The Healthiest Nuts, Ranked From Worst to First

Ask around and almost everyone will tell you walnuts are the healthiest nut you can eat. Dietitians say it, your health-nut friend says it, and so does most of the internet. So here is the fun part. When we scored twelve popular nuts with our own nutrient-density calculation built on USDA data, walnuts landed eighth out of twelve.

That is not a mistake, and it is not us picking a fight with walnuts. It is the whole reason this article exists. “Nuts are good for you” is settled. Which nut actually delivers the widest spread of vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber, gram for gram, is a much better question, and the answer surprises people who thought they already knew it.

So we ran the numbers instead of guessing. Here is every nut from the bottom of the pile up to the champion, with the score, the calories, and a few honest ideas for actually eating the thing.

How We Scored Them

Everything here comes from USDA FoodData Central, the federal survey database (FNDDS), 2024 release. No blog numbers, no supplement-company math.

The score is simple in spirit. We added up each nut’s percent Daily Value across a shared panel of 17 essential nutrients, uncapped, and left it at that. A higher number means the nut delivers more total Daily Value across that panel. It is the same yardstick we used for our Healthiest Beans and Healthiest Vegetables rankings, so if you have read those, you already know the drill.

Two things worth knowing about that number. Because nothing is capped, a nut that is exceptionally rich in just one or two nutrients can still post a high score, so this is not simply a count of how many boxes a nut ticks. And the panel is not only vitamins and minerals, it folds in protein and fiber too.

What the score does not weigh, at all, is fatty-acid quality. Hold that thought, because it is exactly why walnuts get robbed later.

Every score and calorie count here is measured per 100 grams. For each nut we used one canonical form from the survey, favoring the plain and unsalted version wherever it was offered, and we note the exact form measured with every entry. Raw, roasted, and salted are not the same food nutritionally, so the form matters.

Quick and important aside before we start: tree nut and peanut allergies are among the most common serious food allergies, and reactions can be severe. If that is you or someone you feed, none of this ranking overrides your allergist. Worth taking seriously.

12. Chestnuts

Call this one an honorable mention that barely belongs at the party. Chestnuts technically made the list, but they are a starchy food wearing a nut costume, and the numbers give the game away.

Score 241.6 and just 245 calories, measured plain, which is roughly a third of what most nuts on this list carry. That low calorie count is the tell. Chestnuts are mostly starch and water and low in fat, so they land light on the fat-soluble nutrients that push the other nuts up the board.

What they do bring is copper, vitamin B6, and even a little vitamin C, which is genuinely unusual for anything in the nut aisle. They rank last on density, and that is fine, because you do not really eat chestnuts for the same reason you eat almonds.

You eat them because they are wonderful. Roast them until the shells split and the insides go sweet and soft. Fold chopped roasted chestnuts into a mushroom and sage stuffing, or blend them into a silky soup with a little cream and thyme. Different food, different job.

11. Macadamia Nuts

Score 285.0 and a hefty 716 calories, measured plain. Macadamias are the buttery indulgence of the nut world, rich and very high in fat, which is delicious. Their spot near the bottom of our ranking simply reflects a lower total Daily Value across the panel, and the score never penalizes a nut for being high in fat. Where they do pull their weight is copper, thiamin, and a decent hit of fiber.

Nobody eats a macadamia and feels shortchanged, though. Toast a small handful and toss them through a roasted cauliflower and lemon salad, or chop them over dark-chocolate bark. A little goes a long way here, in flavor and in calories.

10. Pecans

Score 332.4 and the most calorie-dense nut on the whole list at 750, measured as plain pecans (NFS). Pecans are close cousins of the walnut in the kitchen, sweet and rich, and a holiday-baking favorite for good reason. On the nutrient side their strengths are copper, thiamin, and zinc.

Candied pecans on a spinach and goat cheese salad is a classic for a reason. So is a handful chopped into oatmeal with a drizzle of maple. Just remember that 750 number when you are standing over the pan eating them by the fistful.

9. Peanuts

Score 362.0 at 587 calories, measured as plain peanuts (NFS), which is respectable, and here is the trivia everyone loves: peanuts are not really nuts. They are legumes, cousins of beans and lentils, that grow underground. We group them with nuts out of habit in the kitchen, though on US labels peanuts and tree nuts are actually separate major-allergen categories.

