What Are Pecan halves and How Can I Use Them?

Pecan halves rewards a little know-how: how to choose them, cook them, store them, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 233 recipes to cook with them.

What are pecan halves?

A pecan, like the fruit of all other members of the hickory genus, is not true a nut but technically adrupe, a fruit with a single stone or pit, surrounded by a husk.

A diet rich in nuts can lower the risk of gallstones in women.  The antioxidants and plant sterols found in pecans reduce high cholesterol by reducing the "bad" LDL cholesterol levels.

Clinical research published in the Journal of Nutrition (September 2001) found that eating about a handful of pecans each day may help lower cholesterol levels similar to what is often seen with cholesterol-lowering medications. 

Research conducted at the University of Georgia has also confirmed that pecans contain plant sterols, which are known for their cholesterol-lowering ability. 

Pecans may also play a role in neurological health. Eating pecans daily may delay age-related muscle nerve degeneration, according to a study conducted at the University of Massachusetts and published in Current Topics in Nutraceutical Research.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find pecan halves: Pecan halves are usually found in the baking supplies section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Pecan halves are a member of the Nut and Seed Products US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese

山核桃半

British (UK) term

Pecan halves

en français

moitiés de noix de pécan

en español

mitades de nuez

How much do pecan halves weigh?

Related

Nut and Seed Products

Recipes using pecan halves

There are 233 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Favorite Pecan Pie

Classic pecan pie with toasted pecan halves, brown-buttery filling, and a flaky crust. The Southern Thanksgiving and Christmas pie that's all gooey custard underneath the crunchy top.

Perfection Pecan Pie

Old-school pecan pie with a flaky shortening crust and a creamed butter base for the filling. Christmas and Thanksgiving classic from below the Mason-Dixon line.

Buttery Pecan Pie

Rich pecan pie with homemade butter crust and dark corn syrup filling studded with chopped pecans and topped with perfect halves. This from-scratch version rewards the extra effort with flaky pastry and deeply caramelized flavor.

Super Fudgy Pecan Pie

Fudgy chocolate pecan pie built on sweetened condensed milk and melted sweet chocolate instead of the usual corn syrup. The pecans stir into a rich chocolate custard for a brownie-meets-pecan-pie holiday dessert.

Kate's Strawberry Biscuits

Strawberry biscuits, drop biscuits studded with fresh chopped strawberries and optional pecans. Hot from the oven with butter and cold milk, the unofficial breakfast of June.

Grandma's Pecan Pie

Old-fashioned pecan pie with browned butter filling and a glossy, deeply caramelized top. The nutty brown butter elevates this Thanksgiving classic above standard corn syrup versions for rich, toasty flavor.

Coffee Liqueur Pecan Pie

Coffee liqueur pecan pie: a glossy classic pecan pie topped with Kahlua-spiked whipped cream. The grown-up holiday pie with a coffee-cocktail flourish.

Pecan Tarts with Caramel Sauce

Pecan tarts with caramel sauce: flaky homemade pastry shells filled with a brown-butter pecan filling, baked golden, then drizzled with silky amber caramel. Individual holiday tartlets worth the effort.

Mocha Pecan Pie

Mocha pecan pie layers semi-sweet chocolate, Kahlua and espresso into the classic Southern filling, topped with decorative pecan halves. A coffeehouse twist on Thanksgiving dessert.

Lauren's Fudge Pecan Pie

Fudge pecan pie melts butter and cocoa into the corn syrup filling, creating a brownie-like base under a layer of toasted pecan halves. Chocolate-pecan crossover for Thanksgiving.

Creamy Cheesecake Pumpkin Pie

Cheesecake pumpkin pie layers a graham-pecan crust with a creamy pumpkin-cream cheese filling spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Hybrid Thanksgiving showstopper.

Farrah Fawcett's Pecan Pie

Farrah Fawcett's pecan pie is the classic: a rich corn syrup and vanilla custard packed with pecan halves in a flaky crust. The actress's simple, foolproof holiday pie bakes up with a glossy, crackly top.

