Top 25 Best Walnut Desserts

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My guide for the best walnut desserts includes a delicious assortment of dessert recipes that beautifully feature this rich and flavorful nut. I chose these recipes because of their simple, straightforward instructions, the complexity of their flavors, and their beautiful final photos. From easy recipes to more complex walnut desserts, this list has all the best ways to use up the walnuts in your pantry.

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Walnuts are often considered to be interchangeable with pecans and almonds in desserts with nuts. However, walnuts deserve appreciation on their own as they are one of the healthiest, most nutrient-dense nuts available. Plus, the distinct taste that comes from baking with walnuts is impeccable. Read on to find your new favorite dessert with walnuts.

Best Walnut Desserts

1. Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Chocolate chip walnut cookies on a baking sheet.

If you love cookies with nuts, you'll go crazy for my chocolate chip walnut cookies. Not only do the walnuts add a wonderful crunch, but they also create a delicious flavor experience when combined with the dark chocolate chips and sea salt in this recipe. Be sure to have a glass of milk handy for the best enjoyment of these wonderfully indulgent chocolate chip cookies!

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies Recipe

2. Walnut Babka

Similar to my delicious Nutella babka, this walnut babka recipe delivers an irresistible twisted brioche bread with a wonderfully sweet filling. This easy dessert with walnuts is so straightforward to make and incredibly easy to customize with your favorite spices and mix-ins. The recipe does proof in the fridge overnight, but the wait time is well worth the perfectly soft and buttery final product.

Walnut Babka Recipe

3. Baklava

You might not immediately think of baklava as one of the classic nutty desserts, but this Mediterranean favorite wouldn't be possible without its generous helping of walnuts. Layers of the nut, in combination with layers of filo pastry, give this sweet and crunchy, showstopping dessert its appeal.

Baklava Recipe

4. Baklava Cheesecake

For a twist on traditional walnut baklava, this cheesecake delivers all the same flavors but with an added creamy center. Layers of walnuts and butter-brushed phyllo pastry alternate to form the crust before a cinnamon, honey, and rosewater syrup finish the dessert with a sophisticated taste and delicate presentation.

Baklava Cheesecake Recipe

5. Walnut Butter

Walnut butter is a smooth and creamy, must-try spread that can easily enhance your walnut dessert recipes. Made from only roasted walnuts, with the option to add salt or sugar to taste, this dessert idea is a great way to add pure walnut flavor to your dishes. Try spreading it on my banana bread recipe to take all of the flavors to the next level.

Walnut Butter Recipe

6. Maple Walnut Cheesecake

As if the sweet walnut topping wasn’t enough, the lovely crunch in this walnut crust dessert inspires a renewed appreciation for the classic nut in every bite. The creamy cheesecake paired with the walnut crust provides a balanced mix of textures.

And in the perfect symphony of flavors, a brown sugar mixture containing maple syrup and bourbon delivers a caramelized topping that hits all the right notes.

Maple Walnut Cheesecake Recipe

7. Maple Walnut Coffee Cake

Start your day right with this flavorful coffee cake. Each fluffy bite is full of cinnamon flavor and a great crunch from the walnuts. Additionally, a classic streusel and maple icing drizzle top this moist cake for a gorgeous presentation worthy of any brunch.

Maple Walnut Coffee Cake Recipe

8. Toffee Walnuts

These candied walnuts only require 5 ingredients and will make your house smell incredible with their warm cinnamon and brown sugar scent. Learning how to make sweet walnuts is an excellent baking skill because these dessert nuts can be used in so many dishes.

From salads to nut desserts like cookies and even on their own as a snack, candied walnuts are a great way to use up leftover nuts.

Toffee Walnuts Recipe

9. Salted Maple and Molasses Walnut Brittle

This easy walnut dessert uses chopped walnuts and a sweet mixture of maple syrup, unsalted butter, and sea salt to create an amazingly balanced bite. Molasses gives this brittle a very deep caramelized flavor that’s perfect for the holiday season. This sophisticated treat also makes a wonderful gift for any occasion.

Salted Maple and Molasses Walnut Brittle Recipe

10. Cranberry Walnut Biscotti

There’s nothing quite like dipping a crunchy biscotti cookie into a warm cup of coffee. The crisp toasted exterior is rich with flavor, and adding walnuts brings an enhanced level of crunch. This simple recipe includes dried cranberries and orange zest for a pop of fruit flavor that complements the earthy walnut taste in the most delicious way.

Cranberry Walnut Biscotti Recipe

11. Espresso Chocolate Scones with Walnuts

Walnuts and chocolate are an underutilized flavor pairing, but they go so well together. The sweet chocolate flavor offsets the slightly bitter walnut taste for an ideal, balanced bite. Frozen butter gives these scones light, flaky layers and an excellent crunch. Finish these scones off with a chocolate glaze for even more decadence.

Espresso Chocolate Scones with Walnuts Recipe

12. Kentucky Chocolate Walnut Pie

If you love chocolate pecan pie, this chocolate walnut pie is an absolute must-try. It has similarly complex caramelized flavors, making it excellent for topping with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Furthermore, this recipe almost exclusively uses pantry staples, making it super simple to whip up at a moment’s notice.

This pie is one of the best desserts with walnuts and chocolate. While you can use a premade pie crust, I recommend a simple homemade 3 ingredient pie crust for the best taste.

Kentucky Chocolate Walnut Pie Recipe

13. Honey Walnut Pie

This beautiful golden pie is packed with sweet honey flavor and loads of walnut crunch. Starting with a flaky, buttery crust, the pie’s brown sugar filling not only has walnuts folded in but is also topped with additional nuts. In this recipe, walnut lovers may just find their perfect dessert.

