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All parts of the peanut plant can be easily utilized. The vines with leaves make an excellent high protein hay for horses and ruminant livestock. The shells or pods can be used as feed for livestock, burned for fuel, made into particle board, and many other uses. The peanut is grown mainly for human consumption of the seed. The seed can be used directly for food and crushing to produce oil and a high protein meal. Nearly two thirds of all groundnuts produced are crushed for oil . Peanut oil can be used in cooking, lighting, fuel and as a food constituent. Peanut oil has a better keeping quality than soybean, corn, and safflower oils and is a good source of Vitamin E. Used directly as food, peanut is a major crop for subsistence. The multiples uses of the peanut make it an excellent cash crops for domestic markets as well as foreign trade.

In most parts of the world the peanut is utilized primarily as whole seeds. The most common method of preparation for human consumption of whole seeds is dry roasting the seed. The peanut is well-established snack food as fresh cooked and roasted peanuts. In the USA, the major use of peanut is for grinding into peanut butter.