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This Cantonese-inspired sweet peanut soup is super nutty, creamy, and silky-smooth! Made with only 7 ingredients and naturally sweetened, it’s a fabulous warm dessert for any peanut lover!
After black sesame soup, I’m excited to share another sweet soup, but this time it’s full of peanut flavor!
This soup is what peanut lovers’ dreams are made of. Incredibly creamy, with a deep roasted peanut flavor and a silky-smooth mouthfeel. It’s not too sweet, slightly salty, and has a subtle hint of coconut flavor as well. You can enjoy it as an afternoon snack or as a warming dessert. For me, it’s the ultimate cozy treat on chilly evenings!
Bonus: I’m also sharing a peanut butter cookie recipe that you can make using the leftover pulp!
⭐️ Why It’s Totally Worth Making
- Made for peanut lovers. Think of this soup as a drinkable version of peanut butter. With deep toasted notes and the perfect balance of sweet and salty, this soup tastes better than any peanut soup you could get at the dim sum restaurant!
- Silky-smooth mouthfeel. If there is one thing that I hate, it’s a gritty texture. And way too often, the sweet soups served outside have that grainy texture. I’ve made sure that it’s not the case here. This soup is as silky as you could imagine!
- Simple, wholesome ingredients. You’ll need just about 20 minutes of active time and 7 ingredients to make it.
Maria, a reader, said: “Thank you so much for this simple and wonderful recipe. We’ve already made it twice and really enjoyed it both times. Didn’t have rice flour and used tapioca starch instead, which made it a bit thicker but still very enjoyable. ★★★★★”
📘 What Is Sweet Peanut Soup
Sweet peanut soup is a dessert that originated in Asia. While its origins remain unclear, it appears to be a Cantonese dessert (花生糊). The soup is typically made with roasted peanuts that are blended with water and butter, sweetened, and then thickened with rice flour.
My version, however, is adapted from Vietnamese recipes, which replace the butter with coconut milk to add creaminess and a delicate nuttiness.
🥜 Ingredients You Need
You will need just 7 ingredients to make this recipe. Here’s what you will need:
- Peanuts – For optimal flavor, start with raw peanuts. The soup will taste much better if you roast the peanuts yourself.
- Coconut milk – I suggest using full-fat coconut milk for the best consistency.
- Maple syrup – Instead of granulated sugar, I use maple syrup to keep the soup refined sugar-free. If you don’t have maple syrup, feel free to use coconut sugar or brown sugar.
- Glutinous rice flour – Also known as sweet rice flour, it helps thicken the soup.
- Salt – To enhance the flavor of the peanuts.
- Vanilla extract – For extra sweetness and complex flavors.
🥣 Cooking Instructions
- Roast the peanuts. Arrange the raw peanuts on a baking sheet and roast for 12 minutes.
- Let them cool. Let the peanuts cool down for about 20 minutes.
If Your Peanuts Have the Skin On
Once the peanuts are no longer hot, transfer them to a clean kitchen towel. Rub them in the towel. The peels will come off very easily. You can then discard the peels.
- Transfer to a blender. Transfer the roasted peanuts to a blender and add the water.
- Blend. Blend on high-speed for about 1 minute.
- Strain. Place a nut milk bag over a medium-sized saucepan and pour the peanut milk into it.
- Squeeze. Strain the milk by squeezing the bag between your hands.
- Pour in the liquid ingredients. Next, pour the coconut milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients. Add the sweet rice flour and salt.
- Whisk. Whisk until the sweet rice flour dissolves into the peanut milk.
- Thicken. Heat over medium-heat for 5-7 minutes, whisking constantly until the soup thickens. Done!
🫖 How to Enjoy It
Divide the hot soup between serving bowls and garnish with a handful of roasted peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, and, if you are feeling fancy, a drizzle of toasted sesame oil!