Honey Walnut Pie Recipe

14. Vanilla Walnut Fudge

Coming together in just 5 minutes before chilling to perfection, this creamy vanilla fudge lets the delicious walnut flavors shine. The subtle but sweet white chocolate reduces any bitter taste in the nuts, while sweetened condensed milk adds a bundle of richness to this simple walnut recipe. Be sure to line your baking pan with parchment paper to prevent sticking!

Vanilla Walnut Fudge Recipe

15. Walnut Brownies

Sometimes walnuts add a nice bit of crunch to the tops of brownies, and other times walnuts are essential to the enjoyment of the brownies as a whole. The latter is the case for this mouthwatering chocolate walnut brownie recipe.

These walnut brownies are specifically filled with a generous helping of the mix-in, ensuring delicious walnut flavor in every decadent bite.

Walnut Brownies Recipe

16. Tennessee Banana Black Walnut Cake

If you like banana bread, you’ll love baking with black walnuts for this delicious cake. It’s made of layers of soft, moist banana cake and caramel frosting, then finished with a generous coating of black walnuts and cream cheese frosting. As a result, this Southern favorite is an absolute showstopper that’s perfect for any summer gathering.

Tenessee Banana Black Walnut Cake Recipe

17. French Walnut Caramel Tart

A gooey amber-colored caramel coats a generous amount of walnuts and fills a flaky pie crust for a sweet and satisfying dessert. Specifically ensuring the caramel walnut filling stays soft and delicious, honey steps in to save the white sugar from crystallizing.

This makes each bite of tasty walnut tart pleasantly soft, with only a light crunch from the walnuts and buttery crust.

French Walnut Caramel Tart Recipe

18. Coffee and Walnut Cupcakes

What better complement to the richness of coffee than toasted walnuts? The combination makes an indulgent treat with layers of flavor. Additionally, topped with a generous swirl of fluffy buttercream that perfectly complements the walnuts’ crunch, these cupcakes bake up in just 20 minutes for a quick and easy walnut dessert.

Coffee and Walnut Cupcakes Recipe

19. Apple Walnut Bread Pudding

With a custard-like base that’s soaked into tasty bread, bread pudding is a classic comfort dish. By itself, however, the dessert can lack texture, making the addition of walnuts an excellent way to add the needed crunch.

This recipe pairs apples with walnuts, making a delicious mixture that exudes Fall flavor with plenty of warming spices to suit your taste. This recipe also comes together in the slow cooker, making it the perfect choice for a hands-off dessert.

Apple Walnut Bread Pudding Recipe

20. Maple and Walnut Muffins

These moist muffins are packed with brown sugar and maple syrup, specifically complementing the walnut's natural flavors. As one of the best dessert recipes with walnuts for bakers of all skill levels, this recipe uses an entire cup of walnuts to further ensure a delightful crunch in every bite.

Lastly, to improve on perfection, the recipe says to brush the muffins with maple butter after baking for a picture-perfect finish that’s as glossy as it is tasty.

Maple and Walnut Muffins Recipe

21. Pear Walnut Crisp

Peaches and apples are often standard for crisps, but pears bring a refined and lightly sweet flavor to this classic dessert. This recipe uses pears and light brown sugar for the filling and an extra crunchy topping made of walnuts, oats, and particularly comforting aromatic spices.

Pear Walnut Crisp Recipe

22. Brown Sugar Walnut Bars

Taking less than an hour from start to finish, these brown sugar walnut dessert bars are a great treat to enjoy any time of the day. Their shortbread crust and sweet walnut filling make them an indulgent pick-me-up, and the recipe calls for simple ingredients so you can whip up a batch whenever the mood strikes.

Brown Sugar Walnut Bars Recipe

23. Fig Walnut Halwa

If you’re searching for healthy walnut desserts, look no further than this fig and walnut halwa. Halwa is a dense and flavorful pudding that comes together in no time. Figs add a natural sweetness to this dish, and thus no additional sugar is needed to make the flavors shine.

Additionally, walnuts are what make this delicious halwa complete, adding an earthy taste and crunch to this popular Indian dessert. You can enjoy halwa by itself, with ice cream, or scooped inside a mini phyllo cup.

Fig Walnut Halwa Recipe

24. Black Walnut Ice Cream

Black walnuts have a much bolder taste than the English variety that’s more often featured in nut dessert recipes. However, ice cream is an ideal dessert for black walnuts because its sugar and creaminess neutralize the walnut’s earthy flavor. Maple syrup and chopped dark chocolate round out the flavors in this recipe, further making for an irresistible ice cream for any walnut lover.

Black Walnut Ice Cream Recipe

25. Chinese Walnut Dessert Soup

Soup probably isn’t on your radar at all when considering desserts, but this authentic walnut dessert Chinese treat is here to change that. Chinese Walnut Soup is a light and nutty-tasting dessert that combines toasted walnuts, water, sugar, and rice flour to create a creamy and refreshing dish that can be served at room temperature or even over ice.

Additionally, you can substitute the water with milk for a delicious twist with a more indulgent approach.

Chinese Walnut Dessert Soup Recipe

Walnut Desserts FAQs

Are pecans or walnuts better for baking?

Pecans tend to be used more often for their mildly sweet flavor, but walnuts have a distinct depth that adds character to baked goods. Check my article about pecans vs walnuts to learn more about the similarities and differences between these two nuts.

Should walnuts be roasted before baking?

Toasting walnuts before baking is an excellent way to achieve even more flavorful walnut desserts. While it’s not mandatory, toasting for a few minutes in a skillet or the oven is often recommended.

Have you tried these recipes?

Please leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well! I would love to hear about how your desserts turned out and your feedback also helps other Readers!