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!
Paleo Vegan Maple Cinnamon Candied Almonds
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 1 1/2 cups
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup (225 grams) almonds
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar or granulated sugar1
- 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
Directions
- 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.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar and salt. Set the bowl aside. Combine the maple syrup, water, oil, vanilla and cinnamon in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
- 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.
Source: My post on Cee – The Blog From Cohen's: Easy Candied Almonds
Note: Pictures were updated in 12/2016.
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70 comments on “Candied Almonds (naturally paleo, vegan)” — Add one!
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I rarely write reviews, but this recipe is a keeper. I made them for Christmas and have continued to make them and send in care packages to my kid at college. Just the right amount of sweetness.
I’m happy that you liked them enough to write a review! Thank you. :) I’m glad to hear that they work nicely for your care packages! Thanks for your comment.
I can’t seem to make this right – why are my almonds chewy when I’m done cooking them?
I’m sorry for just now seeing your question! The almonds are always chewy when you’re done cooking them but crisp up as they cool. :)
These are fantastic. They are easy and really quick to make. I used maple sugar instead of coconut sugar and that worked really well. Thanks for a great recipe.
You’re welcome! I bet they’re delicious with maple sugar. Thanks for the tip and for your comment!
Great! Thank you so much! But please, now I need a detailed tutorial on how to stop eating them!
Haha. I have the same problem. ;) So happy you like them! Thanks for your comment.
Oh my….AMAZING! I added in some walnuts also. They roast a little quicker than the almonds, but they taste delish! Great recipe!!!
So happy you liked them! I bet they’re great with walnuts. :) Thanks for your comment!
Hi! These look amazing. Could I follow the same recipe but replace almonds with cashews? Thanks!
Hi there! I believe that’d be fine. I’d love to hear how they come out! :)
Okay, I just made a triple batch of these about two hours ago, and already a third of them are gone! GREAT recipe. I made them exactly per your instructions and they came out perfect. Obviously. Thank you!
Haha. I think you’re amazing for only eating a third of the batch. :D I’m so happy you liked them! Thanks for your comment.
Christmas may be over but I’m still going to be making these for presents! What a great little treat to make for someone!
Weihnachtsmarkt worthy! I only had a vanilla bean so used half of one and it was pretty pronounced but we both liked it a lot. Also, I only had unrefined sugar so ran it through the spice grinder. We also liked the combo of big and small sugar granules. These will make a great gift – next year. ; D
Woohoo! I’m happy to hear that it worked out well. And I like your idea of using a vanilla bean! Sounds great. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
These really look delicious. I have never made cinnamon nuts. I need to fix that. HA!!
You definitely do! Merry Christmas, Charlotte! :D
This recipe is awesome! Just a note…this is great for pecans too! Roasted pecans are amazing. Also, I made this using erithrytol instead of sugar. I think it turned out great (if you’re used to the whole unrefined sugar thing)! Thank you for the recipe! I will be keeping this one :)
That’s great that these work with pecans! That’s great to know. Thanks for the tip! I’m so happy you liked them. :)
I make these all the time, with coconut sugar. They always come out perfectly. I even did them with cashews once, not as good as the almonds though! At Christmas time I swap colored red sanding sugar for the coconut sugar to make them festive.
Ooh! That’s a fun idea. I’m so happy that this recipe has worked out so well for you. Thanks for the tip on making them more festive and for your feedback! :)
I made these today doubling the recipe and used coconut oil and brown sugar . Delicious!
Doubling this recipe is always a good idea (if you have someone to share with, at least! ;)) I’m so happy that they came out well for you! Thanks for the feedback. :)
I just made these with almonds AND banana chips. SO delicious!! I even managed to get away with 2T of sugar too, which is nice.
Thanks for such a deliciously light recipe! :)
Your banana chip addition sounds great! And I love that you used even less sugar. :) I’ll have to try that next time. Thanks so much for your feedback!
I used olive oil and raw sugar for this recipe. Sooooo delicious!!! I shared some with my co-workers and they asked for the recipe.
I’m so happy that you and your co-workers liked the nuts! Thanks for the feedback. :) And olive oil sounds like a great change!
just made these they were great!!!!!! you were soooooo right about them being addickting! thank you sooo much for this ricipe!!!
Hehe. So true! I'm happy that you liked them. Thanks a ton for the feedback. :D
Love love live these …… OMG soo good!
I'm happy you enjoyed them! Thanks for letting me know. :)
I'm scared I'll binge on these but I'll try them, they sound delicious! Thanks for this alternative recipe – I will use the coconut sugar.
Sara :-)
Good! Coconut sugar is the way to go. :) And binging on these was a serious problem for me. Try to make these when you have people coming over and you HAVE to share. Hope you like them! :)
I've made double batches of this recipe twice now in the last month! I've been trying different candied almond recipes for several years now, and HANDS DOWN this is the BEST!!! My whole family loves them!! Thank you for continuing to post such yummy, healthy recipes!
Hi Wendy! Sorry for the slow reply. I somehow didn't see this comment until now. I'm so happy that you liked these! And wow, what a compliment. Thank you very much. :) And thanks for your feedback! I really appreciate it. Happy holiday baking to you! :)
Sam – Thank you so much for leaving feedback! I'm happy your family enjoyed them. Thanks again for letting me know. :)