Almonds vs walnuts: calories compared

No trial we found has tested these nuts head to head. Against control diets, both lowered LDL cholesterol by a similar small amount: about 5 mg/dL (0.13 mmol/L) for almonds across 36 publications, and 5.5 mg/dL (0.14 mmol/L) for walnuts across 26 trials.

The brain claim for walnuts did not hold up. In 708 healthy older adults, two years of daily walnuts had no effect on thinking.

The table leaves out magnesium: almonds carry nearly twice as much, 258 mg against 142 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g). Nuts also deliver fewer calories than the standard calculation predicts, least of all whole and raw. Chopping, grinding, roasting and nut butter hand over more.

With a tree nut allergy, ask your allergist first. Walnut is among the most common tree nut allergies in the US, and in lab studies heat did not weaken the seed storage proteins, so do not count on roasting.

Pick by taste or eat both, and measure by weight, 1 oz (28 g): a cup of almonds weighs about 5 oz (141 g), a cup of walnuts 4.2 oz (120 g). The FDA lets nut labels say that 1.5 oz a day, in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease, and that the evidence suggests but does not prove it.

Calorie figures for nuts are predicted from a standard formula, and measured nuts come in under it. In a review of 21 studies, raw almonds delivered about 18.5 kJ per gram, roughly 4.4 calories, while the USDA figure in the table works out to about 5.8 calories per gram. Walnuts also came in below the formula, though the review gives no walnut number we can quote. Roasting, chopping or grinding narrows the gap.

Evidence behind this note

1. Level E No randomized trial compares almonds and walnuts head to head, so which nut is better for cholesterol or the brain cannot be answered from trials, and the USDA retention table has no data on roasting nuts. Bioma corpus and dataset search (PubMed corpus, USDA R6, 21 CFR 101) and web search, 2026-10-02
2. Level A A 2025 meta-analysis of randomized trials with 2,485 adults found almonds lowered LDL cholesterol by 0.13 mmol/L (about 5 mg/dL) versus nut-free control. Nutrients, 2025
3. Level A A meta-analysis of 36 publications with 2485 adults found eating almonds for at least 4 weeks lowered LDL cholesterol by 5 mg/dL (0.13 mmol/L) and apoB by 4.6 mg/dL. Nutrients, 2025
4. Level A A meta-analysis of 26 trials with 1059 people found walnut-enriched diets lowered LDL cholesterol by 5.5 mg/dL more than control diets, without weight gain. Am J Clin Nutr, 2018
5. Level B Two years of eating walnuts every day did nothing for the thinking of healthy older people. Am J Clin Nutr, 2020
6. Level E Per 100 g, raw almonds carry about three times the calcium and twice the fiber and magnesium of raw walnuts, while walnuts carry more fat. USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods, release 2026-04-30 (8 samples per food)
7. Level C Across 21 studies, the body absorbed less energy from almonds and walnuts than labels predict, about 18.5 kJ per gram for raw almonds, and more from butter or flour than from whole nuts. Adv Nutr, 2023
8. Level C A systematic review of 36 studies found challenge-confirmed tree nut allergy in under 2% of people, with walnut and cashew the most common in the US and almond and walnut among the most common in the UK. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep, 2015
9. Level D Lab studies suggest roasting may weaken the birch-pollen type allergen in almond, while the seed storage proteins of almond and walnut stay allergenic after heating. Allergy, 2013
10. Level E A standard US serving of either nut is 1 ounce, 28 g, but a cup holds 5 oz (141 g) of almonds versus 4.2 oz (120 g) of walnuts. USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food codes 42101000 (FDC 2707486) and 42116000 (FDC 2707531)
11. Level E Since 2003 the FDA allows a qualified label claim that 1.5 ounces a day of most nuts, almonds included, may reduce heart disease risk, with the wording that evidence suggests but does not prove it. US FDA, Qualified Health Claims: Letter of Enforcement Discretion, Nuts and Coronary Heart Disease, 14 July 2003

Written from the studies and agency guidance we hold for both foods, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.

Read more about these foods

• Almonds and walnuts: each lowers LDL a little, and no trial ranks them
• Almonds: a real effect, about three percent of your cholesterol
• Walnuts: two years of daily walnuts did nothing for memory

What the studies say

• Do almonds help with weight loss? About half a kilo, and only against nut-free diets
• Do almonds lower cholesterol? Yes, by about 5 mg/dL of LDL, a small shift
• Do walnuts lower cholesterol? Yes, modestly. LDL falls 5.68 mg/dL across 49 trials

Rankings and guides

• Calories: what it does and what the evidence shows
• Which foods give the most protein for the fewest calories?
• Dietary fat: what it does and how much you need
• Almonds: full nutrition facts
• Walnuts: full nutrition facts

More comparisons

• Almonds vs cashew nuts
• Walnuts vs pecans

• Almonds: USDA FoodData Central, Nuts, almonds, whole, raw, FDC ID 2346393 · full profile · all forms of almonds
• Walnuts: USDA FoodData Central, Nuts, walnuts, English, halves, raw, FDC ID 2346394 · full profile · all forms of walnuts

Each food is one USDA entry, chosen as it is usually eaten. Other cuts, brands and preparations differ; the links show them. % DV uses FDA Daily Values for adults. How we verify.