11 Common Nuts, Ranked by Protein From Lowest to Highest

Peanuts pack 28 grams of protein per 100 grams, almost nine times what chestnuts offer, and they’re not even a real nut.

If you’re vegetarian or vegan and protein is the number you actually care about, this is the ranking you want.

Using the highest-protein preparation for each nut in the USDA FNDDS candidate list, here are 11 common nuts ranked from lowest to highest in protein per 100 grams, with 28-gram serving figures alongside.

11. Chestnuts

Chestnuts bring up the rear at 3.15 grams of protein per 100 grams, just 0.88 grams in a 1-ounce handful.

They’re also the lightest nut on this list at 245 calories per 100 grams, which honestly makes sense once you remember chestnuts are mostly starch, closer to a potato than to an almond. FNDDS entry: “Chestnuts”.

Nobody eats chestnuts for the protein anyway. They earn their spot at holiday tables roasted over an open fire, folded into a vegetarian stuffing, or simmered down into a velvety chestnut soup. If protein is the goal, this is your garnish nut, not your main event.

10. Macadamia Nuts

Macadamias jump to 7.80 grams of protein per 100 grams, 2.18 grams per ounce, but they also carry a hefty calorie load at 716 per 100 grams.

That’s the tradeoff with macadamias: buttery, rich, and mostly fat. FNDDS entry: “Macadamia nuts”.

They still earn a place in a vegetarian kitchen. Blended with a little water, macadamias turn into a shockingly convincing vegan ricotta. Crushed and pressed onto tofu before pan-searing, they add a crust that tastes more like a splurge than a health food. And macadamia cookies are just better than the chocolate-chip standard, don’t @ me.

If you’re eating macadamias specifically for protein, you’re doing it wrong. Nobody buys a bag of macadamias for the gains. They’re a treat nut, and treating them like anything else sets you up for disappointment fast.

9. Pecans

Pecans land at 9.95 grams of protein per 100 grams and 2.79 grams per ounce, with 750 calories per 100 grams, the highest calorie count on this entire countdown.

Like macadamias, pecans are a fat-first nut. FNDDS entry: “Pecans, NFS”. NFS means not further specified.

That’s not a knock. Pecan pie exists for a reason, and a handful of toasted pecans on a fall salad does more work than most people give it credit for. Pralines, pecan-crusted seitan cutlets, pecan butter swirled into oatmeal, this nut has range even without the protein numbers to brag about.

Think of pecans as a flavor nut, not a protein nut, and you’ll never be let down by them again.

8. Pine Nuts

Pine nuts bring 13.7 grams of protein per 100 grams, 3.84 grams per ounce, and 673 calories per 100 grams.

That’s a real jump from the bottom three entries, and it’s the first nut on this list that starts pulling real protein weight. FNDDS entry: “Pine nuts”.

Pesto is the obvious move, and it’s obvious for a reason. But pine nuts also toast beautifully as a topping for roasted cauliflower, and they show up in Sicilian-style pasta with raisins and breadcrumbs, a combination that sounds strange until you try it.

7. Brazil Nuts

Brazil nuts come in at 14.3 grams of protein per 100 grams and 4.00 grams per ounce, with 659 calories per 100 grams.

Most people know Brazil nuts for their selenium content, but that’s not what we’re measuring here, and the protein number alone already puts them ahead of pine nuts, pecans, macadamias, and chestnuts. FNDDS entry: “Brazil nuts”.

Two or three Brazil nuts chopped over a grain bowl adds crunch without dominating the dish. They also blend into a rich, slightly sweet nut milk that works better in coffee than almond milk ever has for me.

6. Walnuts

Walnuts hit 14.6 grams of protein per 100 grams, 4.09 grams per ounce, and 730 calories per 100 grams.

They’re famous for omega-3s, but strictly on protein, they land right in the middle of this pack. FNDDS entry: “Walnuts, excluding honey roasted”.

Walnuts do their best work in savory territory that most people overlook. Toasted and crumbled, they mimic ground “meat” texture well enough to anchor a vegetarian bolognese. They’re also the backbone of a proper muhammara, that smoky Syrian red-pepper-and-walnut dip that deserves way more attention than it gets.

Their protein per 100 grams is what earns walnuts a solid mid-pack finish here. That savory range is a bonus, even though the sweet, dessert-adjacent version is what most people know them for.

5. Hazelnuts

Hazelnuts reach 15.0 grams of protein per 100 grams, 4.20 grams per ounce, and 628 calories per 100 grams, edging past walnuts by a hair.

FNDDS entry: “Hazelnuts”.

