Pecans and Peanuts in Alabama Cooking

Peanuts are one of Alabama’s most important crops, grown on about 160,000 acres in southern Alabama, and the Wiregrass region around Dothan calls itself the “Peanut Capital of the World” [1][2]. The state harvests roughly 400 million pounds a year, worth more than $200 million to the state economy [1]. Pecans also flavor local dishes: Encyclopedia of Alabama notes coastal barbecue sauces spiced with pecans in Mobile and Baldwin counties [3].

From cotton to peanuts

Peanuts originated in South America, and enslaved Africans brought them to the English colonies in the 1700s [1]. Upper classes initially avoided them, but popularity grew during and after the Civil War [1]. Cotton’s declining returns, caused by soil depletion and the boll weevil, pushed many Alabama farmers toward peanuts [1]. The weevil entered the United States from Mexico in 1892 and had infested the state by 1916; the Boll Weevil Monument in Enterprise was dedicated on December 11, 1919, and is called the world’s only monument to an insect [2]. George Washington Carver is credited mainly as a promoter of peanut uses rather than an inventor of peanut butter, for which John Harvey Kellogg (1895) and Ambrose Straub (1903) held early patents [1]. See Dothan.

Growing and harvesting

Peanut plants reach just over a foot tall and spread about three feet; they self-pollinate and the pods form underground [1]. Planting is usually in March or April once the soil reaches about 65°F, and harvest comes in September or October, 120 to 160 days later, with a digger, shaker and combine and drying to about 10 percent moisture [1]. Runner peanuts are the main type grown in Alabama and make up nearly half of U.S. production, mostly for peanut butter, candy and roasted snacks [1]. Georgia typically produces about half of U.S. peanuts [1].

Festivals and institutions

The National Peanut Festival in Dothan began in 1938, with George Washington Carver among the first speakers; it paused after 1941, resumed in 1947 and is now a ten-day event of about 200,000 visitors [1][2]. The Alabama Peanut Producers Association in Dothan supports growers, and Auburn University works with the USDA’s National Peanut Research Laboratory at the Wiregrass Research and Extension Center in Headland [1].

In the kitchen

South Alabama boiled peanuts are made with 2 to 3 cups of raw peanuts in the shell, ½ to 1 cup of salt and water to cover, boiled for about three hours [2]. Oven-roasted peanuts roast at 350°F for 20–25 minutes, and homemade peanut butter is made by processing roasted peanuts until smooth [2]. Peanuts also connect to African American heritage in Alabama foodways [3]. Pecans appear in the pecan-spiced barbecue sauces of Mobile and Baldwin counties, and desserts are central to church picnics and reunions [3]. See Alabama Cuisine.

FAQs

Which Alabama counties grow the most peanuts? Houston, Baldwin, Henry and Geneva in 2019 [1].

When was the National Peanut Festival founded? 1938 in Dothan [2].

Sources

1. Encyclopedia of Alabama: Peanut Production in Alabama
2. Opelika Observer: Peanuts in Alabama: history and recipes
3. Encyclopedia of Alabama: Alabama Foodways

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 10, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue