Chocolate Chili Spiced Pecans
Spiced pecans with cocoa, chipotle and chili powder are a tasty snack, a quick appetizer or a thoughtful gift from the kitchen. They are both gluten-free and only take 20 minutes to make.
Table of contents
Why We Love This Recipe For Chili Pecans
Who else loves spiced nuts? If you are a fan of my crispy spiced nuts, then you know how good spiced nuts can be! And I am a big fan of spiced nuts in general! They are the perfect last minute appetizer to whip together for unexpected guests. I also love making them during the Christmas holiday season to give as gifts to friends and neighbors.
To mix things up, today I thought I would do a little Southwest meets Vermont/mole sauce-inspired spiced nut recipe. I’d use my West Texas pecans my grandpa sent me and some pure Vermont Maple Syrup from our sugaring business.
Thankfully, these nuts only take 10 minutes of effort (8 actually.) They have a bit of chili powder, a bit of chipotle powder and some cocoa powder too. I sweetened them with Vermont maple syrup. But since maple syrup has invert sugar, the sweet hot coating was too sticky, even after it cooled off, so I had to add some brown sugar to make them set up.
They make for an amazing snack, but an even better gift. All you need is a few mason jars and some string!
Key Ingredients for This Recipe
Pecans
Pecans are perfect for this recipe as they have a slightly bitter, sweet and very buttery flavor that goes well with the spices I chose. If you can’t find pecans, you can always go with walnuts. However, I do recommend sticking with pecans.
Maple syrup
For this recipe, golden or amber maple syrup is the best. It’s a great way to add a bit more natural sweetness to the nuts.
Chili powder
Chili powder is where the spice-kick comes in. However, chili powder is only mildly to slightly moderately spicy (depending on the ratio of the spice blend). You can make your own Chili Seasoning or purchase it at the store.
Additional Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon chipotle powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Step by Step Instructions to Make These Mexican Nuts with Chili
Step 1: Preheat oven
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2: Combine ingredients
Stir together the brown sugar, maple syrup and butter in a medium bowl. Add the pecans, cocoa, chili, chipotle and salt and stir to coat. Spread the nuts out on the parchment lined baking sheet and bake until the cocoa mixture is bubbling, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir the nuts and continue baking until the nuts are sticky and the maple mixture is coating them, 4 to 5 minutes longer.
Step 3: Cool & serve
Let the nuts cool before eating or storing them in airtight containers.
FAQs and Expert Tips
Chili powder is often made up out of a few different ingredients such as chili, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and paprika. With that being said, it depends on the brand.
If stored properly, seasoned and spiced nuts can last up to 3 months at room temperature. If you want them to last even longer, store the jar/container in the fridge or freezer. During humid weather they can become tacky, so plan to eat them soon after baking if making these in the summertime or in hot and humid weather.
Pecans are recommended for this recipe, but if you can’t find any, use whatever nut you want. You could use walnuts, almonds, or even cashews instead.
Additional Recipes to Try with Pecans
- My Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Praline Bundtlettes are so delish!
- And if you want even more dessert, try out this Maple Pecan Tart.
- Thanksgiving Salad is great any time of the year, and any day of the week.
- This Easy Sweet Potato Casserole is a go-to and topped with sugared pecans instead of marshmallows.
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!
Happy Cooking! ~Katie
PrintChocolate Chili Spiced Pecans
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
Description
Spiced pecans with cocoa, chipotle and chili powder for a gift from the kitchen or appetizer. Gluten-free and only 20 minutes to make.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, preferably golden or amber
- 2 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cups pecans
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Stir brown sugar, maple syrup and butter in a medium bowl. Add pecans, cocoa, chili, chipotle and salt and stir to coat. Spread the nuts out on the parchment lined baking sheet and bake until the cocoa mixture is bubbling, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir nuts and continue baking until the nuts are sticky and the maple mixture is coating them, 4 to 5 minutes longer. Let cool.
Notes
Storing:
If stored properly, seasoned and spiced nuts can last up to 3 months at room temperature. If you want them to last even longer, store the jar/container in the fridge.
