Quick, easy, and full of flavor—these Instant Pot Boiled Peanuts taste like they simmered all day, but they’re ready in a fraction of the time!
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I’m a sucker for boiled peanuts and thankfully I’m not the only one in my house who feels that way. I’ve got the best memory of the first time I made this version. Jack was just a little fella, hanging out in the test kitchen with me, and I kid you not, he stood right over the pressure cooker popping them in his mouth as fast as he could.
They’re just that good, y’all. I’ve made them for nearly everyone in my family at this point and every time folks rave about them. Honestly I don’t think I’ll ever go back to making them any other way. I still love my slow cooker method but this version? It’s packed with flavor and couldn’t be easier.
Do you have to use an “official” Instant Pot?
No! And, do you want to know how I know that? Because I don’t actually own an Instant Pot. Gasp! I have a Cuisinart electric pressure cooker that I’ve had since way before Instant Pot was a thing. It is nearly identical to my Mom’s Instant Pot and works the exact same way. No shade to the ol’ IP, I just wanted you to know that other pressure cookers work just as well with this. But since most folks currently know the electric pressure cooker by the name “Instant Pot,” I’m using that name. It’s kinda like calling a slow cooker a “Crock Pot.” Anyway, moving on…
You do not have to use the name-brand Instant Pot. It cuts an excruciatingly long process down to less than 2 hours. Seriously. Not only that, the pressure cook method is ideal because the pressure forces the salt and flavor into the peanuts – they don’t just float around in it.
They come out tender and full of that briney flavor you expect from a boiled peanuts recipe.
Why green peanuts over raw peanuts?
When it comes to buying peanuts, you might find both raw and green peanuts. My recipe calls for green peanuts. These are raw, freshly harvested peanuts that are still green and moist. They might not look super green, but they are noticeably heavier. While many local grocery stores in the South do carry green peanuts when they’re in season (Summer), I usually have better luck finding them at roadside fruit stands and farmers markets. Several readers have reported having great luck finding green peanuts in their local Asian markets as well.
Raw peanuts are peanuts that have been air-dried. They have a longer shelf life, and chances are it will be much easier to find raw peanuts over green ones. You can use raw peanuts, but green peanuts make far superior boiled peanuts in my opinion. If raw is all you can get your hands on, you’ll want to soak them overnight and add about 25 minutes to the cook time.
Do I have to use vinegar?
Someone actually shared the tip with me of adding vinegar to the peanuts, and I’ve added it ever since. It adds some amazing flavor without tasting like vinegar at all. When testing this recipe, folks could certainly tell the difference between the batch with the vinegar and the batch without it, but no one could put their finger on it. They all preferred the vinegar version. They won’t taste like vinegar. I promise.
So, I guess you don’t absolutely have to use vinegar, but you sure will be missing out!
Recipe Card
Instant Pot Boiled Peanuts
Ingredients
- 2 pounds green peanuts
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Rinse the peanuts in cool water. Place them in the Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker.
- Add the salt and vinegar. Add enough water to just cover the peanuts. For me, that was about 10 cups. Be cautious to not exceed the max fill line on your appliance.
- Place the lid on and seal. Cook on high pressure for 60 minutes than turn the appliance off and allow the pressure to release naturally. Carefully remove the lid and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
* If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
Adriane
I ran across this yesterday. I thought they were perfect. The man of the house said “needs more salt” so next time, 2 batches, one by this recipe, another with more salt in the same recipe. Thank you.
So glad y’all enjoyed them, Adriane!
Nikki
I haven’t tried these but I am greatly looking forward to it. One thing though, having grown up on peanut farm in south Ga. peanuts weren’t in season in the summer. Farmers are just harvesting them now (October) and you can find the green ones at markets and grocery stores now.
That’s correct. Peanut harvesting season in the south is typically September.
Belinda Guerette
Oh, these were heavenly! Thank you!!
Thanks so much, Belinda!
Andrea
Boiled peanuts bring back good childhood memories! Made this recipe 5-6 times. Only modification is 1/4 the salt (I use sea salt); slightly salty but mostly you taste the actual peanut with that little twang of apple cider vinegar.
Thanks, Andrea!
Lori
Which kosher salt do you use? Diamond Crystal or Morton’s? They are very different.
Unfortunately, Diamond Crystal is not readily available in my area, so I use Morton.
B. Ketch
Can this recipe be cut in half? We have only one pound. Do I just cut the other ingredients in half and cook the same amount of time or should the time be adjusted?
Yep! You’ll just cut all the ingredient in half, but the cook time will stay the same. Enjoy!
George Swindle
I can remember going to my great grandfather’s house in Florida when I was 4 or 5 and we went in his garden and pulled peanuts to boil. I have loved them ever since. Glad I found your recipe. I have never used the insta pot for peanuts and I’m gonna give it a try. I was amazed when looking on-line that most sites just said use raw peanuts and not mention green peanuts at all. I think using green peanuts are so much better and I only use raw when the green peanuts are out of season.
I agree! Green peanuts make for the best boiled peanuts!
Sandy
Perfection! Having grown up in Beaufort, SC, boiled peanuts have long been a favorite. Finding green peanuts here in the eastern panhandle of WV isn’t easy.