What peanuts lack in tree-nut pedigree they make up in protein, and they bring solid copper and magnesium along with sheer usefulness. Stir natural peanut butter into a spicy noodle sauce with lime and ginger. Toss whole roasted peanuts into a Thai-style crunchy salad. Pound for pound, they are one of the best-value foods in the store.

8. Walnuts

Meet our headliner: walnuts, at a modest score of 400.2 and a steep 730 calories, measured plain, excluding honey-roasted. Eighth place. The nut the whole world calls the healthiest.

So what gives? This is the honest answer, and it is worth the paragraph. Walnuts earn their reputation on one specific thing our score does not measure: they are the standout tree nut for ALA, the plant form of omega-3, and they carry a qualified FDA heart-health claim to go with it.

Our score sums percent Daily Value across vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber, and it does not weigh fatty-acid quality at all, which is the exact category where walnuts win. Rank nuts on omega-3 and walnuts leap up the board. Rank them on total Daily Value across our panel and they land here.

Both things are true at once. Walnuts are a genuinely excellent nut for your heart, and they are not the most nutrient-dense one. On our panel their standouts are copper and vitamin B6. Chop them into a lentil bolognese, fold them through banana bread, or blitz them into a rough pesto with basil and a little pecorino-style cheese.

7. Mixed Nuts

Score 455.8 at 610 calories, measured as a plain mixed-nut blend (NFS), which makes perfect sense, because a can of mixed nuts is basically the class average. You are eating a blend of most of the entries above and below this one, so you land somewhere in the middle, with copper, vitamin E, and magnesium leading the profile.

This is the low-effort winner. No decisions, no single-nut fatigue, decent nutrition across the board. Put a bowl out at a party, scatter them over a grain salad, or keep a jar at your desk for the afternoon slump.

6. Pistachios

Score 543.8 and, refreshingly, the second-lowest calorie count among the true nuts at 572, measured as plain pistachios (NFS). Pistachios punch above their weight, and they are a noted source of potassium along with lutein and zeaxanthin, the pigments associated with eye health.

They also come with a built-in trick. Buy them in the shell and the cracking slows your eating down, which may help with portion control. Sprinkle them over roasted carrots with a smear of whipped feta, or crush them onto Greek yogurt with honey.

5. Pine Nuts

Score 566.3, measured plain, though at 673 calories they are not exactly light. Pine nuts are the quiet luxury of this list, buttery and delicate, and priced like they know it. For all that richness they carry real copper, vitamin E, and magnesium.

You almost never eat these solo, and you do not need to. Toast them gently, because they scorch in seconds, then fold them through a classic basil pesto or scatter them over a warm salad of roasted squash and arugula. A tablespoon transforms a dish.

4. Brazil Nuts

Brazil nuts score 577.0 at 659 calories, measured plain, and this is the one entry where I have to stop you before you grab a handful.

Brazil nuts are a selenium bomb. A single nut can hand you well past a full day’s worth of selenium, and while a little selenium is essential, steadily overshooting it is something you genuinely want to avoid. Beyond that headline selenium they also bring copper and magnesium.

So forget the “eat a handful” advice you will see for every other nut on this list. With Brazil nuts, about one to two nuts a day is plenty, and making a bigger daily habit of them is worth asking your doctor about.

Treated with that respect, they are fantastic. Grate one over a breakfast bowl, or chop another into a dark-chocolate and oat energy bite. Just count them, do not pour them.

3. Cashews

Score 588.2 at 574 calories, measured as plain cashews (NFS), and the creamy overachiever of the group. That is on the lower-calorie end for a tree nut, and cashews blend into a silk that vegetarians and vegans have quietly built an entire cuisine on. They earn their high placement on copper, magnesium, and zinc.

This is the nut that earns its keep in the kitchen. Soak and blend them into a dairy-free cream sauce, whip them into a “cheesecake,” or toss whole roasted ones into a coconut curry with plenty of vegetables. Few foods this high on a health list are also this fun to cook with.

2. Hazelnuts

Score 632.0 at 628 calories, measured plain, and a genuine surprise for anyone who only thinks of them as the chocolate-spread nut. Hazelnuts bring serious across-the-board nutrition, led by copper, vitamin E, and thiamin, and they taste like dessert doing it.

