We might be biased, but peanuts and chilli are a brilliant combination.
There’s something about the creamy, savoury richness of peanuts alongside the kick of chilli that just works. Add a bit of lime, some smoke or a little sweetness and you’ve got a combination that can go in all sorts of directions.
It’s also the idea behind NUTS. But we’re not the only ones who think peanuts deserve a place in the spicy food cupboard. There are some cracking products out there from people doing their own thing with the combination.
So, in the name of research (and definitely not because we just want to eat more of them), here are a few of our favourites.
Butter Bike – Smoked Chilli Peanut Butter
Peanut butter doesn’t have to be sweet. Butter Bike clearly got that memo.
Their Smoked Chilli Peanut Butter combines peanuts with smoked chipotle chilli, smoked paprika and sea salt. The result is a savoury, smoky spread with a bit of heat, and it’s even picked up a Great Taste star.
We love seeing peanut butter taken in this direction. It’s a brilliant ingredient in its own right, and adding chilli gives it a whole new lease of life. Put it in a sandwich, add it to a burger or just try not to eat it straight from the jar.
No judgement if you do.
Check out Butter Bike’s Smoked Chilli Peanut Butter
White Mausu – Peanut Rāyu
If you’ve ever wondered whether chilli oil could be even better with peanuts in it, White Mausu has a pretty good answer.
Their Peanut Rāyu combines roasted peanuts and sesame with crispy garlic, Korean chilli flakes, a house blend of chillies, tamari and agave. It’s crunchy, savoury, a little sweet and made to be spooned over pretty much anything.
It’s also a Great Taste star winner and a great example of how far you can take the peanut-and-chilli combination without turning it into a conventional hot sauce.
Noodles, eggs, rice, vegetables — we’d happily find excuses to put this on all of them.
Discover White Mausu’s Peanut Rāyu
Cambrook – Cashews & Peanuts, Baked with Chilli & Lime
Sometimes the answer is to keep things simple: take some good nuts, add chilli and lime, and make them very difficult to stop eating.
Cambrook’s mix combines cashews and peanuts with chilli seasoning and lime. It’s got that familiar salty, spicy, citrusy combination that works brilliantly as a snack, whether you’re sharing a bowl or keeping it suspiciously close to yourself.
This one has also earned a Great Taste star. In fact, Cambrook has a whole range of award-winning nuts, but this chilli-and-lime mix is the one that caught our eye.
And, obviously, we’re going to be interested in anything that brings chilli and lime together.
Take a look at Cambrook’s Chilli & Lime Nuts
And then there’s NUTS…
Right, our turn.
We started NUTS because we wanted to make something a bit different. We love hot sauce, we love peanuts, and we thought: why not bring them together properly?
Our Lime, Peanut & Scotch Bonnet hot sauce uses peanut butter as a core ingredient, bringing a creamy richness to the fruity heat of Scotch bonnet, with lime cutting through to keep everything bright and zingy.
It’s made in small batches in Sussex, and it’s picked up a Great Taste star of its own.
What makes NUTS different is the format. Butter Bike puts chilli into peanut butter. White Mausu brings peanuts into a crunchy chilli oil. Cambrook adds chilli and lime to a mix of nuts. We’ve taken that same brilliant flavour combination and made it into a pourable hot sauce.
As far as we’ve been able to establish, we haven’t found another UK-made hot sauce quite like it. There may be other peanut-based hot sauces out there in the wider world, but we think there’s room for something different on the shelf.
We reckon it works particularly well on tacos, burgers, toasties, wings and noodle bowls. Basically, anywhere that could do with a bit of creamy richness, warmth and zing.
Meet NUTS Lime, Peanut & Scotch Bonnet
More peanuts. More chilli. More good stuff.
We’re clearly not alone in thinking peanuts and chilli are a combination worth celebrating. And that’s the fun of it: the same basic idea can become a smoky spread, a crunchy chilli oil, a spicy snack or a bottle of hot sauce.
We’re always on the lookout for interesting things made by people who care about flavour. If there’s a peanut-and-chilli product we should try, let us know.
It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it.