Salt-Roasted Candied Peanuts

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I’ll have to admit that I love peanuts, especially when they are candied with a touch of sea salt added. For years I’ve been making all sorts of candied nuts, including these candied peanuts, but this was one of the first candied nut recipes I ever came up with and I’ve been making them ever since.

Technically peanuts aren’t nuts, but legumes, and often they’ll be used in savory dishes. Vietnamese recipes include peanuts as garnishes on noodle bowls, Pad Thai contains crumbled peanuts, and other Asian recipes use peanuts to make peanut sauce. The African dish Mafé uses peanuts, but Americans enjoy peanuts on the sweet side and love peanuts in everything from cake toppings to ice cream.

These candied peanuts are a snap to make and go well with everything. I’ve chopped them up to sprinkle over ice cream, or sometimes serve them as a bar snack with drinks before dinner. Either way, they’re pretty addictive and I can’t resist munching on them if I have them around.

This is one of my favorite recipes for using fleur de sel, crispy Salt-Roasted Peanuts. These are terrific with cocktails or aperitifs, but I also like to enrobe them in bittersweet chocolate and if you’re making Hot Fudge Sundaes, they’re also dynamite sprinkled over the top.

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Salt-Roasted Candied Peanuts

Some ask if they can swap out the corn syrup for another liquid sweetener, such as agave or Golden syrup. You can, but the peanuts may not be as crisp. I've not tried these with other nuts but if you give them a go with another nut, let us know how they come out in the comments.
Servings 2 cups
  • 2 cups (280g) lightly salted or unsalted roasted peanuts
  • 1/4 cup (80g) light corn syrup, corn syrup, agave nectar, or rice syrup
  • 2 tablespoons (30g) light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt, such as fleur de sel or Maldon salt (Diamond crystal kosher salt could also be used)
  • Preheat the oven to 350º F (175º C). Lightly oil a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  • In a bowl, mix together the peanuts, corn syrup, and light brown sugar, until the peanuts are well-coated. You could use a spatula but well-washed hands (that are a little damp) work well, since the mixture can be sticky. Sprinkle the salt over the peanuts and stir just a few times, but not enough to dissolve the salt.
  • Spread the peanuts evenly on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, stirring two times during baking, until the nuts are deep-golden brown and glazed.
  • Remove from oven and cool, breaking them up as they cool to separate the peanuts. (I like to leave some in smaller clusters, too.)

Notes

Storage: The candied peanuts can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Note: The corn syrup you buy at the grocery store is not the same as high-fructose corn syrup. Wholesome is one brand of organic and GMO-free corn syrup that's available in the U.S. In Paris, I buy it in Korean markets such as K Mart and Ace Mart on the rue Sainte-Anne. You can also use glucose, available at G. Detou and other pastry supply shops.
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26 comments

    • Narelle

    Brought myself a bag of good quality salt when I was in Noirmoutier – but will also try this one you suggested! Sounds devine.

    So you say theres nothing like a good quality salt…and you also say the same for olive oil. Living here in Paris, and shopping at Monoprix, I just buy the brand Lugget (I think its called?)…any suggestions of a better quality David?

    • Leah

    Thanks for posting this! Interesting timing, too, as I’ve been on a weird salt kick, obsessing over all different kinds of salts and figuring out which to buy. This really helps, I’d been been trying to figure out whether those from Guerande or those from Camargue were better. And now I know! Sadly, I will have to buy here in the States, where it’s twice as much for half the amount, but it’s worth it. While I’m here, do you know if there’s a major difference between Le Paludier and M. Gilles Hervy, or am I just getting nitpicky now?

    (I’ve also been in a bit of a panic over the thought that the local market may have stopped carrying what I consider to be one of the greatest foods of all time: heavenly Le Marin butter, studded with salt from Guerande. But that’s another story.)

    One other question for you, if I may, since you are the chocolate expert: is fleur de sel, or a similar sea salt like Maldon, the best salt to sprinkle on chocolate?

    Thank you so much, for this and for all your wonderful posts, recipes, and books as well! I love your site.

    • Dan Woodford

    I wonder if you have read Jeffrey Steingarten’s piece on salt? He is pretty dismissive of gourmet salts from what I recall.

    I have tried some better quality salts and,being English, use Maldon regularly. I think the texture has a lot to do with the final result. If you have smal flakes that melt in your mouth you get a different effect than a coarse ground salt.

    Also, worth mentioning the book ‘Salt: a World History’ by Mark Kurlansky.

    • Alicat

    Hey Dave!

    I am curious to get your opinion about something. I was in Williams Sonoma for the first time last week, and I took note of a few different salts they carried (including a Fleur de Sel). I’ve never tried anything fancy when it comes to salt..so I am at a loss.