Toast them and rub off the skins for the best flavor, then chop them over a bitter-leaf salad with orange segments, or fold them into a chocolate-hazelnut baked oatmeal that tastes illegal. Ground into flour, they make some of the best cakes going.

1. Almonds

And the winner, by a comfortable margin. Almonds score 673.7 at 598 calories, measured as plain almonds (the survey’s NFS form), the most nutrient-dense nut in the lineup by our whole-profile measure.

Here is the satisfying twist after all the plot: sometimes the popular answer is right. Almonds are the nut most people already reach for, celebrated for fiber and vitamin E, and the numbers back the reputation all the way to first place. They are also endlessly practical, which never hurts.

Eat them raw by the handful, slice them over roasted green beans with a squeeze of lemon, stir almond butter into your morning oats, or use almond flour for the tender baked goods that made it famous. The people’s champ, and the data’s champ, finally the same nut.

A Few Cautions Worth Knowing

The allergy point bears repeating: tree nut and peanut allergies are common and can be dangerous, so this ranking is for people who already eat nuts safely.

On portions, keep some perspective. Nuts are calorie-dense, and “healthiest” here means nutrient density per 100 grams, not a license to graze all day. A sensible reference serving is about one ounce, which is really just a small handful. The exact count swings widely by nut, from about 8 Brazil nuts, 12 hazelnuts or macadamias, and 14 walnut halves up to 18 cashews, 24 almonds, 35 peanuts, and 49 pistachios.

Brazil nuts, again, are the loud exception. Keep those to about one or two a day.

Aflatoxin sounds scary and mostly is not, at least in the inspected US supply. It is a mold toxin that pistachios and peanuts are a bit more prone to, and the FDA sets strict limits on how much is allowed in food, with the EU stricter still. The practical move is boring and effective: buy from major brands, toss any nut that looks shriveled or moldy, and store them cool, sealed, and dry.

And one myth to retire. You will hear that soaking or “activating” nuts unlocks their nutrients. Nuts do contain phytic acid, which nudges mineral absorption down a little, but current research does not back the idea that a bowl of water meaningfully fixes that.

Soak them if you like the softer texture. Skip it if you do not.

The Questions Everyone Asks

Are peanuts actually nuts? Botanically, no. They are legumes that grow underground, closer to a bean than an almond. In the kitchen we group them with nuts out of habit, but US allergen labels actually list peanuts and tree nuts as separate categories.

Does roasting destroy the nutrients? Barely, and not in a way most people need to lose sleep over. Minerals like copper and magnesium are heat-stable, so roasting leaves them essentially intact, and what it can nudge are a few heat-sensitive vitamins and the delicate fats.

The larger nutritional swing usually comes from what gets added during roasting, mainly oil and salt. That is also why the plain form we measured and a roasted or salted one are not the same food nutritionally, so the numbers here belong to the plain version. Roast for flavor if you like, just do not assume the figures carry over unchanged.

How much does salt change things? More than you might think, if sodium is on your radar. The nut itself is the same, but salted versions can pile up sodium fast when you eat by the handful. Unsalted keeps the choice in your hands.

How many should I eat a day? For most nuts, one ounce is the classic serving and a fine daily habit. That is a small handful, give or take, though the exact count swings widely by nut: think about 14 walnut halves, 18 cashews, or 24 almonds. Brazil nuts are the one hard exception thanks to selenium, so keep those to about one or two a day.

Are nut butters as good as whole nuts? Nutritionally, a jar that is nothing but ground nuts is about the same as the whole nut it came from, because grinding does not change what is inside. The catch is the extras.

The best jars keep it simple, with a label that reads just “nuts,” maybe “salt,” and little else, while the cheaper ones add sugar and palm oil, which is where they lose the plot. Whole nuts also make it a little harder to overdo the portion, since a spoonful disappears faster than a handful.

Won’t all these calories make me gain weight? Not necessarily. In the research, diets that include nuts tend to hold their own for weight against nut-free ones, because the nuts are filling enough to offset their calorie density. Density cuts both ways.

The Bottom Line

The most nutrient-dense nut by our USDA-based score is the almond, and the nut everyone calls healthiest, the walnut, is genuinely great at a job this scoreboard never measured. Both of those can be true, and now you know exactly why.

So eat the almond for the vitamins, eat the walnut for the omega-3, and eat the Brazil nut like it owes you money, sparingly. We warned you.