📔 Success Tips
Start with raw peanuts. Starting with raw peanuts gives you more control over the roasting process. I found the sweet spot to be 12 minutes in the oven, then 3 minutes with the oven off. This results in perfectly roasted peanuts that are golden brown and almost brown on the outside. That deep roast will bring a lot of flavor to the soup.
Adjust the thickness to your liking. You can make the soup thicker or thinner by using more or less sweet rice flour. I would just recommend not using more than 5 tablespoons, or your soup will end up with a custard consistency.
🍪 Use the Peanut Pulp!
After straining the peanut milk, you will end up with some leftover peanut pulp. Don’t trash it, make peanut cookies! You can find below a quick recipe for peanut pulp cookies:
Ingredients
1/4 cup (44g) light brown sugar
3 tbsp (37g) granulated sugar
6 tbsp (84g) butter
1/2 cup (120g) peanut pulp (about what you will have left after making a batch of this soup)
2 tsp (10ml) vanilla extract
1 cup (125g) flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
Instructions: 1) Cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Then, add the peanut pulp and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Add the flour, salt, and baking powder and mix until combined. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2) Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop out about 1.5 tbsp of dough and roll it into a ball. Coat it with granulated sugar and transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.
3) Make a criss-cross pattern on each cookie ball using a fork. Try to flatten the balls into thick discs of about a bit less than 1 inch (2 cm) tall. Bake the cookies for about 11 minutes.
❄️ Storing and Reheating
- To store: You can store this soup in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To reheat: Heat in a saucepan over low to medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring regularly.
💬 FAQs
You can, but your soup won’t be as peanutty. I first tried store-bought roasted peanuts, and while they were good, they lacked that deep-roasted peanut flavor.
Yes, you can use your favorite plant-based cream.
This sweet soup makes a healthy-ish afternoon snack when you are craving something sweet and nutty! Along with black sesame soup, it’s one of my favorite snacks to have while watching a movie on a rainy day. These soups have that comforting factor: warming, rich, and delicious!
⭐️ Did you like this recipe? Let us know in the comments below, and tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
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Sweet Peanut Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup (165 g) raw peanuts
- 2 and 1/2 cups (600 ml) water
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) full-fat coconut milk
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp (2 ml) vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp (30 g) glutinous rice flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- for topping: roasted peanuts, toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to
350 °F (175°C). - Roast the peanuts. Arrange the raw peanuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast for 12 minutes, stirring once halfway through baking. Then, turn off the oven and leave the peanuts inside for another 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 20 minutes.
- Blend. Transfer the roasted peanuts to a blender and add the water. Blend on high speed for about 1 minute.
- Strain. Place a nut milk bag over a medium-sized saucepan. Pour the peanut milk into the nut milk bag. Squeeze with your hands to strain the milk. You should end up with roughly 2 and 1/4 cups of peanut milk.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Next, add the coconut milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, sweet rice flour, and salt. Whisk until everything is well combined.
- Thicken the soup. Heat over medium-heat for 5-7 minutes, whisking constantly until the soup thickens. Divide between small serving bowls, garnish with roasted peanuts and toasted sesame seeds, and enjoy!
- You can store this soup in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
Note: This recipe was first released in June 2020 and updated with new process shots and detailed instructions in January 2026. You can see the older photos below.
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
Leave a Comment
This dish is pure childhood nostalgia for me and I had no idea it was this easy to make. So good. And the cookies made from the leftover peanut pulp were amazing. 10/10.
Hi Jessie,
That’s great to hear 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to leave a review Jessie!
Love the updated pics!
Thank you Auggie! I’m really happy you like the new photos 🙂 I’m trying to update all of the older posts with new, more appealing photos.
Thank you so much for this simple and wonderful recipe. We’ve already made it twice and really enjoyed it both times. Didn’t have rice flour and used tapioca starch instead which made it a bit thicker but still very enjoyable.
Oh thanks Maria, glad you enjoy this peanut soup 😉
Hooray, I’ve been looking forward to this one – thank you! I’ll be trying it out as soon as my raw peanuts arrive (it’s hard to find them raw in my area).
Hope you will like it 🙂