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Learn how toast pecans in the oven or on the stove for more flavor, crunch, and aroma in all your favorite recipes. It’s super simple and only takes a few minutes.
Ingredient notes
- Pecans: Cooking times vary depending on which method you choose and how many pecans you are toasting. And don’t walk away! They can go from zero to burnt in under a minute.
- Oil: Toasting pecans in fat (olive oil or clarified butter, for example), is optional. It adds more flavor and helps seasonings stick, if you want to use them.
Instructions:
- Oven method: Bake in a 350-degree oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir or shake the pan occasionally so the nuts brown evenly without burning.
- Stove-top method: Toast in a skillet over medium heat until browned (one shade darker than they originally were) and fragrant, about 2 to 5 minutes.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: The recipe as written makes 1 cup of toasted pecans (enough for 4 servings, ¼ cup each). It can easily be doubled or tripled as needed.
- Storage: Store raw and roasted pecans for a year or more in the refrigerator or the freezer (not the pantry). They spoil easily, especially when roasted.
- Cinnamon and sugar pecans: Toast 1 cup pecans in 1 tbsp oil with ¼ cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon.
- Chex-Mix pecans: Toast 1 cup pecans in 1 tbsp oil with 1 ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce, ½ tsp seasoned salt, ¼ tsp garlic powder, and a pinch onion powder.
- Sweet and spicy pecans: Toast 1 cup pecans in 1 tbsp oil with 1 tbsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp cumin and ⅛ tsp cayenne.
- Overnight oatmeal: A handful of toasted pecans make this Apple Pie Overnight Oatmeal so delicious!
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How to Toast Pecans
Equipment
Instructions
To toast pecans in the oven:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy cleanup.
- Toss pecans in oil and salt if desired. Arrange in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Toast until browned and fragrant, stirring occasionally, about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and chop or use as desired.
To toast pecans on the stove:
- Toss pecans in oil and salt if desired. In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat pecans until browned and fragrant, stirring occasionally, about 2 to 5 minutes.
- Remove from skillet and chop or use as desired.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Pecans: Cooking times vary depending on which method you choose and how many pecans you are toasting. And don’t walk away! They can go from zero to burnt in under a minute.
- Oil: Toasting pecans in fat (olive oil or clarified butter, for example), is optional. It adds more flavor and helps seasonings stick, if you want to use them.
- Yield: The recipe as written makes 1 cup of toasted pecans (enough for 4 servings, ¼ cup each). It can easily be doubled or tripled as needed.
- Storage: Store raw and roasted pecans for a year or more in the refrigerator or the freezer (not the pantry). They spoil easily, especially when roasted.
- Cinnamon and sugar pecans: Toast 1 cup pecans in 1 tbsp oil with ¼ cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon.
- Chex-Mix pecans: Toast 1 cup pecans in 1 tbsp oil with 1 ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce, ½ tsp seasoned salt, ¼ tsp garlic powder, and a pinch onion powder.
- Sweet and spicy pecans: Toast 1 cup pecans in 1 tbsp oil with 1 tbsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp cumin and ⅛ tsp cayenne.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is the Executive Chef and CEO of Culinary Hill, a popular digital publication in the food space. She loves to combine her Midwestern food memories with her culinary school education to create her own delicious take on modern family fare. Millions of readers visit Culinary Hill each month for meticulously-tested recipes as well as skills and tricks for ingredient prep, cooking ahead, menu planning, and entertaining. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the iCUE Culinary Arts program at College of the Canyons.
Just wanted to say thank you for sharing your knowledge on how to toast pecans. Will be trying over the stove method.
You’re so welcome, Evelyn! Take care! – Meggan
The recipe says to store for one week but the notes say one year. That is a big difference.
Hi Kay, thank you for pointing that out! It absolutely is. I’ve updated the recipe. Thank you again and I hope you have a nice day! – Meggan
Cool down time before putting into the storage container??
Hi Tom, they should take 5-10 minutes to cool down. Hope this helps! – Meggan
350 deg C, or 350 deg F .
Hello! It’s 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or 176 degrees Celsius. Take care! – Meggan
Made this a couple of times. Delicious and easy to make.
I toasted the pecans by melting vegan butter 1.5 desert spoons in a small frying pan mixed with 2 to 3 teaspoons of soft fine brown sugar and 1 to 2 teaspoons maple syrup then added pecan nuts for 3 to 5 mins turning them. When they were cooled I chopped them leaving some bigger pieces.
Thank you for the recipe. This is my first time making cinnamon sugar pecans, or any other type of nuts. I made them in the skillet and ended up cooking them 10 minutes because I wasn’t sure they were done. My question is whether the cinnamon sugar is supposed to liquefy and stick to the nuts? When I was done, I had to fish the nuts out of the sugar. I feel like I threw most of the sugar away. Is that the right result or did I do something wrong?
Hi Nell, I’m so sorry for your trouble! I will test it this week and get back to you. – Meggan
88 years old. First time roasting pecans – still learning! Your recipe seems straight forward and has variations.
Thanks.
Hope you enjoy Bernice! – Meggan
I love the aroma of roasting pecans. I bake bread for a similar reason. I use Redmond popcorn sea salt or Sicilian sea salt on the pecans I roast in Louisiana raw pecan oil.
Sounds great Warren, thanks! – Meggan
I’ve toasted these the last few years. This is our first step in making our homemade turtles.