Boiled Peanuts are quite simply green peanuts simmered in a salty brine. They’re a little salty, a little earthy, and a whole lot delicious. This is a real Southern delicacy!
Boiled peanuts go back a long way in the South. They’ve been grown since at least the 19th century and by the early 1900s, boiled peanuts were a fixture. Food historian Andrew F. Smith tells of boys in Orangeburg, South Carolina, selling them for a nickel a bag in 1925. In 2006, South Carolina made them its official state snack.
I grew up in peanut country, in a small farming community in Southwest Georgia. Daddy raised cows and pigs and grew mostly corn and peanuts, and all the farmers I knew grew peanuts too.
Back then, peanuts were the money crop. If the farmers had a good year, the merchants did too, and if you didn’t farm or run a store, you probably worked at one of the peanut processing plants. All intertwined and all looking forward to a good harvest.
For readers who enjoy the stories that often surround traditional recipes, I’ve written more about my personal memories of this recipe on my Substack, Notes From the Kitchen.
Recipe Snapshot: Boiled Peanuts
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours
Total Time: 5 hours, 10 minutes
Servings: 16
Cuisine: Southern
Cooking Method: Stovetop (or Slow Cooker)
Primary Ingredients: Green peanuts, salt
Skill Level: Easy
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WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING …
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Being a … resident of the Deep South for over 50 years, I can attest that your recipe is perfect! “
— Brenda
“Boiled peanuts are the ultimate fall southern weekend treat. I still adore boiled peanuts. Although we grumbled mightily when we had to pick them off the vines, and wash them about 40 times, the finished product was well worth the effort.”
— Miss P
What Makes This Recipe Special
Boiled peanuts are about as Southern as food gets. Fresh green peanuts simmer for hours in salty water until the peanuts inside become tender, almost like a well-cooked field pea.
This is the way I’ve always made them: green peanuts, salt, water, and time. Done right, they’re tender but never mushy, seasoned all the way through, and nothing like the ones your find at a roadside stand.
They come into season in fall, right along with football. You’ll find a pot of them at tailgates, ballgames, and back porches all over the South.
Ingredient Notes
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- Green peanuts — These are freshly dug peanuts that haven’t dried out, and, in my opinion, they’re the only ones that work for boiling. You can find any number of sellers of “green peanuts” across the internet. Very few, if any, of those are fresh. They’re dry, maybe a year or more old, and simply will not result in anything resembling what freshly dug green peanuts are like. Any variety of peanuts is fine, so buy whatever’s freshest from a local source, a farmers market, or your grocery store’s produce section.
- Salt — The salt seasons the peanuts right through the shell as they cook. Most of it is discarded with the brine, so the amount looks like more than it really is.
The complete ingredient list with detailed measurements is included in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Boiled Peanuts
To make boiled peanuts, the first thing you need is fresh, green peanuts. You cannot make acceptable boiled peanuts with dry peanuts, roasted peanuts, or old (i.e. last year’s) peanuts. Sometimes in the fall, my local grocery store’s produce department does have fresh green peanuts available, but the best source is a local farmer.
There are several varieties of peanuts, and I saw at least three different types in this one bag. The small ones with the red skins are Spanish peanuts. The rounded, plump ones, like ballpark peanuts, are Virginia peanuts, and the long ones with 3 or more peanuts in a shell are Valencias.
Let’s get these peanuts boiling!
STEP 1. Wash the peanuts well to make sure all the dirt is dislodged. I usually fill the sink, dump the peanuts in, and agitate them to loosen the dirt. Drain, then add more water and repeat the process until no more visible dirt is released from the shells of the peanuts.
STEP 2. Place the peanuts in a very large pot and add enough water to cover them by one to two inches. I typically use my slow cooker so that I can just leave them alone to cook while I do other things in the kitchen.
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STEP 3. Add the salt and stir well. Yes, it really does take a lot of salt to flavor the peanuts. However, a huge amount of the salt gets discarded with the cooking brine.
STEP 4. Bring the peanuts to a boil (or set the slow cooker on high), then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until done. Start testing for doneness after about 4 hours. The peanuts should have a soft, but not mushy, texture. Cook longer if needed. Sometimes it takes six or more hours for the peanuts to cook.
Pro Tip – Test for Donness
Fish one out, let it cool enough to handle, crack it open, and taste it. If it’s soft but not mushy, they’re done. If it still has a bite, give them more time and taste again. That’s the only way I know to decide whether the peanuts are done.
