posted the nutrition of the whole batch, but in the nutrition section it says “yield 8, serving 1” does this mean the whole batch is 8x nutrition facts posted?

    Reply

  23. Lisa Ragan says

    Delicious, quick and easy.. satisfies my sweet tooth,along with a nice crunch.thanks for sharing this recipe!

    Reply

  24. Teresa says

    I tried this using monk fruit and it would not dissolve. I’ve had trouble with it in the past. It never dissolves completely and almost always crystallizes. What am I doing wrong? 🙁

    Reply

  26. Owens says

    This is my first attempt to make a sugar free snack like this and I love this recipe. So quick and easy. Can’t keep my kids out of them.

    Reply

  27. Sandra Harper says

    Oh my goodness! I had a bag of walnuts and was wondering what to do with them so I browsed through Pinterest for recipes and found this one. I must say it was so very easy, not a lot of ingredients and not time consuming. Delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe! I rate it 5 stars!

    Reply

  28. Theresa says

    Okay here’s my complaint, the first batch didn’t last long enough. These are a delicious and easy to make snack. I’m heading to the kitchen now to double the recipe, who knows maybe I’ll just go ahead and triple it. Thank you for the recipe.

    Reply

  29. Elana says

    Has anyone tried the recipe with granulated erythritol? Just wondering if it would also work. Would love to make these as Christmas gifts for friends.

    Reply

  30. Mary says

    Yes, mine did the melting process but as I stirred the nuts around they started turning granular and not sticking as well. Putting them back on heat made them melt a bit so was able to salvage them and they still were good.

    Reply

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