Our latest featured recipe collection is here! Peanut recipes. Why, you ask? Well, these days, our family is always on the prowl for ways to make healthier and more conscious decisions when it comes to what we eat. We always make sure to incorporate our dark leafy greens, olive oil, and avocados, but we recently found out that peanuts are also a superfood. Who knew?When you reach for peanuts, research has shown that you may help offset your risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Keep in mind that a serving is about a handful of peanuts or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and that everything is best in moderation of course. But overall, peanuts make for an affordable superfood that we can all incorporate into our daily routine. It’s a good thing we love to use peanuts in our cooking and baking (my mom makes these wok roasted peanuts––like the kind that you get at a Cantonese restaurant with your tea before a meal––that she and Sarah can polish off at scary speeds). And while we do also enjoy a nostalgic peanut butter and jelly sandwich now and then, there are so many interesting ways to use peanuts. These little nutty, buttery gems can be featured in savory or sweet peanut recipes, and Asian cooks in particular love using peanuts in a range of dishes from kung pao to pad thai. That said, we’ve rounded up a list of some of our favorite peanut recipes, both savory and sweet, to help you find new ways to use peanuts and get a dose of this tasty superfood.
Kung Pao Chicken is probably the most well-known dish in Chinese cooking that prominently features peanuts. Packed with lots of lean chicken, chilies, and of course, crunchy peanuts, this dish is a delightful mix of textures and flavors.
If you’re looking for a vegan/vegetarian modification on your favorite Kung Pao, Kung Pao Tofu is the same tasty recipe you love, made with lightly crisped tofu cubes.
We have one more for you Kung Pao lovers—Kung Pao Mushrooms is another meaty vegan alternative to your standard Kung Pao Chicken. It packs the double benefits of healthy king mushrooms and peanuts in one dish!
Pad Thai is always a favorite, and this Shrimp Pad Thai is a great way to get a little peanutty goodness. Lean shrimp, eggs, and tofu make this a great way to get extra protein. The sprinkling of chopped peanuts on top is the icing on the cake.
This easy recipe for Red Curry Noodles with Chicken makes for a great one pot meal. You can use any vegetables and protein you have around, but be sure to top off the whole thing with a handful of crushed peanuts for extra crunch and nuttiness.
Shanghai Hot Sauce Noodles, known as “la jiang mian” or sometimes “doubanjiang mian (豆瓣酱面) ” in Chinese, has many variations. This dish is comprised of noodles, broth, and a spicy mixture of pork, tofu, peanuts, spicy chili bean paste, and sugar (just enough to offset the spice!). It’s one of our mom’s favorite dishes.
This Braised Wheat Gluten with Mushrooms is a delicious and tasty vegetarian dish with a similar flavor to Shanghai-Style Braised Pork Belly (Hong Shao Rou), but without the meat. The addition of peanuts to the existing combination of black mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms makes this a superfood standout.
Sometimes, all you want is a simple handful of roasted peanuts. This is how the Chinese restaurants prepare that little bowl of salty roasted peanuts they serve before the food comes out (maybe alongside another appetizer of Asian Pickled Cabbage). They come out perfectly toasty, extra crunchy, and just as salty as you want them.
When you need something simple, healthy, and lean, go for this fast dish of Cold Noodles with Shredded Chicken. We like it with chicken, but you can use any protein you prefer, and any kind of noodle base (e.g., soba, udon, dried noodles, fresh noodles, etc.). Peanuts, raw cucumber, and bean sprouts add that essential crunch!
Okay, so perhaps these Dan Dan Noodles aren’t the healthiest dish you might prepare on this list, but it is one of the tastiest. We carefully documented the optimal blend of chili oil, sesame paste, noodles, veggies, scallions, and peanuts to create what we think is a great and authentic bowl of Dan Dan Noodles. If you’re looking for more spicy noodle alternatives, you can also check out our Lao Gan Ma Noodles.
When you want something comforting, satisfying, and nutritious, go for this Chicken Peanut Stew—a hearty, spicy African-style stew thickened with peanut butter, topped off with peanuts, and served over rice. The resulting flavor is a complex blend of peanutty goodness, spices, and tomato that melts into the perfect sauce.
This Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Silk Tart is a perfect healthy yet indulgent dessert. It’s made with almond milk, silken tofu (yep, you read that right!), chocolate (a vegan chocolate, if you’d like to keep it strictly vegan), and a big heaping helping of peanut butter to add richness and flavor and bring it all together.
What would peanuts be without jelly?! Peanut Butter and Jelly Scones bring a classic pairing to what I think is a pretty tricky medium––a flaky, delicious scone. Big chunks of peanut butter are shot through each scone, which get topped off with a criss-cross of molten jam or jelly. Milk strongly encouraged.