Everyone’s mind goes straight to Nutella, and fine, hazelnut spread earns its reputation. But roasted and skinned hazelnuts scattered over roasted brussels sprouts do something magic to a vegetable most people already claim to hate. Hazelnut-crusted tofu cutlets are also underrated, crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle.

Hazelnuts get filed under “dessert nut” so consistently that people forget they belong in a savory dish at all. That’s a mistake worth correcting.

4. Cashews

Cashews clock in at 15.3 grams of protein per 100 grams, 4.28 grams per ounce, and 574 calories per 100 grams, one of the lower calorie counts on the whole list for the protein you’re getting.

FNDDS entry: “Cashews, unroasted”.

Cashews are basically the vegan kitchen’s Swiss Army knife. Soaked and blended, they become cashew cream, cashew queso, or an entire block of vegan mozzarella that actually melts. Roasted and tossed with chili flakes, they’re also just a great snack on their own, no recipe required.

No other nut on this list does that much heavy lifting behind the scenes. Most people don’t even clock how much of a modern vegan menu leans on cashews until they start reading ingredient lists.

3. Pistachios

Pistachios climb to 21.0 grams of protein per 100 grams, 5.88 grams per ounce, and 572 calories per 100 grams, the lowest calorie count of any nut in the top five.

But the real headline here isn’t the number, it’s the quality behind it. FNDDS entry: “Pistachio nuts, NFS”. NFS means not further specified.

American Pistachio Growers identifies roasted American pistachios as a complete protein. Most nuts fall short somewhere, usually lysine or methionine. That finding applies to roasted American pistachios, not necessarily the unspecified preparation used for this ranking.

Worth a caveat here: protein grams on a label aren’t a perfect match for what your body actually absorbs. Plant proteins, pistachios included, digest a little less completely than animal protein because of natural compounds like phytates. Scientists track this with a measure called DIAAS, and pistachios score respectably on it, but the short version is simple: the number on the bag isn’t the whole story, just a very useful starting point.

Beyond the biology, pistachios are just fun to eat. Crushed over hummus, blitzed into a bright green pesto, or folded into a simple grain salad with feta, they punch above their weight in almost every dish.

2. Almonds

Almonds sit at 21.4 grams of protein per 100 grams, 5.99 grams per ounce, and 626 calories per 100 grams, barely edging out pistachios for the silver medal.

FNDDS entry: “Almonds, unroasted”.

Almonds are everywhere in a vegetarian pantry for a reason. Almond butter on toast, almond milk in your coffee, slivered almonds over green beans, this is the nut you’re probably already eating without thinking about the protein count. That consistency, showing up strong across so many different foods instead of just one flashy dish, is part of what makes almonds so hard to beat.

1. Peanuts

Peanuts crush the field at 28.0 grams of protein per 100 grams, 7.84 grams per ounce, and 599 calories per 100 grams.

That’s nearly nine times the protein of chestnuts at the bottom of this list, and a clear, uncontested win over every actual tree nut here. FNDDS entry: “Peanuts, roasted, salted”.

Here’s the twist promised at the top. Peanuts aren’t botanically a nut at all. They’re a legume, part of the same family as beans, peas, and lentils, with pods that develop below ground rather than on a tree. Nutritionally and in every kitchen on earth, they get grouped with nuts anyway, and honestly, who’s going to argue with the results.

Roasting and salting shift the numbers slightly, a raw peanut and a roasted, salted one aren’t identical, but the protein count barely moves either way. What does move is what you can do with them.

Peanut butter sandwiched between two slices of bread. Peanut sauce over rice noodles. A scoop of crushed, salted peanuts over a spicy vegetarian curry for crunch. No other nut, or fake nut, on this list works this hard across this many meals.

So Which Nut Should You Actually Buy?

If you’re vegetarian or vegan and building meals around plant protein, the honest answer is whichever one you’ll actually keep eating. Peanuts and almonds win on the spreadsheet, but a tablespoon of any nut butter, tossed into oatmeal or blended into a smoothie, beats a “perfect” nut sitting unopened in your pantry.

One more thing worth saying plainly: nut allergies are a real and sometimes serious medical issue. If that’s part of your life, this list isn’t a reason to experiment, it’s just nutrition data. Talk to a doctor about what’s safe for you, not a food ranking on the internet.

The Bottom Line

Chestnuts lose to peanuts by a factor of nine, and peanuts still aren’t technically nuts. Nutrition rankings don’t always play fair.

If protein is genuinely the number driving your grocery list, start with the highest-protein entries, #1 peanuts and #2 almonds. And if a friend insists peanuts don’t belong on a “nuts” list, tell them the numbers don’t care what a peanut calls itself.