peanut ladoo

Peanut Ladoo Recipe (Shengdana Ladoo)

By Swasthi on August 25, 2023, Comments, Jump to Recipe

Make delicious and protein rich Peanut Ladoo with just 4 ingredients. Peanut Ladoo are a traditional sweet snack made with roasted peanuts, jaggery and cardamoms. Ladoo is a traditional sweet ball from the Indian sub-continent and tons of variations exist. This post shows you how to make ladoos with peanuts.

peanut ladoo

It is a common practice in India to make everything from scratch so raw peanuts are used here rather than store bought roasted peanuts. But to cut down the roasting and deskinning time, you may use store bought unsalted roasted peanuts.

About Peanut Ladoo

These Peanut Ladoo are protein-packed and makes for a delicious and healthy snack for all age-groups. They go well in the school and office snack boxes too and makes for a great mid-morning or evening snack when you want a boost of energy.

Raw peanuts are roasted first until aromatic and golden. They are left to cool down and then deskinned. Later they are crushed in a dry grinder with jaggery and cardamoms until the peanuts begin to release some oil.

No ghee or additional fats are required since the moisture from the jaggery and the natural oil from the peanuts are sufficient to bind the ingredients.

While these can be made with just 3 ingredients, I love to add an extra ingredient in these for various reasons. I often add rolled oats or poha to these ladoos for a texture. In the past I would also add some cornflakes for a crunch.

Oats are a great addition to these peanut ladoo and no one will ever know there is oats in them because you can’t taste or smell them in these ladoos. A lot of times, these peanut ladoo stick to the mouth while eating. Adding oats, poha or cornflakes will prevent that.

However if you don’t prefer to use them, you may leave out and reduce the cardamom and jaggery.

In this post I also share how to roast peanuts in oven for these ladoos. Often I feel it takes too long to dry roast a large batch of peanuts on the stovetop. So I roast them in the oven which is much easier.

roasted peanuts

Pro Tips

There is no rocket science in getting these ladoos right but here are some tips I learnt over the years.

  • Slow roast the peanuts on a medium heat and avoid high heat. This brings out more nutty flavors and the ladoos turn out delicious.
  • You don’t need to follow the quantities exactly. You can simply eye-ball the jaggery and use. A little more or less is just fine.
  • Also note that traditional jaggery is different from the store bought powdered jaggery. Traditional jaggery has some moisture in it so the mixture binds well. Store bought powdered jaggery has no moisture and is less sweet than the traditional one. So you may need to add more.
  • If using the store bought jaggery powder, the ladoos sometimes don’t bind. If so simply try adding some hot ghee.
  • Using good quality raw peanuts is very important. Pick and discard any peanuts that don’t look good. Make sure they don’t smell rancid.

More Ladoo Recipes
Dry Fruit Laddu
Ragi Laddu
Sesame Ladoo
Badam Ladoo

How to make Peanut Ladoo (Stepwise Photos)

Roast Peanuts

You can roast the peanuts in a pan on the stovetop or in the oven. You can also use store bought unsalted peanuts.

1. Roast on Stovetop: On a medium flame, dry roast 1 cup peanuts in a heavy bottom steel pan, until golden and aromatic.

Roast in Oven: Preheat your oven to 175 C. Spread 1 cup raw peanuts in a baking tray and place it in the center rack. Roast for 8 minutes and give a stir with a wooden spatula. (wear mittens). Continue to roast for another 8 to 10 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes until golden. Remove the rack and place over a cooling rack.

roasting peanuts in oven

2. Optional – Dry roast 1 cup oats or poha in a pan for a few minutes until slightly crisp. Or Spread oats/ poha in another tray and place it the middle rack in the oven. Bake for 2 minutes and turn off the oven. Leave the door ajar so the oats don’t sweat inside.

roast oats or poha

3. Meanwhile, rub the warm or cooled peanuts with the base of a bowl or with your hands to remove the skin.

deskin roasted peanuts

4. A few peanuts with the skin is okay.

skinned roasted peanuts

5. Later separate the skin and nuts.

roasted peanuts in a tray

Make the Ladoos

6. You may leave out if you do not want to use oats or poha. Add 1 cup rolled oats or half cup poha to the grinder jar.

rolled oats in a grinder

7. Grind to a slightly coarse powder.

powdered oats

8. Add the peanuts and pulse to a coarse mixture.

roasting peanuts

9. Add â…“ teaspoon cardamom powder.

add cardamom powder

10. Add 1 cup (125 grams) grated or crushed jaggery. If you are not using oats or poha, use only â…” cup (85 grams).

add jaggery to grinder

11. Grind until the mixture becomes warm and comes together. Taste test and add more jaggery if required. If you overgrind, the nuts begin to release too much oil and turn sticky.

