Peanut Calories & Nutrition Calculator

Raw peanuts deliver 240mcg folate per 100g — 60% of the daily value and the highest concentration among all commonly consumed nuts by a wide margin. Walnuts provide 98mcg, pistachios 51mcg, almonds 44mcg, and cashews just 25mcg. Among plant foods broadly, only lentils (181mcg cooked) and chickpeas (172mcg cooked) approach peanuts' folate density ^[1][2].

Per 1-ounce serving (28g, ~28 peanuts): 67.2mcg folate (17% DV). Per handful (~40g): 96mcg (24% DV). Dry roasting reduces folate substantially — to 145mcg per 100g (36% DV), a 40% loss. Oil roasting drops it further to 120mcg (30% DV). For folate-conscious food logging, the raw vs. roasted distinction is significant ^[1][3].

Boiling has the most dramatic impact: folate falls to approximately 64mcg per 100g (16% DV) — a 73% reduction from raw. The water-soluble vitamin leaches into cooking water and is further degraded by prolonged heat. For nutrition journaling, the preparation method fundamentally changes the folate contribution: a 28g serving delivers 67mcg if raw, 41mcg if dry-roasted, 34mcg if oil-roasted, and only 18mcg if boiled.

Raw peanuts contain 12.07mg niacin per 100g — 75% of the daily value and the highest concentration among all common nuts and seeds. This rivals chicken breast (12.3mg/100g) and exceeds tuna steak (10.5mg/100g). Among nuts: almonds have 3.6mg, pistachios 1.3mg, cashews 1.1mg, and walnuts 1.1mg — none come close ^[1][4].

Dry roasting actually concentrates niacin to 14.36mg per 100g (90% DV) through moisture loss. Per 1-ounce serving of raw peanuts: 3.38mg niacin (21% DV). A 50g snack portion of dry-roasted peanuts provides 7.18mg (45% DV) — nearly half the daily requirement from a single snack. Niacin in peanuts has high bioavailability, unlike niacin in corn which is largely bound as niacytin ^[1][2].

Two tablespoons of peanut butter (~32g, made from dry-roasted peanuts) provide approximately 4.60mg niacin (29% DV). Boiling reduces niacin to 5.18mg per 100g (32% DV) — still meaningful but less than half the raw value. For food logging, roasted peanuts and peanut butter are the most niacin-efficient preparations ^[5].

Raw peanuts provide 25.80g protein per 100g — the highest among all commonly consumed 'nuts.' Peanuts (*Arachis hypogaea*) are botanically legumes in the Fabaceae family, related to lentils and chickpeas rather than almonds or walnuts. This legume origin partly explains the elevated protein: nitrogen fixation through root nodules enables higher protein synthesis than tree nuts ^[1][2].

Per 1-ounce serving (28g): 7.22g protein. Per quarter-cup (36g): 9.29g. Two tablespoons of peanut butter (~32g) provide approximately 7.1g protein. The amino acid profile is rich in arginine (3.09g/100g) and glutamic acid (5.39g/100g), but relatively lower in methionine (0.29g) and lysine (0.93g) — a profile typical of legumes ^[1][3].

Oil roasting concentrates protein to 28.03g per 100g due to moisture and some carbohydrate loss during processing. Boiling dilutes it to 13.50g per 100g as kernels absorb water. For accurate food journaling, a 28g serving provides 7.2g protein if raw, 6.8g if dry-roasted, 7.8g if oil-roasted, and only 3.8g if boiled ^[1].

Raw peanuts contain 49.24g total fat per 100g, distributed as 24.43g monounsaturated (primarily oleic acid 18:1), 15.56g polyunsaturated (primarily linoleic acid 18:2), and 6.28g saturated fat. The unsaturated-to-saturated ratio is 6.4:1. Unlike almonds (63% oleic, 25% linoleic) or cashews (61% oleic, 18% linoleic), peanuts have a more balanced dual MUFA-PUFA profile at 48% oleic and 32% linoleic ^[1][4].

Per 1-ounce serving (28g): 13.8g total fat — 6.8g monounsaturated, 4.4g polyunsaturated, 1.8g saturated. The linoleic acid content (15.56g/100g) is notably higher than almonds (12.3g) and cashews (7.8g), making peanuts one of the richest omega-6 sources among common snack nuts. Alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3) is virtually absent at 0.003g ^[1][2].

Oil roasting adds approximately 3.2g fat per 100g (from the frying oil), pushing total fat to 52.47g. Boiled peanuts have dramatically less fat at 22.0g per 100g — some lipid migrates into cooking water. For journaling, the same 28g serving ranges from 13.8g fat (raw) to 14.7g (oil-roasted) to 6.2g (boiled), a 2.4x difference between highest and lowest ^[1][5].

At 567 kcal per 100g, raw peanuts sit mid-range among common nuts: less than walnuts (654), pecans (691), and macadamia (718), but above cashews (553) and pistachios (560). The standard 1-ounce serving (28g, approximately 28 whole peanuts) provides 159 kcal — comparable to almonds (162) and cashews (155) at the same weight ^[1].

The measurement challenge: 1 cup of shelled peanuts weighs approximately 146g (828 kcal), but a loosely filled 'cup' can vary by 20–30g depending on whether peanuts are whole, halves, or chopped. A seemingly small 'one cup' estimate can swing by 110–170 kcal. Weighing peanuts on a kitchen scale eliminates this variance entirely ^[1][3].

Boiled peanuts (318 kcal/100g) have 44% fewer calories per 100g than raw — not because calories are removed, but because the kernel absorbs water, increasing its weight without increasing energy. A 28g serving of boiled peanuts has 89 kcal vs. 159 kcal raw. If logging by weight after cooking, boiled peanuts will appear more calorie-efficient per gram — but the dry-weight energy content is unchanged.