Boiled peanuts are popular in some places where peanuts are common. Fully mature peanuts do not make good quality boiled peanuts; rather raw or "green" ones are used. "Raw" denotes peanuts in a semi-mature state, having achieved full size, but not being fully dried, as would be needed for roasting or peanut butter use. After boiling they take on a strong salty taste and become softer with the length of cooking, somewhat resembling a pea or bean, to which they are related. The most flavorful peanuts for boiling are the Valencia type. These are preferred in the United States, being grown in gardens and small patches throughout the South. Green Virginia-type peanuts are also sometimes used.

Boiled peanuts are widely consumed and commercially available in an area of the Southern United States from southern North Carolina south to central Florida and west to Mississippi, (i.e., much of the Deep South). Despite being a prominent peanut-growing state, Virginia does not support a native boiled peanut-eating tradition. The peanuts are sold in the hull and either boiled with only salt or with a piquant spice mixture. The latter are often called "Cajun boiled peanuts".