Pecan Butter

Holy moly - this delicious homemade pecan butter is absolutely irresistible. It's nutty, sweet, and salty all at the same time and such an easy recipe - you're going to love it!

I never thought I'd be the type of person to have multiple different flavors of homemade nut butter in her fridge at once, but between this unbelievable pecan nut butter and the pistachio butter I make all the time for use in recipes, I guess I am now happy to be a 'make your own nut butter' kinda gal!  

This roasted pecan butter is the most delicious nut butter I have ever tasted.  Forget spreading it on toast, I literally can't stop going back to the fridge with a spoon for 'just one more mouthful'. 

I love baking with pecans, they add such a wonderful flavor to anything, such as my Brown Butter Pecan Cookies or my Coconut Pecan Frosting, so being able to condense the flavor down into a wonderful creamy butter is such a treat! 

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• How to Make Pecan Butter
• What to Use Pecan Butter For
• Why Is There Sugar In This Pecan Butter Recipe?
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• More Pecan Recipes
• Recipe

Ingredients

This easy homemade pecan butter recipe is mainly made from one simple ingredient - pecans, with a little optional salt and sugar for flavoring.  But you won't find any of the additives and extra ingredients you get in store-bought nut butter. 

• Pecans - The star of the show.  You can usually find regular raw pecans in the grocery store, but if not they are available in many health food stores or even online. 

• Salt - Do not skip the salt! I promise you won't regret it.  The touch of salt just brings the whole thing together and gives it that *chef's kiss* flavor.  The way the sweet and salty play off each other just rounds out the natural flavor of the nuts.  Oh my goodness.  Just don't skip the salt, okay?

• Powdered Sugar - The sugar is optional, but I find it does something magical to the pecan butter and turns it into a real treat.  If you prefer unsweetened you can just leave the added sugar out.  I spent ages trying to figure out how to sweeten this pecan butter without messing with the consistency and powdered sugar turned out the best, but see the substitutions section below for some other suggestions. 

See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Pecan Butter

The idea of making your own pecan butter may seem daunting, but it's actually just a few easy steps before you'll be licking the best pecan butter ever off of a spoon. 

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C.  Put the pecans on the baking tray and spread them out into an even layer. Put them in the preheated oven and bake for 7-10 minutes until you can smell the wonderful nutty aroma. 
2. Remove the toasted pecans from the oven and let them cool slightly, they don't have to be completely room temperature, just cooled enough that they won't damage your food processor.  Toasting the pecans is an important step - not only does it bring out the flavor of the pecans, but it also releases the natural oils in the nuts which helps them to blend up into a creamy nut butter. 

3. Tip the pecans into your food processor and turn it on high speed.  At first, you'll get finely chopped pecans, which will eventually start to get chunky and look a little moist - that's the oils starting to release.  At this point, you can add a pinch of salt.  
   
   Keep going, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, until it starts to turn into pecan butter.  This can take a long time depending on the kind of food processor you are using. If you want crunchy pecan butter, you can stop here, but if you prefer smooth pecan butter as I do, keep going a little longer and it will get smoother. 

4. Once your pecan butter has reached your desired consistency, add the powdered sugar (and any other things you'd like to add, such as a dash of cinnamon - see variations below for ideas) and blitz for a few more seconds until combined. 
5. Transfer to a glass jar or an airtight container.  I recommend using a rubber spatula to get every last drop of that creamy pecan butter out of there! 

Note: You will need a really high-powered food processor so check your model to see if it can make nut butter - otherwise you might burn out the motor.

What to Use Pecan Butter For

You can use pecan butter just as you might use peanut butter or almond butter.  Here are a few ideas:

On Toast - Of course, you can use it as a tasty pecan butter spread for toast or sandwiches.  The consistency is a little less thick than peanut butter but just as (if not more) scrumptious! 

With Breakfast - Spoon some pecan butter over a bowl of Greek yogurt with some fresh fruit for a refreshing breakfast. It also works great in smoothie bowls or overnight oats.

