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Sweet and crunchy slow cooker cinnamon sugar candied almonds are just like you get from the mall or a festival but made right in your slow cooker!
Crockpot Candied Almonds
Over the weekend I was browsing through Pinterest and saw this recipe for slow cooker cinnamon sugar candied almonds in my feed. I had other things to do but I knew I wanted to try it out immediately.
Once in a blue moon, I like to get the warm sugared almonds from the mall or in the little paper cone at a festival so how cool would it be to make them at home?
Slow Cooker Cinnamon Sugar Candied Almonds
While you’re making these almonds, you may have your doubts that they’re going to turn out right. For awhile, it will just seem like you’re stirring around some almonds in a pot of sand.
But, like magic, in that last hour, after you pour the water in, they come together and you get perfectly candied almonds.
Though the process is a little time consuming, you’re not actually doing much, you just need to stir them every 20 minutes. I prepped them then made baby food and dinner while they were cooking. Your house will smell amazing.
I got the almonds from Sam’s Club and they were just under $13 for 40 oz/2 lbs. You can also get them on Amazon for a few dollars more, but it’s convenient if you don’t have a Sam’s membership.
If you bag these up for gifts, you could give 9 people a half a cup with that $13 worth of almonds. I think it’s a cute gift – especially if you wrap them up in holiday packaging.
Candied Almonds Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card.
- Almonds – Of course. You’ll want to use raw almonds, not roasted. Like I said, I got mine at Target and they were slightly cheaper at Sam’s Club. If you have time, Amazon is convenient and comparable.
- Sugars – You’ll use a combo of both granulated white sugar and light brown sugar.
- Cinnamon – I say this all the time but get a good quality cinnamon, especially when its a key ingredient.
- Salt – To balance the sweetness.
- Egg White – The egg white acts as a glue to hold the sugars to the almonds.
- Vanilla – Again, I know vanilla is expensive, but you a good, quality pure vanilla extract and not imitation. I get mine in bulk at Sam’s Club.
- Water – Adding water is one of the final steps and it helps create the crunchy coating.
How do I make these vegan?
If you want to make these almonds vegan, you can swap out the egg whites for chick pea juice (aquafaba). 3 Tablespoons of aquafaba replaces one egg white.
I first published these sugared almonds in 2014 and they’re always popular around the holidays.
I’ve made them successfully many times but I wasn’t sure why some of you were having issues, so I wanted to test. I went back in, tweaked some of the measurements, and I’ve made another version that works really well.
I’m sure there are variations in slow cookers (including age), which I can’t really guess or accommodate for.
I will put the modified recipe below the recipe card (below) if you want to give that one a shot. The recipe in the card is the original. Both work really well for me!
Equipment you’ll need
- Slow Cooker – Whether you have a Crock Pot brand or different slow cooker, you’ll need one for this recipe. I’ve had this Hamilton Beach version for years and love it.
- Holiday treat bags – These almonds make really cute (& delicious gifts) when you portion them out into pretty little bags!
- Whisk – You’ll need to whisk up the egg white with the vanilla until it’s frothy.
- Large Mixing Bowl – I talk about these mixing bowls all the time because they’re my favorite. They make a great gift.
- Baking Sheet – Once the almonds are done in the slow cooker, you’ll need to spread them out onto a baking sheet to separate and cool. I like baking sheets with lips so nothing slides off the edges, especially when you’re dealing with almonds.
Need more cinnamon treats in your life? Try these:
- Chocolate Stuffed Cinnamon & Sugar Pull Apart Bread
- Cinnamon Quick Bread
- Apple Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Rolls
- Candied Pecans
- Candied Cashews
Slow Cooker Cinnamon Sugar Candied Almonds
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups granulated white sugar
- 1.5 cups brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg white
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4.5 cups raw almonds
- 3 Tablespoons water as needed
Instructions
- Spray your slow cooker with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk together.
- In another large bowl, add the egg white and vanilla and whisk until frothy.
- Pour the almonds in the egg mixture and toss them around to coat thoroughly.
- Pour the coated almonds into the sugar mixture and toss to coat.
- Pour the entire mixture into the slow cooker and turn to LOW.
- Cook for 3-3.5 hours, stirring every 20 minutes. It will look like not much is happening for a long time but your house will smell good!
- After 3 hours, pour in 2 Tablespoons of water and stir well. If they look dry, add another 1 Tablespoon of water. This is going to make the crunchy coating and things will start looking right.
- Replace cover & cook for another 20-30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- When done, pour the almonds onto the prepared baking sheet and separate any that stuck together. Let them cool slightly to harden then enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag me on Instagram @melissa_pplates so I can see!Originally published November 18, 2014
Here are the modified measurements, in case you were part of the 20% that had problems & want to give this a try:
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg white
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 4.5 cups raw almonds
- 2-3 Tb water
I am making these as I type and was wondering if I can double the recipe in the crock pot? Too late now, but thought I would ask and for any suggestions as soon as possible! I will let you know how they turn out! Thank you as think these will be great in hampers I am making at the moment!