peanut and jaggery mixture

12. If your mixture is dry, you just need to add more jaggery or grind a little longer. This helps the oils to release and bind together.

peanut mixture binding to ladoo

Take portions of this mixture and roll to ladoos. Store peanut ladoos in a air tight jar. They keep good for 2 weeks at room temperature. If you want to store longer, refrigerate them.

peanut ladoo recipe

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

Peanut Ladoo Recipe first published in June 2012. Updated with new images in June 2023.

peanut ladoo recipe

Peanut Ladoo Recipe (Shengdana Ladoo)

Delicious, aromatic and quick to make peanut ladoos made with jaggery, cardamom powder and roasted peanuts.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Servings12
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

  • 1 cup (165 grams) raw peanuts (or unsalted store bought roasted peanuts)
  • â…” cup (85 grams) grated jaggery (use more or less as required)
  • â…“ teaspoon cardamom powder (adjust to preference)

Variation (optional ingredients)

  • 1 cup rolled oats (or ½ cup thin poha or cornflakes, read notes to leave out)
  • ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder (adjust to preference)
  • â…“ cup (40 to 50 grams) grated jaggery (adjust to taste)


Instructions

How to make Peanut Ladoo

  • Optional 1 – Roast peanuts in a Pan: Add peanuts to a heavy bottom steel pan and dry roast them on a medium heat until aromatic and golden. Keep stirring so they don't burn.
  • Option 2 – Roast Peanuts in Oven: Preheat your oven to175 C. Spread peanuts in a baking tray and place it in the center rack. Roast for 8 minutes and give a stir with a wooden spatula. (wear mittens). Continue to roast for another 8 to 10 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes until golden. Remove the tray/pan and place over a cooling rack to cool the peanuts.
  • While the peanuts cool, dry roast the oats or poha in a pan until slightly crisp. You can also roast them in the same oven for 2 minutes. Later turn off the oven and leave them in with the door partly open.
  • Once the peanuts cool down, rub them with your palms or with the base of a bowl to loosen the skin. Or add them to a cotton cloth, wrap them and rub with your hands. Separate and discard the skin.
  • Optional – Add the cooled oats or poha to a dry grinder or blender and powder them coarse.
  • Add the peanuts and grind. Add the grated or crushed jaggery and grind until the mixture turns slightly warm. The oils from the nuts will begin to release so do not overdo this.
  • Take a handful of this mixture to check if it binds well. If it looks dry grind again until the mixture binds well.
  • Take small portions of this mixture and roll to ladoos. Store peanut ladoo in an airtight jar and use within 2 weeks. If you intend to keep longer, store them in the refrigerator.


Notes

  • If you leave out oats or poha, reduce the amount of jaggery.

Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Peanut Ladoo Recipe (Shengdana Ladoo)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 143 Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Polyunsaturated Fat 3g
Monounsaturated Fat 3g
Sodium 3mg0%
Potassium 129mg4%
Carbohydrates 16g5%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 9g10%
Protein 5g10%
Vitamin C 0.02mg0%
Calcium 22mg2%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

© Swasthi’s Recipes

Peanut Ladoo Recipe (Shengdana Ladoo)

About Swasthi

I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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Storage for how many days?

Nice recipe! Which brand of jaggery did you use? Just wondering which brand is pure without any debris.

5 stars
Wow soo easy n very nice recipe swasthi. Can i give it to my 18 months baby as evng snack if yes, please suggest me the quantity n how many times in a week can give

5 stars
Awesome recipes..i would lik to try peanut laddoo but thinking wat to add either poha or cornflakes .. my son is 16th months old so plz let me know which one would taste good.

5 stars
Hi mam which type of cornflakes used fried or unfried i want to do this receipe

Which jaggery you used?

5 stars
Your recipes are fantastic. I made these with poha. my kids were crazy for them. thank you

Thanks for sharing.

Very healthy laddus

awesome and innovative ladoo.you have a nice blog.you can visit my blog and give ur valuable comments.

great twist on the traditional recipe, delicious!

a diff combo and very delicious ladoo…