STEP 5. After the peanuts are done, drain the brine and store the peanuts in the refrigerator (if there are any left!). Don’t let them sit in the brine. They’ll get too salty.
Recipe Tips
- Green peanuts only. Dried raw peanuts, roasted peanuts, and last year’s crop just aren’t what you want. I’ve been cooking boiled peanuts for more than 50 years, and in my opinion green peanuts are what you want.
- Keep them covered. Over several hours of simmering, the water cooks down. Check the water every now and then and add hot water as needed to keep the peanuts covered.
How to Serve
Boiled peanuts are a stand-around-and-eat-them snack. Set out a big bowl and an empty one for the shells, and eat them warm from the pot or cold from the refrigerator.
If you’re lucky enough to get “pops,” the immature peanuts whose shells never hardened, eat them shell and all. They’re my favorite part of the whole pot. You won’t find them in canned peanuts or most grocery store bags, so they’re one more reason to buy from a farmer.
For game day, put them out with a batch of spicy Alabama fire crackers, a bowl of sweet and spicy peanuts, and a jar of homemade pickled okra. A tall glass of Southern iced sweet tea is all you need alongside.
How to Store
Drain the peanuts and let them cool. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Boiled peanuts freeze beautifully. I’ve kept them in the freezer for up to six months. Pack cooled, drained peanuts into freezer bags or airtight containers, press out as much air as you can, and label them with the date.
To serve frozen peanuts, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator, or drop them straight from the freezer into a pot of boiling water for a few minutes until they’re heated through. A quick turn in the microwave works too.
Have a question or thought to share?
If you have a question about the recipe or if you’ve made it and want to share how it turned out, I would truly enjoy hearing from you. Just scroll down to leave a comment or add your star rating.
Thank you for stopping by. It means a lot to have you here.
Recipe
Boiled Peanuts
Ingredients
- 1 gallon cleaned green peanuts
- ½ cup salt don't worry – most of it gets discarded
- Water
Instructions
- Wash the peanuts well to make sure all the dirt is dislodged. I usually fill the sink, dump the peanuts in and agitate them.1 gallon cleaned green peanuts
- Place the peanuts in a very large pot and add water to cover the peanuts by 1 inch or more.
- Add salt and stir well. Remember that a huge amount of the salt gets discarded with the cooking brine.½ cup salt
- Bring it all to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until done. Start testing for doneness after about 4 hours. The peanuts should have a soft, but not mushy, texture. Cook longer if needed. Sometimes it takes 6 or more hours for the peanuts to cook.
- After the peanuts are done, drain the brine and store the peanuts in the refrigerator. Don’t let them sit in the brine as they'll become too salty.
Notes
- Use fresh green peanuts only. Dried raw peanuts, roasted peanuts, or last year’s crop won’t work.
- Any peanut variety is fine. Buy whatever’s freshest.
- You can make these in a slow cooker set on high.
- Start tasting at about 4 hours. They’re done when they’re soft but not mushy, and some batches take 6 hours or more.
- Add hot water during cooking as needed to keep the peanuts covered.
- Refrigerate drained peanuts in an airtight container for up to a week, or freeze them for up to 6 months.
- Reheat frozen peanuts in boiling water for a few minutes or in the microwave.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
Being a loving resident of the Deep South for over 50 yrs., I can attest that your recipe is perfect! Admittedly, they are sometimes an acquired taste, but then WATCH OUT!
My family waits for fresh raw peanuts patiently every year! Some even obtained by local farmers. Local Farmers markets are best! Varieties of peanuts grown varies and we can get spoiled by favorites. Many years ago, when my dear mother-in-law first came to our country home (having been born and living in much larger cities) said: “So, where are all the peanut trees?”. She learned to love and learn about them too! Thanks for your many wonderful recipes that we adore!
Thanks so much, Brenda!
Lana, I bet you have eaten your share of peanuts cooked in an iron wash pot or syrup kettle that turn purple . Always use non-iodized salt for boiling peanuts in cast iron otherwise, they will be purple peanuts lol.
Hmm. Can’t say that I’ve ever seen that. We never did our peanut boiling in either of those kinds of pots.
I loved reading your story and learning how to make boiled peanuts.
Since I don’t have green peanuts and it’s the wrong time of year to get them I think I will travel to the south in the fall and get some.
Thanks for the information.
This recipe is perfect, Lana! My daddy always boiled our peanuts, and when a friend from Maine recently asked how they were prepared, I didn’t know the details: cook time, salt, etc. I am so happy to share this link with him. Thanks!
