Spicy Honey Roasted Peanuts
A few weeks ago, I bought a canister of honey roasted peanuts for the sole purpose of chopping them up and pressing them into the sides of my peanut butter layer cake with chocolate frosting. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been totally infatuated with honey roasted peanuts. I never buy them because I will, without fail, eat the entire jar in a matter of days. It’s embarrassing.
I managed to show some semblance of restraint this time and it lasted quite a bit longer, with my husband and I stealing a handful at a time. One night, he asked if I could make some homemade honey roasted peanuts, and could I pretty-please-with-a-cherry-on-top make them a little spicy, too? I said sure and then forgot about it for a solid two weeks. Oops.
It ended up taking a few tries and some trial and error, but we arrived at some pretty fabulous honey roasted peanuts with a spicy little kick.
These are really very simple to make and I think the flavor is infinitely better than the store-bought version. While my husband had a specific request for spicy honey roasted peanuts, you could absolutely leave the cayenne pepper out and have yourself some traditional honey roasted peanuts.
I love the idea of using this same process with almonds and pecans around the holidays – they would make a great snack, appetizer or even hostess gift. Put some the peanuts in a jar and tie with a pretty ribbon… perfect!
Being able to make these at home in short order will in no way help my obsession with honey roasted peanuts, but oh my goodness are they delicious!
One year ago: Malted Chocolate Chip Blondies
Two years ago: Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
Three years ago: Beer-Battered Zucchini Fries
Five years ago: Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream Frosting
Six years ago: Chocolate Chip & Pretzel Cookie Bars
Eight years ago: Pasta Carbonara Florentine
Spicy Honey Roasted Peanuts
Ingredients
- 16 ounces (453.59 g) peanuts, dry roasted or roasted and salted, either is fine
- â…“ cup (113 g) honey
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, divided
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the peanuts in a large bowl.
- Microwave the honey in a medium bowl for 30 seconds (it will begin to bubble). Remove from the microwave and stir in ¼ cup of the sugar, the salt and cayenne pepper. Immediately pour the mixture over the peanuts and stir with a wooden spoon until they are all coated with the honey mixture.
- Transfer the peanuts to the prepared baking sheet and spread into a single layer. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until they begin to turn a golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 2 minutes, then stir the peanuts. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the sugar over the peanut and stir to coat evenly. Spread the peanuts out into a single layer and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and allow to cool completely. Once cool, break apart any peanuts that have stuck together and toss with any loose sugar. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 months.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Oh my goodness, these are wonderful. I munched on a batch waiting to go into the oven and they tasted just like my forever favorite candy bar, Payday’s. I didn’t use any spice as the person I’m gifting has gut issues with spice. Just great without. Thank you and Merry Christmas.
I’ve been making these every Christmas for the last 4 years. My husband and adult sons would be disappointed if a bag of these didn’t turn up in their stockings on Christmas morning. I double the cayenne!
These are amazing! I’ll admit I didn’t even measure the spice, and threw in some brown sugar (because I saw a question in the comments.) Could not find my cayenne, so I subbed some red pepper flakes. Also doubled the peanuts. One guest liked them so much he asked for some to take to his wife. TRY THIS RECIPE! Easy and delicious!
I made this recipe and it’s perfect! I added about 4 tbsp of chili flakes to make it more spicy and it worked. My husband unintentionally bought 1kg unsalted peanuts and and we could hardly eat it. Glad I found this recipe. I also added 1 1/2 tsp of salt. I doubled the amount of the ingredients for 900g of peanuts. Thank you Michelle for this recipe.
These were delicious! I added a tsp of chili pepper, and 1/8 tsp of smoked paprika to give it a bit more dimension as well as doubled the salt bc i used unsalted peanuts. I highly recommend these.
Oh my goodness! This is the only way I’ll eat honey roasted peanuts now! I made them because I bought a jar of salted peanuts that was NOT salted! I was trying to figure out what to do with them and came across this recipe! It’s perfect! I cut the cayenne in half only because I’m also feeding a 5 year old. We loved them! Thanks for a great recipe!
Fantastic – I used cashews because I was out of peanuts and then sprinkled with a bit of sea salt as they were cooling – YUM!