​In Baking - I often use pistachio butter in recipes such as my Pistachio Muffins, and you could do the exact same thing with pecan butter for a great way to bring new flavors into your baked goods. 

On Ice Cream - It would make a great topping for ice cream or various other desserts.  A great alternative to classic dessert sauces. 

With Fruit - Serve with fresh fruit (like bananas or apples) for a great dipping sauce.  You could even put a small container of it into packed lunches. 

As a Snack - My favorite way to enjoy pecan butter is right out of the jar with a spoon!  It's such a great hit of flavor and you don't need much to satisfy a craving. 

Why Is There Sugar In This Pecan Butter Recipe?

I recipe-tested so many different batches of this pecan butter to get the flavor balance absolutely perfect.  (I don't want to think about how many bags of pecans I went through!)  

To me, the little touch of sweetness really adds something spectacular to this pecan butter. But of course, you absolutely do not need to include the sugar if you don't want to.  It's still a delicious nut butter without the added sugar.  

I tried multiple different sugars and sweeteners and found that powdered sugar provided the best consistency, but you can substitute for any kind of sweetener you like.  

Just be wary that some of the more coarse sugars (like brown sugar or coconut sugar) can leave the pecan butter a little grainy, so you want something that will dissolve nicely into the butter.  See substitutions below for some ideas on other sweeteners to use.  

Substitutions

Sugar - As mentioned above, the sugar is entirely optional, but I think a touch of sweetness is great in this pecan butter.  You could substitute the powdered sugar for other sweeteners such as maple syrup, date sugar, stevia, or honey.  Be careful not to use anything too coarse as it may not dissolve and will make the butter gritty. 

Nuts - You can use this same recipe with any kind of nuts you like.  You may or may not want to add the sweetness depending on what kind of nuts you use, but the process is the same, the only difference is that different nuts may take more or less time to blend up into butter.  Try pistachio butter, cashew butter, walnut butter etc. 

Variations

The possibilities are endless for what you can do with nut butter recipes.  Because it's such a simple process there is endless room for customization - you can make whatever tickles your taste buds.  Here is some inspiration for things you could add to your pecan butter to make it the best recipe for you:

- Pecan Pie Butter - Add some cinnamon or pumpkin spice along with a touch of vanilla extract to bring some warmth to your pecan butter - perfect for the holidays. 

- Chocolate Pecan Butter - Throw in a tablespoon of cocoa powder to create chocolate pecan butter, you could even add some chocolate chips afterward to be enjoyed as a dessert. 

- Chunky Pecan Butter - If you love chunky nut butter, try roughly chopping up a few pecans and adding them back into your processed pecan butter for some extra crunch.  

Equipment

Food Processor or High-Speed Blender - You'll need something with enough power to process the nuts without burning out the motor, some small food processors and blenders may not be able to handle this workload so I advise doing some research on your model to make sure it can do it.  I prefer using a food processor but a high-powered blender will also work - it may just take a little longer. 

I use a Magimix Food Processor, it's my favorite piece of equipment in the kitchen! This is not sponsored, but I do have a video giving the Magimix a full test and review on my YouTube channel, and I even make some nut butter in it in the video - you can check that out here.

Rubber Spatula - You don't want to waste any of that liquid gold, so use a rubber spatula to scrape down the. bowl and get every last bit out.  

Baking Sheet - For toasting the pecans in the oven. 

Storage

​Store your pecan butter in an airtight container - I like to use a mason jar.  Homemade nut butter doesn't have to be refrigerated, but it will last longer if stored in the fridge.  If it's not in the fridge, keep in a cool, dark place such as a cupboard - it will be good at room temperature for one month. 

If you store it in the fridge, it will last for three months. 

You can freeze pecan butter in an airtight container for up to six months.  You can thaw it out in the fridge or at room temperature, but you might need to give it another whirl in the food processor once thawed to bring it back to the right texture. 

More Pecan Recipes

If you love pecans, check out some of my other pecan dessert recipes:

Recipe