Pecan Butter
Pecan butter is easy to make and tastes absolutely incredible! This recipe calls for pecans, salt, cinnamon, and a food processor or blender.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on December 2, 2025
If you love pecans like I do, you must try pecan butter. Toasted pecans meld together in a food processor or blender, transforming into silky smooth, spreadable nutty goodness with maple undertones. Swirl in a pinch of salt and cinnamon at the end to make it taste positively divine.
Pecans arenโt cheap, but pecan butter is worth every penny. Itโs liquid gold. Tie a ribbon around your jar to give it as a simple homemade holiday gift, or keep it all for yourself. (Better yet, double the batch to make enough to share.)
I suggest slathering it on a piece of my favorite honey-sweetened banana bread. It makes a healthy breakfast that tastes almost as decadent as a piece of cake.
The idea for pecan butter came to me on a road trip back from Colorado long ago. I munched on a cracker, then a couple of fresh, locally grown pecans. Those pecans were extraordinary; one taste convinced me that every pecan Iโd ever tasted had been rancid with old age. My grandmother Mimiโs family owned a pecan farm and she adored pecans. Maybe itโs genetic.
I munched on a couple more pecans, and another cracker, wishing I could smear the pecans on top like peanut butter. Bingo! Pecan butter.
The great news is that pecan butter is the easiest nut butter to make. Pecans are relatively soft and high in natural oil content, so they blend readily. Youโll find the recipe further below.
Uses for Pecan Butter
Serve pecan butter on toast, French toast,ย pancakes, muffins or quick bread. Drizzle it over oatmeal or yogurt. Consider topping it with thinly sliced apple or pear, fresh berries, chia seed jam, or cranberry sauce.
Any of these options would be amazing with pecan butter:
- Healthy Banana Bread or Maple-Sweetened Banana Muffins
- Healthy Pumpkin Bread or Pumpkin Muffins
- Apple Oatmeal Muffins
- Apple Steel-Cut Oatmeal or Perfect Steel-Cut Oats
- Overnight Oats
More Homemade Nut Butters
Once youโve tasted freshly-made nut butter, youโll be hooked! Try one of these next:
Please let me know how you serve your pecan butter in the comments. I love hearing from you.
Homemade Pecan Butter
Pecan butter is easy to make and tastes absolutely incredible! Feel free to to double or maybe even triple the amount of pecans in order to make a bigger batch (you may find it easier to toast the pecans in the oven at that point). Recipe yields 1 cup as written.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (about 2 cups) high quality pecans, either whole or in pieces
- Salt, to taste
- Pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)
Instructions
- Pour the pecans into a large skillet and toast, stirring often, over medium heat until fragrant (donโt let them burn!). This will take about 4 to 8 minutes.
- Pour the toasted pecans into a food processor or high-speed blender and let them cool for several minutes. Then blend the pecans, pausing to scrape down the sides with a spatula often. The mixture will be crumbly at first, but will eventually blend into super-creamy goodness. Be careful not to let the mixture get too hot, which seems to cause oil separation. You might have to stop and let the mixture/machine cool down for a bit just to be safe. The amount of blending time required depends on your machineโmy old food processor took ten to fifteen minutes to turn the pecans into pecan butter, but my Vitamix blender can do it in a minute or two.
- Add a pinch of salt and cinnamon (if using). Blend again, taste, and add more salt or cinnamon if needed. Pour the mixture into a small jar, and seal it with a lid. Store it at room temperature for up to 1 month or in the refrigerator for several months.
Notes
Tip: This pecan butter is only as good as the pecans you put it in it. Seek out fresh pecans from a store with high turnover.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Can I palce the pecans in the oven instead of the skillet?
Hi! Sure, you could try that. Be mindful you donโt over roast!
Hi.just read your recipeโฆhave to try this..Iโm thinking buckeyes with pecan butter..any ideas on the thought
I donโt have a recipe, sorry! Sounds delicious, though.
I like that idea :)
350ยฐF for about 8 minutes. They are ready when they smell toasty!
Can I can this? It sounds like it would make a wonderful addition to my holiday baskets of home made jams.
Iโve made this several times. Your instructions are perfect! Including the note about using good quality nuts. Taste a piece of one of your nuts before proceeding with the recipe. If your nuts are good, following this recipe will yield delicious nut butter.
The best Damn thing since Velcro. Have an abundance of Pecans from small one inch up to 3.5 inch . Several kinds . I have not tried making this with each kind yet . Yet. Iโve never heard of it .
I have to say itโs heaven sent.
I added A dash of honey .
Thank you for this . Itโs Good just on a spoon.
Youโre welcome, Jason! Thank you for your review.
This pecan butter is INSANE. So delicious and decadent and simple to make, yum. :)
Your blog became one of my faves when I went plant-based years ago. You make it so easy because I know everything on your site is going to be good, which I canโt say about many other food blogs. My husband even knows that when I say โitโs from Cookie + Kate!โ heโs going to like it, lol.ย
And I love this pecan butter so much I included it in a blog post about 5 favorite fall recipes I just put together.
