These Spicy Sichuan Roasted Peanuts are loaded with flavor and so hard to stop eating! They're salty, spicy, a little sweet - a perfect snack.
My favorite local Chinese restaurant makes a salt-and-pepper chicken dish that my whole family loves. The chicken is cut into small pieces, battered, and fried, then sprinkled with a salty-spicy mixture of pepper, chiles, and other seasonings. We order it every single time we get take-out from there.
Because of this dish, I have been actively seeking out foods I can make at home with a similar seasoning, but that I don't have to deep-fry. That's how I came up with these Spicy Sichuan Roasted Peanuts.
How to Make Spicy Sichuan Roasted Peanuts:
Making these delicious peanuts (or other nuts of your choice) starts with making the seasoning blend. Making the seasoning blend starts with grinding the Sichuan peppercorns.
Sichuan peppercorns are often used whole, but that won't work for this recipe as whole peppercorns will be too large to stick to the peanuts. A clean blade-style coffee grinder works perfectly to grind the peppercorns.
Once the peppercorns are ground, mix the ground pepper with the remaining seasoning ingredients. Then pour the peanuts (or other nuts) into a bowl and toss them with the oil to coat evenly. Sprinkle the seasoning mix evenly over the peanuts, and toss again.
Spread the seasoned peanuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes (a little longer if you're starting with raw nuts). Cool the nuts to room temperature before eating, and store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
Recipe Notes 💡
When I was developing this recipe, I tried both raw and dry-roasted peanuts. While I very much expected the raw peanuts to work better (I thought they would roast more evenly), I didn't find a significant difference, and actually slightly preferred working with the dry-roasted peanuts.
I also tried oven-roasting and skillet-roasting the nuts. I vastly preferred the oven-roasting method, as skillet-roasting them resulted in uneven cooking on multiple attempts.
Spicy Sichuan Roasted Peanuts Ingredients:
- Sichuan peppercorns - Sichuan peppercorns are often used in Sichuan cooking. They have a slightly bitter flavor, but are more floral and citrusy flavor than regular pepper, and cause a numbing sensation in the mouth. Sichuan peppercorns can be found at well-stocked Asian markets, or ordered online.
- Sichuan chile flakes - Sichuan chile flakes are milder than red chile flakes. You can find them in well-stocked Asian markets. See below for substitution ideas.
- Granulated Sugar
- MSG-salt or kosher salt - I highly recommend using MSG-salt for this recipe (or adding a little MSG to the spice mixture) but these peanuts will still be delicious without it.
- Five-spice powder - five-spice powder is a spice blend that is often used in Chinese cooking. It should be available in the spice aisle of any well-stocked grocery store. You can also make it yourself, which I have done on occasion when I run out of it. I've had success with this recipe.
- Ground white pepper - it might also be called white pepper powder. Find this in the spice aisle of any grocery store. You can also buy whole white peppercorns and grind them yourself, which might be a good option if you don't use it often, as whole spices last longer than ground ones. See below for substitution tips.
- Unsalted dry roasted or raw peanuts - see below for substitution tips
- Canola oil or other neutral-flavored cooking oil
Spicy Sichuan Roasted Peanuts Substitutions:
Sichuan Chile Flakes
I try to minimize the number of different spices I keep at home and avoid keeping several different types of chile flakes in my kitchen due to limited storage space.
I often replace Sichuan chile flakes in a recipe with a mixture of Korean chile powder (gochugaru) and red pepper flakes. Gochugaru is fairly mild, and doesn't provide enough heat on its own (but it might work for you if you don't like too much spice).
On the other hand, red pepper flakes are more spicy (and coarser) than Sichuan chile flakes. In this recipe, I use 2 teaspoons of gochugaru, and one teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
Ground White Pepper
White pepper is just black pepper with the skin removed. Black pepper is hotter than white pepper. If you don't have any white pepper, replace it with finely ground black pepper, but use less. In this recipe, I would suggest using ¼ teaspoon.
Peanuts
If you are allergic to peanuts or just don't like them, feel free to substitute a different type of nut. I think pistachios, cashews, or almonds would work well in this recipe. Just make sure that whatever nuts you choose are unsalted.
Want more roasted nuts recipes?
Spicy Sichuan Roasted Peanuts Nutrition Notes:
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one ounce of roasted nuts. The calculations for the nutrition information use peanuts. If you choose to make this recipe with a different type of nut, the nutrition information will vary accordingly.
This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan as written.
Spicy Sichuan Roasted Peanuts
Equipment
- Coffee Grinder or mortar and pestle
Ingredients
- ½ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 Tablespoon Sichuan chile flakes
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons MSG-salt or kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon five-spice powder
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 3 cups unsalted dry roasted or raw peanuts or substitute cashews, pistachios, or almonds
- 1 Tablespoon canola oil or other neutral-flavored cooking oil
Instructions
- Heat oven to 325°F (use the convection setting if available). Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place ½ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns in a clean spice grinder. Grind until the peppercorns are a coarse powder.
- Add the ground Sichuan peppercorns, 1 Tablespoon Sichuan chile flakes, 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons MSG-salt, ½ teaspoon five-spice powder, and ½ teaspoon ground white pepper to a small bowl. Stir until evenly mixed.
- Add 3 cups (454 g) unsalted dry roasted or raw peanuts to a medium bowl. Add 1 Tablespoon canola oil and toss until the nuts are evenly coated with the oil. Sprinkle the nuts with the spice mixture and toss until the seasoning is evenly distributed.
- Spread the nuts on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the nuts are evenly browned and fragrant, checking the nuts often to prevent burning, and stirring twice during the cooking time. Note that if you use raw nuts, you will likely have to add at least 5 minutes on to the cooking time.
- Transfer the cooked nuts into a heat-safe bowl or container and cool to room temperature before serving. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.
Nutrition
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