- Prep Time: 8 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 115
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 101 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 7 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 2 g
Katie…..sign me up for these!! pinned 🙂
Thank you so very much Marla.
Being a southern girl, I love pecans! This flavor combination sounds deliciously complex. And your photos are awesome! Great job!
I hope I never have to choose a favorite nut, but if I did, pecans would be a front runner for sure.
What a creative (and simple) snack! I l.o.v.e. sweet and spicy combos and much prefer pecans to walnuts 😉
I am all about simple these days!
oh my goodness Katie, these look seriously deadly!! pecans are my FAVORITE nut and they totally don’t get enough love, so put together a chocolatey/spicy concoction of them and I am straight swooning – love this!
I literally just squealed when your comment came in. How are you???? Can’t wait to click through to see what you’ve been up to. This is not helping me focus. Missed you. And thanks so much about the nuts. 😉
oh you know, just get married and stuff!! haha wedding was on 9/20, honeymooned for two weeks, and now just getting back into the swing of things – feels great to be back!!!! thank you for the warm welcome, it made my day 🙂
Mmmm…chocolate chili! <3 I love that combination!
I do too. Thank so much for coming by Farrah.
Mmm…chocolate chili spiced pecans?? Yes, please! This looks like it would be a fantastic hostess gift for the holidays, too 🙂
I am planning to make a few batches for just that reason.
Now I’ve used chocolate, chili and chipotle in chili and roasted vegs before – but would never have thought to amp it up with some maple syrup! BRILLIANT Katie! I bet snacking on these would be unstoppable! Is Jheri taking more pecan orders? 🙂
Oh, I want to do roasted veggies with chocolate and chili now. Thanks for the inspiration Shashi. And Jheri probably would totally take orders. She is just that kind of generous soul.
These pecans looks amazing!! Great gift ideas for the holidays. Can’t wait to bake a batch of these goodies!
Totally! These do double duty for a snack or a gift.
What an awesome flavor combo! I need these pecans for a snack…right now…with my cup of coffee. 🙂
Well okay then 😉 They don’t take long… Thanks so much for dropping by David.
jheri sounds like a woman after my own heart. my texas grandpa used to send us boxes and boxes of pecans he gathered from his trees. those were good days. i still eat them routinely as a snack. but now i know they’d be even better covered in maple and cocoa!
You have a Texas Grandpa too? We also get amazing grapefruit from Texas. I bet you do too…? I always offer my girls nuts for a snack when they get off the bus. Nuts really are the best snack.
Haha Texas meets Vermont..gotta love it! Wow, Katie, these Spicy/sweet pecans sound amazing!! Who needs those ones sold at the mall around this time of the year (oh the smell is so glorious!) when I can easily make it at home!! Pinning!!! I think these will make for great holiday gifts this year. xoxo
I knew you’d appreciate this one Min, considering you just made a trip up here. I know just what you mean about the smell of the spiced nuts. I love buying them in the little paper cones from street vendors too.
Yay for pecans! So yummy! I always have a jar in the fridge 😉
I love pecans too. So funny about that FB post, since I always feel like I am not fair to the other nuts and always give pecans too much attention.
I love this Katie. especially the cocoa addition, what a pleasant surprise. I love pecans too but I’ve never thought to add cocoa. Can’t believe how fast these are to make. Also, I must say these pictures– I’m loving the moodiness and the touch of fall, oh and that red distressed backboard! Teach me your ways friend.
Would you believe I had the hardest time with these photos Kristina. I couldn’t decide how to deal with the light, the background, anything. That’s why there are so many variations. I still am not sure of any of them. Glad to hear that you think they are okay though. That helps.
We are always the hardest on ourselves. I’m LOVE these photos. Great job.
These look and sound amazing – chili+cocoa+chipotle – can’t wait to try this recipe!
Thank you Jeanette. Have a great day.
YES!!!! I love the sweet/spicy combination- and the added maple syrup? genius!
Thank you Arman. I checked out your spiced peanuts for the Redux too. They look great as well. Have a great day.