Forgive me for the amateur food photog attempts, Iโm a newbie + Iโm trying, lol. Thanks for the work you do, the consistently-awesome recipesโฆand for being such a plant-based inspiration for me!
Hi, Iโm wondering if i can use the pecan butter to make cookies? I want to use a regular pecan butter cookies recipe and substitute the pecan butter for the butter and pecans but i donโt know if that would work.
Hi Ana! Iโm not sure as I donโt know what recipe you are using and havenโt tried it myself to say for sure. If it calls for a nut butter, this would work well as a replacement.
Just made pecan butter yesterday and itโs delicious. Iโll be making chocolate/pecan butter fat bombs this weekend. Iโve been making my own nut butters for years and they are much better and healthier than anything I can buy in the store. Everyone should do their own.
Wondering if anyone has tried using Trader Joeโs toasted pecan pieces? I may try since they come perfectly toasted!
Hi! I used the TJโs pecan pieces and it came out great. Give it a try!
Iโve made this twice now. Itโs delicious! Used a smidge of maple syrup and it turned out wonderfully. Thanks for posting!
Youโre welcome, Elise!
Fixn to make my pecan butter now ty for the recipe sure it want listless than a week.lol ty again Ruth
What marvelous nut butter this was. It does remind me of the early days when I was still naive and suckling on nuts for some fast moolah. Magnificent nut butter if I say so myself. One may not be worthy of this nut butter as it will only show the faces of which we lack flowing through the compressed oils of the ground pecan nut. Took a star off cuz it wasnโt good.
Very good. I tossed a couple of dates in and it was delicious! My dad sat down with a jar and spoon and went to town!
Sounds delicious! Curious if you blended the dates along with the pecans, or just chopped them up.
Yup just toss them in the food processor with the pecans.
Hello! I did it today. Can I put it in the freezer? Thank you!!
Hi Lourdes! Iโm glad you enjoyed it. I havenโt tried freezing it, sorry.
The almond butter was very yummy, but this pecan butter!?!? Wowza!!! I am impressed. I put 2 tbs of maple syrup and 1/2 tsp of vanilla and 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. Tastes like candied pecans! Yum!
Thatโs great to hear, Vicalee! Thank you for your review.
I found you because after my sweetie made me some flourless peanut butter cookies and wondered if I could make pecan butter cookies because he was shelling some pecans Ian had knocked out of our trees. I went looking to see if anyone had made pecan butter. Thanks. Going to experiment making flourless pecan butter cookies now. (wheat sensitive)
Let me know how they turn out!
I canโt wait to try it. Iโm burned out on almond butter and heard almonds are not as healthy as I thought. Not sure if is that is right though.
i have a bunch of pecan trees. Is there a way to process for long term storage.
THANK YOU! This is a GAME changer! So simple, so easy! Pecan butter is the only nut butter I can eat and $10 for a 10 ounce jar is so expensive. (plus it only comes in plastic containers). I will be making my own pecan butter from now on!
Great to hear, Emilia!
Hello! Thank you for this recipe, I canโt wait to try. Right now I have a ton of walnuts to put to use, so Iโm wondering if this recipe can be used to make walnut butter? Thanks and keep up the amazing recipes!!
I havenโt tried it, but it may work. Let me know if you try it!
O โ M โ G !!!
Iโm glad you loved it, Janet!
Thank you for this recipe!! Deliciously delicious and a much needed boost to my Keto lifestyle.
What food processor do you recommend?
Hi Vanessa, I donโt believe my model is sold anymore, but I have all my kitchen essentials on the blog.
DEEEEEEELICIOUS Pecan Butter! Unfortunately, I experienced the same issue as some others, the oil separated from the pecans. After numerous failed attempts to cool it down and remix, it was not blending. I refused to throw it away and decided to add a quarter cup raw, unroasted cashews. Unroasted because the flavor is more neutral. My pecan butter is not perfect but that did help to bring the oil and the nuts back together. Itโs creamy, edible and it tastes good! Maybe this will help others rescue their Pecan Butter.
I enjoy good food and Taste. I make Candled Pecans ( with brown sugar, cinnamon, some cayenne and 2T of Rye Whiskey), would there be enough oil in them as a replacement to toasting only? Like to mimics the taste in a pecan butter.
I have a great recipe for Candied Pecans. Could I substitute them into your recipe? Would there be sufficient natural oil left to create the mixture in a food processor?
I donโt know if you would get the same result. Sorry! If you try it, let me know.
Thank you for the recipe. It turned out fantastic. I added a little ghee, coconut oil, a dash of cardamom and half teaspoon if pure maple syrup and WOW!!!
Youโre welcome, Christina! Thank you for your review.
I made pecan butter using 2 cups Costco toasted pecans in my Vitamix. These pecans had been in my refrigerator for about 6 months. The result was a somewhat dry crumbly concoction that became spreadable only when I put it on very warm toast just out of the toaster oven. I added a little grapeseed oil and two tsp of maple syrup trying to make is less dry and crumbly though not successful. Any suggestions?