I made these peanuts yesterday and they were almost perfect – I just needed a little more cayenne to get the spicy kick needed and then OMG nearly all gone in one sitting x
Easy to make and delicious! Will be making them again!!Â
I made jalapeño pepper infused honey to use to make spicy honey roasted nuts. Then I roasted the nuts in a mixture of butter and this hot honey. To my surprise, the nuts are not hot, they do have a nice crunchy coating, but no heat. I made 3 batches of the hot honey, thinking more peppers and even Chipotle powder would achieve my goal of spicy honey roasted nuts. All 3 batches of the roasted nuts lack heat, even though I now have 3 batches of hot honey. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions on what happened with the heat once the nuts were roasted?
Hi Cinda, Oh that’s so weird! I have no idea why the heat wouldn’t translate, except that roasting did something to break down the honey.
I made these in the beginning of the month, and they came out perfect. I have made them two more times since, and they’ve come out too sticky. The only thing I did different the second and third times was to not stir during the cooking process, and I used a different type of honey which shouldn’t matter.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Hi Donna, If they turned out great the first time and then you made changes and they didn’t turn out as well, I would probably go back to what you did the first time. I’m not sure if the type of honey would make a difference, but not stirring definitely would.
Love, love, love these! Can’t stop eating them! They’re the best! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
i love this recipe…. i allready made it twice….. spicy and just honey roasted…. thank you…
hi thanks.. made them now… i think next time i will use more cayenne pepper to make it extra hot.they r my kind of snack!
I made these and everyone just loved them. I followed the recipe, but they were still sticky. What did I do wrong and how can I make them so they are not sticky and have a puddle of honey on the baking sheet. They are so good but I would love them more if they were not sticky.
Hi Jay, I’m glad you enjoyed them! They will still be sticky straight out of the oven (with some honey puddles), but once you let them cool completely, the nuts will get a hard coating. Just make sure they are cooled completely (it can take a few hours depending on how warm your kitchen is!).
Thanks for yet another amazing looking recipe! Do you think you could make a suggestion for me to be able to make the recipe with just honey (no sugar)? My daughter is unfortunately allergic to sugar, yet can eat honey with no problems. Any help you could offer would be soooo appreciated! :)
Hi Karin, I think you could just use the honey. They won’t be as sweet and won’t have that extra little texture, but it should still work!
I similarly lack restraint with HRPs. These look dangerously awesome!
These look and sound amazing, yum!
xx Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
I love making these for people! I have a hard time keeping little hands away from them when I do. This is a great recipe though, in the oven is definitely less crunchy than with a skillet. Love!
Thanks for this, Michelle! I’ve been collecting nut recipes lately and this one is definitely a keeper!
These look awesome! Love the spicy idea! Sweet and spicy is a great combination. When my husband and I go on our beach vacation, there is a store that sells all different varieties of flavored nuts. Sweet and spicy is always our go to choice. Now I can make them at home. Thank you for sharing.
Wow, these look amazing. I’m totally with you a jar of peanuts is my absolute weakness; seriously they’re gone within a couple of days.
I love honey roasted peanuts as well. Now I can make them at home! I also love the idea of giving them a little kick. My father, who loves nuts, would go crazy for these. Pinning!
Thank you for this recipe! Can’t wait to try it and I think this will be a great Christmas gift along with my homemade caramel corn.
Sweet, savory, spicy — those belong on our Italian family crest. We indulge in snacky nuts at Christmas when we make our Party Mix. I’ll save this recipe so that I can make just a nut special. I just “found” you and I’m glad I did. You sound like my type of food lover. Grazie!! A dopo.
Thank you for tinkering with and posting this recipe! Honey roasted peanuts are my dad’s most favorite snack, and I can’t wait to surprise I’m with the superior homemade version. Question: do you think this would work with brown sugar if I wanted to get a little more depth of flavor or would the moisture be too much? Thanks :)
You could try some turbinado sugar! It has the deeper flavor of brown sugar, but it has a crystal texture–just a slight bigger than normal sugar crystals.
I love honey roasted peanuts! I made them as Christmas presents for my family and they were a big hit!
x M.
http://nevermindnm.blogspot.com/
i am on such a honey kick right now – have been on the lookout for honey recipes – i have been staring at the picture of these for like 20 minutes they look so good!
I think I could eat a whole bowl of these in one sitting! YUM!
xoxoBella | http://xoxobella.com