Cashew butter: the nut trials apply, the butter was never tested

In a network meta-analysis of 105 randomized trials with 6768 people weighed, diets with added nuts, cashews among them, did not raise body weight, BMI, waist or body fat, except waist size with hazelnuts. That finding, like the rest of this page, comes from whole nuts of mixed types, because we found no study of cashew butter itself. A meta-analysis of 13 trials found that longer-term tree nut and peanut intake raised fasting flow-mediated dilation, a measure of how well arteries widen, by 1.09 percentage points (95% CI 0.49 to 1.69), with large disagreement between trials. A tablespoon of cashew butter is coded at 16 g in US surveys and carries about 97 calories, 33 mg magnesium and 0.3 mg copper. Per 100 g it gives 609 calories and 12.12 g protein.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Cashew butter provides 609 calories, 12.12 g protein, 206 mg magnesium and 1.758 mg copper per 3.5 oz (100 g) in the US dietary database. — FNDDS food code 42201000, Cashew butter (fdc_id 2707536) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: energy 609 calories, protein 12.12 g, monounsaturated fat 26.709 g, magnesium 206 mg, copper 1.758 mg

What a real portion looks like

• One tablespoon of cashew butter is coded as 16 g, which carries about 97 calories and 0.3 mg copper, and a sandwich portion is 32 g. — FNDDS food code 42201000, Cashew butter Evidence E source
  1 tablespoon 16 g = 97.4 calories, 1.9 g protein, 33.0 mg magnesium, 0.3 mg copper; sandwich 32 g = 194.9 calories

What your body absorbs

• A systematic review of 23 bomb calorimetry studies found that tree nut intake consistently lowered the share of energy people actually absorb. — Twenty-three studies in adults Evidence C source
  Lower proportions of digestible and metabolizable energy; no pooled size
• A meta-analysis of 27 studies in 1121 adults found no significant rise in resting energy expenditure after nuts, 28.6 calories per day. — 27 studies with 1121 participants (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews and others) (n = 1121) Evidence A source
  REE +28.6 calories/d (95% CI -10.7, 67.8), not significant; energy compensation -280.5% to +176.4%

What cooking and storage change

• By the USDA table for roasted nuts, roasting keeps all of the copper, magnesium and zinc but 85% of thiamin and 80% of folate. — USDA retention factors for Nut and Seed Products, NUTS, ROASTED (Retn_Code 2203) Evidence E source
  Copper, magnesium, zinc, iron 100%; thiamin 85%; folate 80%; phosphorus 80%
• A systematic review of 32 articles found that heat does not break down the seed storage allergens of cashew and other tree nuts in lab tests. — 32 articles, mostly in vitro Evidence D source
  Heat stability of nsLTPs and seed storage proteins in cashew
• A scoping review of 41 studies found that plasma and UV-C treatments cut aflatoxin in tree nuts by 70% to 95%, but no single method is sufficient. — 41 eligible original studies Evidence D source
  70-95% aflatoxin reduction with physical methods

What it does to your health

• A meta-analysis of 122 RCTs in 9487 people found that eating tree nuts or peanuts lowered LDL cholesterol by 4.3 mg/dL (0.11 mmol/L). — 126 strata from 122 studies, 9487 participants, duration 3-260 weeks (n = 9487) Evidence A source
  LDL -4.3 mg/dL (-5.4 to -2.7; metric: -0.11 mmol/L, -0.14 to -0.07); I2 80%; GRADE very low for LDL
• A network meta-analysis of 105 RCTs with 6768 people weighed found that nut-enriched diets, cashews among them, did not raise body weight. — 105 randomized controlled trials, body weight n = 6768 (n = 6768) Evidence A source
  No significant increase in BW, BMI, WC or body fat except WC with hazelnuts
• A meta-analysis of 13 RCTs found that longer-term tree nut and peanut intake raised fasting flow-mediated dilation by 1.09 percentage points. — thirteen RCTs focusing on tree nut and groundnut consumption Evidence A source
  Fasting FMD +1.09 PP (95% CI 0.49, 1.69); I2 76.7%

Safety, limits and interactions

• A systematic review of 36 studies put challenge-confirmed tree nut allergy under 2%, with cashew among the most common tree nut allergies in the USA. — 36 studies, children and adults Evidence C source
  Challenge-confirmed <2%; probable 0.05-4.9%
• Pooled European studies put self-reported tree nut allergy at 0.9% and food challenge-verified allergy at 0.04%. — 93 studies in Europe, all age groups Evidence C source
  Self-reported lifetime 0.9% (0.6-1.2); challenge-verified 0.04% (0.02-0.1)

What people believe that the data does not support

• The EU refused a heart health claim for 1.1 oz (30 g) of nuts a day, a claim that had itself excluded cashew nuts. — EU Register on nutrition and health claims Evidence E source
  Non-authorized