Were they pre toasted? It cold have been older nuts that caused the issue. Sorry to hear you didnโt have perfect results, Bill!
So saaad! Iโve definitely made pecan butter successfully before but itโs not been happening w/ the Vitamix! Followed instructions to the T, and used what I think are good pecans that I got from Costco recently and Iโve been blending for about 15 minutes, stopping often to scrape down sides and itโs just not coming out. Still grainy/not smooth. What a shaaame! Not sure what the problem is.
Oh no! Iโm sorry to hear that. Thank you for your feedback, Alex.
Going to yry it!
I hope you love it, Dwayne!
Hi Kate. Just wondering, if using organic activated pecans do you still need to toast them before blitzing? Or are raw nuts better for making pecan butter? Thanks for the advice.
Amy
I find this provides the best flavor. Let me know what you think, Amy!
Iโm making cinnamon roll granola & it calls for pecan butter. Instead of paying $20/jar & having to wait for it to arrive to make the granola, I decided to make my own. Iโm mixing in some cashews as the 1 recommended in the recipe had both.
Kate, a cup is 8 ounces not 4. Iโm trying this recipe now. Thank you.
One cup ia eight -fluid- ounces, or eight ounces of water. I buy 12 pounds of pecans online each fall (by telephone before the internet) and weigh 250 grams, or two cups of pecans, bag and vacuum seal, and freeze to use throughout the coming year. The recipe is correct: 2 cups is about a half a pound or 8 ounces of pecans.
I mixed pecans, walnuts, and almonds and it was much creamier than almond butter alone. Pecans must have a high oil content. It also mixed much quicker than with almonds alone. It literally poured out of the blender.
Iโm so glad I found you. Now I can make pecan butter and peanut butter at home. Thank you very much
Thanks so much for this recipe! Just tried making this today and it turned out perfectly. :)
I toasted the pecans on a skillet and used a Vitamix blender on speed 7-8ish. The pecan chunks got stuck under the blades a couple times, so I had to dig them out with a chopstick, but eventually it became nice and creamy. Used this in the pecan granola bar recipe and scraped out the leftovers to spread on wholegrain pita (sooo delicious!!)
I know that you said medium heat but my stove only has numbers. What number would medium heat correspond to? I am also wondering if I can substitute the pecans for peanuts to make peanut butter? โ D. Hubbell
Hello, For your stove, if it is a 1-5 scale, Iโd say medium is between 2-3. For peanut butter, I have a separate recipe.
I like to toast them in the oven because the result is more even and easier to control. 350ยฐF for about 8 minutes
I made pecan butter and almond flour banana bread for a friend who decorates our porch for every season. A dream friend and neighbour.
I live in Mississippi and thereโs a pecan farm down the road. I just bought 1 lb of shelled pecan pieces and now know what I will do with some of them! (I made the pecan sweet casserole and a pecan pie).
Hi Jean, how lucky to have local pecans! I hope you enjoy the pecan butter.
Iโve been living in the West Texas Hill Country since spring and I happen to have a giant old pecan tree in my front yard. So does pretty much everyone else in my neighborhood! No one uses their pecans, so I have been collecting them for weeks all along my dog walks. I have been trying to figure out what to do with them since Iโm not really into pecan pie. Now I know! Thanks for the tip!!
Hi Fur, how lucky to have easy access to pecans! I hope you enjoy.
the Pecan Butter recipe sounds soooooooooo good I put Pecans on my shopping list, got and ate a few. Cannot wait to try it!
Delicious! So easy to make, too. I love the variations readers have suggested and will try them later, but right now the recipe as written is perfectly yummy. Thinking of making a few jars for holiday gifting.
This pecan butter recipe is absolutely incredible! The instructions are perfectly clear, and the process of toasting the pecans before blending makes all the difference in creating that deep, rich, and wonderfully nutty flavor. Itโs a luxurious treat thatโs so much more affordable and tastier than store-bought alternatives. The suggestion to spread it on banana bread is pure genius and has become my favorite weekend indulgence. Thank you for sharing such a simple yet transformative recipeโIโll be making jars of this for holiday gifts this year!
I make pecan butter in my Omega auger-style juicer with amazing results, but had to process (run the butter back through) several times โ 6 was the magic number โ for the smoothest results. My favorite nut butter used cinnamon glazed pecans (Blaineโs Farm & Fleet) but the roasted & salted pecans were amazing, too. Still, roasting from raw lets me control what goes in. Oil sometimes naturally separates, but stir back in or drain the oil and use to stir-fry rice, sauteโ veggies or scramble eggs. AI says pecan oil has a higher smoke point than olive oil, so it is good for frying. Iโm hot-water processing a batch to give as Christmas gifts to my co-workers but will advise they refrigerate after opening. Thanks for the inspiration, Kate!! This stuff is beyond-wonderful!!!
This is delicious. My 7 years old is on her second helping on toast and she usually like sugary spreadings. Yeah !