Once-A-Year Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oversized chocolate chip cookies baked low and slow to giant lemon-sized rounds. Buttery, crisp-edged with chocolate chunks and pecans. Special-occasion bakery-style cookies.

Drunken Apple/Pumpkin Pie

Drunken apple-pumpkin pie blends pumpkin and applesauce in one custard, finished with a dramatic flame of warmed rum poured tableside. Topped with pecan halves and warm baking spices. A holiday showstopper for Thanksgiving and Christmas tables.

Christmas Memory Fruitcake

Christmas memory fruitcake steams then bakes a bourbon-soaked, dense old-fashioned fruitcake loaded with Brazil nuts, raisins, candied fruit, figs, and warming spices. Heirloom holiday recipe.

Golden Pecan Pie

Golden pecan pie pours brown sugar, light corn syrup, and vanilla over toasty pecan halves in a flaky shell. A classic Thanksgiving pie with deep molasses sweetness and a glossy top.

Best Honey Crunch Pecan Pie

Honey crunch pecan pie: classic pecan pie with a bourbon-laced custard filling topped with caramelized honey-pecan brittle. Two-stage pie that turns Thanksgiving pecan into a showstopper.

Grilled Peaches with Cream Cheese & Honey

Honey nut flavored cream cheese spread on grilled peach halves makes a very quick and easy summer dessert. A little drizzle of extra honey tops it all off. A nice change to your typical peaches and vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Custard Peach Pie

This custard peach pie is a great way to use seasonal peaches. The custard is creamy and sweet, and the pecans in the crust and topping are a yummy addition. It’s hard to resist this delicious treat!

Chinese Chicken Stir Fry

Quick, easy and fuss-free. Made this dish for Sean's lunch yesterday, and he absolutely enjoyed it. Followed the recipe, and used some mixed frozen stir-fry veggies we bought from Costco, it was a wonderful combination.

Cherry & Chocolate Energy Bars

I have to say that these bars were so delicious, crunchy texture with sweet-slightly sour and nutty flavor. Packed with goodness and yumminess. Not only kids love them, grown-ups also can't have enough.

Harvest Pumpkin Drop Cookies

Super moist, buttery and packed with pumpkin flavor. The dried cranberries are delicious additions. Great treat at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Double Pecan Pie

Double pecan pie: a layer of crushed pecans beneath a gooey corn syrup filling, crowned with pecan halves, all in a tender homemade crust. Twice the pecans, twice the crunch.

Pumpkin Pecan Tarts

Spiced pumpkin custard fills mini tart shells, then gets topped with a broiled pecan-sugar crust. These two-bite holiday tarts balance creamy filling with crunchy caramelized nut topping.

Healthy Harvest Pumpkin Drop Cookies

Low fat pumpkin cookies. Pumpkin, cranberry and pecans make these soft flavorful cookies that are perfect for Thanksgiving. I've lowered the amount of saturated fat, lowered the amount of sugar and switched the whole wheat flour to boost fiber.

Easy Karo Pecan Pie

Classic Karo pecan pie made with light corn syrup, sugar, and a heaping cup and a half of toasted pecan halves. The original Thanksgiving and Christmas pie recipe, stir it all in one bowl and bake.

Wild Pecan Rice Salad with Chicken

Wild pecan rice salad with chicken pairs nutty Louisiana wild pecan rice with cubed chicken, avocado, cherry tomatoes, and toasted pecans. Finished with a creamy chickpea-sesame vinaigrette.

Frosted Chocolate Drops

Frosted chocolate drop cookies with rolled oats, sour cream-tendered crumb, and a vanilla glaze topped with a pecan half. Bakery-style cake cookies from a 1950s lunch counter.

Cinnamon Crinkles

Buttery cinnamon crinkle cookies with a cinnamon-sugar crust and a pecan half pressed into each center. Cream of tartar gives them that signature chewy-crisp edge.

Cheese Biscuits on Demand

Make-ahead freezer cheese biscuits are a convenient and delicious solution for busy cooks. Prepare the dough, freeze it, and cut it into biscuits baked fresh on demand in a jiffy.