Who this works differently for

• A 78-year-old man with chronic kidney disease developed oxalate nephropathy after eating 3-4 oz of cashews daily for a year. — A 78-year-old man who had stable chronic kidney disease (n = 1) Evidence D source
  Creatinine 6.0 vs baseline 2.05 mg/dL; calcium oxalate crystal deposition
• In a 32-week randomized trial in 20 children aged 2-12 living with HIV, 12 g a day of cashew nut flour produced no significant change in leukocytes or lipids. — Children aged 2-12 years, intervention n = 11, control n = 9, 32 weeks (n = 20) Evidence B source
  No significant change in leukocytes and lipid profile (p > 0.05); platelets p = 0.18

What is still unknown

• A systematic review of 21 studies found the usable energy of nuts, cashews included, below label estimates, and higher for nut butter than for roasted or raw nuts. — Twenty-one human and in vitro studies Evidence C source
  ME lower than Atwater for all nut types; ranking by processing butter > roasted > raw; ME 18.5 kJ/g raw almonds
• The USDA review of maternal diet found mixed evidence on nut intake in pregnancy and child asthma, with one cohort seeing no link for nuts including cashews. — three prospective cohort studies of pregnancy Evidence C source
  Mixed; no association in the Netherlands cohort

The bottom line

Label calories may overstate what you absorb from nuts. A review of 21 studies found the usable energy of every nut type tested, cashews included, below the standard Atwater estimate, and higher for nut butter than for roasted or raw nuts. It gives no figure for cashew butter. Across 27 studies in 1121 adults, eating nuts did not significantly raise resting energy expenditure (28.6 calories a day, 95% CI -10.7 to 67.8), and most of those studies were short. By the USDA table for roasted nuts, roasting keeps all of the copper, magnesium and zinc, 85 percent of thiamin and 80 percent of folate. The table does not cover grinding nuts into butter. Cashew is among the most common tree nut allergies in the USA. Across 36 studies, challenge-confirmed tree nut allergy sat under 2 percent, though only seven of them used a food challenge. Pooled European data put it at 0.04 percent confirmed by challenge against 0.9 percent self-reported. Laboratory studies found the main allergens of cashew and other tree nuts stable under heating, in vitro evidence only. One 78-year-old man with chronic kidney disease developed oxalate nephropathy after eating 3 to 4 oz of cashews daily for a year, a single case. Tree nuts can carry aflatoxin, and lab treatments such as plasma and UV-C removed 70 to 95 percent of it, with no single method judged sufficient. In 20 children aged 2 to 12 living with HIV, 12 g a day of cashew nut flour for 32 weeks produced no significant change in white cells or blood lipids, in a very small trial of flour. Evidence on nuts in pregnancy and child asthma is mixed, and one Dutch cohort saw no link for nuts including cashews. The EU refused a heart health claim for 1.1 oz (30 g) of nuts a day, a claim that had excluded cashews from the start.