If you’re looking for a high energy, sweet snack, this Homemade Chinese Sesame Peanut Brittle is made with tons of peanuts for a perfectly crunchy texture. It’s a great hiking/trail option or quick snack during a busy day.
That about wraps it up for our favorite peanut recipes. Have favorites of your own? As always, we love hearing from readers in the comments, so share them below!
Kaitlin is the younger daughter/sister in The Woks of Life family. Notoriously unable to follow a recipe (usually preferring to freestyle it), Kaitlin’s the family artist, knitter, master of all things chili oil/condiments, and trailblazer of creative recipes with familiar flavors.
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Welcome!
We’re Sarah, Kaitlin, Judy, and Bill– a family of four cooks sharing our home-cooked and restaurant-style recipes.
“I am proud to say that your genealogy has been the sole tutorial for my Asian-inspired culinary adventures for years; probably since you began. Time and again, my worldwide web pursuits for solid recipes that I know my family will eat has landed me back here.”
If you’re looking for a vegan/vegetarian modification on your favorite Kung Pao, Kung Pao Tofu is the same tasty recipe you love, made with lightly crisped tofu cubes.
We have one more for you Kung Pao lovers—Kung Pao Mushrooms is another meaty vegan alternative to your standard Kung Pao Chicken. It packs the double benefits of healthy king mushrooms and peanuts in one dish!
Pad Thai is always a favorite, and this Shrimp Pad Thai is a great way to get a little peanutty goodness. Lean shrimp, eggs, and tofu make this a great way to get extra protein. The sprinkling of chopped peanuts on top is the icing on the cake.
This easy recipe for Red Curry Noodles with Chicken makes for a great one pot meal. You can use any vegetables and protein you have around, but be sure to top off the whole thing with a handful of crushed peanuts for extra crunch and nuttiness.
Shanghai Hot Sauce Noodles, known as “la jiang mian” or sometimes “doubanjiang mian (豆瓣酱面) ” in Chinese, has many variations. This dish is comprised of noodles, broth, and a spicy mixture of pork, tofu, peanuts, spicy chili bean paste, and sugar (just enough to offset the spice!). It’s one of our mom’s favorite dishes.
This Braised Wheat Gluten with Mushrooms is a delicious and tasty vegetarian dish with a similar flavor to Shanghai-Style Braised Pork Belly (Hong Shao Rou), but without the meat. The addition of peanuts to the existing combination of black mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms makes this a superfood standout.
Sometimes, all you want is a simple handful of roasted peanuts. This is how the Chinese restaurants prepare that little bowl of salty roasted peanuts they serve before the food comes out (maybe alongside another appetizer of Asian Pickled Cabbage). They come out perfectly toasty, extra crunchy, and just as salty as you want them.
When you need something simple, healthy, and lean, go for this fast dish of Cold Noodles with Shredded Chicken. We like it with chicken, but you can use any protein you prefer, and any kind of noodle base (e.g., soba, udon, dried noodles, fresh noodles, etc.). Peanuts, raw cucumber, and bean sprouts add that essential crunch!
Okay, so perhaps these Dan Dan Noodles aren’t the healthiest dish you might prepare on this list, but it is one of the tastiest. We carefully documented the optimal blend of chili oil, sesame paste, noodles, veggies, scallions, and peanuts to create what we think is a great and authentic bowl of Dan Dan Noodles. If you’re looking for more spicy noodle alternatives, you can also check out our Lao Gan Ma Noodles.
When you want something comforting, satisfying, and nutritious, go for this Chicken Peanut Stew—a hearty, spicy African-style stew thickened with peanut butter, topped off with peanuts, and served over rice. The resulting flavor is a complex blend of peanutty goodness, spices, and tomato that melts into the perfect sauce.
This Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Silk Tart is a perfect healthy yet indulgent dessert. It’s made with almond milk, silken tofu (yep, you read that right!), chocolate (a vegan chocolate, if you’d like to keep it strictly vegan), and a big heaping helping of peanut butter to add richness and flavor and bring it all together.
What would peanuts be without jelly?! Peanut Butter and Jelly Scones bring a classic pairing to what I think is a pretty tricky medium––a flaky, delicious scone. Big chunks of peanut butter are shot through each scone, which get topped off with a criss-cross of molten jam or jelly. Milk strongly encouraged.
This Coconut Peanut Mochi is surprisingly easy to make and combines coconut and peanut for a sweet bite-sized dessert.
If you’re looking for a high energy, sweet snack, this Homemade Chinese Sesame Peanut Brittle is made with tons of peanuts for a perfectly crunchy texture. It’s a great hiking/trail option or quick snack during a busy day.
That about wraps it up for our favorite peanut recipes. Have favorites of your own? As always, we love hearing from readers in the comments, so share them below!
