Peanut sauce: 214 mg of sodium in every tablespoon

The firmest number connected to peanut sauce comes from infant feeding. A meta-analysis of 3 randomized trials in 4,183 infants found that giving peanut foods before 12 months cut the risk of peanut allergy by 69% (RR 0.31, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.54). It studied peanut products in general, and a salty sauce is the wrong one to give a baby. The trials introduced peanut under study protocols, and this page has no card on how to do it at home, so that is a question for your child's doctor. For everyone else peanut sauce is a rich, salty condiment. In US survey data it has 257 calories, 16 g fat and 1,338 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g), from a single recipe of peanut butter, water and soy sauce with no spread between samples. One tablespoon (16 g) gives about 41 calories and 214 mg sodium, which is about 9% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value by our own arithmetic, and a real serving over a dish is often two to four tablespoons. We found no trial of peanut sauce itself on human health.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

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

How much is actually in it

• In US survey data, peanut sauce has 257 calories, 16 g fat, 6.3 g protein and 1,338 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g). — USDA FNDDS 2021-2023: Peanut sauce (42204050) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: 257 calories, fat 16.02 g, saturated fat 2.907 g, protein 6.31 g, sodium 1338 mg, niacin 3.2 mg, vitamin E 2.23 mg

What a real portion looks like

• One tablespoon (16 g) of peanut sauce gives about 41 calories and 214 mg sodium, roughly 9% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value. — USDA FNDDS 2021-2023 portion, Peanut sauce (42204050), 1 tablespoon = 16 g; Daily Value 21 CFR 101.9(c)(9) Evidence E source
  Per tablespoon: 41.1 calories, fat 2.6 g, protein 1.0 g, sodium 214.1 mg (9% of 2,300 mg DV)

What your body absorbs

• In challenges of 8 peanut- or hazelnut-allergic patients, a chocolate bar matrix raised the dose needed for objective symptoms compared with a dessert matrix. — Eight allergic patients challenged with peanut or hazelnut; four volunteers for gastric MRI (n = 8) Evidence C source
  Higher threshold for objective symptoms with the high-fat matrix; size not given in abstract
• In 137 Indian women, adding nuts including peanuts to a bread meal cut iron absorption from 6.6% to 1.8%. — 137 Indian women, bread meals with or without walnuts, almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts (n = 137) Evidence C source
  Iron absorption 1.8% with nuts vs 6.6% bread alone (p < 0.0005)
• A systematic review of 21 studies found the body gets fewer calories from nuts than labels predict, and more from nut butter than from roasted or raw nuts. — 21 human and in vitro studies of tree nuts and peanuts, to June 2021 (n = 21 studies) Evidence C source
  Metabolizable energy lower than Atwater prediction; order by heat processing butter > roasted > raw

What cooking and storage change

• Across 19 processing trials, mostly on peanuts, roasting cut aflatoxin B1 by about 47%. — 19 interventional food-processing studies, mostly peanuts (n = 19 studies) Evidence D source
  Roasting: aflatoxin B1 -46.91%, B2 -30.66%, G1 -40.88%, G2 -26.19%
• In a 1986 cholera epidemic in Guinea, patients had 3.1 times the odds of controls of having eaten leftover peanut sauce. — 35 hospitalized cholera patients and 70 matched controls, Guinea, 1986 (n = 105) Evidence C source
  Leftover peanut sauce OR 3.1 (95% CI 1.2-8.2); tomato sauce OR 0.2
• In a 1996 cholera epidemic in Guinea-Bissau, lime juice in the sauce eaten with rice was linked to 69% lower odds of cholera, and in the lab it held back V. cholerae growth in rice with peanut sauce. — Hospitalized cholera cases and matched controls, Bissau, 1996, plus laboratory tests Evidence C source
  Lime juice in sauce OR 0.31 (95% CI 0.17-0.56)

What it does to your health

• In a 12-week crossover trial of 61 older adults, high oleic peanuts at 15-20% of energy did not change lipids, CRP, glucose or insulin. — 61 healthy subjects, 65 ± 7 y, BMI 31, 12-week phases (n = 61) Evidence B source
  No differences in lipids, CRP, glucose, insulin; energy intake +10% (853 kJ) with weight gain below predicted

Safety, limits and interactions

• Peanuts are one of the nine major food allergens under US law, so peanut sauce must declare them on the label. — US food labeling law (FALCPA 2004, FASTER Act 2021) Evidence E source
  Not applicable (agency position)

Who this works differently for

• A meta-analysis of 3 RCTs in 4183 infants found that introducing peanut in the first year cut peanut allergy risk by 69%. — Infants in RCTs of allergenic food introduction before 12 months (n = 4183) Evidence A source
  Peanut allergy RR 0.31 (95% CI 0.17 to 0.54), high to moderate certainty
• A review of 24 studies names peanut among the main causes of unexpected allergic reactions, many of which happen when eating out. — Food-allergic patients aged over 12 years, 18 observational and 6 qualitative studies (n = 24 studies) Evidence C source
  Frequency unknown; peanut, nuts, egg, fruit/vegetables and milk main causal foods

