Name: Air Fryer Spicy Peanuts
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups raw Spanish peanuts; 1/4 cup sugar; 1 Tbsp cayenne pepper; 1 Tbsp butter, melted; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/8 cup water

Air Fryer Spicy Peanuts are a crunchy and flavorful snack that are perfect for any party. You will love the spicy coating on these raw Spanish peanuts. They are a spicy, sweet, and salty all rolled up into one unique treat.

We’re bringing the heat to these roasted peanuts in the form of cayenne pepper.

To balance the heat, we’re adding a little sugar and salt.

This is the perfect flavor profile for your roasted air fryer peanuts.

Disclosure – I may get a small commission for purchases made through affiliate links in this post.

Key to Success #1 – Use Raw Spanish Peanuts

For this easy Air Fryer Spicy Peanuts recipe, we are using raw Spanish peanuts.

You can find raw Spanish peanuts in the local grocery store either in the baking aisle or sometimes in the produce section in little plastic containers.

We also have a local nut store that carries Spanish peanuts pretty much year-round.

If you’re lucky to have a nut store nearby like I am, this is a great option to source your peanuts.

My Walmart does not carry the raw peanuts very often, if at all.

Be sure to use raw peanuts and not salted roasted nuts.

If desired, you can remove the skin from the peanuts before you cook them.

I like to leave the skin on my peanuts. It’s totally personal preference on this one.

Key to Success #2 – Layer on the Flavor

We’re loading up these raw peanuts with plenty of flavor in this simple glaze.

Place your raw peanuts in a medium-sized bowl then add in the sugar, cayenne pepper, salt, melted butter, and water.

Stir the peanuts all around until they are fully coated with the delicious mixture.

The sugar, cayenne, and salt will add lots of flavor the peanuts.

The butter is also to add another layer or flavor to the peanuts.

And the water is to bring it all together so that the peanuts can be fully coated.

The sugar and water will cook together into a simple syrup that will stick to the peanuts like glue.

You don’t to add all this flavor just to have it end up in the bottom of the air fryer basket.

The sugar water will make sure your flavor ends up all over the peanuts.

Key to Success #3 – Cook Low, Cook High

Preheat the air fryer to 300 degrees F.

Add in the glazed peanuts and cook for 5 minutes.

Next, shake the air fryer basket to redistribute the peanuts.

This action will help the peanuts cook evenly on all sides. Don’t skip it.

Increase the air fryer temperature to 350 degrees F then cook the peanuts for 5 more minutes.

The peanuts should be bubbly and starting to turn brown.

Pour the peanuts out onto a sheet of waxed paper to cool completely before serving.

These spicy peanuts will keep in a covered bowl for two weeks or more if they don’t get gobbled up before that.

These peanuts make a great snack to take to work or to munch while watching TV on the couch.

Save this Air Fryer Spicy Peanuts recipe to your favorite Air Fryer Snacks board or your Peanut Recipes board.