Hi Joanne,
As long as your slow cooker is big enough, I don’t see why it would be a problem, but I haven’t tried it. Let me know if you do! =)
Hello. I found this same exact recipe online from JumbleYum but it does not mention the water. Do you think the water is necessary – or could it make them more soggy with it than without? What in your opinion does the water do for them. Thanks????
By the way, FYI – the other recioe states to spray a coat of cooking spray on the inside of the crockpot first. Maybe that takes the place of the water???
No, non-stick spray wouldn’t take the place of the water.
Hi Mindi,
I’m not familiar with JumboYum or their recipe, but I do think the water is necessary, that’s why I included it 😉 It does not make them soggy, it helps bind the sugar to make the coating. Without it, it’s a bit “sandy”.
I love your recipe and wanted to email it to myself and my gf but was not able to. Would be great if you could fix this. Ty and plz keep posting love it.
Hi Maria,
I just sent you an email that hopefully helps =)
How long can the slow cooker cinnamon almonds last? Until Christmas?
I don’t think they’ll last until Christmas. Possibly if you put them in an airtight container & freeze them, but I haven’t tried. Otherwise, I think they’re good in an airtight container for about a week.
I only used 3 cups of almonds, but used 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar. There seems to be a lot of sugar mixture after I stirred in the almonds. Is that normal? It seems if I would’ve use the full amount of almonds and sugars, the same thing would’ve happened.
There will be some sugar left over but most of it comes together when you add the water.
Can you use the oven for this recipe? I made them in the crock pot and they burned. Maybe my crock pot gets too hot but the sugar burned most of my almonds.
I’m not sure, maybe Google for an oven version, I’ve only done it in the slow cooker. 🙁
Hi! Would I cook this on a low or high setting? Thanks!
Low 🙂
Made this last weekend I added more almonds since it seemed like there was lot of sugar and they turned out great. I am going to make more as gifts for friends
I love giving them as gifts – thanks for reporting back!
Do you cook with too on or off
Does too = top? If so, yes, the lid stays on in between stirrings =)
My middle son and I had cinnamon sugar almonds last summer at a theme park and loved them. I just tried your recipe and he and I both think they are a perfect remake. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome! Thanks for reporting back =)
I tried this and I’m not thrilled. The nuts are kind of mushy, they looked like they would have been better before adding the water and were very hard to separate on a cookie sheet to dry. I also should have read everything before trying. I don’t understand using a crock pot when you have to be there the whole time stirring the item. To me the point of the crock pot is that it cooks while you are away. I’ve found another recipe where the prep is the same, but you bake it in the oven at 250 for one hour. It takes a lot less time and I would think the nuts would remain crunchy. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t give the crock pot nuts as a gift, so I’ll try the oven version.
To each their own. Many, many people have liked them.
I didn’t expect everything to turn into syrup when I added the water! Hope they turn out alright!
Yep, that’s why you lay them out to dry. Howd they turn out?
Not sure what happened but mine are covered more in a chewy caramel (like a bark) after leaving out all night to dry. I cooked them for 3.5 hours like the recipe. They still taste good just not able to give out as a gift. You think I should have cooked longer after adding the water?
Hmm, I’m not sure. Mine got pretty crisp. I’m sorry they didn’t work out for gifts!
The recipe calls for 4.5 cups of almonds but I use 5.5 cups because there is tons of topping to cover it all. 🙂
Thanks! I think I’ll change the directions to include a range 😉
I made these yesterday, followed the recipe exact however, while the coating is crunchy, I find the almonds quite soft and chewy. So it ends up being more of a chewy snack rather than a crunchy one. Is this to be expected?
Mine have been pretty crunchy. I’m making them again tomorrow & will pay better attention. 🙂
Hi! I love these nuts from the store but am nervous to make them myself. I would love to give them out as neighbor gifts but again, I’m nervous they won’t turn out. I’ll go ahead and give them a try. You said you were making them again today. I would appreciate any feedback/tips/tricks, if you have any, as you make them again! Wish me luck haha!
Good luck! I’m sure they’ll be fine. I’m at my day job & have a sick toddler so if I get around to making them, it’ll be pretty late tonight =)
Could you substitute coconut sugar and/or stevia?
Hi, I’m sorry, I haven’t worked with either of those so I’m not sure.
Could I doubled the recipe? Or do I have to cook them separate ?
If your slow cooker is big enough, I don’t see why not.
Do they have to be raw almonds?
As opposed to what? Like roasted almonds? I think those would work fine, too.
The coating on these is still sticky?
After how long? I made these earlier (again) & the coating hardened.
Hey!! I made these last night and followed the instructions word for word and even after pouring them out onto a sheet pan to harden, they stayed sticky even when i left them over night. Did I do something wrong?
Hey Katie,
I’m not sure what happened…I just made these again last week and they hardened. Sorry I can’t be more help – maybe humidity?!
What did I do wrong? I made these for a party. Followed the recipe but mine turned out in a syrup instead of crunchy. HELP!
I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you did wrong. 🙁 I’ve made them many times with success.