I live in the United Kingdom and tasted and loved boiled peanuts while in Thailand. I’ve always wanted to make them myself but realise now that this won’t be possible due to the unavailability of “green” peanuts in the UK.
That’s too bad, Jim! Hopefully, you’ll get back to Thailand (or even better the U.S.!) and have boiled peanuts again.
After you cook them, can you freeze the extra for later eating?
Yes! They freeze very well. I’ve kept them for up to six months in the freezer.
is there any special ways that you have to eat boiled peanuts?
I’ve always wanted to try boiled peanuts 🥜 and got that opportunity in 2018 when driving back to Canada after an anniversary vacation.
There were 4 of us in the vehicle. We all tried the peanuts. They weren’t salty at all but they were a mushy, tasteless glob of mush in your mouth. I’ve always been a believer in trying things more than once as tastebuds do adjust to new things and the rest of the people in the vehicles agree, so we all tried the peanuts more than once. After a few tries, we all agreed to throw the peanuts out at our next Service Stop.
Could the peanuts 🥜 have been cooked wrong?
I was disappointed because I love peanuts and was surprised that “they” did not taste like peanuts 😕 by no means.
Did we eat the peanuts wrong 🤔 or was our expectation of expecting the peanut 🥜 flavour wrong?
none the less, I still love peanuts and will continue to eat them 😋 Probably not boiled because I doubt that we will be driving down that way with fuel prices being so crazy!
Enjoy your peanuts as much as I enjoy mine. 😋☺😊
Debbie Brown
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All I can say is, it’s a matter of taste. Some people like them and some don’t. I will say I’ve never had any boiled peanuts from a roadside vendor that were any good. Nothing quite tastes like homemade.
As peanuts are not really nuts, per say, & are really legumes (beans), when they are boiled like this, the “nutty” oil is boiled out, too, letting only the bean tasted prevail. When peanuts are dried & roasted, their oil is enhanced & they take on that nutty taste that you are looking for.
BE STILL MY HEART!!!
Boiled peanuts are the ultimate fall southern weekend treat. I still adore boiled peanuts. Although we grumbled mightily when we had to pick them off the vines, and wash them about 40 times, the finished product was well worth the effort.
I am going to get the last bag out of my freezer tonight, enjoy, and think of you!
Miss P
I am from Chennai, India. Boiled peanuts is a hot favorite in my family. I absolutely love them and so does my 2 year old daughter. We have our own farms and I remember my best time was sitting down with my father and yanking those fresh muddy peanuts out of the moist soil and eating them right there. :D
I am now in New Hampshire and I can’t find a single store that sells fresh green peanuts. It’s either roasted peanuts or raw dried ones.
What a fun post, Lana. And a trip down Memory Lane for me. I learned to love boiled peanuts when I was a new bride visiting my Tifton, GA in-laws. Great with cocktails. Used to be able to find them canned in the grocery stores ‘down there’, too. Went to college in Macon @ Wesleyan, lived in Stone Mtn and lastly in “All-benny” before moving back home to Delaware after the d-i-v-o-r-c-e. Question: can you use “RAW” peanuts? Thanks for the really cool peanut history – I think Tifton is a big peanut spot as well.
I LOVE boiled peanuts. I grew up in the peanut capital of the world, Dothan, Alabama. I’m married to a man from Texas, and he can’t get the southern pronunciation right. He keeps calling them “bawled peanuts” as if they had something to do with the Texas “awl bidness”. An important bit of info you surely need to know (try not to be too overwhelmed with it all): I was in the first National Little Miss Peanut Contest. I know–hard to take in the honor of knowing me! LOL!!! So glad to have found your site. Looking forward to getting your recipes.
Blessings…
Thank you. Peanut, I love and love it. The earthy smell is amazing. I was born in a small town in southern Turkey. As I was a little girl my grand mother used too cook this way as well. Now I live in U.K. and miss the fresh green peanuts.
From the description, I thought you lived in the town of Cuthbert. That was my father’s mother’s family town for over 100 years.
The recipe for boiled peanuts is just right. So many people do not know the best recipe. Make sure they are green peanuts (fresh or, if must, frozen in water) & not those big ones. The regular size peanuts are best. My husband cooks them & we (plus my daughter) can go through a gallon in just a couple of hours.
I grew up a little further south in Colquitt (Miller County). However, I had a great aunt who lived in Cuthbert and was the post master there for many years.
