Roasted Pecan Recipe

This recipe is guaranteed to make you popular. I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t smitten with these after the first bite. They’re the perfect item to take to parties (make lots) and they’re also wonderful as gifts. I give away many kraft tin-tie bags full of these beauties every Christmas.

This is a super-simple dish, but it does take one speciality ingredient – Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. Please don’t try to make it without this salt, but at the same time, don’t feel you’re buying the salt just to use for this one recipe. It’s fantastic for seasoning just about anything. I love it in soups, chilli, or sprinkled over scrambled eggs. It has a much more exciting flavour that plain table salt.

The recipe:

250g raw pecan halves
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1.5 teaspoons seasoned salt

Preheat oven to 160C (310F)

In an appropriate sized bowl, add pecans and olive oil. Stir well so that all of the pecans are coated in oil. Then add the salt and stir well, again, making sure all of the pecans get a good coating.

On a parchment paper-lined baking tray, spread the pecans so that they’re in a single layer and well spaced. Bake for 15-20 minutes. It’s a good idea to peek in on them after 12 minutes to make sure they’re not getting too dark. You want them nicely browned, but not burned.

Once removed from the oven, let them cool completely before eating. Trust me on this – they are molten fire bombs of death when they’re fresh out of the oven.

Stored in an air-tight container, they’ll keep for about 2 weeks, but they’re unlikely to last that long. Roasted pecans are versatile. You can add a bit of hot chilli powder or cayenne pepper to the seasoned salt if you like spicy flavours, or you can add a little sugar if you’re a fan of sweet and savoury snacks.