Compared with other foods

Sources

1. cabu-daily-r6-01 · FNDDS dataset
   Cashew butter [fdc_id 2707536]: Energy 609 KCAL; Protein 12.12 G; Fatty acids, total monounsaturated 26.709 G; Magnesium, Mg 206 MG; Copper, Cu 1.758 MG per 100 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 42201000 · checked 2026-09-29
2. cabu-daily-r6-02 · FNDDS dataset
   FNDDS 42201000 Cashew butter: 1 tablespoon 16 g (97.4 KCAL; 0.3 MG copper; 33.0 MG magnesium); Guideline amount per sandwich 32 g (194.9 KCAL)
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 42201000 · checked 2026-09-29
3. cabu-daily-r6-05 · systematic review
   High-fiber diets and tree nut intake consistently lowered the proportions of DEI and MEI, indicating that dietary composition affects energy absorption efficiency.
   Adv Nutr, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29
4. cabu-daily-r6-09 · systematic review and meta-analysis
   The meta-analyses identified a nonsignificant increase in REE associated with nut consumption (weighted mean difference: 28.6 kcal/d; 95% CI: -10.7, 67.8 kcal/d).
   Adv Nutr, 2023 · checked 2026-09-29
5. cabu-daily-r6-03 · USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, dataset
   USDA-RETN-R6:2203 NUTS,ROASTED: copper_mg 100%; magnesium_mg 100%; zinc_mg 100%; iron_mg 100%; thiamin_mg 85%; folate_total_ug 80%; phosphorus_mg 80%
   USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6, 2007, Retn_Code 2203 · checked 2026-09-29
6. cabu-daily-r6-13 · systematic review
   The majority of the in vitro studies investigating the allergenicity of nonspecific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs) and seed storage proteins in hazelnut, almond, cashew nut, Brazil nut, walnut, pecan nut and pistachio nut show heat stability towards different thermal processing methods.
   Allergy, 2013 · checked 2026-09-29
7. cabu-daily-r6-14 · scoping review
   Physical approaches, particularly cold atmospheric plasma and UV-C radiation, achieved robust reduction rates ranging from 70% to 95%; however, these highly energetic treatments often induced lipid oxidation, evidenced by linear increases in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in matrices such as pistachios. ... No single universal method is currently sufficient to handle contamination safely.
   Mycotoxin Res, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29
8. cabu-daily-r6-06 · meta-analysis of RCTs
   A total of 126 strata from 122 studies explored the effect of nut consumption on LDL cholesterol. The meta-analysis showed that nut consumption was associated with a significant decrease in LDL cholesterol (Table 2 and Figure 2).
   Adv Nutr, 2023 · checked 2026-09-29
9. cabu-daily-r6-07 · network meta-analysis
   A total of 105 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with measures of BW (n = 6768 participants), BMI (n = 2918), WC (n = 5045), and BF% (n = 1226) were included. ... In the comparisons of nut consumption versus a control diet, there was no significant increase observed in any of the adiposity-related measures examined except for hazelnut-enriched diets, which raised WC.
   Nutrients, 2021 · checked 2026-09-29
10. cabu-daily-r6-08 · meta-analysis of RCTs
    Longer-term consumption of tree nuts and groundnuts increased fasting FMD by 1.09 %-point (PP) (95% CI: 0.49, 1.69, P < 0.001; I2: 76.7%, P < 0.001), while l-arginine supplementation (daily range: 3-21 g) increased fasting FMD by 0.53 PP (95% CI: 0.12, 0.93; P = 0.012; I2: 91.6%, P < 0.001).
    Clin Nutr, 2021 · checked 2026-09-29
11. cabu-daily-r6-11 · systematic review
    Challenge-confirmed IgE-mediated tree nut allergy prevalence was less than 2 % (although only seven studies used this gold standard) while probable tree nut allergy prevalence ranged from 0.05 to 4.9 %. ... Prevalence of individual tree nut allergies varied significantly by region with hazelnut the most common tree nut allergy in Europe, walnut and cashew in the USA and Brazil nut, almond and walnut most commonly reported in the UK.
    Curr Allergy Asthma Rep, 2015 · checked 2026-09-29
12. cabu-daily-r6-12 · systematic review and meta-analysis
    The overall pooled estimates for all age groups of self-reported lifetime prevalence were as follows: cow's milk (5.7%, 95% confidence interval 4.4-6.9), egg (2.4%, 1.8-3.0), wheat (1.6%, 0.9-2.3), soy (0.5%, 0.3-0.7), peanut (1.5%, 1.0-2.1), tree nuts (0.9%, 0.6-1.2), fish (1.4%, 0.8-2.0) and shellfish (0.4%, 0.3-0.6).
    Allergy, 2023 · checked 2026-09-29
13. cabu-daily-r6-17 · EU claims register
    POL-HC-7666 Nuts - peanuts and tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios and walnuts), excluding brazil, macadamia and cashew nuts Eating 30g of nuts per day as part of a balanced diet helps maintain heart health. Non-authorised
    EU Register on nutrition and health claims, claim POL-HC-7666, snapshot 2026-09-21 · checked 2026-09-29
14. cabu-daily-r6-10 · case report
    He underwent a kidney biopsy, which showed acute tubular injury associated with extensive calcium oxalate crystal deposition. On revisiting his history, it was discovered that the patient had been consuming 3-4 oz of cashew nuts daily for the last 1 year.
    Kidney Med, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29
15. cabu-daily-r6-15 · RCT
    Children aged 2-12 years were allocated to intervention groups (IGs) (n = 11) receiving 12 g/day of cashew nut flour and control groups (CGs) (n = 9) receiving 12 g/day of carboxymethyl cellulose. ... In the IG, the elevation and reduction of leukocyte and lipid profile biomarkers, respectively, were not statistically significant (p > 0.05).
    Nutr Health, 2025 · checked 2026-09-29
16. cabu-daily-r6-04 · systematic review
    The ME of nuts was consistently lower than that predicted by Atwater factors for investigated nut types (almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios, walnuts, and peanuts). ... ME was influenced by nut type (ME = 22.6 kJ/g for pistachios; ME = 18.5 kJ/g for raw almonds), physical form (flour > chopped > whole nuts), heat processing (butter > roasted > raw) and dose of consumption.
    Adv Nutr, 2023 · checked 2026-09-29
17. cabu-daily-r6-16 · USDA NESR systematic review
    However, the Netherlands-based study32 noted that consumption of nuts (including tree nuts, peanuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, macadamia nuts, pistachios) was not associated with the risk of asthma in children.
    USDA NESR, Maternal Diet during Pregnancy and Lactation and Risk of Child Food Allergies and Atopic Allergic Diseases, 2020 · checked 2026-09-29