Our daughter found green peanuts on a recent trip to NC and gifted us with 2 pounds.
I love the ease of this recipe/method. The flavor is definitely spot on! And for this Beaufort girl, the texture is perfect!
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed them!!
Sara Jones
Been boiling my green peanuts in my instant pot for 2 years now. Being a born and raised AL girl, I love boiled peanuts and buy and boil them very often during green peanut seasoning.
It’s such an easy and flavorful way to make them!
Michael Rushing
How much salt do you use per lb of peanuts. The last batch I made were way to salty after sitting a day…
I typically use about 1/4 cup per pound.
Jeff M
Question I do boiled peanuts with crab boil concentrate and Old Bay do you think it would work always just did water and slow cook
Absolutely! I know lots of folks that boil peanuts with crab boil. Just be cautious about how much you add.
Dirk
For Green Peanuts, you should NEVER cook for longer than 40 minutes in an instant pot – they will be total mush.
Actually, I’ve sometimes found that they need a longer cook time to get them to my liking. But, with that being said, I did question myself after seeing your comment. A quick Google search showed that MANY recipes using the Instant Pot call for at least 60 minute – many called or longer. So, I still feel confident in this cook time.
Peggy
Stacey is spot on with her cook time in the IP. I even have to add 10 minutes to the jumbo white (green) peanuts when I can find them.
Thanks, Peggy.
Robert in FLA
Got some green peanuts at the NC state farmers market and tried this. Tasted great but too mushy for my taste. Had the consistency of mashed potatoes. So I tried again with some raw peanuts I ordered on Amazon Amish Eco Farms. I soaked them in brine the night before, dumped the water, and followed this recipe again. But I put in them in pot for just 50 minutes at 350 and then did a quick release. They came out perfect!
Oh so glad you tried it again and got it perfect!
Phil in the ‘Ham
Saw you share this recipe on Simply Southern, and having a new 3 quart Instant Pot, I gave I a try. I had some green peanuts as well as some dry raw ones, picked up at Durbin Farms market in Clanton. First batch of green peanuts, but a little too mushy for me— I like a LITTLE crunch. Next batch at 50 minutes, with a heaping 1/3 cup of salt. Perfect to my taste! Oh, and the vinegar definitely adds a little edge to the flavor. I tried the raw peanuts, and after some experimenting, (and too lazy to soak overnight), I now do 3 hours on high pressure. Just right. With the mini size IP, I use 4 cups of peanuts, 5 cups of water, 1/3 to 1/2 cup salt, 1/4 cup vinegar. Thanks!
Phil I am so glad you kept trying until you got them perfect!
Steve in Florida
I wish I had seen this recipe a while ago. I use raw dry peanuts. My recipe uses 24 ounces of shell on raw dry peanuts, less than a half cup of salt, a half cup of red pepper flakes, a very big load of fresh finely ground pepper, several generous dashes of lowery’s seasoning salt, a few good shakes of cayenne pepper, a Zaterans bag of crab and seafood boil and 12 jalapeños cut in half. Using high pressure, I set the timer for four hours and let the pressure release naturally. I wish I knew about the vinegar. If you try my recipe, let me know how it turns out. Enjoy.
Steve in Florida
I forgot to add cover with water.
Will do! Those sound like some peanuts with some heat! 🙂
Danny Dow
I have to tell you in my honest opinion these were something I would never try again – I followed the instructions to a “T” and actually threw them out after testing at least 10 examples – personal taste varies –
CAROL POWERS
I use Ole Bay crab seasoning in my boiled peanuts. Yummy!
Great idea!!
Deborah
Hey Stacy. I enjoy your recipes. These are really delicious and I’m sure I will never cook them any other way. I used 1/3 cup each salt and vinegar. I used to have the Cuisinart CPC 600. I replaced it with 8 quart Insignia. Small family but upsized mainly to accommodate the collards:-). Hope you have a good summer.
Thanks, Deborah! Glad to hear you enjoyed these!
Christy
Sorry, this recipe fell short. I’ve been making boiled peanuts for decades, I love them. I was looking for a recipe to use my IP. I have green peanuts and thought I’d give this recipe a shot with the vinegar. I followed the recipe exactly. The vinegar I can most definitely taste. And it is not a good flavor. I love vinegar too. I’ll power through my boiled peanuts but I will never put vinegar in my peanuts again. Sorry to the poster.
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy these. I’ve made them numerous times and never felt they were vinegary at all. Of course, the recipe will work just fine without it.
Laura
I’ve made these repeatedly since first discovering your recipe and they are wonderful every time! I’ve even shared the recipe with friends and co-workers, and they love it too. I told them to get your cookbook asap!
Thanks Laura! We made them this weekend too!
Gale Woolm
I love your website with all the great Southern recipes. I grew up in Tennessee and have eaten so many of the ingredients you speak of. To me Southern food is the best and all ways will be. Thank you for all your recipes and the taste that brings to me some great memories.
Thanks so much, Gale!
