How to Roast Peanuts

If you've never tried roasting your own peanuts at home, here's your opportunity. Here are some important things to note about roasting your own peanuts:

• It's easy -- you can roast peanuts in a conventional oven or a microwave oven.
• It's fast -- you can roast peanuts in 15-25 minutes.
• After you roast your peanuts, you can experiment with seasoning them.
• Keep your raw peanuts in a cool, dry place (below 70 degrees Fahrenheit). Peanuts will keep indefinitely if kept frozen in a tightly-closed container.

Tip: Our raw shelled peanuts, or "redskin peanuts" as they're called, contain the skins. You'll probably want to remove the skins before roasting.

Before you roast your peanuts, you'll want to remove the skins. There are three ways to do this:

• Freeze the raw shelled peanuts overnight and then slip the skins off with your fingers.
• Roast the raw shelled peanuts in an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 3-5 minutes, cool for a few minutes then slip the skins off with your fingers.
• "Blanch" your raw shelled peanuts by putting them in boiling water and let them stand for about 3 minutes. Drain them and set them on a paper towel to dry.

For roasting in a conventional oven:

Place your shelled or in-shell raw peanuts one layer deep in a shallow baking pan. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and place the baking pan in the oven. If you're roasting shelled peanuts then cook them for 15-20 minutes. If you're roasting up some in-shell peanuts, then cook them for 20-25 minutes.

After the peanuts are cool, season them as you wish with salt or other seasonings, and they're ready to be enjoyed!

For roasting in a microwave oven (directions are for a 700-watt oven):

Start with the following ingredients:

• 1 cup raw shelled Virginia peanuts
• cold water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Pour your raw shelled peanuts into a colander and wet them thoroughly. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Pour into small microwave-safe casserole or pie plate. For lightly roasted peanuts, microwave on high for 2-1/2 minutes; stir, then microwave 2-1/2 minutes longer. For a darker roasted peanut, stir and microwave 1 additional minute, in 30-second increments.

After you've roasted the peanuts in the microwave oven, season to taste. Peanuts will be crisp when cool.

And Finally, Some Seasoning Tips

Even if you're not a culinary expert, you can enjoy finely-seasoned roasted peanuts. You should always season roasted shelled peanuts as soon as they're removed from the oven. So which seasonings, you might ask, are the most popular?

• table salt • onion salt or powder • curry powder • seafood seasoning (like Old Bay®)

• popcorn salt • paprika • cajun seasoning • cinnamon

• seasoned salt • chili powder • jalapeno seasoning • parmesan cheese

Of course, if you have a favorite seasoning not listed above, you can always try it. If you find a good seasoning, please let us know!

Try Roasting Your Own Peanuts:

View and purchase our raw Virginia peanuts