Green-shell raw peanuts simmered for hours in heavily salted water, sometimes with Old Bay or cajun spice. Eaten warm from a paper bag, the shells discarded as you go.
Boiled peanuts (Pinda boiled the African way) entered Lowcountry cuisine through enslaved West Africans on Sea Island plantations from the 1700s. The roadside-stand canon, paper bags from a coal stove kept by the side of US-17, is a continuous Carolina coastal tradition. South Carolina declared boiled peanuts its official state snack in 2006; Charleston restaurants from Husk to Lewis Barbecue serve a refined house version.
2 editor picks for Lowcountry boiled peanuts in Charleston, ranked by editorial score. All Charleston signature dishes · Lowcountry boiled peanuts across every city.
Husk ★ 4.9
downtown · 76 Queen St, Charleston, SC 29401
Sean Brock's Husk in Charleston opened on Queen Street in 2010 and rebuilt Southern fine dining around heritage Anson Mills grains, Sea Island peas.
Lewis Barbecue ★ 4.8
upper-peninsula · 464 N Nassau St, Charleston, SC 29403
John Lewis's Lewis Barbecue in Charleston runs central-Texas-style brisket and hot-guts sausage from a Nassau Street smokehouse since 2016. Priced at $$.