This cinnamon roll pecan butter just may be your new favorite nut butter! Requiring just 5 simple ingredients, this homemade nut butter is NOT difficult or time consuming to make. The recipe can easily be doubled, and it makes for the perfect homemade gift for the holiday season too! This pecan butter tastes delicious! Toasted pecans bring a huge depth of flavor, and when combined with cinnamon sugar it takes this nut butter from good to HEAVENLY. As in, addicting and you won’t be able to stop eating it by the spoonful. ?
How to Make Homemade Nut Butter
In case you’ve never made homemade nut butter before, I can assure you it’s actually quite simple to make at home yourself! You will need a food processor though to make it. While I usually prefer my Vitamix to make almost anything else, I’ve learned from experience that a food processor usually makes nut butter easier than a high-speed blender. However, it still works in the high-speed blender (such as a Vtiamix!).
untoasted pecans
I also recommend toasting your nuts in the oven first (I typically buy raw/unsalted nuts when making nut butter). Toasting the nuts yourself brings out the most delicious flavor of the nuts, and it also makes them much easier to blend. You simply have to roast the pecans on a baking tray at 350 degrees about 10-15 minutes, until fragrant and they will begin to darken in color just a bit. HOWEVER, make sure you don’t burn the nuts. ?
Then, simply add the toasted nuts to a food processor and process until it forms a nut butter! This may take awhile; at first it might look like it won’t turn into a nut butter but just be patient. You can see the step-by-step pictures below!
toasted pecans
Here’s what you need to make this cinnamon roll pecan butter:
- pecans
- brown or coconut sugar
- coconut oil (could sub oil of choice)
- cinnamon
- vanilla extract
- sea salt
That’s it!! I seriously hope you give this recipe a try soon; I can’t wait to hear what you think about it!
add pecans to a food processor…
Ingredients and Substitution Ideas
Pecans
If you’ve never had pecan butter before, all I can say is it’s absolutely DIVINE. Pecans are naturally a bit softer and higher in fat than some other types of nuts (such as almonds), so they break down quite easily into a delicious, drippy and smooth nut butter. Pecans and cinnamon go well together for fall flavors in my opinion, so I was excited to create this cinnamon roll flavor!! This nut butter was inspired by Abby’s Better cinnamon roll almond butter and their pecan butters that I kept seeing other bloggers use on Instagram.
HOWEVER. I’m not about to spend $13 for a small jar of nut butter LOL. I love making homemade nut butter for many reasons, but one of them is that it’s definitely cheaper than buying store-bought! Especially when making nut butters other than peanut butter and/or if you buy your nuts in raw or in bulk. Hopefully you don’t, but if you have an allergy to pecans you could try subbing almonds in place of the pecans, although I haven’t tried it with this specific recipe. I have made homemade almond butter before though! You may need to add more oil since as previously mentioned almonds can be more difficult to break down into nut butter than pecan.
process until a crumbly meal forms…
Sugar
You can use either brown or coconut sugar here! I used coconut sugar, but brown sugar will give the same cinnamon roll taste. You only need 2 tablespoons for the entire batch, so when you break it down per serving it’s VERY little added sugar. Interestingly, nut butters can “seize up” when you add sugar, so make sure you add the next ingredient below (oil)!
Oil
I used coconut oil, which is one of my favorite oils to use when making homemade nut butter. You could sub in any other kind of oil here, such as avocado or olive oil. However, it may change the flavor a bit depending on if the oil you use has a strong taste. In case you’re wondering, even though I use unrefined coconut oil (which could still taste like coconut), this pecan cinnamon roll nut butter absolutely has ZERO coconut taste. You aren’t using enough coconut oil to impart a coconut flavor; rather, the coconut oil helps ensure the pecan butter is drippy and smooth.
scrape down the sides as needed with a spatula. Eventually the pecans will start to form a paste…
Cinnamon
Obviously, cinnamon is needed for a cinnamon roll taste! However, this is a very easy and optional ingredient to leave out if you so choose. Recently I’ve discovered the amazing taste difference between Saigon cinnamon and regular cinnamon (you can read more about the difference here. Saigon cinnamon has a stronger flavor, and I can honestly tell a difference in the final product! I’ve also had other taste testers (aka family members) mention they can tell a slight difference when using Saigon cinnamon. It reminds me of balsamic vinegar; sometimes quality REALLY matters and can make a huge difference! ?
Then add the cinnamon, brown or coconut sugar, salt, and coconut oil…
Vanilla Extract
Just like with cinnamon, I always buy pure vanilla extract versus imitation. Again, a little goes a long way and the taste is much better in my opinion! Adding vanilla also adds to the cinnamon roll taste we are going for here.
and process again until the pecan butter is super smooth, creamy, and drippy!
Salt
Ok, I realized I almost forgot an ingredient…so technically, if you have to count salt as a separate ingredient then you need six total ingredients to make this cinnamon roll pecan butter. I like using freshly ground sea salt, especially in nut butters. A little bit goes a long way here but do NOT skip this tiny but mighty ingredient. Salt really brings out the sweetness and brings all the flavors together. I personally do not care for nut butters that are unsalted. They are just missing something and lacking in flavor! Similarly to the sugar, you are using such a small amount that it doesn’t contribute much in terms of sodium content per serving.
finished product! You can easily double this recipe if you want; it would make a great gift and keeps for a long time (especially if storing in the fridge).
Serving Suggestions
I absolutely love this nut butter on so many fall baked goods!! Personally, while I love peanut butter (especially with anything chocolate), I find this nut butter to pair so much better with fall flavors. Or, you could also try this pumpkin spice cashew butter which is perfect for fall! If you’re looking for some fall baking inspiration that this cinnamon roll pecan butter is DELICIOUS on, I recommend:
Apple Cinnamon Streusel Baked Oatmeal
Apple Cinnamon Streusel Bread-new recipe this fall!
This cinnamon roll pecan butter is so yummy on so many things! Or honestly eaten by the spoonful ? Hope you give it a try for yourself soon! I’d love to hear what you think.
- 2 cups pecans
- 2 tablespoons brown or coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Sea salt, to taste (I don't measure; add to taste. Likely ¼-1/2 teaspoon).
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place pecans on a nonstick baking tray (no need to grease or line tray).
- Bake at 350 degrees about 10-15 minutes, until fragrant then they turn a slightly deeper brown color. Watch closely so they don't burn!
- Add pecans to a food processor. See photos above for step-by-step process.
- Process pecans until they become crumbly. Scrape down sides as needed, and process until it begins to form a paste.
- Add in brown or coconut sugar, coconut oil, cinnamon, and pure vanilla extract. Process again until creamy, drippy, and smooth.
- Enjoy! See post for recipes ideas to eat this yummy cinnamon roll pecan butter on.
You talk about salt in your description and not to leave it out but it is not listed in the ingredients.
Sorry about that; I’ll update the recipe to include it! Thanks for letting me know.