Homemade Pecan Butter
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Learn how to make Homemade Pecan Butter in just four easy steps! This holiday spiced edition is full of warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and naturally sweetened with dates! Enjoy it on toast, with oatmeal and fruit…or eat it by the spoonful because it’s that GOOD!
Drizzle this homemade pecan butter on Apple Pie Baked Oats, this Apple Cinnamon Protein Overnight Oats or this Pecan Pie Baked Oatmeal!
About This Recipe
My favorite nuts are PECANS and I absolutely love love LOVE pecan butter!
I started making my own pecan butter because:
- It’s rather expensive to buy at the grocery store here. Homemade is cheaper!
- Homemade nut butters are easy to make and ready in just a few minutes.
- I can customize it to my liking with gorgeous spices. And that’s exactly what I’ve done here!
This Homemade Pecan Butter is a holiday spiced edition and reminiscent of a cozy slice of pecan pie. It’s made with perfectly oven roasted pecans, full of warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and apple pie spice, lightly salted, and naturally sweetened with dates. YUM!
It’s delicious on and with everything from baked oats to overnight oats, sliced apples, slathered on toast or drizzled on top of ice cream!
You also don’t need to add any additional oils. The pecans release their natural oils during processing and turn into a beautiful, decadent and creamy roasted pecan butter!
Bonus: It is an excellent holiday gift and you’ll be loved forever by whomever you gift it to!
I guarantee that once YOU try it though, you’ll be making it over and over again! Without further ado, let’s make some homemade pecan butter!
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy to make with simple ingredients. It’s ready in 4 easy steps – roast, cool, process and store! You only need a few simple everyday ingredients to make it.
- Cheaper than store-bought pecan butter. Pecans tend to be pricey so manufacturers charge a BOMB for pecan butter. However, if you buy your pecans (and other nuts) in bulk at a wholesale store like Costco, it’s much cheaper to make your own!
- Customizable. You can switch up the spices or omit them completely to make a plain homemade pecan butter.
- Great for holiday gifting. Tie a cute Christmas ribbon around a small mason jar filled with this holiday spiced pecan butter and gift your loved ones this scrumptious and thoughtful edible homemade Christmas gift!
- DELICIOUS and healthy. It’s cozy, tastes good on EVERYTHING from toasted bread, to oatmeal and to ice cream. It’s also packed with nutrients and healthy fats so you know you can’t go wrong!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutes
- Pecans: Use raw, unsalted pecans. We’ll be oven roasting them to perfection.
- Dried Dates: I used pitted dried Deglet Noor dates to naturally sweeten the pecan nut butter. They add a buttery, sweet caramel flavor! They’re also packed with nutrients, fiber, and antioxidants and rich in potassium. Any type of fresh or dried dates such as Medjool, Ajwa, and Bahri dates will work. Alternatively, use maple syrup, coconut sugar, honey, agave syrup or date syrup instead.
- Fine Sea Salt: A tiny pinch to balance out the roasted nutty and sweet flavors.
- Spices: I added ground cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom and apple pie spice. The apple pie spice I used is a store-bought blend made of cinnamon, nutmeg, mace and cloves. Feel free to use a homemade blend. You can also use more cinnamon or substitute with pumpkin pie spice if you don’t have it on hand. If you’d like to make a plain homemade pecan butter, you can leave out the warming spices.
Full ingredient list and amounts are in the recipe card below.
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How to Make Homemade Pecan Butter
Below is a step-by-step overview on how to make this nut butter recipe. Keep scrolling down to get to the recipe card below with the full recipe and detailed instructions!
Storing
Store in a jar or airtight sealed container for up to 1 week in a cool dry area or in the refrigerator for 4-8 weeks. I recommend storing in the fridge so that it stays fresh longer. If the natural oils separate over time, simply give the pecan butter a good stir like you would with any natural nut butter and it’ll be good to go again!
Ways to Use Pecan Butter
- Drizzle on top of baked oats or overnight oats. I love it with this Apple Cinnamon Protein Overnight Oats breakfast, Apple Pie Baked Oats, Pecan Pie Baked Oats, Pumpkin Baked Oats and Cottage Cheese Baked Oats!
- Spread it on toast or rice cakes. It’s delicious on toasted wholewheat or multigrain bread, sourdough bread and bagels, and rice cakes. Top with sliced bananas for a well-balanced nutritious snack or breakfast!
- Eat it with fruit or veggies. Move over peanut butter! This homemade pecan butter is great for dipping apple slices or celery sticks into for a healthy snack!
- Add to a smoothie. It’ll add a good boost of healthy fats and make your smoothie extra creamy, nutty and delicious!
- Drizzle it on ice cream or yogurt. Try my Ninja Creami Apple Pie Protein Ice Cream or Pumpkin Pie Protein Ice Cream if you have a Ninja Creami Ice Cream Maker (affiliate link). It also tastes great drizzled on top of vanilla ice cream or mixed into Greek yogurt.
- Bake with it. Cookies, muffins, cake, baked oats, quick breads like this Banana Pecan Nut Bread, oatmeal bars, brownies, etc.
- Eat it plain. A spoonful straight out of the jar is guaranteed to satisfy your pecan loving heart and put a smile on your face!
Cook’s Tips
- Use a food processor. Although you might be tempted to use a high-speed blender and though it would do the job too, a food processor bowl is easier to scrape down with a rubber spatula and also to scrape every little last bit of pecan butter into a jar or airtight container for storing. I personally feel I have more control over the texture with a food processor too. With a blender, it’s so easy for the pecans to become over processed and the nut butter to become too runny for my liking.
