Cook with

Recipes with Peanut

Crushed for crunch or ground into sauces, from pad thai to satay.

Peanuts run through Southeast and East Asian cooking in two guises: as crunchy toasted nuts scattered for texture, and as a smooth, rich base ground into countless sauces. Faintly sweet, deeply toasty and satisfyingly fatty, they balance heat and acidity and bring a comforting richness to noodle dishes, salads and grilled skewers. Versatile and inexpensive, they are a staple worth keeping close at hand.

What it is and how it tastes

Though commonly called a nut, the peanut is actually a legume that grows underground, which gives it a denser, earthier character than tree nuts. Raw, it tastes bland and slightly grassy; roasting is what unlocks its signature warm, toasty sweetness and crisp bite. Ground into a paste it becomes creamy and rich, while crushed it stays crunchy. That dual nature — smooth or crisp depending on how it is treated — is what makes it so useful across so many dishes.

How to use it

For garnishes, roast the peanuts until golden and fragrant, then crush them coarsely so they release their aroma and scatter them over a finished dish for crunch and contrast. For sauces, peanut butter or freshly ground roasted nuts form the base, loosened with lime, fish sauce, chilli and a little sugar into a balanced satay or noodle dressing that is at once rich, salty, sour and sweet. Toast raw peanuts gently over medium heat and watch them closely, shaking the pan, since they scorch in moments and turn bitter. They take well to both sweet and savoury treatments, which is why they appear in everything from fiery stir-fries to sweet desserts.

Buying and storing

Buy peanuts roasted for convenience or raw to toast as needed, and choose unsalted ones so the seasoning of a dish can be controlled. For peanut butter in cooking, a natural unsweetened version with minimal additives gives the cleanest flavour, free of the added sugar and palm oil found in many spreads. Store them airtight in a cool, dark cupboard, or chilled for longer life, as their high oil content can turn rancid; a sharp, bitter smell is the sign they are past their best.

Where it shines and substitutes

Peanuts are essential to a proper pad thai, to the dressing of green papaya salad som tam, and to the spicy sauce of kung pao chicken. They also crown countless noodle bowls and grilled skewers with a finishing crunch. Where they must be avoided, cashews offer the closest crunch and a seed butter such as tahini the closest creamy base for a sauce. Kept toasted and ready to crush, they are one of the simplest ways to lift a finished dish from flat to lively. For more on the pantry they belong to, see the Asian pantry guide.

The peanut recipe (1)

Goi Cuon (Fresh Vietnamese Summer Rolls)

Vietnamese

Goi Cuon (Fresh Vietnamese Summer Rolls)

55 min Medium

Soft rice-paper rolls packed with prawns, pork, herbs and vermicelli — served fresh and uncooked with a rich peanut dipping sauce.

See also the Asian pantry guide for more on stocking these ingredients.

Peanut: common questions

Should peanuts be roasted before use?+

Roasting transforms raw peanuts, deepening their flavour and turning them crisp and golden, so most savoury dishes call for roasted rather than raw nuts. They can be bought pre-roasted, or raw peanuts can be toasted in a dry pan over medium heat, shaken often, until fragrant and lightly coloured. Watch them closely, as they tip from golden to burnt quickly. For garnishes they are often roasted then roughly crushed, which releases more aroma than leaving them whole.

What is the difference between using whole peanuts and peanut butter in cooking?+

Whole or crushed peanuts add crunch and a toasted bite, scattered over noodles, salads and stir-fries as a textural garnish. Peanut butter, by contrast, dissolves into a sauce, lending body, richness and a smooth nutty backbone — the foundation of many satay and noodle sauces. They serve different purposes: one for texture, one for creaminess. Some dishes use both, building a peanut sauce as the base and finishing with crushed nuts on top for contrast.

How should peanuts be stored to stay fresh?+

Peanuts are high in oil and can turn rancid if left in warmth and light, so they keep best in an airtight container in a cool, dark cupboard, where they last a couple of months. For longer storage, the fridge or freezer keeps them fresh for much longer and preserves their flavour. Rancid peanuts smell sharp and taste bitter, so it is worth tasting one before adding to a dish. Roasted nuts in particular are best used while still fragrant.

Can peanuts be substituted in recipes?+

Cashews are the closest substitute, offering a similar richness and crunch, while almonds work where a firmer bite is acceptable. For a peanut-free sauce, a seed butter such as sunflower seed butter or tahini approximates the creamy body, though the flavour will differ. None matches the distinctive toasty sweetness of peanuts exactly, so in dishes where the peanut flavour is central it is best kept, but for those with allergies these swaps allow the dish to be enjoyed in another form.