Homemade Salted Maple Pecan Butter

Do you love pecan pie? How about toasty, nutty pecans on top of coffee cake? Or those cinnamon-sugar pecans around Christmas time? Mmmm absolutely yes.

A few days ago, I was strolling around Trader Joe’s checking out all of the new products when I noticed that there really weren’t that many nut butters besides almond and peanut. And I hate to break it to you, but cookie butter doesn’t count.

Anyway now I feel like I’m on some sort of quest. I MUST MAKE ALL THE NUT BUTTERS. Or at least a few. Anything I can smear on toast or spread all over my pancakes is a must.

Ingredients in homemade pecan butter

As you can imagine, this delicious salted maple pecan butter is made with super simple ingredients but the result is unlike anything in this world. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Pecans: I recommend using plain, raw pecans in this recipe because we’ll be adding our own flavors and toasting them to perfection.
• Maple syrup: you’ll just need a couple teaspoons of maple syrup for the perfect amount of sweetness.
• Cinnamon: for a little cozy spiced flavor.
• Vanilla: the warm vanilla flavor really shines through in this pecan butter recipe!
• Sea salt: a pinch of sea salt makes this pecan butter irresistible.

How to make homemade pecan butter

The best part about this paleo pecan butter is that it’s completely easy to make and only takes about five minutes!

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Evenly spread pecans on an ungreased baking sheet. Toast pecans in oven for 7-9 minutes, being careful not to burn nuts. Mine were perfectly toasted at 8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow nuts to cool for a few minutes.
2. Add your toasted pecans to your food processor and process for 5-10 minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary. At this point the pecan should start to clump together. Continue to process until you reach the desired consistency.
3. Add in maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt and process again until smooth. If the nut butter starts to thicken up too much, you can add 1-3 teaspoon of coconut oil and process again until smooth.

What does pecan butter taste like?

This homemade salted maple pecan butter is creamy, nutty and delicious with the addition of a splash of maple syrup, vanilla, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. A little bit of salt goes a long way too. You’ll find that it tastes a little like the top of a coffee cake crumble. Mostly it just reminds me of those sweet fall flavors that I can never get enough of.

Tips for making homemade pecan butter

• Use a food processor. It might tempting to try making your pecan butter in a high-powered blender, but a food processor is much easier for scraping down the sides and getting the right consistency.
• Be patient! Ten minutes can seem like a long time processing the pecans, but they will turn smooth and creamy the more you process them and the more the pecan’s oils are released.
• If you need to add some moisture, add a little coconut oil, not water. Water will cause the pecan butter to seize up as it interacts with the pecan’s natural oils.

How to store homemade pecan butter

Store your homemade pecan butter in a mason jar or container and store at room temperature or in fridge. If you store at room temp, simply give the pecan butter a stir before you use it.

Homemade pecan butter will stay good for a couple of weeks at room temp, and up to 4-5 weeks in the fridge.

More flavor combos to try

Feel free to experiment with different flavors and nutritional boosters in this homemade pecan butter! Here are some ideas:

Bake with your homemade pecan butter!

That’s right, you can use this homemade pecan butter in tons of different baked goods to give them a wonderful, toasty flavor. Try these:

My other recommendation: spread it on toasted multigrain bread and top with sliced bananas. It’s also wonderful on apples, rice cakes or swirled in yogurt.

I hope you love this easy homemade pecan butter recipe! If you make it, please leave a comment and rate the recipe below. We really appreciate it — xo1

Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats

More homemade nut butter recipes to try:

Homemade Salted Dark Chocolate Almond Butter

Homemade Salted Vanilla Honey Peanut Butter

Chai-Spiced Almond Hazelnut Butter

Homemade Vanilla Cinnamon Raisin Almond Butter

Homemade Cashew Butter with Vanilla Bean & Sea Salt