Georgia Peanut Salsa

Total Time

Prep: 25 min. + chilling

Makes

about 6-1/2 cups

Updated: Jun. 10, 2022
Former President Jimmy Carter gave this zippy salsa a blue ribbon at the Plains Peanut Festival in his Georgia hometown. My daughter and I came up with the recipe just days before the competition. We weren’t allowed in the judging room, but we later saw a tape of President Carter tasting our salsa and saying, Mmm…that’s good. My daughter was only 9 years old, but it’s a day she’ll never forget! —Lane McLoud, Siloam Springs, Arkansas

Ingredients

  • 3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
  • 1 jar (8 ounces) picante sauce
  • 1 can (7 ounces) white or shoepeg corn, drained
  • 1/3 cup Italian salad dressing
  • 1 medium green pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
  • 4 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2-1/2 cups salted roasted peanuts or boiled peanuts
  • Hot pepper sauce, optional
  • Tortilla chips

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the first 9 ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
  2. Just before serving, stir in peanuts and, if desired, pepper sauce. Serve with tortilla chips.
Editor’s Note: This recipe was tested with salted peanuts, but the original recipe used boiled peanuts, which are often available in the South.

Nutrition Facts

1/4 cup: 123 calories, 9g fat (1g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 207mg sodium, 8g carbohydrate (2g sugars, 2g fiber), 5g protein.