Hi Lana, great intro to the peanuts! I grew up in Malaysia (South East Asia region) and my mom used to make boiled peanuts this way too! Sometime we get green peanuts in farmers market or asian groceries here in San Francisco. :)
Great story! I defnitely learned a few things about peanuts today ;-)
Never knew you could boil them, for a start, and legumes? Who knew. ;-)
I doubt if we will ever find green peanuts in South Africa, but I wil sure try them if I ever travel to the USA.
Hi Anneri – I’m glad I could teach you something about peanuts! I don’t know if you have green peanuts in South Africa, either, but I hope you get to try them some day!
Lana, peanuts came with okra and pea varieties from Africa.
Yes, they did.
Just found your blog today and love it. My grandparents lived in Statesboro, Ga. and were peanut farmers! I adore boiled peanuts! This was an excellent post!
Thanks so much, Susan! Those are wonderful memories of boiled peanuts from my childhood.
i just found your receipe for boiled peanut. My daddy grew them in Leslie, Ga. we used to boiled them and put in the frezzer for the winter and summer time. until they came back in the fall. sure do miss those times, and the country side.
Saw a recipe in magazine today. Came home to research tea cake recipes. Found yours and description of town where you grew up, then went to boiled peanuts. Amazing. I am from Baker County, went to school in Colquitt and Damascus. Love boiled peanuts. Find them in farmer’s market here in Virginia Beach. Their early ones come from Georgia and are the best. Your recipe sounds just like the way I boil mine. Don’t like them too salty.
Hi Patricia. Isn’t it amazing how people “find” each other on the internet! You wouldn’t believe how often I hear from someone from southwest Georgia looking for those old familiar recipes. I’m so glad you stopped by and hope you’ll visit again.
Thanks, Lana for sharing your memories
I grew up in France and for some reasons I have always been fascinated by peanuts. Maybe because one of my favorite superheroes when I was a kid got his strength from eating peanuts. Who knows…
I love your peanut story and your blog in general. You have a very warm, lovely sense of humor and your recipes look wonderful. I like the way you defend your southern culinary traditions ( we French people do that too…:) ).
Thanks again
Jacky
Wow I lived about 10 miles from Colquitt. It was in that little place called Hentown. My folks owned Whites Grocery I used to work sometimes with my dad there when I wasn’t in school.
That little town you described sounds like Blakely, Ga. I miss boiled peanuts and used to eat them all the time.
Brandi – that little I described is actually Colquitt, Ga. Pretty close!
Hi, Lana
i liked your recipes , specially this one !you know why ?I’m form South India it is our loving and yam food in peanut season. thanks for sharing. thanks a lot
Yay!! Another winner for football games! I looooove boiled peanuts! Definitely bookmarking your blog! My hometown is Hephzibah, Georgia =)
Love your blog! My daughter loves boiled peanuts I will have to give this a try for her. Every time we pass by a roadside stand she’s begging me to stop.
Again, I love, love, love your blog! We like to cook the same things, Southern Style.
I LOVE boiled peanuts, my mom grew up in southern GA and every time we go and visit our extended family this is a delicacy we all enjoy….that and some Dr. Pepper ;)
ENJOYED YOUR INFORMATION ON BOILING PEANUTS!! VERY VERY INFORMATIVE! I NEVER KNEW MOST OF THIS STUFF! I KNOW I WOULD NEVER FIND GREEN NUTS HERE WHERE I LIVE. I SURE WOULD LOVE TO TRY THEM. I LOVE PEANUTS! I HOPE YOU GET A COOKING SHOW!
I am SO jealous that you can find green peanuts. I too have family in Georgia (south east though- Irwinville) and miss dearly boiled peanuts. Can’t find them anywhere in MD.
Lana I am a bookkeeper at a south Georgia peanut buying point. My husband fries peanuts for the customers everyday. He uses a deep fryer with peanut oil – it doesn’t burn. Cooks the shelled peanuts about 3 minutes in very very hot oil. If they look brown they are overcooked. Glad you are letting others know about our southern delicacy boiled peanuts. You have a wonderful blog.
Yep boiled peanuts are definitely a “Southern Thing” and one that I am so happy I found! I first ate boiled peanuts when I was 28, can you imagine. It was a pop warner football game LOL. I never tried making them and since I like them so well I think I should. Thanks for sharing the recipe and your story, both are lovely.
Can you believe I’ve yet to taste my first boiled peanut! Have to try it.
