The short answer
100 g of cashews (raw) has 18.8 g of protein and 583 kcal.1 That's about 38% of the 50 g of protein ICMR-NIN suggests a day for a 60 kg adult.2
Nutrition in 100 g of cashews
| Per 100 g | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 583 kcal (2438 kJ) |
| Protein | 18.8 g ± 0.6 |
| Fat | 45.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 25.5 g |
| Fibre | 3.9 g |
| Water | 4.4 g |
These figures are for raw, shelled cashews.
How much cashews for your protein?
The amounts below are worked out from IFCT's figure of 18.8 g per 100 g. To see how cashews fits into a whole day, add it in the day builder.
| To get | Eat about | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 10 g of protein | 53 g (raw weight) | 309 kcal |
| 20 g of protein | 106 g (raw weight) | 618 kcal |
| 30 g of protein | 160 g (raw weight) | 933 kcal |
How cashews compares
Cashews has more protein per 100 g than 69% of the 542 foods in IFCT 2017. Here it is beside the other nuts and seeds we cover:
| Nuts and seeds | Protein / 100 g | kcal | From protein |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | 23.7 g | 520 | 18% |
| Sunflower seeds | 23.5 g | 586 | 16% |
| Halim seeds | 23.4 g | 445 | 21% |
| Pistachios | 23.4 g | 539 | 18% |
| Sesame seeds | 21.7 g | 520 | 17% |
| Cashews | 18.8 g | 583 | 13% |
| Flaxseeds | 18.6 g | 444 | 17% |
| Almonds | 18.4 g | 609 | 12% |
| Walnuts | 14.9 g | 671 | 9% |
| Dry coconut | 7.3 g | 624 | 5% |
Other vegetarian foods with similar protein: dried peas (20.4 g), rajma (19.9 g), moth beans (19.8 g), paneer (18.9 g), kala chana (18.8 g). For more protein per 100 g, try soybean (37.8 g), masoor dal (24.4 g), moong dal (23.9 g). See every food on one protein chart.
Protein quality
Nuts and seeds add useful protein, but most of their calories come from fat. Per calorie they give less protein than dal, paneer or eggs, so they work best as an addition rather than the main source.
Cashews in Indian languages
Names as listed in IFCT 2017, which records what the food is called in each region it was sampled from.1
- Assamese
- Kaju badam
- Bengali
- Hijli Badam
- Gujarati
- Kaju
- Hindi
- Kaju
- Kannada
- Geru beeja
- Malayalam
- Kasu andi
- Marathi
- Kaju
- Odia
- Lanka ambu
- Punjabi
- Kaju
- Tamil
- Mundiri paruppu
- Telugu
- Jeedi pappu
- Urdu
- Kaju
Common questions
How much protein is in 100 g of cashews?
18.8 g, according to the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 from ICMR-NIN. That's for raw cashews, per 100 g of the edible part. 100 g also gives 583 kcal.
How much cashews gives 20 g of protein?
About 106 g (raw weight). That's roughly 40% of the 50 g a day ICMR-NIN suggests for a 60 kg adult.
Is cashews a good source of protein?
13% of its calories come from protein, and it has more protein per 100 g than 69% of the 542 foods in IFCT 2017. Nuts and seeds add useful protein, but most of their calories come from fat.
References
- Longvah T, Ananthan R, Bhaskarachary K, Venkaiah K. Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR), Hyderabad. nin.res.in. Read through the open-data copy by Subhajit Sahu (ifct2017, MIT licence).
- ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. Nutrient Requirements for Indians: Recommended Dietary Allowances and Estimated Average Requirements. 2020. nin.res.in