Buttery-Salted Roasted Pecans

There's nothing like feasting on crisp, Buttery-Salted Roasted Pecans when trying to curb your hunger or satisfy that beastly snack attack. This pecan recipe is a no-guilt delicious treat that pleases most with simple ingredients and easy instructions.

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Pecans have always been a favorite snack. I grew up picking and eating them in my Maw maw's large orchard. Since the pecan tree is well suited for Louisiana soil with its sub-tropical climate and spacious flat land, her pecan harvest was always plentiful. 

Picking the fallen nuts from the towering trees planted in rows meant bending down and grabbing handfuls at a time. Then, they were placed in cotton sacks, tied up, and flattened on the washhouse cement floor for drying.

I remember my grandparents sitting in their kitchen peeling pecans. The table was covered with pecans. Paw paw would crack them with a loud spring nutcracker, and Mawmaw would peel the shells away. Sometimes, we'd help, but not for long. This was laborious work for tiny fingers. Little did we understand the good eating that would result from their work.

One of my favorite recipes my Maw maw would make was her pecan pralines. Her recipe, Noelie's Pecan Pralines, has simple instructions for tasty results. It was always a staple during the holiday season and still is today.

If you like a healthy snack with a bold punch of taste, try these Cajun Roasted Pecans. You may be surprised to discover where they get their spicy Louisiana flavor - try liquid Concentrated Shrimp And Crab Boil. Oh, yeah!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Storage
• FAQ
• Recipes For Roasted Pecans
• The Recipe

Interesting Pecan Food Facts:

• Technically, the pecan is not a nut but a drupe, similar to the peach and plum.
• Pecan trees produce entire crops every two years.
• They are native to the good ole USA! (where most are grown)
• It takes 12 years for a pecan tree to begin producing fruit.
• They grow up to 150 feet, 3 feet in diameter, and live up to 300 years.
• This nut tree has mammoth qualities.
• Pecan shells were roasted and substituted for coffee grinds during WWII. (Tea, please!)
• They have a thousand different varieties.
• Pecans have their day of observance on April 14th, National Pecan Day, and July 12th, National Pecan Pie Day, lest we forget!
• Albany, Georgia, is the Pecan Capital of the WORLD! (growing more than 600,000 pecan trees)
• They are full of fiber and healthy fat and contain antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
• Texans claim the pecan as their state tree and invented butter pecan ice cream. Thank you, Texas!
• French people in New Orleans came up with the pecan pie!
• Wood from the pecan tree is used for furniture, flooring, paneling, and smoking meat.
• Pecans can be ground, made into nut milk, pressed into oil, and processed into pecan butter.
• The word pecan can be pronounced two ways. (I prefer the way that doesn't sound like a facility to relieve oneself, thank you.)

Ingredients

• Pecans - raw, half pieces are best to grab onto by the handful.
• Butter - real, salted, and melted for taste and crispness.
• Salt - sea salt or regular salt accentuates the butter and nut flavor.

See the recipe card below for specific ingredient amounts and their nutrition facts.

Instructions

Roasting is a cooking method known to deepen and enrich food flavors. That's what happens to raw pecans with this easy roasted pecans recipe; it enhances the nutty flavor.

First, melt 3 ½ tablespoons of salted butter. Not three and not four. Three and one-half! That's the perfect combination.

Next, place 3 cups of pecan halves in a large bowl. Then, pour the melted butter over the nuts and sprinkle with salt. Now, stir, stir, stir to coat every pecan with flavor.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, place the pecans in a single layer on the paper, and toast the pecans at a 325° f preheated oven temperature.

Then, pull the roasted pecans out of the oven. Use a long-handled set of tongs to turn the delicious nuts over on the large baking sheet, and stir them around to help each get an even roast. Place them back in the oven, roast them more, and check the color towards the end.

Toast them until they are golden brown. You don't want them to turn dark and have an overdone taste.

Doubling this simple recipe makes it easy to have a big batch on hand for unexpected guests and when you need to make an easy appetizer for a crowd. It's also a great snack with its healthy fats and natural oils.

Storage

Let the roasted pecans cool to room temperature, then store them in an airtight container or ziplock bag in or out of the refrigerator. A quart jar with a screw-on lid works nicely, too. They can also be frozen for longer preservation. 

FAQ

Recipes For Roasted Pecans

Using Buttery-Salted Roasted Pecans is an excellent addition with more flavor to other recipes like these:

Of course, only if you have any leftover pecans or succeed in hiding them for later!

The Recipe

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"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."

John A. Shedd