- Be patient! Depending on how powerful your food processor is, it may take a few more minutes than what I’ve indicated to pulse the roasted pecans into a creamy nut butter. Don’t be tempted to add oil or water as they may cause the nut butter to develop a paste-like texture. Once the pecans start to release their natural oils and the crumbly pecans start to clump, the pecans will turn into a delectable and creamy homemade toasted nut butter!
- Use a wide mouth mason jar or container to store the pecan butter. It’ll be easier to transfer to a container with a wide mouth from the food processor bowl.
- Make a double batch. You can easily double the recipe to make two batches!
Variations
- Omit the spices. If you’d like to make a plain and unsweetened homemade pecan butter, you can leave out the warming spices and dates and just add the sea salt.
- Add vanilla extract. A half teaspoon will go a long way to add cozy vanilla notes. Add it when you add the spices.
- Make a dark chocolate pecan butter. Omit the warming spices and add half an ounce of dark chocolate and a teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder. I recommend Dutch process cocoa powder for a richer chocolate flavor!
- Add seeds. Chia seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds would give this pecan butter a nutritional boost with more omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids!
- Stir in chopped pecans. For a crunchy style pecan butter, stir in one fourth to one third cup of finely chopped pecans, almonds or other nuts into the jar of creamy pecan butter. You can use a food processor to briefly pulse the nuts and set aside, then make the pecan butter and stir them in.
FAQs
Yes, you can. However, oven roasting the pecans tastes much better and requires less active effort. If you don’t have an oven or simply don’t feel like turning it on, toast the pecans in a large skillet over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, until fragrant. Stir often and be careful to not let them burn!
Homemade pecan butter will last for up to 1 week in a cool dry area or in the refrigerator for 4-8 weeks. Storing in the fridge will keep it fresher longer.
Pecan butter has a roasted, nutty and buttery flavor with a creamy texture. This spiced pecan butter is full of warming spices and caramel notes thanks to adding dried dates to sweeten it. It is intoxicatingly aromatic with the warm spices and reminds me of fall and Christmas time flavors.
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Use Pecan Butter On These Recipes!
Homemade Pecan Butter
Learn how to make Homemade Pecan Butter in just four easy steps! This holiday spiced edition is full of warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and naturally sweetened with dates! Enjoy it on toast, with oatmeal and fruit…or eat it by the spoonful because it’s that GOOD!
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Pulse
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2 cups / 240 grams unsalted raw Pecan Halves
- 4 pieces / 30 grams pitted Dates (I used dried Deglet Noor dates – note 1)
- ⅛ teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- ½ teaspoon ground Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground Nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground Cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon Apple Pie Spice (optional, substitute with more cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice)
Instructions
- Roast the pecans: Preheat oven to 325°F/165°C. Line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper (nonstick cooking paper). Spread the pecans out evenly in a single layer on top and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until you can smell toasted pecans and they’ve roasted but are not burnt. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes.
- Process: Transfer the cooled pecans to a food processor bowl and add the pitted dates. Process, pausing to scrape down the edges. It will look crumbly at first but continue processing until the crumbled pecans start to form into a ball and clumps together.
- Add spices: Add the fine sea salt, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and apple pie spice. Process briefly to combine until smooth and creamy. The pecan butter should drip down from a spatula or spoon once done. Be careful not to overprocess or it will become too runny!
- Storing: Store in a jar or airtight sealed container for up to 1 week in a cool dry area or in the refrigerator for 4-8 weeks (refrigerator recommended – note 2).
Notes
- Dried Dates. I used pitted dried Deglet Noor dates (noor is sometimes spelled ‘nour’), which naturally sweeten the pecan butter and add a buttery, sweet caramel flavor. Any type of fresh or dried dates such as Medjool, Ajwa, and Bahri dates will work. Alternatively, use 1-2 teaspoons of maple syrup, coconut sugar, honey, agave syrup or date syrup instead.
- Storing. I recommend storing in the fridge so that it stays fresh longer. The natural oils may separate over time. Simply give it a good stir to reincorporate them like you would with any natural nut butter and it’ll be good to use as you desire again!
- Use a wide mouth mason jar or airtight container to store the pecan butter. It’ll be easier to transfer to a container with a wide mouth from the food processor bowl.
- Omit the spices. If you’d like to make a plain and unsweetened homemade pecan butter, leave out the warming spices and dates and just add the sea salt.
- Make a double batch. You can easily double the recipe to make two batches! Click the ‘2x’ button at the top of the recipe card for the ingredient amounts for 2 batches.
- How to use: Drizzle on top of baked oats or overnight oats such as this Apple Cinnamon Protein Overnight Oats, Apple Pie Baked Oats, Pecan Pie Baked Oats and Cottage Cheese Baked Oats! You can also slather on toast, drizzle on ice cream, bake with it, eat with fruit, add to a smoothie, etc. See the ‘Ways to Use Pecan Butter’ section in the post above for more ideas.
- See the ‘Variations’ section if you’d like to customize this homemade pecan butter recipe.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tablespoon (16 grams)
- Calories: 110
- Sugar: 1.7g
- Sodium: 12.7mg
- Fat: 10.8g
- Saturated Fat: 0.9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9.3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 3.7g
- Fiber: 1.7g
- Protein: 1.4g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
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