Hope
Stacey! Hope Ritchey Kelley here (PHS 2000). I just googled instant pot boiled peanuts and your website was the first thing to pop up! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Hey, Hope! So glad to hear Google sent you my way! Hope you’ll enjoy these!
Linn
It’s been a long while since we had boiled peanuts and are looking forward to enjoying them again. We could only find raw peanuts, no green. I have a question regarding cooking them. After soaking the raw peanuts overnight do you cook them in the soaking water? Or would you drain them and cook them like the green peanuts?
Either way should work just fine. Hope you enjoy them!
Angie
I love these!! Thank you for the recipe!!
So glad to hear you enjoyed them!! The Instant Pot makes it so easy, right?
Sara
I don’t understand the need for the vinegar. What is it for?
It adds some great flavor without tasting like vinegar. It’s a trick that was shared with me a while back. I never make them without it now.
Bobbie
We discovered boiled peanuts while on vacation years ago to Alabama, and we LOVE them! We like the cajun the best, however. Do you have a spice suggestion to add in order to enjoy them “Cajun Style”?
Thank you for this post, I hope to be able to try them sometime!! 🙂
You can swap some of the salt out for a great Creole seasoning and add a few dashes of red pepper flakes.
Irish Wilcoxon
Oh Stacey!! I am so jealous looking at those fresh boiled peanuts! I was raised on them in Montgomery and also in south Ga where I graduated in Cairo, Ga. I never ever realized how much of a custom such as boiled peanuts were until I left Ga and joined the Air Force. Another world existed!! Married a yankee from Ohio that I met in the Air Force. He was an AirBorne FireFighter. We ended up in Ohio in 1973, and the ‘culture’ here is way different than what I was used to. Boiled peanuts were a part of my up-raising. Each year, as I traveled to Montg. to see my paternal family members, I would buy huge 20# bags of raw peanuts. I want to say that one place was a farmer’s stand near Slap Out, but also a place outside of Clanton just off I.S.65, also times at the Big Peach market north of Prattville and elsewhere. I brought them home and put them in the freezer until I was ready to ‘boil’ them up. I found years ago that the old pressure cooker did such a great job and a fast one with fantastic results. My question to you, since I never heard of it, was the use of vinegar in your boiling water. I recall my grandma in Ga used the great big iron kettle outside over an open fire and would boil pounds of fresh peanuts in season. It was a ‘natural’ treat for us. In the day, you never saw stands set up by the roadside to buy boiled peanuts and that was because we all had access to peanuts and watermelons which I love so much. I also want to tell you that I spent my High School years in Cairo, Ga. I worked at the Roddenberry Pickle Plant in my summer months and would go home smelling like garlic and pickle brine! At the same plant, they processed peanut butter sold under different brands and also canned boiled peanuts. I think the label was “Peanut Patch” still made today but at other plants in other states. I have a few cans in the cupboard now. In the day, 60’s and 70’s, I could buy a whole case of 24 for about $3 total. They were rejected cans, some labels missing, a few dents, etc. I would take home about 6-8 cases back to Ohio. They were not as good as fresh but better than nothing. My husband and our two sons ‘finally’ grew to love the peanuts as well. Now I can find the cans at certain stores in Ohio. I hope I am not boring you. One more incident I would like to share. Some people who have never ate boiled peanuts would actually put the whole peanut with the shell into their mouth and chew.. It never occurred to me to warn them not to do that because I had never seen anyone try to eat the shell with peanuts inside. Of course, they spit it out. But they also would learn how to shell the peanut, pop those kernels into their mouth and spit it out with disgust. Their take on a ‘peanut’ was a roasted or parched peanut with a salty crunchy taste was what they were use to. Boiled peanuts are a completely different taste. To them, the boiled peanut tastes like a green bean of some sort. You either learn to love them or hate time. Oh, don’t forget to let me know about the vinegar if you have time. I love your website and love getting your emails with all the mouth watering recipes. You are my kind of chef! Thank you for all the interesting stories about how you come to use a recipe and never fearing what a person has to say. It is your family heritage and that is a great thing to pass on. God’s blessings on you and your family. Stay ‘cool’ in the hot weather. We are having the same here in West Central Ohio north of Dayton.
Deanna
Yep, you either love ’em or hate ’em …. I LOVE them, so thanks for the recipe. I, too, was wondering about the vinegar.
I’ve never heard of that being used but I’m willing to give it a try. I travel up and down I-65 from north Ala, to south Ala
quite often so I’ll be looking for some “green” peanuts.
Amanda
Try stopping at Kendrick farm at exit 181. They have alot of different alabama grown produce and they have a little Cafe that is so good. Check their hours before going, they have a Facebook, as they are experiencing labor shortages and have to keep adjusting their hours.
Love my friends at Kendrick Farms!
Julia Mason
Try seasoning the peanuts with Old Bay seasoning. It makes them taste good with a little heat.
It does add some great flavor, right? The options are really endless with these!
Linda
Thanks for sharing .
Hope you’ll enjoy them!!
Lynn
Has anyone tried this method using Cajun flavors or hot flavors? I love spicy boiled peanuts!!
Swapping some of the salt out for some creole seasoning or simply adding in some red pepper flakes should work perfectly!