Tutti-Fruitticake

Old-fashioned fruitcake packed with dates, candied pineapple, candied cherries, and a full pound of pecans. Baked low and slow for a dense, jewel-toned holiday loaf that's more fruit than cake.

Calico Kitty Cookies

Adorable cat-shaped cookies made from refrigerated dough with pecan ears, M&M eyes, and pretzel whiskers. A fun baking project kids absolutely love.

Chocolate Cake with Lucifer's Nuts

Sugar-crusted pecans spiked with habanero chile powder, folded into chocolate cake batter for a sweet-heat surprise in every bite. Five ingredients, ten minutes, and your chocolate cake will never be boring again.

Chocolate Turtle Cheese Cake--Microwave

Microwave chocolate turtle cheesecake layered with gooey caramel, pecans, cream cheese filling, and a chocolate chip topping. Ready in 40 minutes with no oven required.

Chocolate 'N Pecan Surprises

An oat cookie topped with chocolate with a pecan half embedded into each cookie. Looks great, tastes even better! Surprise your family with these delicious treats made with pecans and rolled oats.

Greenwich Village Brownstone Brownies

Fudgy Greenwich Village brownies with melted unsweetened chocolate, brown sugar, corn syrup, and loaded with pecans. Rich, dense, and chewy with a crackly pecan-studded top.

Chocolate Pecan Pie(1)

Classic pecan pie loaded with semi-sweet chocolate chips, baked low and slow until golden and set. Garnished with chocolate-dipped pecans and whipped cream.

Chocolate Pecan Pie(1)

Classic pecan pie loaded with semi-sweet chocolate chips, baked low and slow until golden and set. Garnished with chocolate-dipped pecans and whipped cream.

Chunky Chocolate Pecan Pie

Loaded chocolate pecan pie with homemade butter pastry, toasted pecan halves, semi-sweet chips, and unsweetened chocolate in a gooey dark corn syrup filling. A Thanksgiving showstopper.

White Chocolate Cookies

Thick, fudgy cocoa cookies loaded with white chocolate chips, crunchy pecans, and golden raisins. These bakery-style cookies are crisp on the edges and chewy in the center, ready in just 30 minutes.

Swedish Nuts

Crunchy candied pecans coated in a cinnamon-vanilla meringue and slow-baked in butter. These addictive Swedish Nuts are the holiday snack your guests will fight over.

Popcorn Crunch

Caramel popcorn crunch with pecans and almonds, coated in homemade caramel and optionally dipped in chocolate. Crispy, crunchy, and impossible to stop eating.

Jeanette's Bars

Butter toffee pecan bars with a shortbread base, boiled butter-sugar topping, and swirled milk chocolate on top. A three-layer cookie bar that yields 36 pieces.

Chicken Regency Salad

Chicken Regency salad with artichoke hearts, water chestnuts, green olives, and butter-toasted pecans in Italian dressing. Marinated overnight for deep flavor, served cold on lettuce.

Apple Pie-Topsy Turvy

Topsy-turvy apple pie: a double-crust cinnamon apple pie baked over a brown sugar and pecan layer, then flipped so a glossy praline-pecan top crowns every slice. A clever twist on apple pie.

Chocolate Pecan Fudge Pie

Chocolate pecan fudge pie with melted chocolate chips, corn syrup, and pecan halves baked in a flaky shell. Dense, fudgy filling served chilled with ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Caramel Snappers

Caramel snappers made with toasted pecan halves, melted vanilla caramels, and a semi-sweet chocolate top. A three-ingredient candy that looks like it came from a gourmet chocolate shop.

Red Beans with Pecans & Saffron Over Whole

Red beans with toasted pecans, saffron, and red wine served over whole wheat spaghetti. A creative vegetarian fusion dish with Mediterranean and Southwest flavors that comes together in 30 minutes.

Cheese N'Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin cheesecake pie made entirely in the microwave with a graham cracker crust, cream cheese filling, and pecan topping. Lemon and orange zest brighten the rich pumpkin custard.

Cat Fancies

Cat-shaped chocolate chip cookies with pecan ears, pretzel whiskers, and candy eyes. A fun baking project kids will love decorating and eating.

All 233 recipes