Nicotinamide plays a key role in many biological processes and, as a consequence, its derivatives could be attractive for the synthesis of biologically active compounds. Here a rapid and efficient way of preparing alkyl derivatives of nicotinamide, precisely, 4-alkyl-3-carbamoylpyridine and 4-alkyl-3,5-dicarbamoylpyridine is reported. The synthetic route developed adopts mild reaction conditions and produces target compounds in higher yields compared with methods described in literature