Keep your eye out for these little characters living their best lives in a peanut world. They’re going to be everywhere–on the El trains in Chicago, Times Square in New York, on YouTube and more!
Together with the National Peanut Board, all of us in the peanut industry (from farmers and shellers to candy makers and peanut butter companies like us) are getting together to highlight and celebrate how AWESOME USA PEANUTS are! (Be sure to check out that link to see the videos and all the little peanut worlds!)
Peanuts are America’s favorite nut–and they’re not really even a nut! Peanuts are legumes, so they’re related to lentils, beans, and peas. But everyone thinks of them when they think of nuts, so they’ve become honorary members of the nut family.
So why celebrate peanuts? They’re humble. Familiar. Easy to overlook—until you notice how often they show up making everyday meals better: adding crunch to a salad, richness to a sauce, comfort to a sandwich, or simple satisfaction straight from the spoon. That’s exactly why peanuts deserve to be celebrated. Not because they’re flashy, but because they’re dependable, delicious, and incredibly versatile.
Peanuts are nutritious
Did you know a serving of peanuts provides more energy than a cup of coffee–without the caffeine crash? Peanuts have more protein than any nut (7 g per serving). They’re also a great source of fiber and good fats, and they contain more than 30 essential vitamins and minerals!
The fiber peanuts provide can help with improved digestion, weight management, stabilize blood sugar, and reduce risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Fiber promotes regular, soft bowel movements, prevents constipation, and acts as a prebiotic to feed good gut bacteria.
They’re also great sources (10% or more of the daily recommended value!) of magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin E, folate, copper, manganese, and niacin. These vitamins and minerals help your heart and muscles function, produce energy, form teeth and bones, provide antioxidant protection, help babies and children grow, help your body process cholesterol, and are good for your skin, blood vessels, and nervous system.
That’s a lot of power packed into one unassuming little nut!
Peanuts are sustainable
Peanuts are good for the environment in so many different ways:
They require significantly less water to grow than other nuts and they replenish the soil they’re growing in by moving nitrogen from the air to the soil, making it available for other crops that will be rotated into that field.
When peanuts are harvested, the peanuts are removed and the remaining plant is tilled back into the soil to become fertilizer. Actually, every part of the peanut plant gets used. Even the shells can be used to make clothes, fertilize farms, or even fuel cars!
Peanuts are versatile
You can eat them sweet (with chocolate, fruit, in desserts or even the classic PB&J). But they’re also great for savory dishes like this coconut ginger salmon with Thai peanut zucchini noodles.
We have even more recipes here.