The bottom line

Peanut is one of the nine major food allergens under US law, so a packaged peanut sauce must declare it on the label, and a restaurant sauce served without a label falls outside that rule. The survey recipe also uses soy sauce, and soybeans are on the same FDA list of nine major allergens. A review of 24 studies in food-allergic people over 12 years old names peanut among the main causes of unexpected reactions. Most of those reactions happened at home, a significant number at friends' houses or in restaurants, and the review could not estimate how often they occur. In challenges of 8 peanut- or hazelnut-allergic patients, a chocolate bar matrix raised the dose needed for objective symptoms compared with a dessert matrix. A higher threshold means the reaction arrives at a larger dose. It tells you nothing about the reaction being milder, and the study was tiny and did not describe randomization. The sauce has a documented food safety history. In a 1986 cholera epidemic in Guinea, 35 hospitalized patients were more likely than 70 neighborhood controls to have eaten leftover peanut sauce (odds ratio 3.1, 95% CI 1.2 to 8.2), and less likely to have eaten tomato sauce (odds ratio 0.2). That is an epidemic setting, and the lesson is about cooked sauce left standing at room temperature. In Guinea-Bissau in 1996, lime juice in the sauce eaten with rice went with lower odds of cholera (odds ratio 0.31, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.56), in a study whose abstract gives no sample size. In the same work's lab tests, V. cholerae thrived in rice with peanut sauce and lime juice held back its growth. Laboratory data on the peanuts themselves suggest roasting cuts aflatoxin B1 by about 47%, pooled across 19 processing studies of the food, with no residual levels reported. On absorption, the evidence is old or indirect. In 137 Indian women in 1988, bread meals with nuts added absorbed 1.8% of their iron against 6.6% for bread alone, in a non-randomized study that pooled walnuts, almonds, peanuts and hazelnuts with no separate figure for peanuts. A systematic review of 21 studies ranked nut butter above roasted and raw nuts for the energy the body actually gets, with no figure for sauces. Whole peanuts, eaten by 61 older adults with an average BMI of 31 at 15 to 20% of energy for 12 weeks in a randomized crossover trial, did not change blood lipids, CRP, glucose or insulin. That was whole nuts, and a sauce adds the sodium the nuts did not have.

Sources

1. pnsc-daily-r3-01 · reference dataset
   FNDDS 2707546 Peanut sauce: Energy 257 kcal · Total lipid (fat) 16.02 g · Fatty acids, total saturated 2.907 g · Protein 6.31 g · Sodium 1338 mg · Niacin 3.2 mg · Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 2.23 mg per 100 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023 · checked 2026-09-30
2. pnsc-daily-r3-02 · reference dataset
   FNDDS 2707546 Peanut sauce, 1 tablespoon 16 g: Energy 41.1 kcal · Total lipid (fat) 2.6 g · Protein 1.0 g · Sodium 214.1 mg || Sodium [DRV, Milligrams (mg)] 21 CFR 101.9(c)(9): 2,300 Adults and children >=4 years
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023 · checked 2026-09-30
3. pnsc-daily-r3-05 · challenge study
   A statistical analysis of the objective symptoms in the allergic patients showed that the chocolate bars gave a significantly higher threshold for objective symptoms than the dessert.
   Mol Nutr Food Res, 2012 · checked 2026-09-30
4. pnsc-daily-r3-06 · clinical trial
   When the absorption from bread and nut meals (walnuts, almonds, peanuts, and hazelnuts) was compared with that from bread meals, the overall geometric mean absorption from the nut meals (1.8%) was significantly less than from the bread meals alone (6.6%, t = 9.8, p less than 0.0005).
   Am J Clin Nutr, 1988 · checked 2026-09-30
5. pnsc-daily-r3-07 · systematic review
   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 2026-09-30
6. pnsc-daily-r3-08 · meta-analysis (food samples)
   The results showed that the roasting method significantly reduced aflatoxin B1, B2, G1, and G2 concentrations by 46.91%, 30.66%, 40.88%, and 26.19%, respectively.
   Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2022 · checked 2026-09-30
7. pnsc-daily-r3-11 · case-control
   In the capital city, 35 hospitalized cholera patients were more likely than 70 neighborhood-matched controls to have eaten leftover peanut sauces (odds ration (OR) = 3.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-8.2), but less likely to have eaten tomato sauces (OR = 0.2, 95 percent CI 0.1-0.9).
   Am J Epidemiol, 1990 · checked 2026-09-30
8. pnsc-daily-r3-12 · case-control
   Laboratory experiments to elucidate the inhibitory effect of different concentrations of lime juice on survival of V. cholerae in meals showed that V. cholerae thrives in rice with peanut sauce, but lime juice inhibited its growth.
   Trop Med Int Health, 2000 · checked 2026-09-30
9. pnsc-daily-r3-09 · RCT (crossover)
   Consistent with other nut studies, there were no differences in lipids, CRP, glucose and insulin with peanut consumption.
   Nutrients, 2015 · checked 2026-09-30
10. pnsc-daily-r3-03 · agency position
    The major food allergens are milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame.
    U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Food Allergies · checked 2026-09-30
11. pnsc-daily-r3-04 · meta-analysis
    We found high to moderate certainty evidence suggested that early introduction of allergen-containing foods reduces the risk of multiple food allergies (4 RCTs, 3854 participants, RR 0.49, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.74), egg (8 RCTs, 5193 participants, RR 0.58, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.78), peanut (3 RCTs, 4183 participants, RR 0.31, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.54) and atopic dermatitis or eczema (4 RCTs, 3579 participants, RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.00).
    BMJ Evid Based Med, 2024 · checked 2026-09-30
12. pnsc-daily-r3-10 · systematic review
    Peanut, nuts, egg, fruit/vegetables and milk are the main causal foods. Severe reactions and even fatalities occur. Most reactions take place at home, but a significant number also take place when eating at friends' houses or in restaurants.
    Clin Exp Allergy, 2015 · checked 2026-09-30