Planters Heat Peanuts are an epic spicy snack made with easy ingredients. The perfect crunchy snack for road trips! Try these today!
If you are looking for a quick and easy Party Snack, it doesn’t get better than these hot peanuts! Toss them in your favorite classic snack mix like Chex Mix or Sweet and Salty Snack Mix to give your party a little kick. They have the perfect amount of fiery flavor with just a hint of buttery sweetness. Planters Heat Peanut fans will love these tasty spicy nuts, maybe even more than the original ones!
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Sabrina’s Planters Heat Peanuts (Copycat) Recipe
My spicy Planters Hot Peanuts are a delicious daily snack, but they also make a great addition to holiday gift baskets or snack packs. You can make a bunch of variations (see my suggestions at the end of the post) or just use this tasty fiery flavor for the spicy fans in your life. You can make them weeks ahead of time so they are ready to go the day you want to serve them or assemble your gift baskets. Plus they’re healthier without food additives like preservatives or other additives. These just might become your new favorite peanut snack!
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter: The butter is used to cook it. You can use salted butter if that’s what you have.
- 1 tablespoon Sugar: The sweetness of sugar balances out the saltiness. You can use brown sugar for a deeper flavor like that found in other sugary snacks.
- 2 tablespoons Water: You’ll need a syrupy base to bind all the ingredients which is why we use water.
- 1 tablespoon Crystal Hot Pepper Sauce: You’ll need a good hot sauce that adds both spicy heat and a tangy flavor to the peanuts. Crystal Hot Pepper Sauce can usually be found at most local grocery stores. If you enjoy spicy foods, feel free to add an extra tablespoon.
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder: Chili powder is made from dried peppers and adds a nice smoky taste.
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder: Onion powder has a savory taste without having any texture of chopped onions.
- 2 cups Salted Peanuts: Everyone loves crunchy, salted peanuts. You can use unsalted peanuts if you prefer, or substitute with other nuts like cashews or almonds.
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How to Make Planters Heat Peanuts
Time needed: 10 minutes.
- Prepare the Sauce
Melt the unsalted butter in a pot and stir in the sugar, water, hot sauce, chili powder, and onion powder until the sugar is dissolved and everything is thoroughly mixed.
- Coat the Peanuts
Add the regular peanuts to the pot and coat them well.
- Cook Down Sauce
Keep stirring for about 5 minutes until the roasted peanuts are no longer wet.
- Cool Before Serving
Remove the pot from the heat. Transfer the peanuts to a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread in a single layer. Cool completely before serving.
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Can These Be Made Ahead?
Yes, you can make these peanuts in advance. Just let them cool completely when done and then store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.
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Nutritional Facts
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Tips for Hot Peanuts
Use Roasted Peanuts
You’ll want to use roasted, salted nuts for the best flavor and crunch. If you want to control the sodium and salty flavor, roast and salt the peanuts yourself. To roast peanuts, spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees, tossing halfway through, until they smell nutty. Season peanuts with salt and use in this recipe as usual.
The Original Hot Peanut Flavor
These Planters Heat Peanuts are the original chili powder and spicy flavor that were around for years. Planters Snacks now just has the chipotle spicy flavor, which is similar but a little more smoky flavor. These easy-to-make peanuts let you enjoy the original flavor forever!
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How to Store
- Store: You can keep Planters Heat Peanuts in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Line the bottom of the container with paper towels to absorb moisture. If you have one of the handy tubes the peanuts are usually kept in, you can use that. Keep the peanuts longer by refrigerating them in a plastic bag or airtight container for up to 2 months.
- Freeze: Once cooled, spread Planters Heat Peanuts on a baking sheet and freeze for 1 hour. Transfer peanuts to a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 6 months.
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Alternative Cooking Methods
Slow Cooker Planters Heat Peanuts
- Heat butter in a microwave-safe bowl until melted. Stir sugar into melted butter until dissolved.
- Add peanuts to the slow cooker and add water, hot sauce, chili powder, onion powder.
- Drizzle butter-sugar mixture over everything and stir until seasonings are mixed and peanuts are coated.
- Cover crockpot with lid and cook for 2-3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
- Uncover, stir and cook on high for 15 minutes. Serve or cool and store.
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Frequent Questions
While results may vary, these will last up to two weeks in the pantry when stored in an airtight container. They can last up to 2 months if stored in the fridge.
Absolutely! You can try almonds or cashews for a fun twist. You’ll need to increase the cooking time a few minutes to make sure they are all cooked through fully.
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Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon Crystal hot pepper sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 cups salted peanuts
Instructions
- In a large pot add the butter, sugar, water, hot sauce, chili powder and onion powder.
- Stir well until sugar is completely dissolved.
- Stir in the peanuts until they're well coated.
- Stir, cooking until peanuts are no longer wet, about 3-5 minutes.
- Let cool completely before eating.
Notes
- Change Serving Size: Click on the yield amount to slide and change the number of servings and the recipe will automatically update!
- Conversion: To convert measurements to grams, click on the Metric option next to Ingredients in the recipe card.
- Kitchen Timer: Click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.
Nutrition
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Variations
- Sweet: To make these sweet and spicy peanuts, use up to ¼ cup sugar and add 1-2 tablespoons more butter (to balance the sweetness). You could also swap the white sugar for brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
- Spicy: Kick up the heat with more hot sauce, or try other spicy ingredients like dried chili pepper flake, sriracha, chili garlic paste, harissa, or chipotle powder. Use hot sauces like Tabasco, Frank’s Red Hot, Buffalo Wing Sauce, or Peri Peri Sauce!
- Seasonings: Get creative with the flavors with dried spices like ground ginger, garlic powder, rosemary, or thyme. You could use spice blends too, like Chili Seasoning or Taco Seasoning. A squeeze of lime or lemon is an easy way to change the flavor!
- Nuts: Swap out the peanuts completely or replace a portion with almonds, cashews, pecans, hazelnuts, and Brazil nuts. Use up to 2 cups mixed nuts total, or you will need to increase the seasonings.
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