Some say it’s an “acquired” taste. I don’t know if that’s true, but I’ve never known anyone who didn’t like them. There’s a company that sells them in cans in the grocery stores here, but there’s no comparison to the taste of homemade ones. Wish I could get some to you, but shipping frozen stuff to the Netherlands?? Don’t know.
Very, very nice post, Lana. I know and love boiled peanuts too. Remember the little ditty, “Peas, peas, peas, peas, eating goober peas – goodness how delicious, eating goober peas”?
I love boiled peanuts. I grew up eating a lot of these as my parents used to plant a lot of peanuts to replenish the soil after planting other vegetables. Any leftover will be sun dried where we gathered to eat everyday as they slowly get dried. Reminds me of all the wonderful family time over eating peanuts.
I just finished boiling 3 lbs. of peanuts (Va., BIGGUNS!!) about an hour ago. They’ll be gone by tomorrow night. (:>) I grew up in the deep south with all of it’s wonderful foods & culture. Currently I live in E. Tn. in a small town/county. Folks around here look at me like I’ve got horns or something when I talk about or offer them boiled Peanuts, TILL THEY TRY THEM!!!!!
You should have seen the looks I got when when lived in New Hampshire and I asked for turnip greens. They thought I had horns and a tail!
I think I tried boiled peanuts at some points and didn’t really care for the texture. I love roasted peanuts but the boiled ones seemed really mushy and bland. Maybe the key is making them yourself.
When I was in Atlanta for business, I had my first taste of boiled peanuts. I was hooked…except that you cannot find them in Boston! Where can you get the green peanuts??
Green peanuts in Boston?!? Gosh, I don’t have a clue except maybe a farmers market that has “exotic” (ha!ha!) produce. I did do a quick Google search and found a couple of online sources. That might be an option, however I can’t vouch for them.
As a Savannah girl, I know and love boiled peanuts. Your blog is terrific!
Brings back a lot of memories. Somehow boiled peanuts are not as good as they used to be. Maybe I just need my little girls home to share them with. Great story.
I love boiled peanuts. I actually just finished a batch a couple days ago. They remind me so much of my childhood. Delish!!
Oh how your story brought back memories. We did not grow peanuts on our farm but Dad worked for a fertilizer company that also had long rows of these driers. The trailers would pull up and hook up the hoses that would blow in the heat. The smell of this permeated the whole town. There is nothing finer for this southern boy than waiting for fresh green peanuts to finish boiling. Even when the season is not in, I buy the raw ones in bags and boil these for hours. They are firmer but so good….thanks for sharing your story…
Aren’t they just so good? I always like the “pops” best – the immature peanuts whose shells hadn’t hardened yet. They were soft and salty and you could eat the whole thing shell and all! You sure don’t get any pops in the canned ones or the green peanuts from the grocery store. You have to pick them off the vines yourself for those!
Always enjoy buying boiled peanuts from roadside stands in the south. Now I need to find some green peanuts!
Thanks for the recipe!
The ones you do at home are so much better than the roadside stands. Those have been boiling for way too long and are usually overcooked. If you ever find some green peanuts, give it a try for yourself!
wow I’ve never tried boiled peanuts before…you made me want some ;-) Thanks for sharing!
If you try them yourself, just be sure to get fresh, green peanuts. One that have been cooked, dried or roasted will not work. Enjoy!
“L” is so right!! I can see the show now — a long shot of rows and rows of peanuts in the field, followed by film of the tractors, inverters, combines, all the machinery needed to harvest. I used to (and still) see pickup trucks that have the tailgate up, and hand pulled peanut vines draped over the top of the tailgate – a sure sign that somebody is going to be busy picking peanuts for a boiling.
Remember what Daddy used to say about the smell of freshly dug peanuts? “Smells like money to me!”
For those who have never experienced boiled peanuts, what a void in your culinary existence. Pair those with a large icy cold beverage, and you have an afternoon for telling tales, and laughing ’til your sides hurt. They also make a wonderful snack for watching college football games!
Take care.
Miss P
Yes, these were especially good while watching UGA beat Auburn :-)
I went to have my hair cut during lunch (you know I have to multi-task), and gave your favorite hair expert your web address so that she can check out all of the posts herself. I told her to especially look at boiled peanuts.
Miss P
I should give you some of my blog cards to hand out!
OMG! We have GOT to get you a cooking show! You just made boiled peanuts interesting! I mean, we all know that they’re good, but I think it’s safe to say they’re a little boring. I KNEW all of that stuff in the article and it was still interesting. You’re so good. =)