    Should I wait till I find something of a great quality that isn’t expensive, or should I try out a few of the specialty salts at stores like that? I wasnt sure if they were a rip off or not. Thanks :o)

    • kat

    i have made a variation of your candied peanuts with any nuts that have ventured too close to me- and they have all been lovely. also, sometimes i throw in black pepper or other spices. (simple syrup works if you dont have corn syrup.)

    • maura

    I make a similar snack, except it’s with walnuts, sometimes adding a pinch of cayenne. If I’m lucky (or, rather, motivated) I’ll toss them over some milk chocolate ice cream!

    • Dianka

    Ok, after work, I’m off to get some fleur de sel! I’m in love with salt and I can’t believe I have not incorporated this into my cooking sooner. Thanks for the push!

    • Brett

    You and TK are right. Knowing how to use salt is what makes a good cook, both in the savory and pastry kitchens. It’s pretty much as simple as that. For a cheaper alternative to Maldon and Fleur de Sel, I’ve recently become a fan of Portuguese Flor de Sal, which I can buy in bulk at our local co-op, Rainbow Grocery. Slow Food gave the Portuguese harvester of this fine salt some kind of award a few years back and Corby Kummer wrote a great article on it.

    • Alicat

    interesting..thanks David! :)

    • Lu

    Hi David! I am indeed making a comment finally. This recipe for salt-roasted peanuts is going to be my surprise munchie visiting relatives this summer. It’s simple and sounds tasty, but we all know how nice it is to use a good finishing salt. When I returned from Paris early May, the main things I brought back were a bunch of scarves (of course) and a second suitcase filled mustards, salts, jams, miel — you get the picture. :-) Enjoy your blog a lot.

    • eqj (the chocolate lady)

    Ah, just discarded my entire supply of corn syrup.

    • ab

    alicat just use Maldon salt and you will allways be happy

    • Terry S.

    Made these today with Agave as my corn syrup seems to have disappeared. Delicious! Another fantastic recipe for Apéro hour!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Happy they were a hit and thanks for letting us know they worked well with agave!

    • Laurie

    Hi David,
    Is this an American recipe or a French recipe? I assume it’s an American recipe because Americans have more of a sweet tooth than French people, but please clarify. For example would these sweet & salt peanuts be available at a patisserie in France?

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      The French are fond of pastries and candies (hence the over 1300 bakeries and pastry shops in Paris!) I took courses in candy-making while in pastry school in France where we made nuts like this. I don’t know the origin of ‘candied peanuts’ but there are vendors on the streets in Paris that sell candied nuts, especially in the fall and winter, and some bakeries and chocolate shops sell candied nuts and similar caramelized confections.

    • Sonia

    Thank you, David, for my newest addiction! So delicious! Just made a second batch last night and can’t wait to gobble them up. I’ll blame you in advance for the weight gain.

    • Laurie

    Is this an American recipe or French recipe? I assume it’s more of an American recipe than French because Americans have more of a sweet tooth than the French. That said, please let us know if your French friends and family like this dish or prefer unsweetened peanuts.

    • Kathleen

    I made them with almonds, instead of peanuts. Delicious! And super easy to make.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Thanks for letting us know the recipe works well with almonds!

    • Sallie Altman

    In the 70s, my college roommate and I took a whirlwind trip to Europe one summer. We found ourselves in Paris at Bastille Day time. I remember loud jets flying over the Champs Elysee and fireworks the night before. As we wandered the crowded streets, we ran into several vendors stirring huge old iron vats of candied peanuts, served still warm in small brown paper bags. The most heavenly peanuts I had ever tasted and I distinctly remember the smell and taste of good vanilla. Do such things still exist, and could you incorporate vanilla into this recipe somehow?

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I have a recipe for those here. French people don’t usually add vanilla to things with the same frequency as Americans and I’ve not seen it added to candied nuts but if you wanted to add a little bit of extra or vanilla paste, I think it’d be fine.

        • Sallie Altman

        Wondering now if it could have been the touch of cinnamon you suggest as an option in your candied peanut recipe. It WAS 50 (!) years ago after all! …oh well. Will make them twice and try both, why not? Thank you.

    • Rob

    I’m fond of a slightly different version of this:
    Bring 1/2 cup real maple syrup with aboit 1/2 tsp ground chipotle powder up to hard ball stage. Dump in a jar of dry roasted (unsalted) peanuts and stir quickly. Spread on buttered baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly w/ maldon salt. Break apart when fully cooled.

    • suki

    maple syrup will get crispy, fyi, if looking to sub corn syrup. I used to make candied salty cashews like this.

A

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